Nakhon Ratchasima: Gateway of Isan
Nakhon Ratchasima at sunrise
If you are going to visit the Isaan there is a good chance that you Nakhon Ratchasima rushes past on the highway. The city, better known as Korat, is the gateway to Isan, the Lao-speaking northeast of Thailand.
The name Nakhon Ratchasima is used for both the city and the province and historically goes back to the Ayutthaya period. King Narai left in the 14de century building a city on the eastern side of the Siamese Empire to serve as a defensive bulwark against the Khmer Empire.
The city
If you live in the province as a foreigner – Korat probably has more foreign residents than any other Isan province – you will of course be familiar with the city of Korat with a population of just over 200.000. There are a number of shopping malls including the Korat Mall which is considered the best outside of Bangkok, a large sports stadium, a zoo and a multitude of interesting temples with fascinating historical backgrounds, museums and much more. Enough reasons to choose the province and the city of Nakhon Ratchasima as a travel destination.
On the way to Corat
The province is easily accessible via highways. From Bangkok it is only about 3 to 4 hours by car, about the same time from Pattaya. The drive to Korat via highway number 2 from Bangkok or road number 304 from the south is refreshing and inspiring along vast farmlands, green fields and wide open spaces. parks all over Thailand, the first encounter with the many cultural and entertainment venues the province has to offer.
Corat Zoo
Nakhon Ratchasima
In the city of Nakhon Ratchasima you will find historical sites such as the Korat City Pillar, the Korat City Gates, the Korat Fossil Museum, the Petrified Wood Museum and the very large Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo (also known as the Korat Zoo). At the zoo you can spend a whole day or even a few days and nights in a comfortable chalet. An ideal place for families with children, because in addition to the many animal species that can be seen there, there is a Lagoon and Water Park. For more information see www.koratzoo.org
Phimai historical park
Phimai
It is a very culturally enriching place to visit Phimai historical park, where you can go back in time, the oldest of which dates back to the 11th century. Phimai is the largest Khmer ruin complex in Thailand. A special feature of the architectural design of the shrine at Phimai is that the passage of the complex leads from due east to the 15th door on the west side. The design was created to capture the spectacular sunrise, the majestic radiance of which can be seen through the fifteen doors twice a year. See also the website: www.tourismthailand.org/Phimai-Historical-Park
Just north of Phimai Historical Park is Phimai National Museum, which displays Khmer artifacts and works of art from excavations. The art comes not only from Phimai, but also from other Khmer ruins in the south of Isan. You will get a good idea of the Khmer architecture in Thailand.
What Sala Loi
Thao Suranaree
In Korat, you should also visit the Tao Suranaree Monument and the Wat Sala Loi. In that temple you will find a true testament of a strong-willed and determined woman, Khunying Mo, who defended the city against an invasion from the north. She was awarded the honorable title of Thao Suranaree by the king of that time after the victory. We made a story about that earlier, see: www.thailandblog.nl/historie/thao-suranaree
Temples
Enough temples in the city and beyond. When you enter the historically significant Wat Phayap in the center of the city, a slight surprise awaits you, as the interior looks like a cave. This temple is not mentioned in all lists of major temples, but the locals consider it a very spiritual and soothing building.
Thao Suranaree
Another temple, dating back centuries, Prasat Phanom Wan, initially dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and intended to be a Hindu site, but in recent decades has become a place of Buddhist prayer.
The Maha Viravong National Museum could also be regarded as a temple. It is a small museum, in which the art collection of an important monk from the area can be seen. You will be able to see Buddha statues and pottery from different eras.
Finally, the Wat Dhammachakra Sema Ram is also known as Wat Phra Non which means 'Sleeping Buddha'. You may have seen the impressive reclining Buddha in Bangkok, but this sandstone sculpture is the first of its kind, making it the oldest in Thailand. The statue dates back to BC and it is almost unbelievable how well it has been preserved all this time.
Lamtakhong Dam
Sights
Some more worldly sights I call the Lamtakhong Dam, the construction of which started in 1970 near the Chumphon Gate. It is intended as a water supply for irrigation of agricultural lands and is now also the water storage for The Lamtakhong Power Plant. For nature lovers there is the Flora Park with a huge selection of flowers and plants. While enjoying the aroma and aesthetics of the park, one can have a drink or buy some souvenirs at the café.
