Diary of a farang in Isaan

[Assurancetourix]

19 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You make the classic farang mistake of thinking that pavements are for people to walk on

 

In Europe, North, Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand, China (yes in China) and other countries .. a sidewalk is part of the road used for traffic pedestrian, separate from the roadway and from all parking spaces.

Obviously some rare countries (Thailand, Vietnam ...) think that a sidewalk is made to install tables and chairs or stuff for traveling food.
So the pedestrian does not exist, is that how I understand it?

If all the pedestrians in Thailand start walking in the street, I know quite a few who, behind the wheel of their very expensive or not automobile, will not be happy.

A sidewalk is a place where you trot, or walk and where we don't  ride neither with your bike nor with your motorcycle and or do not park your stinking automobile.

[bannork]

21 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

 

In Europe, North, Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand, China (yes in China) and other countries .. a sidewalk is part of the road used for traffic pedestrian, separate from the roadway and from all parking spaces.

Obviously some rare countries (Thailand, Vietnam ...) think that a sidewalk is made to install tables and chairs or stuff for traveling food.
So the pedestrian does not exist, is that how I understand it?

If all the pedestrians in Thailand start walking in the street, I know quite a few who, behind the wheel of their very expensive or not automobile, will not be happy.

A sidewalk is a place where you trot, or walk and where we don't  ride neither with your bike nor with your motorcycle and or do not park your stinking automobile.

I think thaibeachlovers was speaking tongue in cheek.

[varun]

This is what happens when you get entangled with a baan nok Isaan bumpkin.

Although, if it makes you happy, it shouldn't matter in the least what others say.

[Assurancetourix]

3 minutes ago, bannork said:

I think thaibeachlovers was speaking tongue in cheek.

 

Many here know that I am not a native Englishman;
so I had to go finding  the meaning of this expression.

It is possible that he wrote like that but without any smiley to make me understand it.
Smilies are very important on a forum; it gives an indication of what the member wants to write or respond to. 

[Assurancetourix]

We leave the highway which crosses the city and we sink into the jungle or the undergrowth.
You choose ;

 

I did not walk 200 meters as I came across many ruined buildings and vehicles; without forgetting of course the odds of the streets full of various detritus.

 

 

 

I hope somebody come to feed the dogs ..

 

 

 

 

 

[Assurancetourix]

Small selection, there are dozens of abandoned houses and vehicles;
and I'm only in a very small part of the city ...

 

 

 

 

[Sterling]

Whats with the abandoned houses and vehicles? Was there a flood in the recent past and everything was submerged?

[Assurancetourix]

7 minutes ago, Sterling said:

Whats with the abandoned houses and vehicles? Was there a flood in the recent past and everything was submerged?

 

At this place it is impossible;

 

we are at the top of Khon Kaen.

 

We should ask the Thai people who are registered on this forum what are the reasons which push the Thai people to abandon sometimes expensive houses and vehicles without going back.
Yinn, POTY 2019 should, if she has the answers, come and give them to us;

 

Living in this country for many years, I noticed that the Thai people have no sense of the value of the goods, whatever they are.
They are looking to sell a land that is in the middle of nowhere, with no road to get there, no electricity less than a km away, no wells ... but it does not bother them to ask crazy amounts for a rai ( 1,600 m2 ) ..
Obviously nobody pounces on it ...
Same with second-hand vehicles;
it is not uncommon to see a pickup or sedan that is 15 years old sold almost at new price.
no one will buy it ...
I guess the houses for sale in this residential area that is becoming a no man's land with hordes of abandoned dogs are way too expensive;
and as in addition they have never been maintained, an unknown word in the Thai dictionary ...

It does not help.

[Assurancetourix]

Good morning all,
  I do not know where Owl is but to maintain his post on the first page I will continue to feed him ..

Last night a big thunderstorm with a huge gale over Sawang Daen Din and the surrounding villages.

