I first arrived in rural Thailand in early 2016. The first 7-Eleven in the area had just been built and was just awaiting shelving, stock, and staff.
Out the front seven days a week - on what would become the (still unsealed) car park for the Seven, was a bustling morning market, upward of three dozen stalls selling all manner of fresh produce, meats, and hot and cold meals and snacks fried/grilled/prepared in situ. Opening before dawn, and closing around 10am, it was the centre for farmers, labourers, office workers, and school children on the way to start their day.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays the site hosted a larger afternoon market, with upward of 50 stallholders building small alleyways between their stalls to cater for two lanes of traffic with an extended line of vegetable and meat products for sale, and including clothes, home goods, toys, and a different range of meals, including ice creams and desserts. Tuesday and Sunday afternoon markets were at a huge site behind the largest temple in the village, covering about half an acre or more. Thursdays' markets were a lot smaller and held in a privately-owned undercover area in the centre of the village.
It was all hustle and bustle twice a day - slower on Thursday afternoons - from, say 5AM to 8-10AM, then again from 2PM to 6PM (slightly longer when the Seven put lights out the front in 2021)
The pandemic didn't really see much in a downturn from normal traffic until mid-2021, with the exception of the Thursday market which shifted from inside the village to the Seven on the highway. The site behind the temple was even expanded.
However, since 2023 or so there has been a steady decline of stalls, with this morning only 11 stallholders proferring food.

Sure, schools are currently on their annual break between academic years, but even the lottery ticket sellers are down from five or six last year, to two, with only one being there this morning (2nd April 2026) and the bottom half of his case was still half full.
The last few "Seven" afternoon markets have had around 18 sellers - some even staying there until very late at night - while the large site behind the temple on Tuesdays is only half filled. Sundays still sees plenty of traffic, especially from cars with out-of-province plates going south after their weekend.
There just doesn't seem to be any money for the locals. Anywhere. The amount of discretionary disposable income is close to nil. Mama sales are up, sodas/pop/soft drinks are down, and even pork sales are plumetting in exchange for chicken and fish as income of customers changes demand for the more expensive meats. You would have noticed the price of durian has plummeted due to low demand as belt get tightened.

Even during the pandemic, people relocated from Down South to "home"as their jobs disappeared and construction declined, and anything remotely to do with hospitality was shuttered. Even so, the decrease in stallholders was slow. Since October last year, the number of people deciding to not bother trying to eke out a living from fewer and fewer customers has increased rapidly.

I'm in Phetchabun Province, a farming province. Apart from Khao Kho district, it's not exactly a place known for its bristling tourism trade, building and construction, or anything else. Even two of Phetchabun's three Nissan dealerships have closed; it's Makro (85km north of me) is lot quieter with shorter queues with fewer cashiers open, and banks and cellular phone providers are shutting branches.

Have you found similar issues in your rural area?

Just now, The Oracle said:

I first arrived in rural Thailand in early 2016. The first 7-Eleven in the area had just been built and was just awaiting shelving, stock, and staff.
Out the front seven days a week - on what would become the (still unsealed) car park for the Seven, was a bustling morning market, upward of three dozen stalls selling all manner of fresh produce, meats, and hot and cold meals and snacks fried/grilled/prepared in situ. Opening before dawn, and closing around 10am, it was the centre for farmers, labourers, office workers, and school children on the way to start their day.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays the site hosted a larger afternoon market, with upward of 50 stallholders building small alleyways between their stalls to cater for two lanes of traffic with an extended line of vegetable and meat products for sale, and including clothes, home goods, toys, and a different range of meals, including ice creams and desserts. Tuesday and Sunday afternoon markets were at a huge site behind the largest temple in the village, covering about half an acre or more. Thursdays' markets were a lot smaller and held in a privately-owned undercover area in the centre of the village.
It was all hustle and bustle twice a day - slower on Thursday afternoons - from, say 5AM to 8-10AM, then again from 2PM to 6PM (slightly longer when the Seven put lights out the front in 2021)
The pandemic didn't really see much in a downturn from normal traffic until mid-2021, with the exception of the Thursday market which shifted from inside the village to the Seven on the highway. The site behind the temple was even expanded.
However, since 2023 or so there has been a steady decline of stalls, with this morning only 11 stallholders proferring food.

Sure, schools are currently on their annual break between academic years, but even the lottery ticket sellers are down from five or six last year, to two, with only one being there this morning (2nd April 2026) and the bottom half of his case was still half full.
The last few "Seven" afternoon markets have had around 18 sellers - some even staying there until very late at night - while the large site behind the temple on Tuesdays is only half filled. Sundays still sees plenty of traffic, especially from cars with out-of-province plates going south after their weekend.
There just doesn't seem to be any money for the locals. Anywhere. The amount of discretionary disposable income is close to nil. Mama sales are up, sodas/pop/soft drinks are down, and even pork sales are plumetting in exchange for chicken and fish as income of customers changes demand for the more expensive meats. You would have noticed the price of durian has plummeted due to low demand as belt get tightened.

Even during the pandemic, people relocated from Down South to "home"as their jobs disappeared and construction declined, and anything remotely to do with hospitality was shuttered. Even so, the decrease in stallholders was slow. Since October last year, the number of people deciding to not bother trying to eke out a living from fewer and fewer customers has increased rapidly.

I'm in Phetchabun Province, a farming province. Apart from Khao Kho district, it's not exactly a place known for its bristling tourism trade, building and construction, or anything else. Even two of Phetchabun's three Nissan dealerships have closed; it's Makro (85km north of me) is lot quieter with shorter queues with fewer cashiers open, and banks and cellular phone providers are shutting branches.

Have you found similar issues in your rural area?

I agree in general with you observations.

I also live in a rural farming area with similar market activities.

Certainly the options at local markets has dwindled to more or less the basics. Gone are the prolific stands with donuts and sweet products and other similar offerings .

The weekly main market in the nearest local town used to hinder through traffic but now even parking is not too much of an issue.

The most noticeable thing that indicates ( to me) a major impact of very reduced spending capacity is that over the last 8 months the vehicles passing our front gate which is on a state highway is a trickle on the previous flow on long holiday weekends or even New Year, Songkran, etc.