Finally,
There is much more to tell about Nakhon Ratchasima, Google the Internet and find numerous websites about this culturally and historically important province. A visit is really worthwhile to gain a little more insight into Thai traditions, Thai culture and Thai history
Source: including parts of a recent travelogue in Hot Hua Hin Magazine
About this blogger
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Bert Gringhuis (1945), born and raised in Almelo in the beautiful Twente. Later lived for many years in Amsterdam and Alkmaar, working in export for various companies. I first came to Thailand in 1980 and immediately fell in love with the country. Been back many times since then and moved to Thailand after my (early) retirement as a widower. I have been living there for 22 years now with my somewhat younger Thai lady Poopae.
My first experiences in Thailand as a kind of newsletter sent to family, friends and acquaintances, which later appeared under the name Gringo on Thailandblog. Many, many articles followed those first stories and that has grown into an almost daily hobby.
In the Netherlands still an avid footballer and football referee, but the years are starting to tell and in Thailand still avid, but the pool billiards is really of inferior quality, ha ha!
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And not to forget the special temple of the venerable luang phor koon the wat ban rai at nakhon ratchachima. there is a beautiful temple in the shape of an elephant
Been to the elephant temple you must have been.
So beautiful .
With lots of mosaic tiles
We were there for the job in 1972 and I remember a temple with many bells that you could knock on. You could also free birds from captivity with a financial contribution. But the main thing that sticks in my mind was the roar of low-flying US Air Force fighters stationed there during the Vietnam War. Thai colleagues told us that there were 3 bases in the area, 2 US (including one with the famous F-111 spyplanes) and 1 Thai base.
The Thai airbase is still in use because when I am there (from the end of December – mid-March) you can hear the roar of the fighters almost every day at 2 am, unfortunately this airport has not yet been converted for civil aviation, although there are plans for seem to be (according to the Bangkok Post)
The civil airport is located almost 30 km east of the city (towards Buriram)
The airport planned for is a civilian airport on the road to Buriram.
The other airport is the military airport, so 2 different things
Ruudje
Yes, the Elephant Temple, that was it, still have a super-8 movie of it.
I would say: have it digitized and post it on this site, I am very curious.
Gringo my heartfelt thanks for this story about Korat, finally something nice about the Isan. and especially about Korat or Khorat or Nakorn Ratsachima or Nakorn Ratchasima 555 I keep seeing different names of my beloved city and province.
kind regards, Ben Korat
'Finally something beautiful about the Isaan' excuse me and I think that's fine, but if there is a beautiful to lyrical writing about a region on this blog, then it must be the Isaan.
The city is officially called นครราชสีมา (ná-khon râat-chá-sǐe-maa) or โคราช (khoo-râat). The pronunciation with aspirated k, long oo and falling long aa is not reflected in the spelling.
And for the enthusiast, อีสาน is the (Ie-săan). Nothing to criticize about 'the Isaan'. 'Isarn' against that…
OK, and now what Ratchasima means.
Ratcha ราช means 'king, royal' and can be found in many other names. sima (or sema)
สีมา เสมา means 'boundary'. The 'sema' stones around an ubosot (dedication building on a temple site) delimit the sacred space.
Ratchasima thus means 'the border of the kingdom'. The Isan was formerly not part of the kingdom of Siam, but a province. How is that now?
Timo,
I have a question about the sema stones.
Often 1 meter high.
I used to see them more often with inscriptions that the monks didn't even know what was on them.
I assume pali script or khmer.
I've even seen them in the open field.
nowadays they seem to have disappeared.
Maybe it ended up in a museum.
do you have pictures of it or more information about the origin and texts on the stones.
I am sorry to disappoint you khun moo.
Those boundary stones are called in Thai ใบเสมา bai sema or ใบสีมา bai siema. Bai means 'leaf' and sema or siema 'border'. Those stones are shaped like a leaf of the Bhodi tree under which the Buddha was enlightened according to the scriptures. See that typical point at the top end.
Those boundary stones are sometimes decorated with an image of the Buddha or other Buddhist symbols such as the 'mandala', but I do not know any texts on them.
Finally something beautiful… In a book I translated in 2000 by the Frenchman Etienne Aymonier, Isan Travels. Northeast Thailand's Economy in 1883-1884, there is an extensive description of Korat and all the other settlements in the northeast. It is a bit the beginning of the development.
The book also has 55 maps showing the rivers and their settlements.
Aymonier is also known for his exhaustive description of all Khmer temples and buildings.
I found photos of the Korat gates in Belgian archives and they are on the front and back of the book.
Who would like to take the time to visit some of the villages that still exist today, with maps in hand?
