Khon Kaen, Thailand Travel Blogs

Miss KKU
Aug 15, 2006

... home of somtam and sticky rice which I had to agree was pretty good here. Leaving Jojo at Khon Kaen University I spotted a sign for a Miss Khon Kaen University competition and also wished I was a student in Thailand when I was at university too.

Half Way Back Again
Jul 12, 2006

... and then onto Khon Kaen to take Jojo back to his university. Was bought some green tea with honey thing for a drink in Khon Kaen which I remember gagging on in Japan thinking it tasted not too far off washing up liquid with this one also tasting like ...

Toast, "wired" monks, and shopping
Oct 23, 2009 (9 photos)

... as universities struggle to increase their numbers of nursing school applicants. After breakfast, we went to the Buddhist temple (wat) in Khon Kaen. We paid a small amount of money to a child tour guide who spoke English, but then toured the temple without ...

Sexpats and Song
Jan 23, 2009 (10 photos)

The trip from Chiang Rai in Northwest Thailand to Khon Kaen in Northeast Thailand involved 13 long hours of sitting on a crappy bus and being forced to listen to horrible Thai pop music. Because, like all Thai buses, ours was late getting into Khon Kaen ...

The power of branding
Nov 16, 2009 (7 photos)

... a goofy America cluelessly serenades people of different religions with a gospel folk hymn. So far, I've subjected Buddhists from Thailand, China and Bhutan and Hindus from India to my sorry rendition of Amazing Grace.  Fortunately, the people from ...

"I would say you are transvestite, yes?"
Nov 17, 2009 (6 photos)

... program. And a clinician training program. And advanced techniques in gynecological surgery. And ideally a CD containing photos from Thailand of horrifically disfigured genitals afflicted with STIs.  Is this something I can help them with? (4) The ...

A day to remember....
Nov 9, 2009 (5 photos)

When I leave Thailand at the end of November, I will leave feeling confident that Khon Kaen University got more lecturing out of me that I ever thought humanly possible. The classes here are veritable marathons - at least 3 hours of lecture - and many days ...

Fun in the tropics
Nov 10, 2009 (4 photos)

... identifiable. As was the case yesterday, three faculty members asked me today if I've gotten "stomach problems" from eating in Thailand yet. Their repeated inquiries are almost comical at this point - it's like the entire Faculty of Nursing has a ...

Sausages, no thanks!
Jan 16, 2007 (14 photos)

Hello to all our fellow readers,   We left Phi Mai yesterday and headed North to Khon Kaen.  It was a bumpy 5 hour train ride and 1.5 hour bus ride, but well worth it.    Although we just arrived here in KK yesterday, we'll be ...

My KKU adventure begins....
Oct 22, 2009 (5 photos)

Today I flew from Bangkok to Khon Kaen to begin my stay at Khon Kaen University. The flight was about an hour and half late but fortunately I was able to get to an internet kiosk to let my hosts know I would be running late. The Faculty of Nursing's ...

Khon Kaen
Feb 4, 2007

Khon Kaen - Isan.... cool place but strange - its really good to learn thai here because there arent any other foreigners around and even though this is a really beautiful place , tourist never make it out here and whenever you see a foreigner its always ...

Khon Kaen
Sep 24, 2007 (3 photos)

After some deliberation we decided to stop off halfway down the northeast of Thailand to break up the travelling at a place called Khon Kaen. It has Thailands largest university so the city and the people are clued up and the city is certainly moving ...

Like greased lightning!
Jan 29, 2007 (5 photos)

... weekend, it's actually a mere 30 mins/10$ by taxi to the border from our house. Easy peasy. We then headed to the unusual destination of Khon Kaen in the North East for ...da da dah!! I can't do this any other way than burst it out so here it is I AM A ...

Hitting the ground running - busy, busy!
Oct 27, 2009 (3 photos)

... . I thanked the vendor and went back upstairs to my office, fairly certain that there will now be an urban legend floating around Thailand that Americans are total freaks who eat elephant. I ran into O when I went back upstairs and told her the ...

Papaya Salad and Snake Boxing
Oct 24, 2009 (17 photos)

... this place.  I stopped in to a 7-11 and bought a coca-cola slurpee to see if it would taste different in Thailand. It tasted the same - I was what was different. My slurpee tasted much less exciting than sticky rice and papaya salad. I ...