Those who used to race back to home localities with shiny new vehicles brimming with equally shiny new gift items to impress are at a minimum.

The public cash flow has been sucked into the rich elites pockets even from the middle class .

GDP is near 90% but foreign investment is quietly supporting the economy from behind.

Sadly a lot is in support of schemes that are not in favor of the general public.

Too late Banks have made borrowing more difficult while people already struggle to pay for credit at interest rates that are extraordinarily high .

Just now, 0ffshore360 said:

I agree in general with you observations.

I also live in a rural farming area with similar market activities.

Certainly the options at local markets has dwindled to more or less the basics. Gone are the prolific stands with donuts and sweet products and other similar offerings .

The weekly main market in the nearest local town used to hinder through traffic but now even parking is not too much of an issue.

The most noticeable thing that indicates ( to me) a major impact of very reduced spending capacity is that over the last 8 months the vehicles passing our front gate which is on a state highway is a trickle on the previous flow on long holiday weekends or even New Year, Songkran, etc.

Those who used to race back to home localities with shiny new vehicles brimming with equally shiny new gift items to impress are at a minimum.

The public cash flow has been sucked into the rich elites pockets even from the middle class .

GDP is near 90% but foreign investment is quietly supporting the economy from behind.

Sadly a lot is in support of schemes that are not in favor of the general public.

Too late Banks have made borrowing more difficult while people already struggle to pay for credit at interest rates that are extraordinarily high .

Yes, with the price of fuel, the usual pretty steady stream of cars going north (on Highway 21) was a trickle. I've also noticed, until school finished for the academic year, that more of the older kids were using bicycles or walking to the local high school.

On the spending front, I'd be fair in assuming a lot of your neighbours, like mine, would get paid cash for labouring/farm work. A day's wage for a skilled labourer (I'm talking non-credentialed carpenters, electricians, welders, tilers, and so forth) has not increased since at least 2018 while cost of laukau, beer, and tobacco - you know, the essentials - has gone up from 55 to 70, 50 to 60, and 10 to 15 baht respectively. That's some serious buying power being eaten into. While most vegetables around here are selling for the same prices as before, power, water, building materials, and LPG have increased markedly.

Our communities are really suffering while the artificially strong currency does nothing to help them as primary producers, either.

Thanks for your response.

Also in Petchabun and have noticed a decline in market activity. A new night market opened up a few months ago outside the post office on the weekends.

Already down to about half its original size. Local Big C also quieter and fewer products. No tomatoes in there for many weeks ?

But strangely , there are still a few crazy people opening businesses that are obviously doomed to failure. A double unit Puun Thai coffee shop that is very modern and no farmer will ever enter . A seriously dumb move on someones part.

Just now, trucking said:

Also in Petchabun and have noticed a decline in market activity. A new night market opened up a few months ago outside the post office on the weekends.

Already down to about half its original size. Local Big C also quieter and fewer products. No tomatoes in there for many weeks ?

But strangely , there are still a few crazy people opening businesses that are obviously doomed to failure. A double unit Puun Thai coffee shop that is very modern and no farmer will ever enter . A seriously dumb move on someones part.

With Pun Thai Coffee, like Amazon Café, surely it only caters for those travelling up and down the highways.
Good old Somchai the farmer would be more than happy to pump in a Blend&Brew Nescafé or a Birdy at home - or grab a 17baht can from the local Lan Chum - than wait five minutes to get reamed in a chain shop.
My local petrol station isn't even part of a national chain - it used to be a Shell until mid-Plague. Its fuel is about five baht a litre more expensive (for 95RON) but unless people want to drive/ride six kilometres in either direction to get a better price, they're stuffed.

Since I moved to the village 8 years ago, quite a few have come and gone. My ex herself tried two times to open a noodle shop. She makes good soup but there were already 4 in our village that got all the business, which also made decent soup.

The shops are still being opened, two this year, and I don't see how they'll make a living, as there are 6 that get all the business, and people usually go to their favorites. They all sell water, which brings many to the shops, and buy extras, but I still don't see them making a lot of profits, as there are also many shops in the slightly bigger main village 5 KM away, including coffee shops and construction supplies, along with about 6 food shops and 6 noodle shops.

They tried to open coffee shops many times in our village but none lasted a year. There is one place with 3 food shops all very close to each other. All seem to have people visiting them, although it's usually one at a time. The ones who have houses attached likely aren't worrying to much, but the ones that need to rent probably do.

There are two barbers in that close village and one man that cuts hair in ours that I know about. Many are farm owners so the shops are likely getting a little extra for them to be more comfortable. As far as the closest large city, I've seen many shops open and close, and many that have been there all along. It's those coffee shops that don't seem to last, even though many drink coffee here. The Amazon gets people daily, and there are 3 more in the same town, along with quite a few independents, but that town has a large population in and around it's limits.

Edited May 3May 3 by fredwiggy

On a much smaller scale, I have been able to buy fresh ice cold fruit, peeled, cut to order any time of day or evening on the soi to my Condo for over 10-12 years - when I came back last year, after a 2 year break, he was gone, I asked the massage lady’s what happened - they said “He doesn’t like Russians, they never want to pay the price for the fruit and always yell at him” He moved, we don’t know where” We do have good size Russian presence in our area, lots of them are seasonal so winter is loaded, summers not so much. Morale of this is now I have to walk 1/4 mile to the market to buy fruit - such is life, the actions of a few impact a majority.

Just now, fredwiggy said:

Since I moved to the village 8 years ago, quite a few have come and gone. My ex herself tried two times to open a noodle shop. She makes good soup but there were already 4 in our village that got all the business, which also made decent soup.

The shops are still being opened, two this year, and I don't see how they'll make a living, as there are 6 that get all the business, and people usually go to their favorites. They all sell water, which brings many to the shops, and buy extras, but I still don't see them making a lot of profits, as there are also many shops in the slightly bigger main village 5 KM away, including coffee shops and construction supplies, along with about 6 food shops and 6 food shops.

