So after putting it off for the past 3 years I'm being dragged upcountry this songkran to bloody Phrae to stay at the in laws for 4 whole days.

No hot water, no air con, traditional (in the truest sense of the word) Thai toilet. And no mosquito covers on the windows - it's gonna be a feeding frenzy.

Add to the fact that I'm gonna be the only farang for miles around, I ain't exactly ecstatic about going.

I need some forum love Thaivisa brethren, spare a thought for a brother in need.

*hug me*

Why do you need hot water in April for a shower? Take a big icebox and plenty of beers, buy a mosquito net the type you string up around the bed. Mosquito repellant cream for the daytime. No aircon could be tough.

no need to stay full-time at the shack

they'll completely understand if you get an A/C room at a place with a pool and drive in to visit for a few hours each day

Edited March 17, 201412 yr by wym

Welcome to the third world 555

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Suck it up ya pussy cat lol

+ehug

Whinge, whinge, come on man loosen up

I just found 12 hotels in Phrae. You do know how to use Google don't you?

My mom told me not to hug strangers

you gotta buy a boatload of stuff for them, as is standard. I suggest you buy it on the way in, that way you can control the expenditure. I suggest a couple bottles of Laokhao and maybe a couple cases of beer. Maybe a couple super size tins of crackers or cookies for the kids. I would also invest in a styrofoam cooler for the beer.

And I agree with the other posts - quietly book a hotel room nearby and then escape when you can. If it has a swimming pool and you are comfortable with it... you can have the kids over for a swim. They will love it. You can enjoy aircon and maybe just maybe it will have a TV with some sport on. A hotel will have a decent restaurant nearby.

And any day you just gotta get out of there - claim 'tong seeya' (diarrhea). Very believable. And you may not need to fake it.

Welcome to the third world 555

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He made his own choice to live in LOS didn't he.

Make the ritual shopping spree at Big C, load up and head for the village. Have an open mind, take it for what it is and have have a good time. If nothing else I'm sure you'll find it a learning experience!

Trust me, every time I go see the in law's............It's always an experience!

Downside is.....It's never for free!

Take toilet paper!

Been there done that.

Drunken males dancing in the yard.

Females no longer allowed to dance because of the fights it causes.

Hot as blazes.

No longer married to that one.

Actually, the most fun Songkran I ever had was upcountry. Everyone had gathered at my wife's reltives' house (it's the biggest and nicest for a couple of blocks around) and someone asked me if I would like to "play Songkran" with the teenagers. We all piled into a pickup with a barrel full of water and took off for what I assumed would be a quick cruise up and down the village's main drag.

Several hours later, after visiting every major town in the province (all three of them), we finally joined up with the rest of the extended family for a picnic dinner. After dinner I was coerced into giving the kids swimming lessons in a nearby klong.

All in all, it was quite fun.

You could look into hotels and home-stay options?

FWIW, you won't be the only foreigner around.

Phrae is a large province, assuming you are not staying in Phrae city, do you know which district/sub-district your in-laws call home?

Phrae is a beautiful province, although the forest burning now is quite bad.

I'd recommend a visit to Wat Phra Tot Cho Hae; it is both a Royal Temple, and a birth/zodiac temple (Tiger).

There are also a couple of colonial houses/museums in Phrae city which are interesting.

Have some Khao Soi at Khaosoi Che Lek - 35 Nam Kue Road Nai Wiang Subdistrict Mueang Prae District, Phrae, Thailand

It will be unbearably hot but it should be fun.

Catch flu, runs, dengue the day before you are going.

Apologies that she will have to go on her own as no fun with you so ill.

Any lame excuse, just don't go.

Well I am sure the in-laws are "thrilled" to bits to be entertaining a Hi-So Farang! They must be counting the days.

A show of patient respect goes a long way .. take it like a monk ...

Thanks for the responses guys.

And for those asking, of course I know how to use google, and yes, I probably will book into a hotel in town.

Now let me make this point clear, the inlaws (and extended family) aren't bad people it's just that we have a completely different mindset and I know that it is inevitable that we will make the trip to Big C or Tesco Lotus with about 15 people huddled in the back of the pickup who will seemingly just come along for the ride - I didn't realise supermarkets were such an attraction!

