Shall We Say Goodbye to Isaan?

[hotandsticky]

1 hour ago, Chris.B said:

Where exactly? ????

 

 

If I told you it could ruin the neighbourhood. ????

 

 

 

My town/village (which is 4+ hours away from Isaan - where I also have a house) is sufficiently developed to offer more than enough western comforts whilst retaining a degree of charm, character and culture. The vibe is from any one of a dozen places where I can eat and drink - and have a chinwag if I want to. It can be quiet/lively/slightly rowdy depending on the prevailing customers/event. 

[cobra]

12 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

You obviously haven't been to Benidorm - there are more mobility scooters per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world!

 

Most used by overweight, middle aged women on benefits.

 

Sounds delightful,  hard pass,

though could be the place to be for a gigolo. 

[mrwebb8825]

22 hours ago, JayClay said:

Never heard of a stone or gavel beach, then?...

That's a coastline.

[Bangkok Barry]

On 1/31/2022 at 10:47 PM, clivebaxter said:

Spain or Portugal, booze is far cheaper!

Six beers for the same price as one in Thai supermarkets, and wine so cheap they have a Songkran-type festival where they throw wine instead of water. Better quality food, and more variety (in Thailand you have pork or chicken and little else). Friendly people with no-one trying to rip you off. Able to vote in local elections (with no alcohol ban before and during the election) as what happens in the local community affects everyone and not only the Spanish. My sister lived there for many years before she separated from her husband and moved back to the UK, and I'd move there in a heartbeat if I didn't have family in Thailand.

[JayClay]

2 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

That's a coastline.

I mean it only takes a minimal amount of research before posting to avoid making a fool out of yourself....

 

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/beach

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach

[JayClay]

11 hours ago, Excel said:

So that's a place on the coastline where they hold auctions is it ? ????

Sounds fun

[JayClay]

28 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

in Thailand you have pork or chicken and little else

I guess I must have imagined the lamb madras I had yesterday. And the "yam nua" beef salad. And the duck on rice and tom yam goong that I had last week, too.

[tonray]

On 1/31/2022 at 10:32 PM, fredscats said:

Spain ,vibrant expat community,       Does not exist in Thailand

Have you forgotten about the Farang 'Ghetto' in lower Sukumwit in Bangkok ?

[sirineou]

On 1/31/2022 at 10:21 PM, Isaanlife said:

My wife and I have been talking lately about moving on from Isaan.

We find ourselves in a very similar situation in Khon Kaen , I think a lot of it has to do with covid restrictions but with nothing much happening, it has got very boring here. 

Especially now that my wife's parents have passed away and there is little reason to be here.  Like you we own a home in FL and have been debating returning there, We will keep the house in Thailand , or perhaps sell it and get something in a more tourist area. 

In April we are going to Greece and spend the summer there, (I have family there) , while there we will look into perhaps making it our retirement base rather than Thailand. 

If interested look at this article. 

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/6-countries-with-incentives-to-retire-there

[zyphodb]

19 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Sounds like a place to avoid under all circumstances :-).

If Spain, then Andalusia. Malaga is a nice place.

But when I leave Thailand I'll go to Southern France (Montpellier) or Toskana in Italy.

 

I think you'll find that Benidorm is in Andalusia...

[JustAnotherHun]

2 hours ago, zyphodb said:

I think you'll find that Benidorm is in Andalusia...

And I think, you find Benidorm in Valencia ????

[Hummin]

2 hours ago, zyphodb said:

I think you'll find that Benidorm is in Andalusia...

A road and  restaurant called Andelucia in Benidorm

 

 

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, JayClay said:

I guess I must have imagined the lamb madras I had yesterday. And the "yam nua" beef salad. And the duck on rice and tom yam goong that I had last week, too.

Well, good for you. My Lotus supermarket sells no lamb, or beef, or duck. Chicken, pork and fish. Sometimes (pork) liver. Big C the same.

[JustAnotherHun]

1 minute ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Well, good for you. My Lotus supermarket sells no lamb, or beef, or duck. Chicken, pork and fish. Sometimes (pork) liver. Big C the same.

Living in the middle of the nowhere?

Here you get New Zealand lamb, Australian beef and even Black Cod from Chile

[Hummin]

4 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Well, good for you. My Lotus supermarket sells no lamb, or beef, or duck. Chicken, pork and fish. Sometimes (pork) liver. Big C the same.

Makro? A roundtrip for us to closest Makro is 3 hours ????

[Bangkok Barry]

 

I don't know where 'here' is. I'm in Kalasin Province. If you are referring to what is available in cities, remember that over 80% of the population does not live in Bangkok, and a majority of the population live in small towns and 'the middle of nowhere'. Where there is mostly only chicken and pork available.

[Bangkok Barry]

6 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Makro? A roundtrip for us to closest Makro is 3 hours ????

Ah yes. I love looking in the section that has bull penis, crocodile, frog and other Thai delicacies. Not for the farang palate, though. I've tried a steak or three, but so often it's as tough as boot leather. I even have to boil pork to soften it up. The quality of meat products in Thailand is dreadful compared to what I've had in Europe, Australia and the US. Sure you can buy good quality in Tops, but you'll pay western prices+ for it. The vast majority of what is available outside of Tops is certainly not up to the quality found elsewhere. Most of the time.

[JustAnotherHun]

19 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I don't know where 'here' is. I'm in Kalasin Province. If you are referring to what is available in cities, remember that over 80% of the population does not live in Bangkok, and a majority of the population live in small towns and 'the middle of nowhere'. Where there is mostly only chicken and pork available.

