Isaan Tales

[bangkokrick]

I have live with my Thai wife now for 8 years and she is the most beautiful person that i have ever met in my life. We were talking about the World food shortage in general conversation tonight. She said you know nothing about this subject because you have never been in this situation. ie never been hungry. She is right i never have been hungry.

She is from Isaan, Khun Khan and she told me that when she was a kid around five years old that there was also a rice shortage and it was difficult to find food to eat.

Because of the problem Thai people came from a nearby village armed with guns and whatever else and broke into the houses in the village to steal the food and whatever else that was worth taking. They came and kicked down the door in tyhe darkness of the night. She her sister and Grandmother stood there in shock and watched the invaders take everthing that was in the house. Everything that the family had worked for all of their lives. Her Grandmother to my wife and her younger sister to say nothing otherwise they may be killed. Thank God they said nothing.

The looters left with everything that they had. There was no Police or Army support for them and this went on for around 3 years. Shame on them, they were probably hiding in tthe shadows or maybe they arranged the whole thing.

I have never lived through such a harrowing experience so i can only imagine what this feels like.

My wife says that she is not afraid of anything or anyone now because she has seen this kinda thing for most of her formative years.

maybe it's time that we give the Isaan girls a break and understand them a little more.

Anyone else got a similar story from there spouses.

Cheers,

Rick

Edited May 4, 2008 by bangkokrick

[qwertz]

My late wife was Cambodian, she could have written a book about what she endured, survived and lost.

Aren't we lucky?

[Chinesegirl]

I have live with my Thai wife now for 8 years and she is the most beautiful person that i have ever met in my life. We were talking about the World food shortage in general conversation tonight. She said you know nothing about this subject because you have never been in this situation. ie never been hungry. She is right i never have been hungry.

She is from Isaan, Khun Khan and she told me that when she was a kid around five years old that there was also a rice shortage and it was difficult to find food to eat.

Because of the problem Thai people came from a nearby village armed with guns and whatever else and broke into the houses in the village to steal the food and whatever else that was worth taking. They came and kicked down the door in tyhe darkness of the night. She her sister and Grandmother stood there in shock and watched the invaders take everthing that was in the house. Everything that the family had worked for all of their lives. Her Grandmother to my wife and her younger sister to say nothing otherwise they may be killed. Thank God they said nothing.

The looters left with everything that they had. There was no Police or Army support for them and this went on for around 3 years. Shame on them, they were probably hiding in tthe shadows or maybe they arranged the whole thing.

I have never lived through such a harrowing experience so i can only imagine what this feels like.

My wife says that she is not afraid of anything or anyone now because she has seen this kinda thing for most of her formative years.

maybe it's time that we give the Isaan girls a break and understand them a little more.

Anyone else got a similar story from there spouses.

Cheers,

Rick

Hi Rick, How old is your wife ? I'm under 30 years old and lived in a small village when i was a child..but i feel we never have food shortage during that time..my parents also don't go through this..only my grandfather 's generation..they had a hard tiem just like your wife....maybe i'm the lucky one..

there is a old saying : The people who had the pain in the past..they will undersand more about the happy life meaning..more than the people who is not sufferd from it. it helps them to grow up more fast...

[GuestHouse]

Let us not forget, we are most of us only a generation away from the worst horrors in human history, and it is for many of us our parents and perhaps grandparents who we have to thank for the good fortune we ourselves have enjoyed.

[bangkokrick]

I have live with my Thai wife now for 8 years and she is the most beautiful person that i have ever met in my life. We were talking about the World food shortage in general conversation tonight. She said you know nothing about this subject because you have never been in this situation. ie never been hungry. She is right i never have been hungry.

She is from Isaan, Khun Khan and she told me that when she was a kid around five years old that there was also a rice shortage and it was difficult to find food to eat.

Because of the problem Thai people came from a nearby village armed with guns and whatever else and broke into the houses in the village to steal the food and whatever else that was worth taking. They came and kicked down the door in tyhe darkness of the night. She her sister and Grandmother stood there in shock and watched the invaders take everthing that was in the house. Everything that the family had worked for all of their lives. Her Grandmother to my wife and her younger sister to say nothing otherwise they may be killed. Thank God they said nothing.

The looters left with everything that they had. There was no Police or Army support for them and this went on for around 3 years. Shame on them, they were probably hiding in tthe shadows or maybe they arranged the whole thing.