Water Festival!
Apr 21, 2006

... , and you are appreciating that fact as you hop on the back of a friend's pickup truck as he motors around the city of Khon Kaen, crawling through the streets in a massive parade/water fight. Imagine being in the back of a pickup truck with ten other ...

A.D.D. Abroad, or "Procrastination Unplugged"
Nov 8, 2009 (5 photos)

... back. I thanked him but politely declined and he smiled and took off. (Since I've been in Thailand, I've noticed that no one walks anywhere in Khon Kaen. The only time someone walks anywhere is when their motorcycle has broken down. Hence the stranger's ...

Bugs, misconceptions, and office politics
Nov 11, 2009 (5 photos)

... O at work, we got to talking about the mosquitoes and she cautioned me to be very careful because she got dengue fever while living in Khon Kaen a few years back. Boy, am I glad I bought that "bug bivvy"! (Every night, I sleep in what is basically a body ...

Myanmar? What happened to Burma?
Nov 20, 2009 (6 photos)

... been away from him and I'm missing Grey and Kathy like crazy. But don't get me wrong: I'm having a fantastic time in Thailand and I am enjoying every moment here. As I walked to work this morning, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of ...

Celebrating new friendships
Nov 28, 2009 (10 photos)

... and most generous-of-spirit people one can ever meet. I feel truly blessed to have had the chance to come to Thailand. When I leave Khon Kaen tomorrow, I leave with a group of new friends I will treasure forever. At lunch we exchanged gifts and I was so ...

No powerpoint? Whatever loys your krathong...
Nov 2, 2009 (9 photos)

... research proposals. Very busy but I'm loving every minute of this. They have intentionally structured my time here at Khon Kaen University so that I'm doing work similar to a dean of research, mentoring faculty, coaching assistant and associate deans, and ...

High hopes
Nov 4, 2009 (3 photos)

... , have silently suffered ice cold showers for two weeks because I thought maybe they don't have hot water in dormitories in Thailand.  When I finally mentioned it, folks were horrified I didn't ask to have my hot water heater fixed sooner. What kind ...

Sing anyway
Nov 14, 2009 (13 photos)

... , and starved in Thailand – it’s heartbreaking to see. For a country with such gentle, kind, compassionate people, Thailand’s treatment of its dogs remains a mystery to me. After witnessing the dog-kicking incident, I didn’t feel ...

Marathon day of teaching
Oct 28, 2009 (10 photos)

... , watermelon, and something that may or may not have been fish eyes floating in milk.  I'm relishing my experience in Thailand and am persisting in eating wherever local people eat. Hygiene standards differ from the standards in the US but I am ...

Motorbikes and Songtaews
Oct 25, 2009 (5 photos)

... Li came to my room as promised to help me figure out why I cannot access the internet. I'd been trying ever since I arrived in Khon Kaen but could never access the secure WiFi connection despite the fact I have a username and password. When she came to my ...

Isan Festival, Night Market, and more motorbikes
Oct 25, 2009 (5 photos)

... ; - or, if the Thai Buddhists are correct, you live many, many times, in which case I'll come back as a baby elephant in the Khon Kaen Night Market and I'll pay my penance that way. :) We zipped home on motorbikes and I ate several more mouthfuls of bugs ...

First day in the office - getting settled in
Oct 26, 2009 (7 photos)

So far today has been a whirlwind of activity - my first day in the office at Khon Kaen University. I started the day when the van came to pick me up and took me to the Faculty of Nursing building on campus. O met me at the van when I arrived and ushered ...

Trip to Northern Thailand
Jun 20, 2009 (1 photos)

20 June 2009 Had a leisurely morning, this date, in preparation for out trip to the North. We departed Bangkok at 2000 hours for a long, slow train ride to Khon Kaen.

Grant writing, Pepsi Max, and tortellini
Nov 3, 2009 (5 photos)

... pickup trucks. We parked the bikes and walked towards the temple-like building. [UPDATE: The name of the building is the Khon Kaen Spirit House]. Apparently you go into this building and make offerings of incense, money, flowers, etc. (You can buy ...

Lost in Translation
Nov 18, 2009 (5 photos)

... that it is very difficult for Thai people to say "no" to a guest so I would likely have difficulty understanding when people in Thailand are trying to tell me "no." A Fulbrighter who had worked in Thailand told me the same thing. Ironically, I haven't run ...