I think, the majority of expats and retirees live in the cities. The average Thai is not very interested in imported food which he often can't afford.

I think, the claim was, as an expat in Spain(?) you can get any food you want. Most of it you can get here too.

[Hummin]

27 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I don't know where 'here' is. I'm in Kalasin Province. If you are referring to what is available in cities, remember that over 80% of the population does not live in Bangkok, and a majority of the population live in small towns and 'the middle of nowhere'. Where there is mostly only chicken and pork available.

Isan, in a village, almost 100 km to nearest city. We go shopping tvice a month or when we need something. But really not a problem, since we travel often, and always keep one cooling box in the car. I could not live from what's available locally. Maybe wrong to say could not, but a piece of cheese, some "quality" yoghurt, a lamb leg, also learned to age beef, so even local beef taste okay.  

[JustAnotherHun]

What amazes me a bit is why the reason, one would choose his place to stay in a foreign country, is that there's an expat community to find.

The communities I know a bit, no matter if in Thailand, in Spain or the Canaries, are all the same. Many grumpy complainers. The locals are lazy, unpunctual, uneducated and so on.

If I wanted to be surrounded by elderly Germans, I would stay in Germany ????

[Bangkok Barry]

10 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Isan, in a village, almost 100 km to nearest city. We go shopping tvice a month or when we need something. But really not a problem, since we travel often, and always keep one cooling box in the car. I could not live from what's available locally. Maybe wrong to say could not, but a piece of cheese, some "quality" yoghurt, a lamb leg, also learned to age beef, so even local beef taste okay.  

Reminds me of when we first moved to Issan, some eight or so years ago. The only 'supermarket' was a 7-11, and I thought we'd need to buy a chest freezer and make bi-monthly 250km round-trips to Khon Kaen.

 

But then a Big C opened in Kalasin 50kms away, and then a Makro, and then we got a Big C and a Tesco Lotus 10kms from home. Tesco came second, about 200 metres from Big C and killed Big C stone dead. There were never more than a couple of cars parked there and you could imagine tumbleweed blowing through. At first, staff even met you at the door to welcome you in a desperate effort to draw your custom. Now the same company owns both Big C had become a Big C Depot, but the car park is still empty.

I had also stocked up on hundreds of DVDs from Amazon as there were only Thai channels to watch, but now we have high speed internet and IPTV. Times change.

 

But we still only have chicken and pork locally ????

 

[Bangkok Barry]

4 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

If I wanted to be surrounded by elderly Germans, I would stay in Germany ????

I would live in Germany for the beer and food. But then I'd become an obese alcoholic.

[Hummin]

13 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I would live in Germany for the beer and food. But then I'd become an obese alcoholic.

If you do not become an alchoholic while living in Isan, I do not believe any other place will make you an alchoholic either. 
 

Isan is a great challenge for most

[andreww]

On 1/31/2022 at 10:21 PM, Isaanlife said:

Warm climate by the sea, vibrant expat community, culture, dining, more things to see and do.

A nice sea-side community with shops and restaurants that you can walk to everything would be ideal.

You just described Phuket. Not as affordable as Europe in general, but far better climate, sea swimable 365 days and surfeable 8+ months a year,  close proximity to most Asian destinations and Australia, all intl. food you can eat, world class medical facilities and intl. schools etc etc. Most people (myself included, 15 years ago) disregard Phuket as an overly touristy destination, but a) there are plenty of mostly tourist-free expat-oriented areas b) during 2 years of COVID if was true paradise free of travelers, not sure whether it lasts though.

 

I admit, it's hard to live here completely car-free, but you can find a place surrounded by shops not far from the beach, and online deilvery options reduce necessity to go shopping altogether. 

[tonray]

1 hour ago, JustAnotherHun said:

.

If I wanted to be surrounded by elderly Germans, I would stay in Germany

Why not just go to Phuket...????

[JustAnotherHun]

5 minutes ago, tonray said:

Why not just go to Phuket...????

Not my place.

When I leave, I'll go back to Europe. Been long enough in Thailand, though I still like my life and the people and am gratefull for the happy times here.

I still have a couple of years until my son is ready to study abroad.

[andreww]

Some people would compare Phuket to Pattaya or Hua Hin... All I can say, those people been only to one of those places. Recently I had to go to Pattaya once, first time ever and last one I hope. Cannot even remotely begin to imagine why someone would pick that craphole to spend their holidays, let alone move to live there. That place is like a combination of worst things Thailand has to offer: bad city vibe, terrible beaches, lots of tourists, endless traffic jams and far from everywhere. 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, andreww said:

Cannot even remotely begin to imagine why someone would pick that craphole to spend their holidays,

Hookers!

[youreavinalaff]

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I don't know where 'here' is. I'm in Kalasin Province. If you are referring to what is available in cities, remember that over 80% of the population does not live in Bangkok, and a majority of the population live in small towns and 'the middle of nowhere'. Where there is mostly only chicken and pork available.

There are many fresh markets in Kalasin. There is also a great wholesale place on the road to Somdet, they sell seafood and beef. Makro is there too. Lots of choice there.

 

You just need to open your eyes.

[cobra]

On 1/31/2022 at 7:13 PM, Chris.B said:

"I wanna a motorbike" - What are you, 12 years old?

You're confused, you're thinking of a mini-bike, which in most states does not require a drivers license, hence popular with kids,

A motor bike is simply a smaller motor cycle, most can comprehend the distinction.

 

Maybe some dementia meds to go along with your mobility scooter good sir.