Living In Issan

[Neeranam]

I hate the way everyone thinks I'm a millionaire. When I first moved here, I used to wait for a songtiew near a somtam lady who constantly asked for a farang. When I said why?, she said because you are rich. I said why am I waiting for a songtiew then you silly fat cow and your husband drives a 2 year old car.

[Neeranam]

The women here are not so good to look at as those in Central Thailand.

Timelessness is wonderful. 'baw dtong faaaaooo'

[AYJAYDEE]

I hate the way everyone thinks I'm a millionaire. When I first moved here, I used to wait for a songtiew near a somtam lady who constantly asked for a farang. When I said why?, she said because you are rich. I said why am I waiting for a songtiew then you silly fat cow and your husband drives a 2 year old car.

and some wonder why foreigners are sometimes disliked

[Neeranam]

And you would smile, give her a 20 baht tip and say 'farang ting tong". Grow some balls man - how long have you been living here?.

[jazzbo]

I hate the way everyone thinks I'm a millionaire.

Maybe because they read this:

Why do some posters think it's about the money? Couldn't be farthest from the truth - sunrise07 and myself have a monthly income of over 1 million baht( oh no I'm sounding like Bendix!).

Not boasting but to show it's not about the money.

[iono]

I'm in the village every 3 months spending a month at a time with the girwife and kids, I just got back to the States a couple of days ago and man this thread is making me home sick. As far as everyone thinking you're a millionaire, well myself and the girwife now tell everyone I have no baht seems to do the job (only one pain in the butt is concerned with my financial standings and that is one sister in-law).

Dislikes: Those dammed confused Chickens, constantly crowing, what is up with that.

Likes: I concur with the original poster.

Edited January 13, 2008 by iono

[khunandy]

I like the "Cup is half full" approach to life. A few weeks ago around 2am four local Doctors and two lasses drove off the road and plunged down a 5 metre bank into the river, all managed to get out of the vehicles before it sunk although one Doctor was pretty beaten up and was critical for a day or so.

The pick up was a week old....they were considered very lucky because the Monk had told them that a black car wasnt lucky...the solution was to put a sticker on the tailgate stating "This is a red car".

So... no mention of them being p*ssed or lack of responsibility etc, general consensus was "Lucky they have that sticker or maybe they all die"

Gotta love it!!!!!

[blue eyes]

The wife and I have a home in the same mooban as Cheeky Farang and he ain't lying.It is a trip in the mooban when anything happens.He is just as funny in person as his writting.

[khon kaen boy]

Khunandy,

good post about the positives/negatives, glad to see someone upbeat about life in Isaan. I spent ten years in Phuket before meeting the wife and moved to khon Kaen seven years ago and it was like a breath of fresh air.

Positives are too many too mention, negatives ? I have very few although the cockerels might come quite high up on my list.

Thinking about it, being a dog lover, another negative would be the irresponsibility of Thai's who don't take care of their dogs.

Big positive ....Mor lam concerts..gotta love 'em

[prakhonchai nick]

Big positive ....Mor lam concerts..gotta love 'em

Where I am every Thai household tries to out-do the other where parties are involved. Whether it be a marriage, funeral, new home blessing, bone interment or whatever, there has to be a Mor lam concert in the evening. Only trouble is these parties occur almost weekly and it is nearly always the same group of singers and dancing girls. I can't surely be the only one, farang or Thai who is totally bored with it. Total monotony! Now if they really want to show off, why not hire Tata or someone similar!

[nev]

love this thread i agree with all the for and against living in the village, just back in sydney after 7 weeks in the village and miss my village life already.

i miss the friendlness of the people in my village, in my unit block in sydney i have tried in 2 days to be friendly with 2 girls just the hi how are you,and all i get back is a blank stare why i even bother.

the tannoys are annoying with live about 50 meters from our nearest one and first he puts on his morlam music than spends a hour yakking about nothing,during the night we have a period about 2 hrs where there is total quiet before the soi dogs fet going, then around 3 am the roosters start,my solution i have found a building plot over looking the lam po dam beutiful views all for 35,000baht and plan to built my little weekender here so when i need sleep i will head there.

i will think of a few to add to this list after i get back home.thanks for a funny thread makes me home sick reading it. nev

[khunandy]

Never had a hassle but it is sooo hard when a drunken Thai decides that they want to practice English on you

The trick is to repay the favour... !

totster

Ha ha

Amazing how much I think my Thai improves after a few beers. Poor buggers have to endure it.

[Dave the Dude]

Never had a hassle but it is sooo hard when a drunken Thai decides that they want to practice English on you

The trick is to repay the favour... !

totster

Ha ha

Amazing how much I think my Thai improves after a few beers. Poor buggers have to endure it.

Hi Khunandy

I'm the same after a few Leo's and then we always start to talk the 'international' Language.

FOOTBALL

Dave (happy in Issan)

[SweatySock]

Hi All,

I've been living in Issan for just over 5 years and wouldn't change where I live for the world. Got to admit though that I can't get into the Morlam concerts even after all this time. I mean who can listen to the same 3 songs being sung over and over and over again!!!!!

