Dinosaur hunting in Khon Kaen

The first thing that strikes you when step out of Khon Kaen Airport in Thailand’s dusty northeast is the intense and stifling Issan heat. The second thing is the seemingly misplaced herd of dinosaur statues welcoming you to the city.

For tourists expecting a hot climate and an even hotter cuisine, the sight of the Triassic’s finest can be a bit baffling. But Khon Kaen is actually a provincial capital in the Thai northeastern region of Issan, which is also the dinosaur capital of Southeast Asia. The city's semi-pro football team, Khon Kaen FC, is even nicknamed the "T-Rexs." 

Khon Kaen's rep as a dino hunter's base camp didn't emerge until 1976, when the first dinosaur bone was discovered in the Phu Wiang mountains, about 70 kilometers outside the city. Since then the area has seen a hot bed of paleontological discoveries including three new species, Phuwiangosaurus

The first dinosaur bone ever found in Thailand, on display in Khon Kaen.

sirindhornae (named after HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn), Siamosaurus (named after Siam) and Kinnareemimus (named after the Thai mythological creature). Paleontologists say that the entire northeastern region was swarming with dinosaurs 200 million years ago. 

Phu Wiang now has a Dinosaur Museum with life-sized dinosaur models, fossil displays and walking tours of the original excavation site. There’s a bus that departs the city center every hour to Phu Wiang mountains followed by a short hike up to the museum, which is open Thursdays to Tuesdays from 8-5 p.m. (Admission is 200 baht per person.)

Rows of Thai silk for sale in an Issan shop.

So what else is there to do?

Not that dino bones alone aren't cool, but fortunately there are other reasons to visit Khon Kaen besides old fossils. The night market in the city center is the biggest of its kind in Issan and on the weekends the entire area around it is cordoned off and transformed into a walking street that rivals anything you’ll find in Chiang Mai or Pattaya.

There’s a common misconception that Khon Kaen -- and Issan in general -- is a backwards region with little in the way of modern developments. Wrong. Many people have already looked passed such stereotypes and invested in the area, including Thailand's retail giant Central Group, which opened up a big department store there in early 2009 that offers some air-conditioned relief from the Northeastern heat. (If you think Bangkok is hot, you haven’t been to Issan.)

Those interested in picking up some high quality silk at low prices or just want to check out the process of making silk in general can hire a song-taew bus to the village of Ban Phai (Bamboo House), one of the centers of silk production in Thailand. Other cultural attractions include the Khon Kaen National Museum, which highlights the unique history of the Issan region.

For something a bit more sinister, the freshwater reservoir and beach resort Ubolrat Dam, a few kilometers outside the city, has been dubbed the "second Pattaya." While we’re not sure if this is a good thing, it does live up to its name by sporting a variety of water sports, "beach-side" bars and general seediness.

getting to Khon Kaen