Of course I could just say to the Mrs that I'm not going, plain and simple. However, whilst I really don't want to go, I'm trying to think of it from her point of view. Let's say the roles were reversed and she was in the UK at Christmas time, for example. I don't think I'd feel too great if she refused to visit my family during the Christmas period. Naturally, my family wouldn't look at her to pay for things at every given opportunity, but there you go!

And this will only be the 3rd time that her parents will be spending time with our daughter, so really it is only right that we go, to be fair.

Anyway, a successful relationship, no matter what of the world you live in is all about compromises and a bit of give and take, right? I figure now is just a time where I'm going to have to give a little more than usual!

The thing that concerns me more than the lack of facilities, the mozzies, the heat, the part of me being seen as the walking ATM, the upcountry blokes and their Laokhao induced ways...more than all this...the thing that concerns me most is that we are going to have to drive for 8 hrs during a time the road in Thailand are so unbelievably dangerous it actually beggars belief.

Edited March 18, 201412 yr by pinkpanther99

Songkran upcountry is fun. Have not missed once in the past 3 years

Well I am sure the in-laws are "thrilled" to bits to be entertaining a Hi-So Farang! They must be counting the days.

yes, fair comment! You're probably right. I can see the mother in law bitching on the Thai equivilant of Thaivisa forum about the ungrateful farang who is coming to stay for four whole days!!

You could look into hotels and home-stay options?

FWIW, you won't be the only foreigner around.

Phrae is a large province, assuming you are not staying in Phrae city, do you know which district/sub-district your in-laws call home?

Phrae is a beautiful province, although the forest burning now is quite bad.

I'd recommend a visit to Wat Phra Tot Cho Hae; it is both a Royal Temple, and a birth/zodiac temple (Tiger).

There are also a couple of colonial houses/museums in Phrae city which are interesting.

Have some Khao Soi at Khaosoi Che Lek - 35 Nam Kue Road Nai Wiang Subdistrict Mueang Prae District, Phrae, Thailand

It will be unbearably hot but it should be fun.

Yes, Phrae is indeed a beautiful province, I've actually visited all the places you've mentioned and I do intend to get out and do a bit of sight seeing/exploring while I'm up there

Make the ritual shopping spree at Big C, load up and head for the village. Have an open mind, take it for what it is and have have a good time. If nothing else I'm sure you'll find it a learning experience!

Trust me, every time I go see the in law's............It's always an experience!

Downside is.....It's never for free!

Yes you're right - sound advice, cheers

Been there. Done that.

Not as bad as you might think. Songkran away from places like BKK, Pattaya, etc is pretty fun.

Tell the folks you can't sleep without aircon. Works for me. Every time I go up country I stay at a hotel about 3 miles from their house. The wife actually likes it that way. As much as she loves her family, she enjoys being able to sleep in a nice bed, with air con, and having a decent shower as much as I do. :-)

Mossie nets for sleeping plus a fan, repellent for ankles feet and arms you can opt out of the driving around looking for

water fights.

Don't buy them lao khao if you buy one bottle they will get you take one glass then ask for more later, just buy lots of beer you can only drink so much of that whereas they seem to be able to drink lao khao until well and truly paralytic

You could always leave Thailand instead of whingeing about it.

Now let me make this point clear, the inlaws (and extended family) aren't bad people it's just that we have a completely different mindset and I know that it is inevitable that we will make the trip to Big C or Tesco Lotus with about 15 people huddled in the back of the pickup who will seemingly just come along for the ride - I didn't realise supermarkets were such an attraction!

What's there to do up there? Most of the folks who live out in the boonies sit around on straw mats, talk smack about the neighbors, and eat all day. Of course going to the supermarket is a big attraction. It's a break from the routine. :-)

mate I love songkran, I am out there with the kids and the big water pistols while getting buckets of ice water dumped on me along with the coloured goop spread on my face, people are simply brilliant and the friendliness of it makes me feel like a kid again. To be honest it is probably one of the best days in Thailand but having to do it in the boonies is a bit much. While I can handle no air con the squatters and mozzies would be too much for me, with a bad back those dunnies are near impossible and mozzies just love my blood, I would definitely be booking into the closest hotel for the nights and taking a few bottles of mozzie repellant. Overall it will probably be a great weekend, just be careful on the roads and try to drive before the drunks get on them or the day after, have a good one mate. I know I will.

Man Up and Go. I lived here for a year without air con....4 lousy days...piece of cake.....squat toilet...get over it (literally)....do it for her...think of how much she does for you throughout the year.