Lom Sak / Phetchabun Ex - Pat Community

[stoneyboy]

Firstly i have chosen to post this topic in the Issan Forum,which some may or may not agree with(moderators do as you will),my G/F continually tells me we are in Isaan here in Lomsak /Phetchabun and the dialect they all speak is of Lao/Isaan etc etc ,enough of that.

The Main question i pose, is there much of an Ex pat community in Lom Sak/Phetchabun,i have spent around 9 months near Lom Sak in the last 16 months,played a couple of rounds of golf at the Battle Horse Golf Course Highway 21,been a regular at the Topland shopping center/Tesco Lotus,visited most of the sights within the area,eaten out most saturdays in Phetchabun and really know the area well, but i am yet to strike up any real regular friends when i am in the area,i am hard pressed sometimes to get a hello from someone in the Big C/Tesco Lotus(confused),any one know of any Farang hangouts/Bars etc etc,it seems to me most of the Ex pats ive encountered dont wish to mix with fellow farang,Any one

Regards Stoneyboy.

Edited December 3, 2010 by stoneyboy

[Jezz]

I can't comment on your particular region, but where I live further north, I find for some reason other farangs I meet in the big shops generally don't want to stop and chat. Sometimes I get a nod, smile or occasional 'hello'. In two years, only two farangs have wanted to chat - and that only because our respective ladies started chatting to each other first.

Edited December 4, 2010 by Jezz

[chrispetchabun]

I can't comment on your particular region, but where I live further north, I find for some reason other farangs I meet in the big shops generally don't want to stop and chat. Sometimes I get a nod, smile or occasional 'hello'. In two years, only two farangs have wanted to chat - and that only because our respective ladies started chatting to each other first.

I don't know fellas. My girlfriend lives in Nam Ko just outside of Lom Sak. She seems to have an affinity for Issan/Laos.

I go to Nam Ko to be with Thais not farangs. But always happy to talk.

Regards.

[stoneyboy]

I to enjoy living here and am in no way bothered by my lack of companions whilst here,i am very happy to mix amongst family and locals alike,but what bothers me is the total lack of communication from fellow farang whilst out and about,its as if some people pretend not to even see you let alone speak,seems some people have a few hang ups when they get out in the provinces,i mean after all its common courtesy to say good morning to people etc etc back home,one would think that due to the lack of english speaking people around they would go out of their way to make conversation.

Edited December 4, 2010 by stoneyboy

[TerryLH]

"...one would think that due to the lack of english speaking people around they would go out of their way to make conversation."

Are you assuming they speak English, or do you know that for a fact?

I lived in Lomsak for a number of years. I often ran into other foreigners who did not speak English - or at least wouldn't admit to it.

[bobo42]

My own experience in the area tends to agree with your observations. I've been living with my girlfriend in Phetchabun town for about 5 months now, we're both happy enough in this area, but I've also had virtually zero contact with any non-Thai - which is fine with me - but I also find it a bit odd that foreigners seem to actively avoid each other. I've never been sure if it's just me, or maybe just the propensities of the foreigners who tend to come here, or maybe a combination of the two? I am a little younger than most other westerners that I've seen around here, so maybe that has something to do with it as well, or perhaps it's just the way things are outside of Bangkok.

I generally get the feeling when I'm out-and-about that other foreigners would rather I mind my own business, rather than say hello. I hate to say, I think the attitude has "rubbed off" on me a as well - after I got a few grumpy responses to "hello" or "how's it going?" I pretty much just gave up trying. Now I generally just give a quick nod, if anything - or just ignore the more sour-looking folks. Perhaps I'll have to dust-off the ol' "friendly approach" and give it a try again in light of your post - you never know, I may have passed by you in town myself 10 times and given you a "mind-your-own-business" look without even realizing it.

[stoneyboy]

In Response to Terry,LH Most white farang from europe at least,have some knowledge of the English language IE Hello,How are you,Good Morning,to believe otherwise is simply ludercrous,after all they dont have/meet Thai GF/Wives through speaking Thai,German,Swiss,French,ItalianSpanish Etc Etc or do they .

You are or were obviously one of the many older miserable Bastards i have had the displeasure of bumping into

Edited December 5, 2010 by stoneyboy

[SanukJoeII]

In Response to Terry,LH Most white farang from europe at least,have some knowledge of the English language IE Hello,How are you,Good Morning,to believe otherwise is simply ludercrous,after all they dont have/meet Thai GF/Wives through speaking Thai,German,Swiss,French,ItalianSpanish Etc Etc or do they .

I think speaking Thai to find a Thai GF is a very good approach.....