They tried to open coffee shops many times in our village but none lasted a year. There is one place with 3 food shops all very close to each other. All seem to have people visiting them, although it's usually one at a time. The ones who have houses attached likely aren't worrying to much, but the ones that need to rent probably do.

There are two barbers in that close village and one man that cuts hair in ours that I know about. Many are farm owners so the shops are likely getting a little extra for them to be more comfortable. As far as the closest large city, I've seen many shops open and close, and many that have been there all along. It's those coffee shops that don't seem to last, even though many drink coffee here. The Amazon gets people daily, and there are 3 more in the same town, along with quite a few independents, but that town has a large population in and around it's limits.

The noodle soup shop seems to be a common start-up, doesn't it?
When I arrived, there was one about 500m from the private road junction. It was interesting: outside, moulded chairs and tables. It got some trade and, for me, it was great as I could walk there with my piece of paper on how to pronounce what I wanted, eat it, and walk back. Then, a couple of years later, the small family (house-fronted) shop only 250m from the junction started selling noodle soup as well. It was too salty but I went there a few times (no paper needed by now) over several weeks and it really didn't get much better. Both the 500m and 250m soup "kitchens" closed at the same time - toward the end of 2019, the second one lasted less than a year.
Now, being, comprehensive, there are three others which were here when I arrived and are still operating. Two are both around 1.5km from the junction but in different parts of the village, while the other is about 2.3km away. One was great, had free fried wonton wrappers and also had red (chinese bbq) pork as an option but when sales of the red pork dropped off the menu, I stopped patronsing the place. The other one is only good for takeaways as the chairs are either formed concrete or those little plastic moulded chairs one would see in a primary school. I'm 6'1" with injuries. However, the landlady's (now) 17 year-old daughter went to school with one of their daughters so that's her port of call if tasked with take out kwayteyow duty. The 2.3km distant one is always busy. It's under cover with sprinklers on the roof to cool it down, multiple fans, and it is consistent in taste and quality. Between 1100 and, say, 1300 it's difficult to get a seat - it seats about forty - but, as I don't have a prescribed lunch hour, I get there toward the end, if they still have anything left to sell.

After setup costs, the profit margin must be pretty good, though. Considering stock water, fake pork balls, and noodles aren't expensive. Add some real sliced pork, sure. But at 30-40 baht a meal, it's pretty good for both patron and owner.

But a village is only so big. There are people that cook to order like phad gaprow and so on but I cook that at home - often under eagle-eyed scrutiny.

But its the coffee shops that get me. Sure, PT service stations have PunThai (what a give away) as their caffeine supplier and PTT seems to attract Café Amazon or Amazon Café (I don't know which is correct). However, I rarely see anyone go into them.

Just now, Explorator en Action said:

On a much smaller scale, I have been able to buy fresh ice cold fruit, peeled, cut to order any time of day or evening on the soi to my Condo for over 10-12 years - when I came back last year, after a 2 year break, he was gone, I asked the massage lady’s what happened - they said “He doesn’t like Russians, they never want to pay the price for the fruit and always yell at him” He moved, we don’t know where” We do have good size Russian presence in our area, lots of them are seasonal so winter is loaded, summers not so much. Morale of this is now I have to walk 1/4 mile to the market to buy fruit - such is life, the actions of a few impact a majority.

Anecdotally, [insert name of country of citizenship here] arriving en masse to an area can push out those who the locals found comfortable to be around.
Back in 2010, the family I and first stayed in Karon on Phuket. The following year, there were a lot of Cyrillic signs up. 2012, the decades-old icon of Karon Beach, the Little Mermaid restaurant and hotel were sold off, the Danish owners not liking the influx. 2013, the whole place had changed from what we had experienced during out first trip.
I'm sure certain parts of Bali - which I first went to in 1989 and then in 2011 - have felt the impact of the Australians that act like teenagers at home when their parents have gone away for the week.
It is a shame but, I suppose, when a certain cultural group makes a commune in what was once a diverse place, someone or group is always going to be annoyed.

Shame about your fruit seller, though.
Bright side? Um...it's a character-building walk to buy your daily five serves of fruit?
Stay well.
Teo.

Just now, The Oracle said:

The noodle soup shop seems to be a common start-up, doesn't it?
When I arrived, there was one about 500m from the private road junction. It was interesting: outside, moulded chairs and tables. It got some trade and, for me, it was great as I could walk there with my piece of paper on how to pronounce what I wanted, eat it, and walk back. Then, a couple of years later, the small family (house-fronted) shop only 250m from the junction started selling noodle soup as well. It was too salty but I went there a few times (no paper needed by now) over several weeks and it really didn't get much better. Both the 500m and 250m soup "kitchens" closed at the same time - toward the end of 2019, the second one lasted less than a year.
Now, being, comprehensive, there are three others which were here when I arrived and are still operating. Two are both around 1.5km from the junction but in different parts of the village, while the other is about 2.3km away. One was great, had free fried wonton wrappers and also had red (chinese bbq) pork as an option but when sales of the red pork dropped off the menu, I stopped patronsing the place. The other one is only good for takeaways as the chairs are either formed concrete or those little plastic moulded chairs one would see in a primary school. I'm 6'1" with injuries. However, the landlady's (now) 17 year-old daughter went to school with one of their daughters so that's her port of call if tasked with take out kwayteyow duty. The 2.3km distant one is always busy. It's under cover with sprinklers on the roof to cool it down, multiple fans, and it is consistent in taste and quality. Between 1100 and, say, 1300 it's difficult to get a seat - it seats about forty - but, as I don't have a prescribed lunch hour, I get there toward the end, if they still have anything left to sell.

After setup costs, the profit margin must be pretty good, though. Considering stock water, fake pork balls, and noodles aren't expensive. Add some real sliced pork, sure. But at 30-40 baht a meal, it's pretty good for both patron and owner.

But a village is only so big. There are people that cook to order like phad gaprow and so on but I cook that at home - often under eagle-eyed scrutiny.

But its the coffee shops that get me. Sure, PT service stations have PunThai (what a give away) as their caffeine supplier and PTT seems to attract Café Amazon or Amazon Café (I don't know which is correct). However, I rarely see anyone go into them.

