Vignettes of daily Isaan life abound in this small provincial capital. Locals come together to share a meal and some local gossip every evening at the lively night bazaar. This daily routine is briefly interrupted by the Lamduan Festival, held during the first weekend of March, which celebrates the blooming season of the province’s official flower, and the Rambutan-Durian Fair in May or June, when lines of Ram Danawasi dancers don elaborately carved golden headdresses amid fragarant fruit stands. Although relaxation may be one of the prime selling points of Si Saket, for the more spry visitor, the city can be a launching point to explore some of Isaan’s natural beauty. Waterfalls flow in abundance following the rainy season, and Khao Phra Wihaan National Park is dotted with Khmer ruins along the border.
Trains leave from the train station (☎045 611 525) in the center of town on Konrotfai Rd. and go to Bangkok (10hr., 9 per day 7:45am-8pm, 314-962฿) via Surin (1hr., 20-130฿), Khorat (3hr., 48-198฿), and Ubon Ratchathani (45min., 11 per day 3am-7:30pm, 13฿). Buses depart from Si Saket Bus Station (☎045 612 500) in the south of town. From the train station, walk down Kwangheng Rd. for 4 blocks, toward the city hall; the bus station will be on your right. Buses go to Bangkok (8-9hr., 10 per day 7am-9:15pm, 337-430฿), Chiang Mai (15hr., 350-685฿), and Rayong (7:40am, 8 per day 4:50-8:50pm; 260-620฿) via Khorat (5hr., 420฿). Samlor around town cost 10-25฿, tuk-tuks 20-40฿.
Si Saket is laid out in an irregular grid pattern: the railway runs from the west to east and divides the city into two north-south sections. The main street in the northern section of the city, Si Saket Road, stems from the train station and heads north. Along it are a few hotels and the landmark traffic circle, two blocks from the train station. The main street in the southern part of the city is Khunkhan Road, beginning just east of the train station and heading south past the bus station. The tourist service center, post office, and police station are all located on Tepa Road, in the north, which runs east-west and intersects with Si Saket Rd., Lakmuang Road, Paladmonthol Road, and Wijitnakhon Road, from west to east. South of the railway, Khunkhan parallels Kwangheng Road until they intersect one block past the bus station. Ubon Road is the major east-west road in the south, running parallel to the train tracks, three blocks to the south.
Si Saket won’t win any awards for its accommodation offerings, but there are a few budget hotels in town as well as some upscale ones that drop their rates significantly in the low season.
The best place to eat in town is the bustling night market, right behind the train station. Try the tom yum kung (spicy prawn and lemon grass soup with mushrooms, 60฿) Alternatively, get your sugar fix from the huge snow cones topped with bread, jelly candies, and condensed milk (10฿). Finding an English-language menu in Si Saket is a challenge.
While there’s little to do in town, wats and waterfalls dot the surrounding landscape. One option is Prasart Srakamhaeng Yai, an 11th-century ruin that consists of three towers erected on the same base. The tops of the towers have collapsed, but the lintels over the doorways remain, displaying intricately carved images of Hanuman giving a ring to Sita and the god Indra riding Airavata, his elephant. From Si Saket, take a bus or songthaew heading to Surin via Uthumpornphisai. The ruins are also accessible by train from Uthumpornphisai. A quick 2km walk from the train station will bring you to the ruins.
Huai Chan Falls is a group of waterfalls popular with weekenders. To get there, take a bus to Kunhan (every hr. 6am-6pm, 25฿), and hire a motorcycle taxi (50฿) to take you the remaining 24km to Huai Chan. The 8m Sum Rong Khiat Falls (a.k.a Pisat Falls) are 26km from Kunhan. Hiring a motorbike is the best way to get there (100฿). The waterfalls are most impressive during their peak flows (Sept.-Feb.); otherwise, they’re timid trickles. Also in Kunhan is Wat Lan Khuad, or the “Wat of 1000 Bottles” —a product of religious inspiration, grassroots environmentalism, and thousands of beer bottles. After seeing local drunks litter the roadsides with beer bottles, a monk was inspired to build a temple out of them. Local citizens donated their own bottles—emptied of liquid, of course.
One of Thailand’s best monuments is actually in Cambodia, 1km over its contested southern border. Khao Phra Wihaan is a temple complex built between the 10th and the 12th centuries by the Angkor kings, probably as a retreat and pilgrimage site for Hindu priests. It rises 800m up a steep grade overlooking the Cambodian plains to the south, and its principal chapel is on the peak of a great cliff, 600m high. Although officially opened to the public in 1991, it was closed two years later because of violent skirmishes between the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian government and didn’t reopen until August 1998. Today, a ripped-up helicopter pays homage to the last government siege that captured the mount. The region has since stabilized; nevertheless, don’t stray from the well-trodden path. The area may still contain land mines.
Apsara Tours in Si Saket and Mr. Pirom (see Accommodations and Food) in Surin both arrange tours of the park. If you journey there alone during the week, the grounds will be empty, and transportation will require some creativity. Whenever you go, start the 98km haul early for a smoother trip. Catch a bus or songthaew to Phum Saron (10km from the ruins) from the bus station in Si Saket (1hr., infrequently 6am-6pm, 30฿). Buses and songthaew can also be taken to Katharalak (1hr., every hr. 6am-6pm, 30฿), where you’ll have to catch another songthaew to Phum Saron. From there, some travelers choose to ignore the motorcycle taxis, and, although Let’s Go does not recommend hitchhiking, some travelers hitch a ride for the remaining 10km south on the highway. From Ubon, buses go to Kantaralak, where you can return to Si Saket. ( Park open daily 8am-4pm. 200฿ to enter in Thailand, another 200฿, plus a 5฿ fee to photocopy your passport, to gain temporary entrance to Cambodia.)
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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