My Buriram Travel, Hotels, restaurants and info

[Rockheart]

Well my LB GF dragged me out to Buriram a few time to see her family. Buriram is a province but it is also the name of the main city (Buriram City). The city is quite large and has most stuff, it is still very outbackish and you don't see alot of farangs. Surin is another large place nearby. (Famous for the elephant festival)

There apparently is a Ladyboy bar in the nearby town of Krasang and you will find them at the local clubs and parties.
There is ladyboys everywhere as you walk around, so there seems to be a very high saturation even out here.

There is an airport but is it is actually closer to the town of Satuek
Driving from Bangkok is about 7 hours by car and longer by bus, i do not recommend the bus.
Finding a taxi or driver in Buriram can be tricky, I did rent a car for very cheap there though.
The traffic isn't bad out there, otherwise i don't drive in Thailand.

Buriram also has some of the finest temples and ruins in the entire country.
I will provide more info in this thread.

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[Rockheart]

So the first time I went out to Buriram we took the bus from Pattaya, it was hell.
We basically stayed 2 days, but I was not in a very good mood when i got there.
I did not stay in a hotel but slept on the floor of their house in the rice patties at Village number 10.
I was grumpy but it was a very interesting mind opening trip. After arriving at the bus depot at 5am we went directly to the market to get some food for the family. Seeing the thriving rural market at 6am was quite the sight.
I could see my GFs family was not so rich.
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[Rockheart]

Vongthong Hotel Buriram March 2008

So the next time i went to Buriram insisted on staying in a hotel. So we found the Vongthong which was about 2 blocks from the bus station. It wasn't the greatest but a deluxe room was only 500 baht, so not too much to complain about. Rooms were plain and bed was hard. There was a nice restaurant, pool club and karaoke lounge attached to the hotel. Also a massage parlour where you could get a happy ending if required. There was no internet in rooms but they did have PCs in the lobby. Could not get the internet to work for me, so i used a nearby internet cafe. There is lots of places to eat and services nearby. I rented a car about a block away.

It appears this place is closed now, no great loss but at the time it was one of the few hotels in the area. There was rooming houses and such but this was the main hotel in the centre of town. It had a classic interior for sure.
There appears to be a number of newer hotels and resorts in Buriram I see now, including a Best Western which may be in the same place and other new hotels?
The last number of years must have been very profitable for Buriram province!
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[Rockheart]

Going to the Most Beautiful Place.

So before we went back to Pattaya, I was told I would be taken to "The Most Beautiful Place"
However I would have to pay some guy 600 baht to take us there. This was fine so buddy comes around in his truck to pick us up.
To start with there was just the immediate family a few kids and 4 adults. Then we proceeded to drive around the village and pick more and more people up.

So I guess this is where I learned a big lesson and maybe others can learn some in this thread.
Eventually we had 28 people in the truck and off to the beautiful place.
Of course, when we got there I was expected to pay for everyone, fortunately the Thai entrance fee was only 60 baht for Thais but for me it was 200 baht i think.
So fine i paid, it was really a fantastic place.

This was Phanom Rung temple one of the finest examples of Khmer architecture in the world. Some say it is a better example than Angkor Wat and much less tourists. If you were to come from bangkok it is a good 8 hour drive out here. I think that must be why there is resorts and more hotels popping up in Buriram as there is alot of gorgeous ruins and you can really live the real Thai life out here.

So we toured Phanom Rung and if anything looks familiar, this has been the set for many movies and television shows including The Mummy and Indiana Jones.
I got a shot of the buses in the parking lot, Thai tourist buses always look so cool.

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[Rockheart]

More PhanomRung

Well we toured the park and I bought the whole crew ice cream. I cannot believe all these people fit in that small truck.
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Phanom Rung is one of the highest points in the area which was part of the reason the temple was built here, to be closer to god of course.
It is also built on an extinct volcano.
It also is partly in Cambodia and has great views to both countries, the only entrance is in Thailand however.
It is worth the trip compared to other temples and ruins I have visited, just don't take 27 people with you.
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[Rockheart]

So in this picture Em is walking towards me to say I should take all 28 people to the restaurant for dinner. I said no, which ended up in a huge fight and her losing face I suppose. However it wasn't even mostly family, it was mostly a bunch of neighbours. I have no problem buying for the family but my budget just wasn't allowing me to buy dinner for all. I'm sure the restaurant there is much over priced compared to one in town anyway. Remember no matter how many people you are with they will always expect you to buy for all, keep the numbers to the immediate family if possible.
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Here is some more pictures from around Tha Dee (Village number 10)

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[rxpharm]

Great trip report Crag! I think this is the first trip report to Buriram on this forum and probably many others as well. Typically trips to Issan mean Udon Thani, where there are many of the bargirl lbs hail from.

