Surin

Surin

Quite why this, rather out of the way, provincial city has such a lively eating and drinking scene is a mystery to us! You can eat amongst other things: Issan food, Thai food, English breakfasts, Norwegian meatballs or German sausages before heading off to a karaoke, pub, nightclub or 'Coyote dancing' bar!?

Many of the bars and restaurants are grouped on the northern side of town near the bus station and Sirirath Rd, as indeed are many of the hotels. The car-park between said road and the bus station is home to a series of 'farang' run bar/restaurants: Farang Connection, directly opposite is the English/Thai run Sportsman Pub then almost next door the Norwegian/Thai owned Oasis Bar. The former is the largest, most organised bar with a very extensive selection of Western and Thai dishes. If you want a full English breakfast this is the place to go but it does lack the intimacy of the two smaller bars opposite. Farang Collection also have internet and rent motorbikes though a little expensively at 200 baht per day. (Best to check the moto thoroughly!) Sportsman Bar is particularly friendly and serves a range of European food and also Indian curries. Their Thai food is excellent and cheap.

Oasis also has a range of dishes on offer, including Norwegian specialties such as meat balls or Norwegian stew. We're not good judges of the latter cuisine but their Thai food is certainly good. All close between 10 and 1.00 a.m. depending upon customers and all are good places to meet the local expats and catch up on some info. Perhaps because the Surin expat community is a small one, they are generally particularly friendly and ready to help with tips and advice.

Next door to Oasis is a very good Thai restaurant -- Jamthong -- if you like your Thai food in more Thai surroundings. Also serving good Thai and some Western food -- still in the bus station area is the Majestic Restaurant, next to the hotel of the same name. Phetchkasem and Thong Tharin also have half decent eating places: the former you can eat poolside and the latter has a large beer garden with live bands.

The street behind Phetchkasem Hotel -- Sarin Nikomrut -- has a bit of a mini Chinatown thing going on with two pretty good Chinese restaurants side by side towards the Jitbamrung Rd. end of the street.

Another recommended Thai restaurant is Koka, situated opposite Phetchkasem Plaza on Tessaban 1 Street whilst another we liked, down in the southeast corner of town near Wat Chomton, is Lan Chang: classic Thai in a pleasant lakeside, garden setting.

Finally, before moving on, the bus station itself is completely surrounded by noodle and rice shops, some of which stay open fairly late into the evening.

Finally (again!?), for nightlife there's the aforementioned bars near the bus station plus you can check out the soi, known locally as Soi Coca, just down from Thong Tharin's beer garden. There you'll find a German bar/resto and some late night bars advertising 'Coyote Dancing'. Very tame by Pattaya or Bangkok standards but some of the always very thirsty coyotes can be ferocious! There's also the usual edge of town proliferation of 'karaoke bars' where again you'll need transport but the TAT map won't help!