Chonabot is most well known for its Mudmee silk and cotton that is produced locally. Mudmee is the process of tie-dyeing the threads before weaving it into fabric. Most fabric is produced from local residence homes, so the best way to see the production of Mudmee fabric is to drive around the village looking for looms in local yards. Most of the people weaving fabric would be more than happy to show a visitor the weaving process (and try to sell the fruits of their labor). There is also a local handcraft center (Suun Silapahattakam Pheun Baan) on route 229 10 located kilometers West from highway 2/Ban Phai. The center displays and sells a wide variety of handcrafted items from the region and is open from 09:00 am to 06:00 pm daily.

A word of caution: Very little English is spoken in Chonabot so if you do not speak Thai you may want to bring along a translator.

     

Getting there:

Travel South on highway 2 from Khon Kaen city for 37 kilometers to the village of Ban Phai. Turn right onto route 229 and travel West until you reach the village of Chonabot. Suun Silapahattakam Pheun Baan handcraft center is located just West of the village of Chonabot (route 229). If you are feeling adventurous and want to make a day trip, Prasat Pueay Noi is located about 1 hour East of Chonabot and is an interesting 12th century Khmer temple ruin site.