You are or were obviously one of the many older miserable Bastards i have had the displeasure of bumping into

Stoneyboy, you should not forget that even if those "other" Europeans speak some English they don't want to be confronted with a fast speaking whatever UK accent. I've been around English speaking people nearly all my business life but I can imagine a Frenchman or Italian, having some basic knowledge of English, being totally shocked by some Cockney, Yorkshire or Manchester accent. And I must admit that English speaking people are not considering that they should speak proper English if they want their company to understand what they say.

This is a possibility, I have met a Belgian and an Italian, both speaking French, and we talked French at Tesco's, no way these guys could have a conversation in fast English.

Back to the topic, I've met some interesting guys at Tesco's (I live 40 km from either of two Tesco's) and making contact is not area related I think. It might have to do with how people look, how they dress or behave, I don't know how you look Stoneyboy but maybe your outlook is not inviting other farang to chat?

Joe

[coolerking]

I live in Phetchabun too and would be more than happy to chat to anyone, maybe the pro-chatters (I may have just made that word up) should wear a red carnation or something!

Keep trying stoneyboy, hope to see you in the Lotus soon.

[stoneyboy]

In Response to Terry,LH Most white farang from europe at least,have some knowledge of the English language IE Hello,How are you,Good Morning,to believe otherwise is simply ludercrous,after all they dont have/meet Thai GF/Wives through speaking Thai,German,Swiss,French,ItalianSpanish Etc Etc or do they .

I think speaking Thai to find a Thai GF is a very good approach.....

You are or were obviously one of the many older miserable Bastards i have had the displeasure of bumping into

Stoneyboy, you should not forget that even if those "other" Europeans speak some English they don't want to be confronted with a fast speaking whatever UK accent. I've been around English speaking people nearly all my business life but I can imagine a Frenchman or Italian, having some basic knowledge of English, being totally shocked by some Cockney, Yorkshire or Manchester accent. And I must admit that English speaking people are not considering that they should speak proper English if they want their company to understand what they say.

This is a possibility, I have met a Belgian and an Italian, both speaking French, and we talked French at Tesco's, no way these guys could have a conversation in fast English.

Back to the topic, I've met some interesting guys at Tesco's (I live 40 km from either of two Tesco's) and making contact is not area related I think. It might have to do with how people look, how they dress or behave, I don't know how you look Stoneyboy but maybe your outlook is not inviting other farang to chat?

Joe

Ok i realise i left myself wide open on the Thai speaking front,silly me ,regarding your comments on looks and behaviour,i can imagine i do look rather different to most other farang i see,i being usually 20 to 30 years younger than them dressing with a little class,not your typical sock and sandal wearing grey haired/bearded bespectacled overweight European,with flowery shirt and khaki shorts to boot etc etc,so i suppose to them yes we have very little in common,strange though that they seem to have much more in common with 30 year old Thai women and not fellow European men of the same age,how is this possible given the language barriers,cultural differences etc etc.

[coolerking]

I have to agree with stoneyboy, I think it has very little to do with a language barrier. I am not suggesting inviting every farang you meet in Tesco's to Christmas dinner but it can be difficult sometimes to even get a grunt out of them in reply to a civilised 'good morning'. Maybe supermarkets are not the best place to chat to people?

p.s. would like to add I own neither sandals or glasses, have a few grey hairs and no beard, am underweight for my height and am 20 years short of retiring. (I do have a couple of nifty flowery shirts though that come out when I head to the beach)

[rgs2001uk]

I have to agree with stoneyboy, I think it has very little to do with a language barrier. I am not suggesting inviting every farang you meet in Tesco's to Christmas dinner but it can be difficult sometimes to even get a grunt out of them in reply to a civilised 'good morning'. Maybe supermarkets are not the best place to chat to people?

p.s. would like to add I own neither sandals or glasses, have a few grey hairs and no beard, am underweight for my height and am 20 years short of retiring. (I do have a couple of nifty flowery shirts though that come out when I head to the beach)

Interesting question that coolerking, "Maybe supermarkets are not the best place to chat to people?"

I can only answer for myself as one who lives here and for whom supermarket trips are viewed as something to be endured rather than a pleasant day out.

Try shoving a trolley round Tesco/Lotus with a Thai woman in tow, she cant decide whether she wants Breeze or Omo Plus, sniffs 5 different conditioners, moves onto the

cosmetics section and tries differing smell nice toiletries, decides to open tins of talcum powder to smell them all.

Then as a special treat its off to the fruit and veg section, hold and smell about 30 different vegtables before deciding she can buy fresher or cheaper outside.

Not forgetting to stop off en route to take advantage of all the free promotions on offer, ranging from free coffee samples to cooked hams and sausages to God knows

what else, none of which she has any intention of buying.