I've been to Udon Thani, and Roi Et. There was a post several years ago on this forum about Buriram and it was supposed to be full of beautiful lbs.

[Rockheart]

Great trip report Crag! I think this is the first trip report to Buriram on this forum and probably many others as well. Typically trips to Issan mean Udon Thani, where there are many of the bargirl lbs hail from.

I've been to Udon Thani, and Roi Et. There was a post several years ago on this forum about Buriram and it was supposed to be full of beautiful lbs.

Buriram was for sure less travelled back then. My first trip i only saw one farang the whole time, and he appeared to be the town drunk.
There is ladyboys all over as in most places in Thailand, however out here they tended not to be on hormones and most often flat chested. From appearances this was probably the poorest part of Thailand i have ever visited. There is regular ladyboy pageants in Surin nearby, and there seems to be a good contingent for all shows.
I think my GF got 3rd place there one time.

[Rockheart]

Return to Buriram March 2008

So I came back in March 2008 to Thailand and met Em in Bangkok.
We took a nice bus this time to Buriram compared to the old overnight bus we took the first time.
Once we got there we had to stop at the market as usual before heading out to Village Number 10.

[Rockheart]

So then we head out to the village to see the family.
We have dinner then finish of the whisky that i have brought from Canada.
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I stay in town at the Vongthong Hotel again, it is not great but there is lots of stuff nearby.
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We headed over to Krasang one day. There is supposed to be a ladyboy bar there but i never saw it.
Got this interesting pic.
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[Rockheart]

Since it is March the rice fields are dried right up.
It is not very green or scenic this time of year.
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I see the old house is gone and a nice new one is going up. Some of it from donations from me.
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They will soon have one of the nicest houses in the neighbourhood.
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[Rockheart]

We head off near Nakhon Ratchasima to visit some family friends.
A common site, me buying everyone a meal.
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[Rockheart]

So we head back to village 10. On the way back we see a bunch of spotlights, so we go to investigate.
There is a big fair going on and an M120 festival that was soon to start.
All big outdoor events like this they seem to put up these lit barber poles to direct your way.
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These M120 festivals are very popular and travel all over the country.
Admission includes a free M120 drink also, I have been to a few of these.
These festivals are big deal out in the countryside and they are a real good place to meet ladyboys and ladys.
There is always a great selection of nice looking sexy local citizens.
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Thais just love their little dogs..
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The next night we headed back to Bangkok in a car. A friend drove us for a fee.
On the way we were stopped by a police truck blocking the highway.
2 men in bella clavas shook us down for money in the name of the police.
Probably their drinking money for the evening...

[Rockheart]

Back to Buriram October 2008

October 2008 I head back to Buriram.
A couple nights in Bangkok then we take PB Air to Buriram Airport.
I said I wasn't taking the bus again so I found this flight on PB Air to Buriram.
It was about 4000 baht return, i couldn't believe it. There is probably some risk to flying an airline like this tho.
They were the only one to fly there at that time but previously Thai airways has flown there.
As of 2014 Nok Air has regular flights there. http://www.nokair.com
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The airport is not really close to Buriram City or anywhere really.
There is limited transportation there but usually a few trucks show up to take people into town.
The airport staff can call a truck for you. Formal taxis were not a thing yet in Buriram.

Of course i got the village taxi back to Buriram

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[Rockheart]

So back in Village number 10 it is so nice and green with the fresh rice nearing harvest.
This time of year is very nice out in Buriram Province. Everything is green and lush. There is bananas and mangos hanging over the house. Also small fish now swim up to the house due to the rice patties being full. So they catch these little fish and cook them up as little snacks. Sitting on the veranda is awesome with a beer. Ladies i cannot specifically identify keep bringing me fresh thai chicken wings, green mangos with seasoning salt, little fishies and other thai treats.
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