The West comes knocking on the Northeast's door, and somehow this little city remains gentle and quiet

Visitors have long arrived in Khon Kaen keen to treat their tastebuds to somtam, kai yang and other Isaan classics. These days they're just as likely to be tempted by some German bratwurst or pizza in a growing city that's building its own share of chic cafes.

Yes, the West has found the province and made it farang-friendly, right down to the latest trends.

"There were very few foreigners," Gerry Kaye says of the day he arrived six years ago to teach at Khon Kaen Vithes Suksa Bilingual School.

He, for one, yearned for a decent cup of coffee, so after four years of doing without, he and his Thai wife and a friend opened the Kiwi Cafe next to Kaennakorn Lake.

A decade ago a tiny smattering of restaurants, hotels and nightclubs did their best to keep 10,000 tourists a year happy. The "tourists" were mostly salesmen, so they were easily amused. If they found any foreign food, it was Vietnamese or Chinese.

But once the first Friendship Bridge opened in nearby Nong Khai in 1994 and several countries established consular offices, things started to change.

Another factor was the boom in koey farang - the "Western sons-in-law" marrying local women and settling down here.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand counted 10,513 foreign guests in town in 2002, but says there were 80,756 in the first three-quarters of this year alone, the koey farang being counted among them, even though they live here.

The demographic shift means that central Muang district now has every conceivable convenience, much to the delight of foreigners and most Thais, but there is less to offer in terms of authenticity.

It's the influx of koey farang that's caused the greatest changes. There were enough of them five years ago that Lexens (Thailand) Co Ltd was founded in Khon Kaen to help non-Thai residents and companies figure things out.

Now, as well as dining at Western restaurants or at a sushi bar, the citizens of Khon Kaen can stock up on imported ingredients at Makro, Tesco Lotus, Tops and Big C.

"When I was a young girl, meeting a farang was exciting," says 34-year-old Benjamaporn Chamkrom, a lifelong resident who runs a pet salon where many of her customers are foreigners.

The koey farang are indeed good for business. Spurred on by the lower cost of living, they rent more cars, buy bigger houses and condos and, when out on the town, spend lavishly.

"They live like rajas here because their money is worth so much more than ours," says one Thai resident, asking not to be named. A decent meal can be had for Bt100, and even the hotel restaurants don't charge much more.

Khon Kaen Chamber of Commerce chairman Surapol Thaveesangsakulthai says it's been estimated that 15,000 Westerners live in the Northeast, though only 20 per cent of those in the city are permanent residents. The rest come to enjoy the warmer winters.

Surapol reckons that every family that has a koey farang spends at least Bt100,000 a month during the holiday season on food, travel and personal items, with the largesse being shared among the extended clan.

Sofitel Raja Orchid Khon Kaen general manager Marc Begassat is unimpressed. The Westerners have Thai wives, he points out with amusement. "Why would they stay in my hotel?"

Despite urban growth, the provincial charms here continue to be a draw, and for the most part the foreigners are eager to keep things quiet and small.

Johan Schumacher, a German retiree, lived in Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya before retreating from their hectic pace and settling with a Thai wife in Khon Kaen five years ago. He prefers this "small town" with its warm-hearted people who maintain a more countrified lifestyle and attitude.

"I can still keep in touch with my friends and family the other side of the world - the Internet is everywhere," he says.

Tommi Lehtonen, a Finn, scouted Kanchanaburi and Bangkok last year before falling in love with Khon Kaen. Here he found his future wife and opened the modest Pizza Uno in a small soi.

The relaxed quality of life is a sharp contrast to his homeland, Lehtonen says.

"You have a lot more money in Finland, but a much lower quality of life," he explains, looking forward to another evening bowling and enjoying "nice food among nice people".

"Khon Kaen is the real Thailand - nice people and nice food," agrees Kaye, whose only complaint is that there's no taxi service in town.

"Chiang Mai is too touristy, while Bangkok is too westernised."

Will Khon Kaen hang on to its charm when there are more tourists and koey farang arriving all the time?

"It'll change a lot again in the next few years," Kaye says.