Isaan pronounced E-saan (is also written as Isan, Isarn, Issan, or Esarn) is the northeast region of Thailand. It is located on the Korat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River (along the border with Laos) to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi Mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat). The west is separated from Northern and Central Thailand by the Phetchabun mountain range. The Isaan region, is often overlooked by visitors to Thailand, however, Isaan is a multicultural region where Laos, Cambodia and Thailand meet, and has a rich history.

There are 19 provinces in the Isaan Region of Thailand. The relative isolation and underdevelopment of the area means that Isaan is one of the poorest regions of Thailand.

The Isaan region of Thailand covers an area of 160,000 square kilometers making it just under the size of Cambodia and four times the size of Switzerland. It is roughly coterminous with the Korat Plateau, which tilts from the Phetchabun mountain range in the west of the region down towards the Mekong River. The plateau consists of two main plains. The southern Korat plain drained by the Mun and Chi rivers, while the northern Sakon Nakhon plain is drained by the Loei and Songkhram rivers. The two plains are separated by the Phu Phan Mountains. The soil is mostly sandy, with substantial salt deposits.

The Mekong River forms a large part of the border between Thailand and Laos to the north and east of Isaan, the south of the region borders on Cambodia. The Mekong's main Thai tributary is the Mun River, which rises in the Khao Yai National Park near Korat running east, joining the Mekong in Ubon Ratchathani Province. The other main river in Isaan is the Chi River, which flows through central Isaan before turning south to meet the Mun River in Sisaket Province. The smaller Loei and Songkhram rivers are also tributaries of the Mekong. The former flowing north through Loei province and the latter flowing east through Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom and Nong Khai Provinces.

Agriculture is the largest sector of the economy, generating around 22 percent of the Gross Regional input (compared to 8.5 percent for Thailand as a whole). Sticky rice, the staple food of the region, the main agricultural crop (accounting for about 60 percent of the cultivated land). It thrives in the poorly drained paddy fields, and where fields can be flooded from nearby streams, rivers and ponds, often two harvests are possible each year. Farmers are increasingly diversifying into cash crops such as sugar cane and cassava (manioc) which are cultivated on a vast scale, and to a lesser extent, rubber.

The long, narrow fertile province of Nong Khai Province which stretches along the Mekong River is also noted for the production of pineapples, tobacco (which is dried, cured and shredded by the families before collection by the cigarette manufacturers) and tomatoes which are grown on an industrial scale, particularly around the town of Sri Chiang Mai.

Isaan is also the main centre for the production of Thai silk. The trade received a major boost in the post war years, when Jim Thompson popularized Thai silk among westerners. One of the best known types of Isaan silk is mut-mee, which is tie-dyed, to produce geometric patterns on the thread.

Isaan food is distinct from Thai and Lao cuisines, but has elements in common with each. The most obvious characteristics are the use of sticky rice that accompanies almost every meal rather than plain rice, as well as fiery chilies. Popular dishes include tam mak hung, or in central Thai, som tam (papaya salad), larb (meat salad) and gai yang (grilled chicken). These have all spread to other parts of Thailand, but normally in versions which temper the extreme heat and sourness favored in Isaan for the more moderate Central Thai palate.

Central Thai food has become popular in Isaan, but the French and Vietnamese influences which have affected Lao cuisine are absent. The people of the Isaan region famously eat a wide variety of creatures, such as lizards, frogs and fried insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, silkworms and dung beetles. Originally forced by poverty to be creative in finding foods, Isaan people now savor these animals as delicacies or snacks. Food is commonly eaten by hand using the sticky rice pressed into a ball with the fingers as a tool. Soups are a frequent element of any meal and contain vegetables and herbs, noodles, chunks of fish, balls of ground pork or a mixture of these. They are eaten using a spoon and chopsticks at the same time.

The Isaan region has a number of important Bronze Age sites, with cliff paintings, artifacts and early evidence of rice cultivation. Iron and bronze tools, such as found at Ban Chiang, may predate similar tools from Mesopotamia. The region later came under the influence first of the Dvaravati culture and then of the Khmer empire, which left temples at Phimai and Phanom Rung.

After the Khmer empire began to decline from the 13th century, Isaan was dominated by the Lao Lan Xang kingdom that had been established by Fa Ngum. Thereafter the region was increasingly settled by Lao and Thai migrants. Siam held sway from the 17th century, and carried out forced population transfers from Laos to Isaan in the 18th and 19th centuries. Franco-Siamese treaties of 1893 and 1904 made Isaan the frontier between Siam and French Indochina.

In the 20th century a policy of Thaification promoted the incorporation of Isaan as an integral part of Thailand and de-emphasized the Lao origins of the population. This policy extended to the use of the name Isaan itself, the name is derived from that of Isana (Sanskrit), a manifestation of Shiva as deity of the northeast, and the Sanskrit word for northeast.

