Things to Do in Khon Kaen in September

The 3.8 km (2.4 mile) path circling Bueng Kaen Nakhon, the lake at the center of Khon Kaen, is at its best before seven in the morning during September. The air is still cool enough, around 24°C (75°F), that the humidity feels manageable. The lake surface goes glassy before the wind picks up, reflecting the nine tiered silhouette of Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon across the water. Joggers, tai chi groups, and food carts selling joke (rice porridge) and pa thong ko (fried dough sticks) share the path with egrets picking through the lotuses. By eight the heat starts pressing in. By mid morning you will wish you had started earlier. Rent a bicycle from one of the lakeside rental points or simply walk. The full loop takes about forty five minutes on foot. The south shore path runs closer to the water and catches more breeze. The north side passes through the temple grounds of Wat Nong Wang, where the smell of incense and marigold garlands drifts down from the morning offerings.

Khon Kaen is the unofficial capital of Isan cooking. September's rainy season markets are loaded with ingredients you will not see during the cool months. Ton Tann Market opens in the late afternoon as the day's heat breaks. The first thing that hits you is the smoke. Charcoal grills loaded with gai yang, the butterflied free range chicken basted in lemongrass and garlic that Khon Kaen has turned into an art form. The bird is hammered flat, slow grilled until the skin crackles and the meat stays juicy, and served with a sticky rice basket and a jaew dipping sauce that burns clean and bright from roasted chili and lime. Nearby stalls sell larb with toasted rice powder that crunches between your teeth. In September the wild mushroom vendors set up with baskets of het khon sauteed with oyster sauce and holy basil. Jim jum, the Isan hot pot where you dip glass noodles, herbs, and thinly sliced pork into a bubbling clay pot of broth over a charcoal burner, is a rainy evening meal that locals swear by when the temperature drops after a storm. The municipal fresh market near the train station opens early morning. It is the better spot for raw ingredients and breakfast bowls of khao piak sen, Isan's answer to chicken noodle soup, the broth cloudy with tapioca starch and fragrant with fried garlic.

Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon at Wat Nong Wang towers over Khon Kaen. Nine tiers of white and gold rise above the lake's tree line, visible from most of the city. Climbing the interior staircase in September's humidity is physical work. The open-air galleries on the upper floors catch cross-breezes that street level never sees. The panoramic view of Khon Kaen's flat green sprawl under monsoon clouds is worth the sweat stains. September falls during Phansa, the three-month Buddhist Lent retreat. The temple atmosphere changes noticeably. More monks in residence. More local families making merit in the mornings. Fewer tourist groups. Evening chanting sessions carry a resonance that emptier dry-season services lack. The ground-floor museum houses Isan folk art and regional artifacts. The cool interior is a welcome retreat from midday heat. Other temples worth visiting during Phansa include Wat Thung Setthi in the university district, where the white-and-gold ubosot sits in manicured grounds, and Wat Chai Si on the south side, a quieter compound where the only sound most mornings is monks sweeping leaves.

Phu Wiang National Park sits about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Khon Kaen city. Thai paleontologists unearthed Siam's first dinosaur fossils here in the 1970s. The park rests on a sandstone plateau. September is the park's greenest month. The dry scrubland transforms into dense tropical canopy. Waterfalls along the Huay Lam Sai trail run hard enough to hear from 200 m (650 ft) away. The trails are empty of school groups that crowd them in cooler months. The dinosaur excavation sites sit under permanent roofing. Rain does not affect the visit. Standing over the exposed femur of a Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae embedded in 130-million-year-old sandstone is a strange and specific thrill. Cicadas drill from every direction. The warm mineral smell of wet rock fills the air. The Phu Wiang Dinosaur Museum at the park entrance has well-presented exhibits. Visit before hiking to the dig sites. The drive from Khon Kaen passes through rice country. In September it looks like an endless green quilt stitched with raised earthen dykes.

Chonnabot district lies about 55 km (34 miles) south of Khon Kaen city. This is the heart of Isan's mud-mee silk tradition. Weavers bind threads with banana-leaf strips before dyeing them to create geometric patterns passed down for generations. September's low tourist count means the weaving houses along the main village road are unhurried. The weavers, mostly women working on wooden floor looms under their stilted houses, are more likely to stop and demonstrate the process than during busy cool-season months. The clack of the shuttle through the loom. The earthy sweetness of indigo dye vats. The feel of raw silk thread between your fingers. This is as close to living craft as Isan gets. The village cooperative sells finished fabrics and scarves directly. Watching the full process from cocoon to cloth takes an absorbing couple of hours. September's overcast skies help. The weavers work under their houses for shade. The soft grey light makes for better textile photography than harsh midday sun.

Khon Kaen's after-dark energy centers around the university district and the streets south of Bueng Kaen Nakhon. The sound that defines it is mor lam. This is the call-and-response vocal style of Isan, driven by khaen reed organ and phin lute, with rhythms that pull from Lao folk tradition and modern Thai pop in equal measure. In September the open-air concert stages sometimes move under cover due to rain. The music gets louder to compensate. The atmosphere in a packed mor lam venue is raw. Sticky floors. Colored lights. Tables crowded with Isan whisky bottles and som tam plates. The bass rattles your sternum. This is as far from a sanitized tourist show as live music gets in Thailand. The area around Khon Kaen University also has live-music bars and cafe-bars where local bands play luktung and indie Thai rock. September being low season means these places skew heavily local. This is either the appeal or the challenge. Your comfort with Thai-language environments decides. The night market at Ton Tann runs into the late evening and doubles as a social gathering point. Families eat grilled meats on mats by the lake while music drifts from portable speakers.