Isan is the northeastern region of Thailand. When people come to Thailand they usually visit south for the islands, beaches and scuba diving or north for jungle, hills and peaceful environment. Isan is left untouched by tourism. It got me interested why and because I was heading to Bangkok from South of Laos, I decided to make a couple of stops on the way. 
During my stay in Ubon, I walked around the city a bit to capture the feeling and made a visit to Ubon Ratchathani National Museum. It is about the same-named province and its history from the very beginning of human settlement. Unfortunately, it was under the renovation while my time there, so half of the rooms were under construction and half of the exhibits missing. I did not pay the admission fee (100 TBH = 2.5 € for foreigners) since there was no-one behind the desk. I spent about 20 minutes in the museum, so paying 100 TBH would not have been worth it actually. 
Next to the museum lays the City Park (Thuang Si Muang). There is a monument and a temple in the middle of the park to check out. The park itself is a nice place to visit during the daytime. It is also used for the locals for jogging and it hosts a free outdoor gym. Besides that, I did not find anything else to do in the city and moved on after 2 nights.
Since it was a bit further away from the city centre it influenced my stay and feeling about Surin in general. There were not many places around my hotel to go for a meal for example. I was walking around a lot since I could not figure out the public transportation system. And everyone is driving a car or a bike anyways. 
Phanom Rung temples from Hindu Khmer era are not too far from Surin. The temple complex is situated on the rim of an extinct volcano at 402 m elevation. I made a plan to visit the temple by a scooter. So the next day I set out to find a motorbike rental agency. I noticed some places on MAPS.ME which I checked out but there was actually nothing there. I walked to the centre to Motorbikes Shop & Rental. They had an option to rent one but since it was Saturday they were closing at 5 pm and not opening the shop next day. It was already 1 pm by that time and Phanom Rung was 100 km away, so I did not have time any more actually. Failure from my side, since I had started my day really late. When I arrived back at Jarat Mansion I noticed that they actually also rent scooters. So total failure from my side! I decided to give it another try the next day.
I took a bus early in the morning to Nang Rong, where I arrived at 11 am. I had made my previous research and knew that there are two places to rent a scooter from. My plan was to spend half a day visiting the temples and take a bus to Bangkok in the evening. The most popular place for rental scooters is Honey Inn. I walked there from the bus station to find no-one there. I called the owner but he said he is out of the town and it was not possible to rent a scooter. I walked to the other place on the other side of the town – P. California Inter Hostel. After some waiting, somebody who couldn’t speak English turned up. She called the owner who said that all of the motorbikes were already rented out for the day. It was a bit strange though since the place seemed to be pretty empty. I decided to walk around a bit more and ask some motorbike shops for rental options which they did not have. It was time to acknowledge myself defeated. So I just went back to the bus station and got on a bus to Bangkok.
Ubon Ratchathani
It is possible to get a straight bus from Laos, Pakse to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. The bus station in Ubon is a bit further away from the city centre and the hostel I had booked previously. I did not fancy taking a taxi (even though they are ridiculously cheap in Thailand) and wanted to take a public bus instead. I decided to walk a bit and find the next bus stop on the way. After a few kilometres, I didn’t seem to find one, so I wanted to hail a taxi. Instead, a local guy with a motorbike stopped and asked me where I was going. I showed him, he took me on the back of his bike and dropped me off close to my hostel. So, on my first day in Thailand and this region, I already came across wholehearted kindness on locals. I stayed in a hostel really close to the main river which flows through the city (Mun River). The riverfront seems to be one of the main places for the locals to gather in the evenings. Young couples come there to sit down during the sunset and enjoy their time in some privacy. Just next to where the river meets the main bridge is located Ubon Ratchathani Municipal Food Market. It is open in the mornings and it a good place to get your breakfast from. Almost no-one speaks English, so it might be more difficult if you would like to ask about something or order something that is not on a picture/menu. There is a different market that emerges in the evenings. Just a couple of blocks away from the river is located Thung Sri Muang Night Market, which is open from 5 to 10 pm. It is smaller than the morning market but has a nice variety of local dishes. Everything is written in Thai so ordering goes through showing the food you want on the picture. Unless you speak Thai of course. The riverside is also home for the few bars in Ubon Ratchathani. I was walking around in the city to find a place to watch the World Cup without finding anything for half an hour. The city goes to sleep early in the evening. I finally found the bars next to the river a few hundred metres east from the bridge. During my stay in Ubon, I walked around the city a bit to capture the feeling and made a visit to Ubon Ratchathani National Museum. It is about the same-named province and its history from the very beginning of human settlement. Unfortunately, it was under the renovation while my time there, so half of the rooms were under construction and half of the exhibits missing. I did not pay the admission fee (100 TBH = 2.5 € for foreigners) since there was no-one behind the desk. I spent about 20 minutes in the museum, so paying 100 TBH would not have been worth it actually. Next to the museum lays the City Park (Thuang Si Muang). There is a monument and a temple in the middle of the park to check out. The park itself is a nice place to visit during the daytime. It is also used for the locals for jogging and it hosts a free outdoor gym. Besides that, I did not find anything else to do in the city and moved on after 2 nights.Surin
The next province towards west after Ubon Ratchathani is Si Sa Ket Province which I decided to skip and headed to a city called Surin in Surin Province. The first challenge I encountered was to find a place to stay in. As it turns out, Surin does not have budget accommodation options. At least I could not find any online. I ended up booking a room in a hotel (Jarat Mansion) for 500 TBH (approx. 13 €) a night. The cheapest I could find but by far the nicest and most expensive place I have stayed at during my travels in South East Asia. Since it was a bit further away from the city centre it influenced my stay and feeling about Surin in general. There were not many places around my hotel to go for a meal for example. I was walking around a lot since I could not figure out the public transportation system. And everyone is driving a car or a bike anyways. Phanom Rung temples from Hindu Khmer era are not too far from Surin. The temple complex is situated on the rim of an extinct volcano at 402 m elevation. I made a plan to visit the temple by a scooter. So the next day I set out to find a motorbike rental agency. I noticed some places on MAPS.ME which I checked out but there was actually nothing there. I walked to the centre to Motorbikes Shop & Rental. They had an option to rent one but since it was Saturday they were closing at 5 pm and not opening the shop next day. It was already 1 pm by that time and Phanom Rung was 100 km away, so I did not have time any more actually. Failure from my side, since I had started my day really late. When I arrived back at Jarat Mansion I noticed that they actually also rent scooters. So total failure from my side! I decided to give it another try the next day.Nang Rong
The place that tourists usually choose for the base to discover Phanom Rung temples from is the town of Nang Rong in Buriram Province. It is just 25 km away from the Historical Park so it the closest place to stay at. I took a bus early in the morning to Nang Rong, where I arrived at 11 am. I had made my previous research and knew that there are two places to rent a scooter from. My plan was to spend half a day visiting the temples and take a bus to Bangkok in the evening. The most popular place for rental scooters is Honey Inn. I walked there from the bus station to find no-one there. I called the owner but he said he is out of the town and it was not possible to rent a scooter. I walked to the other place on the other side of the town – P. California Inter Hostel. After some waiting, somebody who couldn’t speak English turned up. She called the owner who said that all of the motorbikes were already rented out for the day. It was a bit strange though since the place seemed to be pretty empty. I decided to walk around a bit more and ask some motorbike shops for rental options which they did not have. It was time to acknowledge myself defeated. So I just went back to the bus station and got on a bus to Bangkok.