In mine , a few trees felt on the road and two roofs flew away as well as the cable (fiber) which brings me internet.
It ( the fiber not the roofs ) was repaired at 2 p.m. when I came back from my long bike ride (80 km).

 

 

 

[Assurancetourix]

At the exit of Sawang Daen Din, road 22 going to Udon Thani , a semi-trailer carrying unburned sugar cane lay down on the side of the road

 

 

 

[Odysseus123]

Excellent photos...

 

Keep 'em coming.

[Sterling]

@Assurancetourix Until Owl gets his PC sorted out, can you share some about your bike riding? Are you using a bicycle or motorbike? If its a bicycle, did you buy it there in Thailand or bring it in from your home country? Thanks

[Odysseus123]

Yes,it's not like Old Owl to be away for so long-perhaps he has had to resort to papyrus and a quill pen for the time being.

But *Asterix* is certainly still going strong..

 

The local temple festival-bags of fun..

 

[Kadilo]

Can’t wait to get back. 

[faraday]

17°C 'feels like 16°C' here in snowy Udon.

 

Lots of wind last night, thought we were gonna get a storm, but sadly, nope.

 

Just spilt a full cup of coffee on the sofa. Smashing!

 

[Assurancetourix]

5 hours ago, Sterling said:

Until Owl gets his PC sorted out, can you share some about your bike riding? Are you using a bicycle or motorbike? If its a bicycle, did you buy it there in Thailand or bring it in from your home country? Thanks

Hi Sterling ,

 

Nearly all my "bike" riding are made on a Wheeler MTBike ( a bicycle ) ;

I bought it in Pattaya in 2010 or 2011;

before that date it was also on a bicycle but it was a road bike made in France by mister Daniel Salmon 

 

https://www.ouest-france.fr/bretagne/cotes-d-armor/roi-du-velo-daniel-salmon-est-decede-4778051

 

Road bike with which I did some nices cycling touring event such as la " Francilienne ",  la" Louison Bobet " , la " Bernard Hinault " and " Bordeaux- Paris ";

Bordeaux Paris ; the finish isn't in Paris but in Fontenay sous Bois near Paris ; 628 km in 26 h and 3 minutes 

 

my late Salmon road bike; shot not far from Nan ; I was coming back from Bo Kluea ( the village of salt )

 

[Assurancetourix]

My Wheeler Pro 10 has now an Orbea frame ( made in Spain ! ) ;

 

In 9 or 10 years I have covered almost 150,000 km all over Thailand.
I think I know almost all the roads in bitumen, cement and red earth ( laterite ) in a wide radius of about 40/50 km around my village in Isaan.
I went with French and Thai friends many times in the northern provinces of Thailand, where there are mountains and high percentages and also magnificent landscapes and minorities that we discover at the bottom of mysterious valleys .. which can only be discovered on the handlebars of an MTBike or enduro motorcycle .

 

Sometimes it reminds me of the paths, yes of the dirt and stone paths and fording rivers that I used to drive my 70 tonnes (sometimes even 120 tonnes when I changed my tractor) when I did what we call "the collection" of ceramic lots in the provinces of Sassuollo and Modena in Italy;

( when my semi-trailer was full, I had the load of 4 normal semi-trailers! )
I went to get the ceramic palettes in factories that sometimes were at the bottom of the <deleted> of the world so that my colleagues who made them international between France and Italy do not waste time for that, nor for customs documents which were established before they arrived at the depot of my boss, French boss established in Fiorano Modenese, commune which touches Maranello where the Ferraris are made.
But all of this takes us a bit away from my mountain biking trips in Thailand 

 

When my MTBike was a Wheeler Pro 10 

 

[Assurancetourix]

Are we going to have to organize a "go fund me" to buy a new computer at Owl?

So that his post does not go too far into the depths of the forum, I and I hope other members, will keep it afloat ...

 

Can we continue to travel to Thailand?

