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Click to view a map of Khon Kaen
Khon Kaen is a booming city some 450 km north of Bangkok and is easily accessible by air, bus or train from the capital. Most guide books disregard this friendly and interesting North Eastern town and you will see only a sprinkling of tourists around town.
The city has grown incredibly in recent years and has some excellent new international standard hotels, complete with disco's, bowling alleys, top class restaurants and more. Hotelz Asia can offer some excellent deals on hotels in Khon Kaen.
Khon Kaen serves as a service center for administration, education and medical services for the rural towns and villages in the province. The medical facilities in Khon Kaen are considered to be the best in North Eastern Thailand. The town is a stopping off point for commercial travelers and has plenty of facilities.
Khon Kaen is basically a commercial center with some excellent shopping facilities and several large markets. It is worth while catching one of the many Songthaews out to Kaen Nakorn Lake - the grounds around the lake are pleasant and there are several temples and hordes of restaurants to check out.
The main daytime markets off Klang Muang Road are quite large and offer a huge range of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and even live turtles and eels. There is a vast assortment of street shops and major shopping malls like Big C, Tesco Lotus, Makro and Fairy Plaza. The multi story Com Tech mall specialises in computer gear, software and mobile phones with prices that beat Bangkok's Pantip Plaza.
Khon Kaen is well served with restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and even a few discos. Much of the nightlife is Thai-style and based around very dark clubs or outdoor restaurants with live singers. If you are in town after harvest time you may see more than a few farmers in town drinking away the proceeds of their labors.
There are also some good bars with entertainment in the vicinity of the night markets. A good night out can include eating at one of the many market stalls then enjoy a live band nearby for the price of a few beers. I have seen everything from heavy metal to Beatles cover songs as well as Thai music in these places.
Overall Khon Kaen is recommended as a base from which to explore the rest of the North Eastern region of Thailand.
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HOTEL RESERVATIONS 