There I am coming quite nicely to the boil when some farang I have never met tries to strike up a conversation, <deleted> this is all I need, I just want to get home as quickly

as possible, add on top the mrs has already sized up the girl in tow in less than 5 seconds just by the way she is dressed or speaks, the tattoos dont help and the gold dripping off her doesnt really help much either. No wonder I may appear unwilling to engage in conversation.

Anyway back to the OP's point.

To many of the farang living here you are viewed as a threat to their existence, how dare you invade their private space.

Coming up here and throwing money around as if its going out of fashion, the poor guy is going to get it in the neck, may well be married to a same same girl, why you not

give me same same my friend.

Many wont admit to being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no way out burning bridges back home and selling up everything to be here doesnt help.

I knew of a guy who lived in what could best be described a a garden shed, built a beautiful home for him and his mrs, except her family moved in and he couldnt get them out, the only way he could get peace and quiet was to build a shed out back.

Then we have the others who are allowed out once a week to go to the atm at the supermarket, their wives dont allow them to talk to other farang, for the simple reason the guy might find out not everyone paid sin sot, or pays the wifes family money every month etc etc.

Next we move onto the visa runners, the guys who cant afford to be here, not enough money to put in the bank to get a married mans visa, so they get by by doing visa runs,

constantly short of money, dont know if you will ever see them again so why take a chance lending them money.

Next are those who dont live here full time, work overseas and visit maybe once or twice a year while the wife or girlfriend stays here full time, how do you tell a guy like that his mrs is up to no good, better to say nothing, we are the ones who live here and have to deal with the fall out.

My advice would be, if you are living here full time, dont be in a rush to make friends, you may not be able to get rid of them.

Keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut for at least the first 3 months of living here until you know the lay of the land.

There are many decent farangs living here who keep themselves to themselves rather than lower their standards by being surrounded by a bunch of Chang drinkers.

While I am many years away from reaching retirement age I may well be viewed as to quote stoneyboy "one of the many older miserable Bastards i have had the displeasure of bumping into "

Dont take it personally, its me with the problem not you.

Enjoy your stay, I do.

[bluesmith]

Hi Mate

I am sure there is lot of flang around you give it time mate

The better half is from Lomsak and I belive there is a few flang around just go down to Phetchabun on a sunday and you will see a lot shopping at Tesco

[coolerking]

'Better half is from Lom Sak'?

That's fighting talk where I come from, that's why I moved.

I have never met anyone from Lom Sak around these parts, maybe I am not talking to the wrong people.

[stoneyboy]

Thanks for some positive response's,thats all i was looking for,unlike some of the earlier ones where some people have the cheek to knock me down before they know the slightest thing about me,seems to be a lot of that on this forum,i will keep in mind the recent comments by rgs2001uk,some vaild points there which made me laugh thank you very much,who knows one day we may become acquainted .

[klikster]

Thanks for some positive response's,thats all i was looking for,unlike some of the earlier ones where some people have the cheek to knock me down before they know the slightest thing about me ..

Who is knocking who? Before they know the slightest thing about ..?

.. ,i can imagine i do look rather different to most other farang i see,i being usually 20 to 30 years younger than them dressing with a little class,not your typical sock and sandal wearing grey haired/bearded bespectacled overweight European,with flowery shirt and khaki shorts to boot etc etc,so i suppose to them yes we have very little in common, ..

Edited December 7, 2010 by klikster

[stoneyboy]

Thanks for some positive response's,thats all i was looking for,unlike some of the earlier ones where some people have the cheek to knock me down before they know the slightest thing about me ..

Who is knocking who? Before they know the slightest thing about ..?

.. ,i can imagine i do look rather different to most other farang i see,i being usually 20 to 30 years younger than them dressing with a little class,not your typical sock and sandal wearing grey haired/bearded bespectacled overweight European,with flowery shirt and khaki shorts to boot etc etc,so i suppose to them yes we have very little in common, ..

Fair comment,but i have the common decency whilst out and about to acknowledge people with whom i may have a passing interest.

Example number one,I have just arrived in Phetchabun and am wondering where one might purchase a copy of the Bangkok Post on a daily basis,Oh look i say to my Missus whilst in Tesco/Lotus there's a Farang guy over there maybe he can help,wrong he looks the other way and wanders off,just many of the 100s of possible reasons one may wish to strike up a conversation with a fellow European in a foreign land,understand my reasoning i do not blatently ignore people,regardless of looks or what my Missus says,i guess some people do,and i guess their hostility continues on internet chat forums,hence some of my replys,good day to you to kind sir.

Edited December 7, 2010 by stoneyboy

[nam-thip]

Thanks for some positive response's,thats all i was looking for,unlike some of the earlier ones where some people have the cheek to knock me down before they know the slightest thing about me ..

