ISAAN: The Big Quiet Country

Nestled far from the neon of Bangkok and the beaches of the south, Isaan – Thailand's vast Northeastern plateau – remains the kingdom's big quiet country. For over twelve years, Max Nabati returned again and again to its dusty backroads, golden rice fields, and remote villages, slowly piecing together a portrait of a region that most tourists only glimpse from a bus window. This is not another checklist guide. ISAAN: The Big Quiet Country is a deeply personal pilgrimage told through late-night conversations around charcoal fires, thunderous rocket festivals that shake the red earth, the pounding of som tam in clay mortars, and the haunting wail of the khene drifting across moonlit paddies. Nabati slept on bamboo floors, launched homemade bang fai rockets, traced centuries-old silk patterns with village weavers, and listened to grandmothers correct his terrible Lao – experiences that reveal a proud, resilient culture built on generosity and quiet humour. From the majestic Khmer ruins of Phanom Rung and Phimai to the wild beauty of Phu Kradueng and Phu Hin Rong Kla national parks; from the fiery, fermented punch of pla ra cuisine to the explosive joy of Bun Bang Fai; from the mournful beauty of mor lam ballads to the unbreakable spirit of people who still tie sacred threads around a farang's wrist – this book is an intimate love letter to a part of Thailand that refuses to be rushed or reduced to clichés. Part travel narrative, part cultural celebration, ISAAN: The Big Quiet Country invites you to slow down, open your senses, and discover why so many who wander these roads keep coming back. For first-time visitors planning an off-the-beaten-path adventure or armchair travellers hungry for authentic storytelling, Max Nabati's vivid prose and hard-won insights finally give Thailand's forgotten heart the voice it deserves.