Many think theirs is the best, so they open a shop and get a few new customers, but people still have their favorites for one reason or another, so they miss out on repeaters. There are two in our village that get the most customers, and when I pass there's usually a few eating lunch there. Either them or the coffee shops, which usually all serve the same things, so the competition doesn't help. if they're on a main road, as our village is between two larger cities, they get passing customers , delivery drivers and such, that gives them more business.

Funny about the paper thing, as that's what I used from my ex when I went to the store to get some items she needed for dinner. When I first tried to say it back to them in Thai, after hearing it from my ex, they looked at me like I was an alien. I was saying it as close as I could, but with this language, if you don't know the tones, it comes across as something either different or nothing at all. Unlike English, where you can be a little off and they'll know what you're talking about, here it doesn't work.

The two restaurants that are very close to my home serve various Thai dishes, but I usually order Pad Krapow Gai, and one's is much better then the other.I've made it at home many times, but still can't get it close to my ex or now girlfriend's, even using the same ingredients, much like different Italian women cooking sauce.

Just now, 0ffshore360 said:

I agree in general with you observations.

I also live in a rural farming area with similar market activities.

Certainly the options at local markets has dwindled to more or less the basics. Gone are the prolific stands with donuts and sweet products and other similar offerings .

The weekly main market in the nearest local town used to hinder through traffic but now even parking is not too much of an issue.

The most noticeable thing that indicates ( to me) a major impact of very reduced spending capacity is that over the last 8 months the vehicles passing our front gate which is on a state highway is a trickle on the previous flow on long holiday weekends or even New Year, Songkran, etc.

Those who used to race back to home localities with shiny new vehicles brimming with equally shiny new gift items to impress are at a minimum.

The public cash flow has been sucked into the rich elites pockets even from the middle class .

GDP is near 90% but foreign investment is quietly supporting the economy from behind.

Sadly a lot is in support of schemes that are not in favor of the general public.

Too late Banks have made borrowing more difficult while people already struggle to pay for credit at interest rates that are extraordinarily high .

Nong Phai's Tuesday market had to halve its footprint, but I think a lot of that was due to, as you mention, lack of through traffic untila round 11Am-Midday, and the established businesses within the four-block footprint missing out on trade due to hawkers setting up directly outside their doors and on their steps.
The 1.5m distancing requirement during The Plague wouldn't have helped, either.
I used to go to the market most weeks as the landlady would want to eat g'nom-jin from a place there while I would browse and then get into Doi Chaang (now Café 2233) for a brewed coffee, a piece of cake, read a book, and (after a few years) talk to the police officers that took full advantage of the air-conditioning.

Just now, fredwiggy said:

Many think theirs is the best, so they open a shop and get a few new customers, but people still have their favorites for one reason or another, so they miss out on repeaters. There are two in our village that get the most customers, and when I pass there's usually a few eating lunch there. Either them or the coffee shops, which usually all serve the same things, so the competition doesn't help. if they're on a main road, as our village is between two larger cities, they get passing customers , delivery drivers and such, that gives them more business.

Funny about the paper thing, as that's what I used from my ex when I went to the store to get some items she needed for dinner. When I first tried to say it back to them in Thai, after hearing it from my ex, they looked at me like I was an alien. I was saying it as close as I could, but with this language, if you don't know the tones, it comes across as something either different or nothing at all. Unlike English, where you can be a little off and they'll know what you're talking about, here it doesn't work.

The two restaurants that are very close to my home serve various Thai dishes, but I usually order Pad Krapow Gai, and one's is much better then the other.I've made it at home many times, but still can't get it close to my ex or now girlfriend's, even using the same ingredients, much like different Italian women cooking sauce.

I suppose my advantage(?) is, unlike members that say, "they're the only foreigner in the village", I actually am.
Wait...
There is a German guy that lives about five kilometres away that I se once every six months or so, a Kiwi that lives in Port Moresby (where I grew up, coincidentally but unless he's on here reading this, he wouldn't know) that I see, maybe, once every two years?
That's it.
If I want to speak English, I need to travel for hours to do so.
Sorry...
Occasionally, at the Seven market a songteaw full of what I assume is either a local tour from a small Muay Thai training school ten kays away, or I dunno, a minvan from Mueang Phetchabun/Khao Kho will drop in to the Seven "on the way through". It's always funny when the ladies behind the counter ask me where (which country) they're from so I often ask them. Usually UK, Germany or Italy.
Rarely, there will be an enterprising foreigner browsing the grilled/fried stalls at the market and asking what things are (which suggests, apart from their either burned or fair skin that they're new in-country) and I'll assist.

So, apart from speaking to locals, I only speak English to native English-speakers about twice a year, primarily when I drive for five or eight hours to see long-term friends in Chon Buri or Chiang Mai.

I digress.
Food is very polarising, isn't it? To an extent, I'm not brought into it, much, even though after ten years, family members of friends that visit during any of the three new year celebrations or long weekends, are astonished that I eat what I do. While the locals, and their children. just accept it.

Which is nice.

Just now, The Oracle said:

I suppose my advantage(?) is, unlike members that say, "they're the only foreigner in the village", I actually am.
Wait...
There is a German guy that lives about five kilometres away that I se once every six months or so, a Kiwi that lives in Port Moresby (where I grew up, coincidentally but unless he's on here reading this, he wouldn't know) that I see, maybe, once every two years?
That's it.
If I want to speak English, I need to travel for hours to do so.
Sorry...
Occasionally, at the Seven market a songteaw full of what I assume is either a local tour from a small Muay Thai training school ten kays away, or I dunno, a minvan from Mueang Phetchabun/Khao Kho will drop in to the Seven "on the way through". It's always funny when the ladies behind the counter ask me where (which country) they're from so I often ask them. Usually UK, Germany or Italy.
Rarely, there will be an enterprising foreigner browsing the grilled/fried stalls at the market and asking what things are (which suggests, apart from their either burned or fair skin that they're new in-country) and I'll assist.

So, apart from speaking to locals, I only speak English to native English-speakers about twice a year, primarily when I drive for five or eight hours to see long-term friends in Chon Buri or Chiang Mai.