I have never lived through such a harrowing experience so i can only imagine what this feels like.

My wife says that she is not afraid of anything or anyone now because she has seen this kinda thing for most of her formative years.

maybe it's time that we give the Isaan girls a break and understand them a little more.

Anyone else got a similar story from there spouses.

Cheers,

Rick

Hi Rick, How old is your wife ? I'm under 30 years old and lived in a small village when i was a child..but i feel we never have food shortage during that time..my parents also don't go through this..only my grandfather 's generation..they had a hard tiem just like your wife....maybe i'm the lucky one..

there is a old saying : The people who had the pain in the past..they will undersand more about the happy life meaning..more than the people who is not sufferd from it. it helps them to grow up more fast...

My wife is the same age as you. I feel so small when i hear stories like this.

Cheers, Rick

[JetsetBkk]

She is from Isaan, Khun Khan...

My g/f is from Khun Han (60 km south of Si Sa Ket) and told me that her dad had to dig a hole in the ground and hide when the Cambodian soldiers used to come to steal. Cambodia is about 20 km south.

[bangkokrick]

She is from Isaan, Khun Khan...

My g/f is from Khun Han (60 km south of Si Sa Ket) and told me that her dad had to dig a hole in the ground and hide when the Cambodian soldiers used to come to steal. Cambodia is about 20 km south.

Hi Jetsetbkk,

If you remember you gave me the best route to drive there. Route 24 i think? Anyway thanks for that.

Was that in the Pol Phot era?

Cheers, Rick

[Farma]

I was thinking along the same lines jetsetBkk. Most of the stories I hear of robberies around this area have a Cambodian link.

In the past couple of years I’ve heard reports of villages being raided from across the border.

[bangkokrick]

I was thinking along the same lines jetsetBkk. Most of the stories I hear of robberies around this area have a Cambodian link.

In the past couple of years I’ve heard reports of villages being raided from across the border.

I thought the same thing as the Thais and the Cambodians are still fighting over the Preah Vihar temple. She insists that the Thais are responsible for the robberies no the Cambodians.

Cheers, Rick

[Seizhin]

How interesting.

I was in bookstore and I rad about a different Tale in Isaan, neverthless, that was an interesting Tale.

[Dustoff]

What a great post!

With all the grinching that goes on in TV about Thais and especially Thai ladies, it is good to see a post that stirs a little appreciation for people as human beings.

My wife is also from Isaan and went through some tough times food-wise when she was young. Having to literally forage for decent food, my wife became an expert on local wild plants that are both tasty and nutritious!

I am constantly amazed, and sometimes tickled, when we go riding into the hills and she comes back with bags of a variety of greens from trees, vines, ground plants and mushrooms that are enough to keep us in absolutely delicious food for a week and more.

I can very much appreciate this since I was raised in my early years by my Mom alone and spent many years gathering local plants and berries, catching fish and trapping small animals with handmade snares. While we were not desperately poor, I suppose we were lean enough so burglars would assume we had nothing worthwhile and my experiences certainly are no comparison to the poor times and violent times the peoples of this region have experienced from time to time.

Thanks for this thread, bangkokrick.

[Farma]

I’m not doubting your wife Rick. My wives village is reasonably close to the border as well.

Curiosity got the better of me a couple of years ago when I saw the way one of her family had constructed a secure door covering the top of the stairs on a high set house. When asked why, family members told me the village had been raided by the Cambodians in the past and this was to protect them in the event of another raid.

Other family members work as border police, village police and in a hospital on the border. I hear the odd snippets of what’s been happening. It’s been quiet for a couple of years although I still get warned to be careful driving on 24 late at night.

[burman]

My grandparents struggled for food whilst there were bombs dropping on London during the blitz.

We can all thank ourselves lucky really. And let's not forget that there are many people in this world still starving to death everyday.

[NowImEasy]

I'd like to say that the state of affairs in Thailand today can be directly attributed to the leadership of HM the King. His direction and moral persuasion has for the most part made this country self sufficient. Food is plentiful, and only some of the working poor in the big cities are having trouble avoiding hunger. But this is also the case in cities in the richest countries of the world.

Thai farmers are enjoying the fruits of their labors with record prices for rice and tapioca. His Majesty rid the country of drugs (mostly) and the crime that goes with the drug trade. If it wasn't for the 60 years of his guidance, Thailand would today be in a far worse situation.