Reference: https://www.whitelotusbooks.com/books/isan-travels-northeast-thailands-economy-in-1883-1884
https://www.whitelotusbooks.com/books/khmer-heritage-in-thailand
By the way, I heard that there are flights to Korat again and that there are now even flights from Korat to Phuket and Chang Mai and of course Bangkok by an airline that has its home port at Korat airport, the name of that company is Newgen Airways Nakhon Ratchasima.
Best regards,
Ben Korat
Unfortunately for you Ben. At least if you like to fly.
What you mentioned is indeed the Newgen Airways flight schedule.
The bad thing is, this scheme flew from 2012 until they stopped and sold the whole thing. This was 2019.
Source: Wikipedia
In this province it is also a mixture of languages and eating habits that can differ from village to village.
Not to generalize too much, but Thai-Korat prefer to eat boiled white rice and speak Korat which still contains somewhat ABT words. Isaan-Korat prefer to speak Lao and enjoy glutinous rice more.
My gut says that the Thai-Korat see themselves as the real Korat people and possibly the explanation that without them the city would not have existed.
Of course there are also the Khmer in this province, but I can't say much about that, although I think they are at the bottom of the ladder and also financially.
As an "expert" I also find this striking. Most people in the city of Korat and the surrounding area really speak Thai, I thought I read a dialect of Thai or more specifically Korat-Thai and not Isan. I think the same applies to a large part of the northern province of Chayaphum. To the east of Nakhon Ratchasima, the Khmer language area, Buriram, begins for me, and the real Isan only begins for me in the province of Khon Kaen. There in Khon Kaen, I also lived there, I also only got acquainted with typical Isan food for the first time, including sticky rice, Som Tam and smoked chicken, etc. Not that you can't get this in Korat, but then restaurateurs or preparers are often from this food coming from regions north of Korat. My opinion is also a bit colored by many relationships and acquaintances gained over many years and travel a bit through the Isaan so this is my view.
Nice article! Just a correction to this quote:
"The statue dates back to BC and it is almost unbelievable how well it has been preserved all this time."
The statue dates from the time of the Mon-Dvaravati kingdom (6th to 11th century AD), probably 1300 years old.
Cheers Gringo,
Nice explanation and attractive photos!
But a small correction: in the Netherlands you don't speak about the Amsterdam, the Brabant or the Gelderland?
So it's just "Isaan" or "Isarn" without an article.
No, PEER, the Isaan is not a name but is a word from Sanskrit and literally means 'the Northeast', and that has to be done with an article. Just like 'the Achterhoek, the Ommelanden and the Heart of the Randstad'.
When I suggested to a good friend of mine that we visit a temple again, he always exclaimed, "WHAT!"
the Terminal 21 , larger than the new one in Pattaya , Central Plaza , the old and the new Klang , these are shopping malls worth visiting . Dan Kwian, the pottery village where you can buy very beautiful things and where people from all over Thailand come here to buy them, Bung Talua, an oasis of peace in the city.Jim Thompson's farm, silk production and many others such as in November the boat races in Phimai , the big event in July with the floats on which beautiful scenes made of candle wax are presented and recently the Jamo market , fun fair and huge walking market that lasts more than 2 weeks.
Ruudje
People also speak Khmer in Isaan in the areas bordering Cambodia! They can also speak Thai very well. At home they are raised with Khmer, at school they learn to speak, read and write Thai. Writing Khmer does not work for the Thai. It is therefore one of the most complicated alphabets out there. Heard it's harder than Thai.
Writing Khmer is indeed more difficult than Thai. In Thai, all letters are written separately. In Khmer (almost) all letters of a syllable are written together.
Cambodia in Khmer is កម្ពុជា (Kampuchea). In our eyes, this only looks like 3 letters or characters!
A tip for the traveler:
Korat is also easy to reach from Hua Hin! There is a direct bus service between Hua Hin and Korat. In Korat at the main bus station, in Hua Hin on Phetkasem Road near soi 68.
The buses do not stop in Bangkok, but go around it. That saves a lot of time. Travel time is 7 hours.
Before corona, these buses went 2 times a day in both directions. Unfortunately I can't say how often it is now. Unfortunately I don't remember the price anymore. I thought 350 baht.
Korat is a nice city that I have spent a lot of time in over the past 3 years. Keep in mind that English is hardly spoken, if you want to go here, keep this in mind
Recently there has also been a WhatsApp group for Belgians and Dutch people who live in Korat or spend the winter here, a useful tool for questions and news.
https://chat.whatsapp.com/GDUS1DKtaoCDgBMcDSssmC
The link is of course included, if you have something to do with Korat, please sign up.