I digress.
Food is very polarising, isn't it? To an extent, I'm not brought into it, much, even though after ten years, family members of friends that visit during any of the three new year celebrations or long weekends, are astonished that I eat what I do. While the locals, and their children. just accept it.

Which is nice.

There was a farang in my village about two years ago, half built a house then disappeared and haven't seen anything of him since. I did see another farang at a night market about 6 months ago.

The only person who speaks English that I know of is SWMBO. The local kids shout hello, but I think that's the full extent of their English....which is easily on a par with my Isaan Thai.

Just now, The Oracle said:

I suppose my advantage(?) is, unlike members that say, "they're the only foreigner in the village", I actually am.
Wait...
There is a German guy that lives about five kilometres away that I se once every six months or so, a Kiwi that lives in Port Moresby (where I grew up, coincidentally but unless he's on here reading this, he wouldn't know) that I see, maybe, once every two years?
That's it.
If I want to speak English, I need to travel for hours to do so.
Sorry...
Occasionally, at the Seven market a songteaw full of what I assume is either a local tour from a small Muay Thai training school ten kays away, or I dunno, a minvan from Mueang Phetchabun/Khao Kho will drop in to the Seven "on the way through". It's always funny when the ladies behind the counter ask me where (which country) they're from so I often ask them. Usually UK, Germany or Italy.
Rarely, there will be an enterprising foreigner browsing the grilled/fried stalls at the market and asking what things are (which suggests, apart from their either burned or fair skin that they're new in-country) and I'll assist.

So, apart from speaking to locals, I only speak English to native English-speakers about twice a year, primarily when I drive for five or eight hours to see long-term friends in Chon Buri or Chiang Mai.

I digress.
Food is very polarising, isn't it? To an extent, I'm not brought into it, much, even though after ten years, family members of friends that visit during any of the three new year celebrations or long weekends, are astonished that I eat what I do. While the locals, and their children. just accept it.

Which is nice.

In my case I am the only one, along with my half Thai daughter, but soon enough we'll be leaving. There are a few within 10 kilos but I never see them. I have friends within 30 kilos I see once in awhile, and there are quite a few foreigners in the closest city I see when shopping at Lotus or the markets. I've been accepted here as long as I've lived here, as I'm respectful to them and they know about my history here, and I talk to my cousin next door by my ex's family weekly, trading fruits and some help around the houses. He knows little English, so my daughter translates. It's quiet and what I'll have when we return back to the states, as I prefer the country outside a city, but close enough to enjoy the foods and entertainment.

5 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

In my case I am the only one, along with my half Thai daughter, but soon enough we'll be leaving. There are a few within 10 kilos but I never see them. I have friends within 30 kilos I see once in awhile, and there are quite a few foreigners in the closest city I see when shopping at Lotus or the markets. I've been accepted here as long as I've lived here, as I'm respectful to them and they know about my history here, and I talk to my cousin next door by my ex's family weekly, trading fruits and some help around the houses. He knows little English, so my daughter translates. It's quiet and what I'll have when we return back to the states, as I prefer the country outside a city, but close enough to enjoy the foods and entertainment.

I was "accepted" pretty much straight away, too. Admittedly, the house I rent is on a huge rice farm and the extended family that owns the house, also own many hundreds of rai and employ people.
And I had already started to learn the language using google translate before I came over here with a 30kg suitcase dn a carry-on bag. I started gong to the markets the following day and learning all the fuits and vegetables. After about six weeks I was going alone and after a few months I had a veritable army of grandmothers at the markets operating as language teachers.

I also helped a couple of children - related to the landowners - with their English (basic things like pronouncing 'th' and "v' and identifying basic items: banana, apple, horse, leopard) as the teacher didn't speak it. The head teacher - to whose retirement party I was invited three years later - asked me to volunteer as an English teacher at the school but told I her couldn't as my visa didn't allow it. However, I did update some of the handouts which had be roneostatted/photocopied so many times they were almost illegible. I also made amendments to some of the questions and answers so as to be comprehensible to an English speaker, as opposed to whatever the translation from Tagalog to Thai had given them. I couldn't answer some of the Grade 2 -4 English questions as they made no sense

The only time I've had issues here is when sons and daughters came home after losing their jobs during The Plague. They'd been gone before I had arrived so they didn't even know I was here. In most cases I was met with animosity as, if you recall, a certain person was on TV every night at 1800 blaming dirty [expletive] foreigners for it. I was told to "go home", had mangoes thrown at me while on my motorbike, throat-cutting motions at the market, I even had one guy threaten to shoot me (he wasn't armed) outside the house of the PhuYaiBaan while I was actually talking to the PhuYaiBaan. ALL those cases were from people that had come north when Bangkok, and the tourist spots all shut down. I got no animosity from anyone that already knew me.

6 hours ago, MIke B Bad said:

There was a farang in my village about two years ago, half built a house then disappeared and haven't seen anything of him since. I did see another farang at a night market about 6 months ago.

The only person who speaks English that I know of is SWMBO. The local kids shout hello, but I think that's the full extent of their English....which is easily on a par with my Isaan Thai.

The young kids saying, "Hello" is always funny. I've been here, now, and pretty much entrenched in the village by just being "normal" for long enough that when some kid yells out "farang!" as I ride past, some of thei friends that I've known since before they were born go, "No! That's Da Teo!". Parents have stopped the motorbike and got their kid that yelled it out riding pillion to wai and apologise. Of course, I know it's not a bad word (without an adjective) but the mothers - especially ones I gave a "baby bonus" and a pack of newborn-sized nappies/diapers to when the baby (now five-to-nine years old) was born that a bit more respect should be shown.
I've also helped burn victims, reset a dislocated shoulder, applied splints, staunched wounds, and driven a dozen or so people to hospital; and halted a suicide attempt. Fixed TVs, setup computers, and helped install CCTV and water systems.