[IMA_FARANG]

I have live with my Thai wife now for 8 years and she is the most beautiful person that i have ever met in my life. We were talking about the World food shortage in general conversation tonight. She said you know nothing about this subject because you have never been in this situation. ie never been hungry. She is right i never have been hungry.

She is from Isaan, Khun Khan and she told me that when she was a kid around five years old that there was also a rice shortage and it was difficult to find food to eat.

Because of the problem Thai people came from a nearby village armed with guns and whatever else and broke into the houses in the village to steal the food and whatever else that was worth taking. They came and kicked down the door in tyhe darkness of the night. She her sister and Grandmother stood there in shock and watched the invaders take everthing that was in the house. Everything that the family had worked for all of their lives. Her Grandmother to my wife and her younger sister to say nothing otherwise they may be killed. Thank God they said nothing.

The looters left with everything that they had. There was no Police or Army support for them and this went on for around 3 years. Shame on them, they were probably hiding in tthe shadows or maybe they arranged the whole thing.

I have never lived through such a harrowing experience so i can only imagine what this feels like.

My wife says that she is not afraid of anything or anyone now because she has seen this kinda thing for most of her formative years.

maybe it's time that we give the Isaan girls a break and understand them a little more.

Anyone else got a similar story from there spouses.

Cheers,

Rick

Well this is not about Thailand...although I could tell you stories from people I've met in Thailand about the years right after the 2nd World War in Thailand...when times were very bad. Anyhow, I met a man on a plane coming from BKK to Athens. He was Greek, had worked for many yeaars in Australia, owned a construction business, then retired. It was the first time he was going back to his home village in Greece for 40 years. He grew up in a small village near the Albanian border in Greece. He told me that when he was a young child, they used to lose sheep/goats killed by "wolves". They would find the carcasses of the animals in the woods. The men used to organize "wolf hunts" to get rid of the wolves when they started losing to many sheep. He always wanted to go on one of the wolf hunts, but his father always told him, "Not until your older and can understand." He thought that was a strange comment. It wasn't until he was in his teens that he finally realized that the "wolf" hunts were really retaliation against the Albanian villages across the border. The Albanian peasents were starving, and they were coming across the border to kill and butcher the sheep and goats of the Greeks. When the problem got to bad, the Greek villagers would go across the border and burn down the Albanian peasents huts to warn them not to raid again.

This man was in his early 60's. I met him about 10 years ago. So you can see that this happened not more than 60 years ago or so in Euope.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

[Nignoy]

In 1989 and the early 90,s cambodians raided villages along the thai border between Chongmek and Khemmerat quite regularly Nignoy

[IMA_FARANG]

I have live with my Thai wife now for 8 years and she is the most beautiful person that i have ever met in my life. We were talking about the World food shortage in general conversation tonight. She said you know nothing about this subject because you have never been in this situation. ie never been hungry. She is right i never have been hungry.

She is from Isaan, Khun Khan and she told me that when she was a kid around five years old that there was also a rice shortage and it was difficult to find food to eat.

Because of the problem Thai people came from a nearby village armed with guns and whatever else and broke into the houses in the village to steal the food and whatever else that was worth taking. They came and kicked down the door in tyhe darkness of the night. She her sister and Grandmother stood there in shock and watched the invaders take everthing that was in the house. Everything that the family had worked for all of their lives. Her Grandmother to my wife and her younger sister to say nothing otherwise they may be killed. Thank God they said nothing.

The looters left with everything that they had. There was no Police or Army support for them and this went on for around 3 years. Shame on them, they were probably hiding in tthe shadows or maybe they arranged the whole thing.

I have never lived through such a harrowing experience so i can only imagine what this feels like.

My wife says that she is not afraid of anything or anyone now because she has seen this kinda thing for most of her formative years.

maybe it's time that we give the Isaan girls a break and understand them a little more.

Anyone else got a similar story from there spouses.

Cheers,

Rick

I had a friend, now passed away, who was a Dutch man originally born in Indonesia. His family was imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II when the Japanese invaded and occupied Indonesia. He was brought to Thailand as a teenager by the Japanese to work on the railroad and spent time in the POW camp at the River Kwai (as in The Bridge Over...). When he was finally liberated, he had no money, no family in the Netherlands, and no one who wanted to help him get back to the Netherlands. He had learned Thai, he was bigger than most Thais, and he knew how to use weapons. He took a job as a guard for a Thai mining company near the Cambodian border. The area had no law then, except for those who had guns, and weren't afraid to use them.

