The elephant province of lower Isan: Khmer brick towers, fine silk and the November Elephant Round-up.
Surin runs from the Mun River in the north to the Dângrêk hills on the Cambodian border, and nearly half its people speak Khmer. It is best known for elephants: about a quarter of Thailand’s domesticated elephants are raised here, mostly by Kuy families, and the Elephant Round-up fills Si Narong Stadium each November. The province is also known for fine silk and silver beads, and is dotted with Khmer temples such as Prasat Sikhoraphum. The town itself is calm and practical, with a regional hospital, a university and a railway line to Bangkok.
All neighbourhoods