My landlady used to be a translator for a multinational electronics company in Hong Kong. English is her fifth of six languages; most of which she had forgotten before I had arrived in 2016. However Google Translate was (and still is) fantastic and having me here has helped her English as well although it became more and more Thai as the time goes on. I only probably speak to here for twenty minutes a day as it is. Her daughter got her first native English-speaking teacher in 2024 - she moved to the provincial high school on a football scholarship in Mor4/Gr10 in 2024. And he, after eight years of me trying to get her to speak conversational English as best she could, finally got her to speak English to me. I've seen her written work evolve since she was in Bor1/Gr1 and it is exemplary but apart from a few words here and there (and me teaching her how to pronounce "th", "sp", and "v" and so on when she was about eight) she had never done so.

There was an Australian guy who built a house for him and his wife before I arrived - he was fly-in-fly-out for a mining company in WA somewhere. They had already moved to Australia and I only saw him here twice in the preceding three years. I knew (well, still know) his parents-in-law and I didn't even know their SiL was a White guy until I got a random message asking if I could replace the pipes and filter system on the outside of their house (which his parents-in-law live).

I only get stared at, now, when people blow in during holidays or funerals. And I stopped going to many funerals because more people were commenting on my presence that discussing the person in the box.

On 5/4/2026 at 3:18 PM, The Oracle said:

I was "accepted" pretty much straight away, too. Admittedly, the house I rent is on a huge rice farm and the extended family that owns the house, also own many hundreds of rai and employ people.
And I had already started to learn the language using google translate before I came over here with a 30kg suitcase dn a carry-on bag. I started gong to the markets the following day and learning all the fuits and vegetables. After about six weeks I was going alone and after a few months I had a veritable army of grandmothers at the markets operating as language teachers.

I also helped a couple of children - related to the landowners - with their English (basic things like pronouncing 'th' and "v' and identifying basic items: banana, apple, horse, leopard) as the teacher didn't speak it. The head teacher - to whose retirement party I was invited three years later - asked me to volunteer as an English teacher at the school but told I her couldn't as my visa didn't allow it. However, I did update some of the handouts which had be roneostatted/photocopied so many times they were almost illegible. I also made amendments to some of the questions and answers so as to be comprehensible to an English speaker, as opposed to whatever the translation from Tagalog to Thai had given them. I couldn't answer some of the Grade 2 -4 English questions as they made no sense

The only time I've had issues here is when sons and daughters came home after losing their jobs during The Plague. They'd been gone before I had arrived so they didn't even know I was here. In most cases I was met with animosity as, if you recall, a certain person was on TV every night at 1800 blaming dirty [expletive] foreigners for it. I was told to "go home", had mangoes thrown at me while on my motorbike, throat-cutting motions at the market, I even had one guy threaten to shoot me (he wasn't armed) outside the house of the PhuYaiBaan while I was actually talking to the PhuYaiBaan. ALL those cases were from people that had come north when Bangkok, and the tourist spots all shut down. I got no animosity from anyone that already knew me.

When I first moved here, I was contemplating teaching some English and I went with my now ex to an English school not too far away. After talking to him, he told me he would love to have me helping out at the school and at English camps, as I was one of the few native English speakers he's had in over 30 years of teaching here. Most came from England or Cameroon and had a strong English accent, so he wanted his kids to hear how English sounded without that strong accent.

I wanted to teach them grammar but he and his wife did enough of that so I just got into small groups of children , or at the camps, and had them repeat liners. I was also asked at two schools near my house, both small and where my daughter went, but they wanted a full timer and I was only looking for part time volunteering as my visa also wasn't a working one. so they hired others. My daughter speaks better English than her two teachers from my teaching her.

True if you're accepted after getting to know the locals they don't have any problem with you, but some have that prejudice ingrained in them, and I can see this in some children at my daughter's school, as we are the only foreigners here now, although there was an Englishman that was married to my ex's cousin here that had two boys who went to her school, but they've since graduated onto other higher schools outside of the area.

59 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

When I first moved here, I was contemplating teaching some English and I went with my now ex to an English school not too far away. After talking to him, he told me he would love to have me helping out at the school and at English camps, as I was one of the few native English speakers he's had in over 30 years of teaching here. Most came from England or Cameroon and had a strong English accent, so he wanted his kids to hear how English sounded without that strong accent.

I wanted to teach them grammar but he and his wife did enough of that so I just got into small groups of children , or at the camps, and had them repeat liners. I was also asked at two schools near my house, both small and where my daughter went, but they wanted a full timer and I was only looking for part time volunteering as my visa also wasn't a working one. so they hired others. My daughter speaks better English than her two teachers from my teaching her.

True if you're accepted after getting to know the locals they don't have any problem with you, but some have that prejudice ingrained in them, and I can see this in some children at my daughter's school, as we are the only foreigners here now, although there was an Englishman that was married to my ex's cousin here that had two boys who went to her school, but they've since graduated onto other higher schools outside of the area.

The nationalist indoctrination rears its head fully in about Bor3/Gr3.
History is mangled beyond recognition.

I am fortunate, somewhat, that my landlady lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shenzhen(sp?) Province of PRC and travelled to USA, Netherlands, and Canada from the 1990s to around 2007 for work and saw how other countries actually operate.

But, as is the norm, the daughter, learning her fourth language (Mandarin), won't accept help from her mother even though her mother translated from Chinese to three other languages for around fourteen years before she was born. Only the teacher has that ability, apparently.

Back to native English speakers: I've seen YT ads for some remote teaching job thing with a woman explaing how one could go about it whilst, during the whole ad, dropping consonants like she was from East London. Similarly, strong Kiwi or "Strine" Australian accents, southern-State American accents, or African accents aren't going to help anyone here. Even if the Filipino curriculum was translated properly forty years ago.

BAck in 2018-19 or so, I was geting a new visa from the consulate inVietianne (hasn't everyone?) and waiting in the queue. In front was a Filipino man, behind me a Canadian couple. I got a phone call. After I hung up he guy nin front says, "Oh! You spik Inglit?"
"Um, yep. Why?"
And then was a conversation so difficult to follow I wasn't quite sure what was happening - like if I tried to have a conversation in Munich; can get by but don't say anything meaningful sort of way.
"So," I asked, "Why are you going to Thailand?"
"teach Inglit."
"Really? Oh.. Where?"
"Songkran. I think Songkran."
"Down the bottom?"
"Yes."
"Songkhla?
"Yes, yes, yes, Songkhla."
"Good luck."
Turned to the Canadian couple behind me, "Good luck is right; flak jacket for aisle four."

