Location
In the midst of the rice fields of rural northeastern Thailand, you find E-San Banhao Farm. This attraction is located in Udon Thani province, near the border of Sakon Nakhon about 80 kilometers northeast of Udon Thani city. It is set up to educate of traditional Thai life.
Entrance
When you enter, you will find a large dirt parking lot with a walled entrance. Before you can enter, you pay an entrance fee at a table. They take both cash and Thai bank transfer. We paid 100 for adults and discounted prices for the different ages of our kids. Once you have your tickets, you can use hats and umbrellas that they have available for use throughout your stay.
Overview
Once you walk in, you will see several paths and roads with buildings dotted around the landscape. We followed a path that led us to a river where water buffalo were eating and bathing.
While walking around, you can see the various styles of houses found in traditional Thai life, and you can even climb ladders to get into some of the homes.
There is also an observation tower you can enter and go up six floors to see the layout of the farm and the scenery beyond. Please note that the stairs going up the observation tower are very steep and narrow so climb carefully.
As you are looking around the farm, you will see oxen pulling carts. This is one of the activities you can try while being on the farm. Only a few people fit in each cart, so we had to split our family in two and take two carts. The oxen will pull you along the perimeter of the farm, so that you are able to see the whole attraction!
There are other animals to see around the farm too. Next to the entrance, you will find horses in pens. You can pet the horses.
There are many cows to spot wandering around the grounds as well!
The water buffalo are around, and you may even see an albino water buffalo!
Not only can you ride the ox-cart, but there are several other activities to be done on the farm! Activities are independently done, there will not be anyone there to help you or tell you what you are allowed to do. However, if you have a problem, you can always find a worker to help.
Under one of the houses in the center of the farm, you will find supplies for weaving! You can try your hand at weaving cloth on a loom as well as see materials used for other steps in the weaving process. Next to the cloth loom, you can see a straw loom. Here you can try to add to a straw mat that is in the process of being made!
Under another house in the center of the farm, you may find rice, depending on the season that you visit. This was the most exciting activity for my children as saw the grain still on the plant left out to dry. I showed them where the rice pieces are located by opening up the husk. They tried to lift up the planting yoke with the rice bundles still attached, which is a traditional Thai method of carrying rice off the fields. And lastly, they tried thrashing the rice with the wooden sticks provided. It was a wonderful lesson on the whole rice harvesting process.
Food
After taking a walk around and taking a cart ride, it is time for a meal! The restaurant (signs in Thai call it a cafe) has tables under several houses and inside one small air-conditioned building. Each table has a number on it. On the back of the number there are three buttons you can press to receive service. The waitress brought out Thai paper menus and later brought out a colored picture menu with English. There are a variety of dishes, many of which are popular and originate in the Isaan area. Prices are moderate for the area. Examples of prices: fried rice (khao pad gai) for about 85 baht; sticky rice(khao neow) for about 15 baht; coconut smoothie (mapraw pan) for about 75 baht. The food was excellent.
Language Concern
E-San Banhao has such a chill atmosphere and is a great place to explore and interact with Isaan culture past and present. The only concern is the lack of English available. If you do not speak Thai, you will need to use google translate and lots of hand gesturing. However, I believe it is still worth a visit. It is a perfect off the beaten path attraction in Isaan with kids.