Who is knocking who? Before they know the slightest thing about ..?

.. ,i can imagine i do look rather different to most other farang i see,i being usually 20 to 30 years younger than them dressing with a little class,not your typical sock and sandal wearing grey haired/bearded bespectacled overweight European,with flowery shirt and khaki shorts to boot etc etc,so i suppose to them yes we have very little in common, ..

Fair comment,but i have the common decency whilst out and about to acknowledge people with whom i may have a passing interest.

Example number one,I have just arrived in Phetchabun and am wondering where one might purchase a copy of the Bangkok Post on a daily basis,Oh look i say to my Missus whilst in Tesco/Lotus there's a Farang guy over there maybe he can help,wrong he looks the other way and wanders off,just many of the 100s of possible reasons one may wish to strike up a conversation with a fellow European in a foreign land,understand my reasoning i do not blatently ignore people,regardless of looks or what my Missus says,i guess some people do,and i guess their hostility continues on internet chat forums,hence some of my replys,good day to you to kind sir.

Did you find where to buy a Bangkok post in Phetchabun?

[stoneyboy]

• 
  Did you find where to buy a Bangkok post in Phetchabun?
  Indeed i did yes,i found the newsagents on the left before the roundabout which heads out of Phetchabun back onto the 21,I tend to actually buy my papers in Lom Sak as i am closer to there than Phetchabun,but when doing my Tesco run i use this shop,obviously it was never going to be to daunting to find a newsagents,but i just used that as an example of why i may wish to speak to someone when in town,next time it could be a Builder,Dentist Doctor or School i require information about,and in my opinion when starting out in a foreign country its best to ask someone with first hand knowledge.
  PS Your recent post regarding the alternative visa run options was also very handy to know,i will put my questions forward on here before i go approaching strangers in the Lotus Cheers Stoneyboy.

[Monkeypants]

I live with inbetween Phetch and Lomsak, Not to far from the airport. I know lots of People here, AROUND 50 EXPATS.

Saturday afternoon 2pm there is a bar that sells beer in Tesco, near the food area next to Chesters grill Lots of English hang out there.

Monday to Friday 2 pm Toffees Bar, very close to the KFC in town, lots of English in there

Bahn Kohk, a small village, not far from me, everyday between 4 and 7pm, about 10 English, few Yanks great bunch of guys, we meet up at the market, where there is a small bar.

0h and I am 45, lived here fulltime 3 years.

What is the name of your your village Stoneyboy ?

Is it near the 2275 road ?

Pop down for a beer.

FYI Phetchabun isn't issaan, It is the southern most province of what is classed as North Thailand.

There are quite a few xpats coming over to my farm xmas day, about 15 with spouses and a boat load of kids,

Xmas dinner, and hog roast, bouncy castle, prezzies etc.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Monkeypants

[stoneyboy]

I live with inbetween Phetch and Lomsak, Not to far from the airport. I know lots of People here, AROUND 50 EXPATS.

Saturday afternoon 2pm there is a bar that sells beer in Tesco, near the food area next to Chesters grill Lots of English hang out there.

Monday to Friday 2 pm Toffees Bar, very close to the KFC in town, lots of English in there

Bahn Kohk, a small village, not far from me, everyday between 4 and 7pm, about 10 English, few Yanks great bunch of guys, we meet up at the market, where there is a small bar.

0h and I am 45, lived here fulltime 3 years.

What is the name of your your village Stoneyboy ?

Is it near the 2275 road ?

Pop down for a beer.

FYI Phetchabun isn't issaan, It is the southern most province of what is classed as North Thailand.

There are quite a few xpats coming over to my farm xmas day, about 15 with spouses and a boat load of kids,

Xmas dinner, and hog roast, bouncy castle, prezzies etc.

I sent you a PM cheers Stoneyboy.

[coolerking]

• [*]

Did you find where to buy a Bangkok post in Phetchabun?

Indeed i did yes,i found the newsagents on the left before the roundabout which heads out of Phetchabun back onto the 21,I tend to actually buy my papers in Lom Sak as i am closer to there than Phetchabun,but when doing my Tesco run i use this shop,obviously it was never going to be to daunting to find a newsagents,but i just used that as an example of why i may wish to speak to someone when in town,next time it could be a Builder,Dentist Doctor or School i require information about,and in my opinion when starting out in a foreign country its best to ask someone with first hand knowledge.

You found it already, there is where I would have suggested you try, glad you found it.

Nice way of putting it, if you ever need a recommendation for something, happy to try and help anytime.

[JavierPaz]

OK now the question is there a farang hang out in the the pethcabun metro area....javi p