I don't think so, unless you are somewhat suicidal; the official figures are certainly very far from reality;
In the headlines of all the newspapers around the world
a few thousand infections and a hundred deaths ... while the flu kills half a million people every year in general indifference ...

 

By cons we can continue to travel in Thailand and therefore go to infect with joy and happiness our neighbors in other provinces ... I write this, take it as a joke ...
In any case, the traffic on route 22 which connects Udon Thani to Nakon Phanom does not weaken ...

 

This morning during my little MTBike balade ( 29 km ) 

 

 

[Assurancetourix]

Beautiful wheather but cold ; 16*C this morning ;

for me and for my dogs  it's cold  ..

 

A little balade this morning on my MTBike ( 41 km ) on red and concrete roads 

 

 

On the side of the road, the price for buying raw rubber : 16 baht for one kg ;

When you know the number of hours spent in the plantations as well as the products purchased so that the sap hardens and is salable; diesel for the Kubota tiller ...
I wonder if at this price producers make money?

 

 

 

A typical country house in Isaan

 

 

And a nice, beautiful  new one in the suburbs of Sawang

 

 

 

 

 

[Assurancetourix]

Owl, where are you ?

 

Today, nice sun and blue sky ( as usual ) ;

48 km on asphalt and red roads ...

 

We will have a beautiful 4 lanes ( road 22 ) ...

Thai people will soon be able to kill each other in joy on this new road ...

 

 

I like ( love ) to cycle on red roads ...

 

 

 

Water reserves are very low

 

 

 

 

[Assurancetourix]

Yesterday , sunday 2  february 2020 ;

 

It has been a long time since I went to put my MTBike wheels in Phupalek National Park ..

 

 

A big reservoir for Song Dao , but water is low ..

 

 

Another reservoir in the middle of nowhere ; In normal years, where I am to photograph there is water, but this year is special.

 

 

 

 

It is an artificial lake just below Wat Tham Pouang which is at the top of the "mountain";
this summit is at 622 meters.

 

[Assurancetourix]

I'm very happy;

owl is back with us again ;

so you can continue to post on your line ....

Hope you are glad that your line has not disappeared far at the bottom of the forum ...
You will be able to distract us again with your life in Isaan;
I hope that one day we will have the opportunity to meet and drink what you want but I will stay with water or fruit juice because I do not drink alcohol.

 

The day before yesterday and yesterday I went to drive around my house to let people know which pleasant places to a French friend who was in the area for a few days.
He is leaving for Bangkok today.

 

Wat Santi Wanaram, not far from ban Chiang in Udon Thani province 

 

 

There is a pond with one or two crocodile(s)

 

 

Safety first , as usual in Thailand ;

two shots I did yesterday in Sawang Daen Din downtown;

I was in a sedan , windscreen a little bit dirty 

 

 

And a farang I see sometimes ; I never met him ; he has only one arm and never wear an helmet 

 

 

 

 

 

[Assurancetourix]

Yesterday we went to Prasat Khom , an ancient Khmer castle which is at about 12 km from Sawang .

To go there, take road 22 to Sakon Nakhon ;

it's on the right side of the road in a ricefield about 500 meters from the main road .

Yesterday there were a thai fiesta ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[owl sees all]

Hi guys and gals. 

 

Thanks for keeping the thread alive while I sort out my internet probably. 

 

Some bad news I'm afraid. We released the ducks into a pond and the next day a pack of dogs harassed them and two were killed.

 

Charkie, our cat,  has delivered two lovely kittens. That's really good news, especially after the duck sadness. 

 

The big hole in the road has been fixed,  and looks a great job.

 

Have decided to plant 12,000 yuks trees in number one farm. 

 

Milly hurt her foot playing football and is hobbling around.

 

Went to the market yesterday and bought some shorts. Only 50 baht each.  Let's hope they fit. 