[Patriot]

Hi All,

I've been living in Issan for just over 5 years and wouldn't change where I live for the world. Got to admit though that I can't get into the Morlam concerts even after all this time. I mean who can listen to the same 3 songs being sung over and over and over again!!!!!

aagh come on Sweaty, be fair, at least the three song loop is broken up with the hilarious comedy segments !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[IMChris]

Ahhhh Life up country. Quite rual living. Did I say quite...........30% of the time it is only in the middle of the night, the rest is yapping dogs, crowing chickens, and that dang truck with one cylinder diesel motor that the exhust will knock your hat off. All this I can take in stride, except at the last Thai New Year we had 3 funerals in out village with one of them almost next door.

5am I hear soft music and slowly it seem to get closer and closer. Since it was the start of Thai new year I was ready for anything since Im never told about whats going on in the village. I knew we were going some place because a fresh shirt and pants were laid out on the bed. Since Im well trained and never ask where were going and gave up long ago because even if she told me where we where going we never seem to arrive at that location. Off we go 2 houses over and there I saw my frist funeral. My wife grabbing a 500 baht note out of my shirt stuffed it in a envelope and told me to give it to the widow. The poor widow looked very suprised to see this 6ft tall farang up close. By 6am the Monks arrived and begin thier chanting and after everybody was fed. The music was turned up so the next village over could hear. Durring this time you could pick up the Micrphone and say nice things about the deceased. At times there was 2 talking to each other over the speakers about how great this guy was. This went on untill about 11pm. Everyday I was draged to the wake to pay our respects and be fed free, hel_l they even supplied all the booze, to bad I dont drink. This went on day in and day out, the same music with the occasional person getting on the mic and talking as high as the volume would go. It seem that you can hire this guy who has a pickup truck full of load speakers and amps and thats what he does, goes to funerals. We also have a vacant lot next door and a market pops up there twice a week. They also have music playing. So now I have 2 seperate events going on with different music playing. On the 4th and last night Im dragged off again to the big wake to hear live music. Well now things are looking up we left around 9pm and offerd our SAI JAI to the widow then sit down to eat. Well now it 10pm and the Band has not yet set up too play. Im thinking this is going to be a short concert after all 11pm in only a hour away. We left at 45 mins later the band had not yet set up. We get home and went to bed, no more then 10 mins past when I heard the BAND start to play. They played ALL NIGHT LONG !!!!!

It's now 6am and I hear nothing except the usual dogs barking and crowing. Im go back to sleep. Then I awake to the sounds of explosions.....The final send off for the dearly departed as he goes to the Wut. Oh I did tell you that this was durring the Thai New Year, thats a whole differant story.

Life in ISSAN, how I love it here.

Edited February 8, 2008 by IMChris

[AYJAYDEE]

Hi All,

I've been living in Issan for just over 5 years and wouldn't change where I live for the world. Got to admit though that I can't get into the Morlam concerts even after all this time. I mean who can listen to the same 3 songs being sung over and over and over again!!!!!

i can,i love the stuff

[makrook]

mmmh I'm the moaning kind...

the thing is, spent all in all about 12-13 in the remote muu baan of my GF.last period was 9 months in a row.couldn't stand it at the end, and I did think and say a lot of terrible things about isaan and thailand.

then got back to chiang mai, then to home country.

well, well, well, almost cried the first time I saw (yes, saw, VCD karaoke) some isaan music (funny music though, "bak si deu" from tai urathai, wich was for me a symbol of isaan people being proud of being from there, proves I was not all that negative), did have a smile on my face all day when I heard everybody on the phone from here in france, including the neighbours, came back to los, in chiang mai, went real fast back to the village with my GF (chayaphum area BTW), rediscovered that I'm might be day dreaming but with all I said against it, I actualy felt good and "at home" there.now back to france, can't stop missing there.and I actually like lao as a language much more than central thai.sounds like more living, joyful, something (then I don't undestand it a well as central thai, might be the explanation)

I have to admit it, I just love it.

but still some negative points :

- pla raa

- I agree, chickens are a plague.

- the red car coming once a week to exchange baskets for dogs to be transformed into luuk chin.just try to aproach MY dog...

- none of you seem bothered by what bothers me the most : <deleted>**ing ugly big spiders (and they even say they can be dangerous.they don't kill of course but everybody say great pain, fever, and some other nervous system consequences)(but I don't care, I reckon chances of being bitten are quite small, juste, those beasts do exist and show themselves and actually climb on me sometimes and that is outrageous.period.)

- and then the more serious points : total lack of intellectual life.I don't mind it too much for myself, but my GF daughter is staying there at the moment and I couldn't think of a worse place to develop the intellect and curiosity of a kid, nobody gives a sh**, education is a catastrophy (not only in isaan anyway) and her friends are no more stimulated than her so I'm afraid of the damage done.

- personnal worse point : impossible to find any kind of way of making a living over there for me (same all over thailand agan anyway).

- lack of hope for any kind of improvement in wealth in lot of families in the village, including mine.all have debts, none have real perspectives.it's still a 3rd world country.and that translates into pretty bad stories, usual about people getting into alcohol and gambling because there's not much to do.same all over the world, just maybe a bit more obvious and widespread there.

beside that, I really do love there, like the people around me, like even the food and the old buch of wood that make the "house" where I stay.

Edited February 11, 2008 by makrook