He met his Thai wife because she was the daughter of the Thai boss of the mine. The boss wasn't about to let his daughter marry a Farang. My friend, once he found out that this Thai woman was interested in him, went to the father and asked to marry his daughter. The father was furious, no way would it ever happen. My friend broke into a explosives storage area, stole some explosives, and went to the father's house. He blew down the gate with the explosives, and stole the daughter way from the father. They tried to run off to Bangkok, but were stopped by an armed posse. The father wanted to kill him, but the daughter insisted she was going to marry this Farang guy. Eventually the father had to agree. The couple were together for at least 50 years before he passed away.

This all happened starting about 1945 or 1946.

[burman]

I posted a very famous picture here earlier depicting starvation.

It seems to have been removed?

[plachon]

In 1989 and the early 90,s cambodians raided villages along the thai border between Chongmek and Khemmerat quite regularly Nignoy

That's right, blame the Cambodians' for every ill in Thailand. And if it's not the Cambodian's to blame, then fix it on the Burmese or just plain old johnny foreigner.

You do realise that Chongmek and Khemmarat form the border between Thailand and Laos, don't you? So what are the Cambo's doing raiding villages up there, over a hundred kms from Cambodia? Putting dug-out canoes in the Mekong and paddling swiftly upstream over the Khone Falls under cover of darkness to Khemmarat, doing a bit of raping and pillaging in Khemmarat and getting back to Camdodia before the Thai and Lao authorities notice I suppose?

What are you smoking Nignoy? Get real!

The OP's wife is the most honest of the lot of your wives and gf's. The majority of banditry that took place along the Thai Cambodian border has always been carried out by Thai thieves and brigands. But, in the Thai way of always finding a scapegoat, preferably darker skinned, weaker, poorer and less able to defend themselves, the culprits were generally blamed on those horrible "Khmer". It was easier that way and let off the border police and military from doing such a piss-poor job of keeping law and order along the border zone. Ask villagers about being shaken down at checkpoints along the border roads if you want to learn about highway robbery.

Don't immediately assume also that if a Thai national (who maybe ethnically Lao, Suay or Chinese) along the Thai - Cambodian border provinces automatically means Cambodian Khmer, if they say he or she was "Khmer". They could just as easily mean Thai Khmer, so that is another source of confusion.

The bottom line on this thread is that of all the provinces in Isaan most likely to have experienced food insecurity in the past it is those Thai-Cambodian border provinces, especially villages along the 20 km or so buffer zone, which saw some incursions sure from hungry Cambodians between 1980-93 or so, but most were starving themselves and were quickly rounded up and put in refugee camps under UNHCR care. The security situation was dire because of regional politics and covert Thai (and UK and Chinese) backing for the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, which helped prolong the civil war in Cambodia far longer than necessary. So I wouldn't be blaming the Cambodians alone for hungry peasants along the border on either side, but look a lot further up the food chain for the real culprits.

Thatcher stand up and be counted!

[RY12]

Well, a lot worse things can happen to young isaan girls than hunger or thievery, which we need not mention here. My girl was homeless for a while in Ubon when she was 9 and only got food from the Wat. At least that was only temporary, and she didn't end up, like so many, having to get involved with some ill-willed opportunistic farang 20 years her senior or something... nulla regula sine exceptione of course

Edited May 4, 2008 by RY12

[Jai Dee]

I posted a very famous picture here earlier depicting starvation.

It seems to have been removed?

Not by ThaiVisa mods.

It appears that hot-linking to that blog is not permitted by the source blog software.

Here is the source:

http://www.cynical-c.com/archives/bloggrap...kevincarter.jpg

[pnustedt]

My wife's father was murdered when she was 7-y-o (50 yrs ago) by debtors. The neighbours then stole their rice from the fields as there was no man to protect them, her two brothers died from starvation, she and her sister survived by eating bugs and vermin from the fields. They lost almost everything.

At 12 she got a full time job ironing in a Bkk textile factory and sent all her wages home to her mum.

We now live near her home village and she has many old scores to settle.

[bangkokrick]

My wife's father was murdered when she was 7-y-o (50 yrs ago) by debtors. The neighbours then stole their rice from the fields as there was no man to protect them, her two brothers died from starvation, she and her sister survived by eating bugs and vermin from the fields. They lost almost everything.

