Kalasin is an easy-going city set on the Bao River and surrounded by lush rice paddies and watermelon crops. Traveller-friendly cafes, restaurants and hotels make Kalasin a great stopover if you’re heading to Vientiane in Laos. Relax in the lakeside park and visit a museum dedicated to dinosaur fossils found in the area.
Things to do in Kalasin
Escape the traffic in Kud Nam Kin Public Park. Built around a picturesque lake, it’s a great place to stretch your legs and use the outdoor gym. Cafes and restaurants line the park and serve local specialties from Northern Thailand. Order crunchy raw vegetables served with “naam phrik ong” chilli dip and “miang kham” green betel leaves stuffed with crushed peanuts, shallots, shredded coconut, ginger and lime.
Visit Wat Klang, a beautiful Buddhist temple decorated with colourful sculptures. Walk through the elaborate stucco gate and into the serene temple grounds. The main hall features intricate Thai inscriptions and a scale replica of Buddha’s footprint.
Learn about the province’s ancient past at the Sirindhorn Museum. Located on a nearby archaeological site, it’s one of the largest dinosaur museums in Southeast Asia and showcases an incredible collection of fossils. A near-complete skeleton of a Phuwiangosaurus from the Early Cretaceous Period is the showpiece.
Kalasin is surrounded by fertile farmland and grows produce sold across Thailand. Bite into slices of hot-pink watermelon and devour plates of “khao niaw” sticky rice served with “khao soi” coconut milk curry. Wash it all down with a glass of fresh-pressed sugar cane juice from a roadside stand.
Getting around Kalasin
Parts of Kalasin are pedestrian-friendly and easy to get around on foot, while taxis and tuk-tuks are a fast and affordable way to cover longer distances. Kalasin is in Northeastern Thailand, a two-hour drive from Khon Kaen and seven hours from Bangkok. Vientiane in Laos is a four-hour drive away.