4 Days Isan Village Full Experience Into Rural Life & Culture – Northeast Thailand

• A unique opportunity to be part of a rural community in an area of Thailand rarely visited by tourists.
• Visit the ancient Kmer temples at Pimai
• Learn about traditional rice cultivation and silk making and sample local Isan cuisine.
• The smells, tastes and the glimpses into the past will stay with you long after your return home.

DAY (1): Meet the host family of the homestay

Meals: Dinner – Experience starts in the afternoon.
Pick up from Sida bus stop or Bua Yai train station at 2PM and transfer to homestay.
Meet the host, Lamai and her family as well as some of the local people. You can also explore the village – Take a walk through the family rice fields and learn the process from planting to harvesting. You can visit the villagers’ homes where the various traditional processes take place. Alongside the rice fields you will find irrigation canals where the Ko Phet villagers have planted an organic vegetable garden, growing squashes, beans, peppers, chillies etc. [Please note that these activities are dependent on your arrival time and also the weather].
If the school is open, you can visit and talk to the teachers and children and look at their work.
Return to the homestay house and garden where you can sit in the shaded splash pool while Lamai prepares a typical Isan meal, followed by a drink on the verandah to watch the water buffaloes amble homewards while the sun sets over the lake. Overnight at the homestay.

DAY (2): Explore rural cultural sites

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
After an early breakfast served in the garden, proceed to the village of Ban Prasat to see the remains of a 3000 year old agricultural-ceramic culture in the excavation pits. Also visit the village raffia-weaving co-operative. A short distance from Ban Prasat is Sai Ngam, reputedly the oldest and largest banyan grove in Thailand. Here, you can visit the fortune teller and temple hidden inside its gnarled branches, browse the market stalls and join in the local tradition of releasing a fish and making a wish before sitting down for lunch at one of the lakeside stalls.
The afternoon will be spent exploring the dusky-pink sandstone architecture at Phimai, one of the most important Khmer temples in the country, built during the 10th, and 11th centuries.

DAY (3): Experience Isan Village silk-making process and shopping at Bua Yai Market.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Following a leisurely breakfast, travel by car to a small, rarely-visited village, where you can see the whole of the silk-making process from the breeding of the silk worms to the packaging of the final product. So high is the quality of the silk that the villagers have received the Queen’s commendation and were visited by Her Majesty who presented the award herself. Each part of the silk-making process takes place in a different home simultaneously. Watch the worms eat the mulberry leaves, learn the spinning, dyeing and weaving processes and buy your favourite piece at the end. You can see a two month process in half a day and will have all the processes explained to you.
In the afternoon, visit Bua Yai market to learn about the exotic fruits and aromatic spices used in Isan cooking and experience the traditional lifestyle of the region. Lunch will be taken in one of the local restaurants.
On the way home, you may get to visit the 11th century Hindu Temple at Prang Ban Sida and hand-feed the tame catfish in the pond.

DAY (4): Departure

Meals: Breakfast -Experience ends after breakfast.
Transfer to Bus-stop at Sida or Bua Yai Train Stationat at 12PM for your onward journey OR stay an additional night.

Remarks:

Max number of pax: 8 persons including children (Children under 11 years old are free.)
Rate per pax: USD.99
Pickup point: Bus-stop at Sida or Bua Yai Train Station. Please state your preferred pick-up location in the Order Nate at Check-out.
Items to bring: Comfortable clothes and personal belongings for 3days-2nights homestay.

Our rate includes:

• Transportation including transfer from Bus-stop at Sida or Bua Yai Train Station
• Children under 11 yrs. are free
• All meals as outlined in the itinerary
• Admission fees where applicable

Our rate exclude:

• Alcoholic drinks.
• Gratuities
• Flights, trains, bus fares and other transport costs other than those outlined in the itinerary.