At 12 she got a full time job ironing in a Bkk textile factory and sent all her wages home to her mum.

We now live near her home village and she has many old scores to settle.

Hi pnustedt,

That is a terrible story and it just makes you think how lucky we are in the West. With the exception of the 2nd world war that is.

What really makes my bllod boil about this kind of thing is that there seems to be no protection from the police or the armed forces, so the families have to fend for themselves. They must know that this kind of thing is happening so why don't they arrange some defence for their people.

Thanks to all for their input on this thread.

Cheers, Rick

[tijnebijn]

My wife is Thai -Khmer , and her family originate from Buriram and Surin areas .

When I listen to her stories when she was a little girl... oh my . Her father was

shot by Cambodian Khmer in the head ( 33-34 years ago ), cause of land disagreement or something , he also tried

to seek land over the now border , but I was told in those days everybody could take what they pleased .

Which left a mother and seven children with nothing , running but clothes on their bodies through the jungle looking

for a safer place . A brother died during the trip but they all later happily found security , you really could

write a book about those stories , its unbelievable and makes you understand why those petit ladies

are such strong . I love those stories , an uncle also have been eaten by wolves , you got to ask about

wolves to Thai Khmer and what the old people had to say about them . are there still wolves in Issaan ?

Its horrifying I know but they are great stories .

Edited May 5, 2008 by tijnebijn

[Gary A]

My Thai wife is 40 years old and has never been hungry. She was born and raised in Loei province. They may not have had much, maybe rice and fish sauce but they had food.

In the early 90's I was sightseeing and headed for Ko Chang. A group of Thai soldiers pulled us over. They said that Cambodian bandits were in the area and to make sure we were not on the road at night. I was told that they would beat me, rape my wife and steal everything we had including the car. I decided to head back north. That is a first hand story and I believed it.

[ozzydom]

About 30 years ago N/E Issan was awash with communist sympathisers and active fighters , many from my T/W ,s family were in these categories ,both men and women. They have told me stories of fighting as far away as the Vietnam border.

As they were guerrilla,s they stole whatever they needed to survive.

Evidentally there used to be a bit of family conflict as my T/W,s father was a Pu Thai originally from Laos but became an officer in the Thai army.

[Nignoy]

In 1989 and the early 90,s cambodians raided villages along the thai border between Chongmek and Khemmerat quite regularly Nignoy

That's right, blame the Cambodians' for every ill in Thailand. And if it's not the Cambodian's to blame, then fix it on the Burmese or just plain old johnny foreigner.

You do realise that Chongmek and Khemmarat form the border between Thailand and Laos, don't you? So what are the Cambo's doing raiding villages up there, over a hundred kms from Cambodia? Putting dug-out canoes in the Mekong and paddling swiftly upstream over the Khone Falls under cover of darkness to Khemmarat, doing a bit of raping and pillaging in Khemmarat and getting back to Camdodia before the Thai and Lao authorities notice I suppose?

What are you smoking Nignoy? Get real!

The OP's wife is the most honest of the lot of your wives and gf's. The majority of banditry that took place along the Thai Cambodian border has always been carried out by Thai thieves and brigands. But, in the Thai way of always finding a scapegoat, preferably darker skinned, weaker, poorer and less able to defend themselves, the culprits were generally blamed on those horrible "Khmer". It was easier that way and let off the border police and military from doing such a piss-poor job of keeping law and order along the border zone. Ask villagers about being shaken down at checkpoints along the border roads if you want to learn about highway robbery.

Don't immediately assume also that if a Thai national (who maybe ethnically Lao, Suay or Chinese) along the Thai - Cambodian border provinces automatically means Cambodian Khmer, if they say he or she was "Khmer". They could just as easily mean Thai Khmer, so that is another source of confusion.

The bottom line on this thread is that of all the provinces in Isaan most likely to have experienced food insecurity in the past it is those Thai-Cambodian border provinces, especially villages along the 20 km or so buffer zone, which saw some incursions sure from hungry Cambodians between 1980-93 or so, but most were starving themselves and were quickly rounded up and put in refugee camps under UNHCR care. The security situation was dire because of regional politics and covert Thai (and UK and Chinese) backing for the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, which helped prolong the civil war in Cambodia far longer than necessary. So I wouldn't be blaming the Cambodians alone for hungry peasants along the border on either side, but look a lot further up the food chain for the real culprits.

Thatcher stand up and be counted!