Poor sod. I honestly hope he made it.

On 5/3/2026 at 3:45 PM, The Oracle said:

I first arrived in rural Thailand in early 2016. The first 7-Eleven in the area had just been built and was just awaiting shelving, stock, and staff.
Out the front seven days a week - on what would become the (still unsealed) car park for the Seven, was a bustling morning market, upward of three dozen stalls selling all manner of fresh produce, meats, and hot and cold meals and snacks fried/grilled/prepared in situ. Opening before dawn, and closing around 10am, it was the centre for farmers, labourers, office workers, and school children on the way to start their day.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays the site hosted a larger afternoon market, with upward of 50 stallholders building small alleyways between their stalls to cater for two lanes of traffic with an extended line of vegetable and meat products for sale, and including clothes, home goods, toys, and a different range of meals, including ice creams and desserts. Tuesday and Sunday afternoon markets were at a huge site behind the largest temple in the village, covering about half an acre or more. Thursdays' markets were a lot smaller and held in a privately-owned undercover area in the centre of the village.
It was all hustle and bustle twice a day - slower on Thursday afternoons - from, say 5AM to 8-10AM, then again from 2PM to 6PM (slightly longer when the Seven put lights out the front in 2021)
The pandemic didn't really see much in a downturn from normal traffic until mid-2021, with the exception of the Thursday market which shifted from inside the village to the Seven on the highway. The site behind the temple was even expanded.
However, since 2023 or so there has been a steady decline of stalls, with this morning only 11 stallholders proferring food.

Sure, schools are currently on their annual break between academic years, but even the lottery ticket sellers are down from five or six last year, to two, with only one being there this morning (2nd April 2026) and the bottom half of his case was still half full.
The last few "Seven" afternoon markets have had around 18 sellers - some even staying there until very late at night - while the large site behind the temple on Tuesdays is only half filled. Sundays still sees plenty of traffic, especially from cars with out-of-province plates going south after their weekend.
There just doesn't seem to be any money for the locals. Anywhere. The amount of discretionary disposable income is close to nil. Mama sales are up, sodas/pop/soft drinks are down, and even pork sales are plumetting in exchange for chicken and fish as income of customers changes demand for the more expensive meats. You would have noticed the price of durian has plummeted due to low demand as belt get tightened.

Even during the pandemic, people relocated from Down South to "home"as their jobs disappeared and construction declined, and anything remotely to do with hospitality was shuttered. Even so, the decrease in stallholders was slow. Since October last year, the number of people deciding to not bother trying to eke out a living from fewer and fewer customers has increased rapidly.

I'm in Phetchabun Province, a farming province. Apart from Khao Kho district, it's not exactly a place known for its bristling tourism trade, building and construction, or anything else. Even two of Phetchabun's three Nissan dealerships have closed; it's Makro (85km north of me) is lot quieter with shorter queues with fewer cashiers open, and banks and cellular phone providers are shutting branches.

Have you found similar issues in your rural area?

Shops are closing even in central Bangkok. The economy is quite weak. Seems not a day goes by when I don't notice another shop closure.

Thailand has sat on his hands for the past quarter century and done nothing about sorting itself out. In other news Vietnam is about to overtake Thailand in a number of key economic areas. I didn't think that was going to happen for quite some time but I'm already seeing news articles.

12 minutes ago, The Oracle said:

The nationalist indoctrination rears its head fully in about Bor3/Gr3.
History is mangled beyond recognition.

I am fortunate, somewhat, that my landlady lived in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shenzhen(sp?) Province of PRC and travelled to USA, Netherlands, and Canada from the 1990s to around 2007 for work and saw how other countries actually operate.

But, as is the norm, the daughter, learning her fourth language (Mandarin), won't accept help from her mother even though her mother translated from Chinese to three other languages for around fourteen years before she was born. Only the teacher has that ability, apparently.

Back to native English speakers: I've seen YT ads for some remote teaching job thing with a woman explaing how one could go about it whilst, during the whole ad, dropping consonants like she was from East London. Similarly, strong Kiwi or "Strine" Australian accents, southern-State American accents, or African accents aren't going to help anyone here. Even if the Filipino curriculum was translated properly forty years ago.

BAck in 2018-19 or so, I was geting a new visa from the consulate inVietianne (hasn't everyone?) and waiting in the queue. In front was a Filipino man, behind me a Canadian couple. I got a phone call. After I hung up he guy nin front says, "Oh! You spik Inglit?"
"Um, yep. Why?"
And then was a conversation so difficult to follow I wasn't quite sure what was happening - like if I tried to have a conversation in Munich; can get by but don't say anything meaningful sort of way.
"So," I asked, "Why are you going to Thailand?"
"teach Inglit."
"Really? Oh.. Where?"
"Songkran. I think Songkran."
"Down the bottom?"
"Yes."
"Songkhla?
"Yes, yes, yes, Songkhla."
"Good luck."
Turned to the Canadian couple behind me, "Good luck is right; flak jacket for aisle four."

Poor sod. I honestly hope he made it.

Very sad the amount of English taught here, and improperly. The English school owner friend of mine actually went to America, Michigan, to learn, and then came back and opened his school. There are a few students there I've talked to that speak very well, and the majority talks a little.

The primary school is close by, and there are English speaking teachers there from the west, along with the scattering of Thai teachers that have English as a second language.

My daughter's one school before she went back to our village school, had two English speaking teachers that are from Australia and England. One speaks great English but with that Aussie accent, and was born in New Zealand. The teachers in her school just give the students papers to copy, with little help, and in the 4 years my daughter has been in school, none of her friends speaks but a fraction of English besides her.

Both that one teacher and my school owner friend said to get my daughter to Texas as soon as you can, as she's 9 now and needs to be in a 100% English speaking school soon so she can keep up with the curriculum.