 

Big rumours locally about Cham Chanod. The coach-loads of Chinese keep coming, but they are staying and not going back to China. Maybe they are feeling safer over here. 

 

No pics for the present.  Going into Udon soon to get a new laptop. The computer people in the Cockpit place just (after a month) called and informed me my laptop in for repair was not fixable.

 

Bye y'all. 

[FarFlungFalang]

On 1/23/2020 at 7:06 AM, Assurancetourix said:

We should ask the Thai people who are registered on this forum what are the reasons which push the Thai people to abandon sometimes expensive houses and vehicles without going back.

Ghosts!Thais don't like second hand buildings because of ghosts I came across this looking at properties and my wife told me ghosts!We may laugh but there you go,that and as you said they often ask ridiculous prices. 

[Assurancetourix]

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

Big rumours locally about Cham Chanod.

So you are not living far from my village ;

I went many times to Wat Kham Chanod ...

 

The first time I went there, they were building the long snake and the big Bouddha ( april 2006 )

 

 

 

[owl sees all]

2 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

So you are not living far from my village ;

I went many times to Wat Kham Chanod ...

 

The first time I went there, they were building the long snake and the big Bouddha ( april 2006 )

 

 

 

That's the first time I have seen any pics of the older kham Chanod. Thanks for that.

 

There have been a couple of films about the place. It seems that it has a very dark side; 300, mostly women and children, slaughtered a while back. Ghosts of Kham Chanod.

 

The pritiest girl I've ever seen in Thailand was in Sawang Dan Ding. She came over to me and whispered in my ear; we have a fresh dog delivery. Would you like a stew take-a-way?

 

Another thing springs to mind; the Tesco on the main drag had a small restaurant. At each table there were nibbles. A little dish of spring onions and another of garlic. Just can't get enough of those before a hot bowl of dog soup.

 

Been a bit under the weather recently. Kept getting heartburn after any food. I upped my intake of reishi wine considerably and I'm pleased to reports I'm well on the mend.

 

Off to farm soon. We bought some big concrete rings yesterday for Mrs Owl's lime trees. I can feel a retun of the heartburn.

 

Bye y'all.

[FarFlungFalang]

3 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

We bought some big concrete rings yesterday for Mrs Owl's lime trees. I can feel a retun of the heartburn.

Sorry about the heartburn but what it the function of the concrete rings?We had them in our lemon orchard before all the trees died.Not sure why they died but it might have been old age as they were petty long in the tooth but I found the rings to be a bit of a nuisance.

[Assurancetourix]

13 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

but what it the function of the concrete rings?

Perhaps to protect the feet of young trees against the pee of dogs or to prevent certain crawling animals from reaching the trunks.
Well, that's not it. 
My daughter just answered me: it's because it's beautiful ..
The Thai people will always amaze me with their notions of the beautiful, the good, which have no relation to ours.

[Assurancetourix]

26 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

The pritiest girl I've ever seen in Thailand was in Sawang Dan Ding. She came over to me and whispered in my ear; we have a fresh dog delivery. Would you like a stew take-a-way?

 ;

 

It is over this time when we regularly saw passing in the villages a pickup with cages in which there were the dogs they found on the road or those given by the villagers against a plastic bucket ...

The slaughterhouse was in Tharee, a small town or rather large village on route 22 between Sakon Nakhon and Nakon Phanom;
Tharee also has a magnificent Catholic cathedral.

 

 

Dog meat and Catholic cathedral in Thailand immediately remind us of Vietnamese, certainly from the south, who left their country at the time of reunification in 1975.
Besides the province of Sakon Nakhon is home to very many Thai people of Vietnamese origin,
The small town of Phangkhon between Sawang Daen Din and Sakon Nakhon is almost exclusively made up of Thai people of Vietnamese origin.
Very dynamic and very rich city which should ask for independence as those who live and work there are hardworking and open to the world.

 

What kind of car we can find in Phangkhon