In December 1989, We were on the Outskirts of Khong Chiam on our way to visit the cave paintings , when we were stopped by thai soldiers with and american rangers who explained that a nearby village had been occupied by Khmer insurgents, under the protection of thai airforce propeller driven planes, the village was taken back in open assault, sorry I cannot find any black and whites of the 17 khmer who were killed and of the many who were taken prisoner, this was not hungry peasants but a well equipped par a military motorised unit, whether they had aquired motor vehicles in los I dont know !!many of the thai villagers were killed and wounded too, in 1991 when we returned to the area we were informedthat there had been a couple more attacks in the area, Contrary to your comments I am not on anything, we have visited the area frequently over the last 45 years as a british soldier and as tourists I am actually speaking from actions that we have personally experienced not just read about in a book Nignoy

[JetsetBkk]

If you remember you gave me the best route to drive there. Route 24 i think? Anyway thanks for that.

Was that in the Pol Phot era?

Cheers, Rick

Hi Rick - glad you made it OK!

Dunno about Pol Pot - didn't think to ask and don't like to bring the subject up again. It's not the sort of thing she likes to talk about.

I was thinking along the same lines jetsetBkk. Most of the stories I hear of robberies around this area have a Cambodian link.

In the past couple of years I’ve heard reports of villages being raided from across the border.

I thought the same thing as the Thais and the Cambodians are still fighting over the Preah Vihar temple. She insists that the Thais are responsible for the robberies no the Cambodians.

Cheers, Rick

By pure coincidence, I was just using Google Earth to have a look at Preah Vihar as there was a news story on Thai TV about a bit of trouble there again between Thailand and Cambodia.

For anyone interested, the coordinates are: 14°24'0.01"N 104°41'0.02"E

[Pepe']

My grandparents struggled for food whilst there were bombs dropping on London during the blitz.

We can all thank ourselves lucky really. And let's not forget that there are many people in this world still starving to death everyday.

My mom's parents were German. Born and raised in Germany. I'm 56. I have heard the stories about German soldiers breaking into the house stealing anything especially food and sometimes raping the women...

[lardy]

I have live with my Thai wife now for 8 years and she is the most beautiful person that i have ever met in my life. We were talking about the World food shortage in general conversation tonight. She said you know nothing about this subject because you have never been in this situation. ie never been hungry. She is right i never have been hungry.

She is from Isaan, Khun Khan and she told me that when she was a kid around five years old that there was also a rice shortage and it was difficult to find food to eat.

Because of the problem Thai people came from a nearby village armed with guns and whatever else and broke into the houses in the village to steal the food and whatever else that was worth taking. They came and kicked down the door in tyhe darkness of the night. She her sister and Grandmother stood there in shock and watched the invaders take everthing that was in the house. Everything that the family had worked for all of their lives. Her Grandmother to my wife and her younger sister to say nothing otherwise they may be killed. Thank God they said nothing.

The looters left with everything that they had. There was no Police or Army support for them and this went on for around 3 years. Shame on them, they were probably hiding in tthe shadows or maybe they arranged the whole thing.

I have never lived through such a harrowing experience so i can only imagine what this feels like.

My wife says that she is not afraid of anything or anyone now because she has seen this kinda thing for most of her formative years.

maybe it's time that we give the Isaan girls a break and understand them a little more.

Anyone else got a similar story from there spouses.

Cheers,

Rick

My wife has been looking for land in Hua Hin and she visited a man in one village who claimed to be an agent (no official business, no shop, just a man who overheard her talking in a cafe and said he had land for sale ) about 3 months ago. She was back in the village again recently and stopped in a nearby field and asked a few people if they had land to sell and sure enough 1 or 2 did. Today my wife had a phone call from this "agent" saying she should "be careful doing this" as other agents were not the same as him and she could be killed ( basically a veiled threat) if she bought anything off them in this way ie not going thru "an agent". Last time she met him he tried to sell her a piece of land with a huge hole in that he owned and had sold all the soil etc for "fill" then he tried to sell her some land way over the prices she asked for and when my wife asked about some other land nearby he said he would call her back and never did despite her asking twice and this is where she had asked locals today.

"Amazing Thailand" ............" land of smiles" more like land of greedy , bullying thugs and this is not the first time we have had what my wife calls "stupid people" doing crazy things like this, he also threatened rape as well saying she "should not look alone " and he could "protect her".

My wife said she wasnt afraid and we wouldnt be buying anything off him.