My school owner friend said he had a student here who had an English dad, who spoke almost no English, although living with him full time. He shook his head, not understanding why the dad didn't bother to teach the son any English, knowing it would give him a better chance at a better paying job or possibly to go overseas to learn more and then work. He was sent to his school, and didn't really want to learn English. I'm thinking the mother controlled that household, and didn't care where the son ended up in life.

14 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

Very sad the amount of English taught here, and improperly. The English school owner friend of mine actually went to America, Michigan, to learn, and then came back and opened his school. There are a few students there I've talked to that speak very well, and the majority talks a little.

The primary school is close by, and there are English speaking teachers there from the west, along with the scattering of Thai teachers that have English as a second language.

My daughter's one school before she went back to our village school, had two English speaking teachers that are from Australia and England. One speaks great English but with that Aussie accent, and was born in New Zealand. The teachers in her school just give the students papers to copy, with little help, and in the 4 years my daughter has been in school, none of her friends speaks but a fraction of English besides her.

Both that one teacher and my school owner friend said to get my daughter to Texas as soon as you can, as she's 9 now and needs to be in a 100% English speaking school soon so she can keep up with the curriculum.

My school owner friend said he had a student here who had an English dad, who spoke almost no English, although living with him full time. He shook his head, not understanding why the dad didn't bother to teach the son any English, knowing it would give him a better chance at a better paying job or possibly to go overseas to learn more and then work. He was sent to his school, and didn't really want to learn English. I'm thinking the mother controlled that household, and didn't care where the son ended up in life.

With reagrd to yur last paragraph, I wanted to teach her5e English as her teachers at her primary did exactly what you illsutrated: gave a handout, and then marked it accordingly. It was one of those handouts that I mentioned previously: it was so poorly written (you had a list of "questions" in one column, with a list of "answers"in a seond and you had to match the answer to teh question. It made no sense; the questions were poorly formed adn the nswers, no only verging on non-sensical, didn't really answer any of the posed questions so I pretty much guessed on her behalf. It was at that point I wrote a letter offering to re-translate the handouts (while leaving the book answers correct) so the English the Bor3 students were getting would work - I said it a bit more subtly than that, of course - and then used Google Translate on it before I printed it. I did a few but I think it just became too hard for the teachers.
As I said, it wasn't until she actually got a native English-speaking teacher seven years later in 2024 that she was pretty much embarrassed into speaking English at home, especially when the teacher asked her what I used to do for a living.

14 hours ago, StarOfLight said:

Shops are closing even in central Bangkok. The economy is quite weak. Seems not a day goes by when I don't notice another shop closure.

Thailand has sat on his hands for the past quarter century and done nothing about sorting itself out. In other news Vietnam is about to overtake Thailand in a number of key economic areas. I didn't think that was going to happen for quite some time but I'm already seeing news articles.

I mentioned the closure of two the three Nissan dealerships here in Phetchabun, but as you describe, there are closures of stores all types everywhere.
I think we would find, without scratching the surface too deeply (maybe just a light rub wold be enough) that the businesses that a re closing only catered to the middle-to-lower classes. And, perhaps, the buildings in which those businesses were shuttered are in a yet-to-be-advertised new development area.
Other members on other treads have noticed the number of massage parlours and pubs/restaurants in Pattaya that seem to have no customers. Over the course of five trips to Karon on Phuket my wife and I noticed a substantial drop in clientele just in passing foot traffic, as well as small things like not requiring to book a table at 2Chefs Restaurant, or waiting in a queue for a seat at one of them many other lower-end eateries like the now relocated Red Onion. Also, the breakfast buffet at the middle- to high-end hotels we stayed at was also less crowded. And that was over ten years ago.

6 minutes ago, The Oracle said:

With reagrd to yur last paragraph, I wanted to teach her5e English as her teachers at her primary did exactly what you illsutrated: gave a handout, and then marked it accordingly. It was one of those handouts that I mentioned previously: it was so poorly written (you had a list of "questions" in one column, with a list of "answers"in a seond and you had to match the answer to teh question. It made no sense; the questions were poorly formed adn the nswers, no only verging on non-sensical, didn't really answer any of the posed questions so I pretty much guessed on her behalf. It was at that point I wrote a letter offering to re-translate the handouts (while leaving the book answers correct) so the English the Bor3 students were getting would work - I said it a bit more subtly than that, of course - and then used Google Translate on it before I printed it. I did a few but I think it just became too hard for the teachers.
As I said, it wasn't until she actually got a native English-speaking teacher seven years later in 2024 that she was pretty much embarrassed into speaking English at home, especially when the teacher asked her what I used to do for a living.

Almost the same at her school but the questions were with pictures, so it was a little easier for them, although copying down any language still doesn't teach you what the words mean besides the obvious nouns. My daughter could teach her friends better than her teacher can. They pass students even while failing or even only showing up part time, so it's a joke anyway.

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

Almost the same at her school but the questions were with pictures, so it was a little easier for them, although copying down any language still doesn't teach you what the words mean besides the obvious nouns. My daughter could teach her friends better than her teacher can. They pass students even while failing or even only showing up part time, so it's a joke anyway.

The girl here (now 17) actually earns a bit of cash tutoring other students now. If you saw her handwriting, you'd think she had been writing English her whole life. In her first term in Gr10/Mor4 she got a 3.5 for her English while she got 4.0 for all her other subjects. By the end of that year -and since - she has maintained a 4.0 GPA.
And she speaks more English when she comes down from Phetchabun City.

1 minute ago, The Oracle said:

The girl here (now 17) actually earns a bit of cash tutoring other students now. If you saw her handwriting, you'd think she had been writing English her whole life. In her first term in Gr10/Mor4 she got a 3.5 for her English while she got 4.0 for all her other subjects. By the end of that year -and since - she has maintained a 4.0 GPA.
And she speaks more English when she comes down from Phetchabun City.

They learn the alphabet and how to spell words before they know what many mean. I'm preparing my daughter now for when we move, as she'll be a little behind when we get there, seeing 95% of what she hears and writes here is Thai. Learning another language is good for her, as she uses more of her brain, but she won't really use it there, as it will switch to 100% English once we arrive.