The name therefore reinforces the regions identity as the northeast of Thailand, rather than as a part of the Lao world. Before the central government forcibly introduced the Thai alphabet and language in schools, the people of Isaan wrote in the Lao alphabet. Most Isaan people still speak the Isaan language which is closely related to the Lao language.

Most Isaan people are of Lao origin, although the distinction between the Lao and Thai ethnicities is often blurred. Although there are certain physical features which are more prominent in the Lao, the distinction is primarily one of culture and language. The main language of the region is Isaan (which is basically a dialect of Lao). Standard Thai is spoken by almost everyone and Khmer, the language of Cambodia is spoken in the southeast. The number of speakers of Isaan has been estimated at between 15 million and 22 million, the majority of these being in Isaan. The Korat dialect, is spoken by around 400,000 people, occupies a linguistic position somewhere between Isaan and standard Thai language.

The people of Isaan celebrate many traditional festivals, such as the Bun Bungfai Rocket Festival. The fertility rite, originating in pre Buddhist times, is celebrated in a number of locations both in Isaan and in Laos, but most vigorously and most famously in Yasothon province. Other Isaan festivals are the Candle Festival, which marks the start of vassa in July in Ubon and other locations. The Silk Festival in Khon Kaen, which promotes local handicrafts. The Elephant Round up in Surin, and the bangfai phayanak or Naga fireballs of Nong Khai.

The Buddhist temple (Wat) is the major feature of most villages. These temples are used not only for religious ceremonies, but also for festivals, particularly mor lam, and as assembly halls. They are mostly built in the Lao style, with less ornamentation than in Central Thailand. Lao style Buddha images is also prevalent.

Isaan's culture is predominantly Lao, and has much in common with that of the neighboring country. This affinity is shown in the regions cuisine, dress, temple architecture, festivals and arts.

Prominent aspects of the Isaan culture include the indigenous form of folk music, called (mor lam), Muay Thai (Kick Boxing), Cock fighting, and celebratory processions. Isaan food, in which sticky rice (Khao niao) and chilies are prominent, is sufficiently distinct from Thai cuisine that it is considered unique. Sticky rice is a staple diet of Thai Northeastern cuisine, and accompanies meals frequently.

The cultural separation from Central Thailand, combined with the regions poverty and the typically dark skin of its people, has encouraged a considerable amount of discrimination against the people of Isaan from non-ethnic Thais of Chinese descent. Even though many Isaan people now work in the cities rather than in the fields, many hold lower status jobs such as construction workers and stall vendors and tuk-tuk taxi drivers, discriminatory attitudes have been known persist with many Thai-Chinese inhabitants. Nevertheless, Isaan food and music have both been enthusiastically adopted and adapted to the tastes of the rest of the country.

The process of Thaification has diluted somewhat the distinctive character of Isaan culture, particularly in the cities and in provinces, such as Korat, which are closest to the Central Thai heartlands and which have been under Thai rule the longest.

There are airports at Korat (no scheduled services due to its proximity to Bangkok), Khon Kaen (international), Ubon Ratchathani (domestic), Udon Thani (international), Nakhon Phanom (domestic, scheduled services), Sakon Nakhon (domestic, scheduled services), Roi Et (domestic, scheduled services) and Buriram (domestic, scheduled services).

Domestic air travel between the capital and the region is well developed, particularly since 2002, and has become a viable alternative to rail services, bus travel and self driving. Air fares are cheap and Udon Thani and Khon Kaen, opened brand new airport terminals in 2005 and 2006 respectively, both are served by many daily flights, and also have routes connecting other major destinations in Thailand. The majority of domestic flights to and from Bangkok are currently (2008) operated out of Don Muang, the original Bangkok international airport.

The State Railway of Thailand has two lines in Isaan, both connecting the region to Bangkok. One runs east from Korat, through Surin to Ubon Ratchathani, the other runs north through Khon Kaen and Udon Thani to Nong Khai. There is also 15,000 kilometers of highway, centered on the Thanon Mitraphap (Friendship Highway) built by the United States to supply its military bases in the 1960s and 1970s. A road bridge (the Saphan Mitraphap or Friendship Bridge) jointly built by the Australian, Laos and Thai governments forms the border crossing over the Mekong River on the outskirts of Nong Khai to Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

Buses provide the mass transport throughout the region. All province cities are connected to Bangkok by daily and nightly, direct air conditioned bus routes. All district amphoe towns operate at least one similar nightly route to and from Bangkok. All towns and villages are interconnected with frequent services of songthaews, a covered pick up truck, with bench seats in the cargo bed.

There is little traffic using the Mekong River, as rapids and the variable flow make navigation difficult. Bridges are rare because of the high cost of spanning the wide river, but there are a great many passenger and vehicle ferries. The Second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge spanning the Mekong River between the cities of Mukdahan (Thailand) and Savannakhet (Laos) was completed and officially opened for traffic on December 20, 2006. There are also passenger and vehicle ferries operating across some of the large reservoirs.

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