Korat

Minivans and buses from Mo Chit take 3–4 hours depending on traffic out of Bangkok (฿200–300, departures every 20–30 minutes). Trains from Krung Thep Aphiwat station take 4–5 hours through Khao Yai's scenery. There are also flights to Buriram and Khon Kaen, but for Korat itself the road is faster door to door.

Buses and minivans leave Korat's Terminal 2 for Phimai roughly every half hour (~1.5 hours, ฿60–80). The historical park sits in the middle of the small town, open 7am–6pm with a ฿100 foreigner ticket. Combine it with the Sai Ngam banyan grove 2 km east. Mid-November's Phimai Festival adds light shows and longboat races, so book Korat rooms ahead that week.

As Isan's junction city it's easy to blow through, but Phimai alone justifies a night, and the city adds real night markets, the Thao Suranaree shrine, and food that instantly explains Isan's culinary reputation. Two days covers the city, Phimai, and Dan Kwian without hurrying. It's also the natural first stop on any Isan loop toward Buriram, Khon Kaen, or Ubon.

Ya Mo, the heroine whose monument stands at the center of the city, the Khmer temples at Phimai 50 minutes away, Dan Kwian's rust-black pottery, the silk of Pak Thong Chai, and pad mee Korat, the local stir-fried noodles. It's also the gateway to Isan, the road and rail junction for the whole northeast.

Pad mee Korat, rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, dark soy sauce and palm sugar, drier and spicier than pad thai and with no peanuts. It's said to come from Phimai, and you'll find it at markets all over the province. Korat also eats the full Isan table: som tam, grilled chicken and sticky rice.

Yes. Nakhon Ratchasima is the largest city in northeastern Thailand and the country's third-largest metropolitan area, with about 466,000 people in its urban area. The province is the largest in Thailand by area.

Yes. Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base hosted US Air Force units, along with Thai and New Zealand squadrons, from 1962 to 1976 during the Vietnam War, and it's still a Royal Thai Air Force base today, so it isn't open to visitors.

Not practically. The park entrance is a 1.5–2-hour drive and the interior sights sprawl far beyond it, so a Korat base means four-plus hours of driving before any wildlife. I'd stay in Pak Chong or at the park-edge resorts instead and give Khao Yai its own night or two. Korat works better as the launch point for Phimai and the deeper northeast.