Best known for its hugely hyped elephant round-up every November, SURIN, 197km east of Khorat, is an otherwise typical northeastern town but makes a good base for Phanom Rung, is an excellent place to buy silk, and has a fine guesthouse. Surin’s only official sight is its museum (Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm; free), a tiny one-room exhibition on Thanon Chitramboong featuring stacks of carvings and, more interestingly, several sacred elephant ropes formerly used by the local Suay. The best place to buy Surin’s famous silk weave is from the women who sell their cloth around the Tannasarn-Krungsrinai intersection. Otherwise try the shop opposite the Ubon Hotel on Thanon Tannasarn, the Ruen Mai Silk Shop on Thanon Chitramboong, or Netcraft next to Phetkasem Hotel.