Updated: Farang spotted doing community work in Udon identified

[HeijoshinCool]

It was in Thai tv some years ago.

In schoolyard was lot of carbage. After 8 o'clock one man came to school with monkey and he show these lovely thai pupils how the monkey can pick up carbage.

It was about 2000 pupils watching the monkey, with open mouth, monkey learn thaipeople.

Monkey can do, thai can not.

.

[Tomtomtom69]

I'm just waiting for the first Issan Macho accusing poor Mr.Propper here

of making Thai people lose face for trying to make Udon as spottless and characterless as Germany has become

Germany has a lot of character.

Actually, messy or not, Udon Thani, like every other Thai city of similar size look the same as each other and are completely lacking character. If you want character and are in Udon Thani, the nearest place which actually exhibits some character is Vientiane, the Lao capital located some 70km north of Udon.

Have to disagree, Nong Khai has character, the pier,Tha Sadet market, the promenade along the Mekhong, the restaurants and the friendly atmosphere of a small town on a river all make it a pleasant place to be in my view. Plus there's the bizarre temple 4 kilometres outside town with statues of dogs wearing sunglasses, sexually aroused and riding Vespa scooters.

Nong Khai is OK, but Vientiane still has far more character. And there's nothing you can find in Nong Khai you can't find anywhere else in Thailand. Mega Home is about the only thing you'd have to otherwise go to Rangsit or Mae Sot for, as there's only 3 stores in the whole of Thailand so far but otherwise, for everything else Vientiane has it. Real French food at bargain basement prices (like a 22,000 LAK lunch special or only 87 Baht!! for incredibly wholesome and authentic French cuisine), real Vietnamese and Chinese food, and the Buddha Park along the Mekong, 25km outside of Vientiane city is similar to the one you describe in Nong Khai. Add to that French colonial architecture and old world charm...Nong Khai is simply a place to pass through on your way to/from Laos.

[berybert]

It was in Thai tv some years ago.

In schoolyard was lot of carbage. After 8 o'clock one man came to school with monkey and he show these lovely thai pupils how the monkey can pick up carbage.

It was about 2000 pupils watching the monkey, with open mouth, monkey learn thaipeople.

Monkey can do, thai can not.

.

+ 1

[Camelot]

Peter Rudi Festerling is setting a fine example but let's not forget the other groups of foreigners who clean beaches in Koh Samui, Phuket and, occasionally, Rayong. Other groups, mainly Thai, have been seen tackling the beaches of Pattaya, although their numbers are dwindling. I fear they are writing it off as a lost cause.

[bannork]

I'm just waiting for the first Issan Macho accusing poor Mr.Propper here

of making Thai people lose face for trying to make Udon as spottless and characterless as Germany has become

Germany has a lot of character.

Actually, messy or not, Udon Thani, like every other Thai city of similar size look the same as each other and are completely lacking character. If you want character and are in Udon Thani, the nearest place which actually exhibits some character is Vientiane, the Lao capital located some 70km north of Udon.

Have to disagree, Nong Khai has character, the pier,Tha Sadet market, the promenade along the Mekhong, the restaurants and the friendly atmosphere of a small town on a river all make it a pleasant place to be in my view. Plus there's the bizarre temple 4 kilometres outside town with statues of dogs wearing sunglasses, sexually aroused and riding Vespa scooters.

Nong Khai is OK, but Vientiane still has far more character. And there's nothing you can find in Nong Khai you can't find anywhere else in Thailand. Mega Home is about the only thing you'd have to otherwise go to Rangsit or Mae Sot for, as there's only 3 stores in the whole of Thailand so far but otherwise, for everything else Vientiane has it. Real French food at bargain basement prices (like a 22,000 LAK lunch special or only 87 Baht!! for incredibly wholesome and authentic French cuisine), real Vietnamese and Chinese food, and the Buddha Park along the Mekong, 25km outside of Vientiane city is similar to the one you describe in Nong Khai. Add to that French colonial architecture and old world charm...Nong Khai is simply a place to pass through on your way to/from Laos.

The Buddha park on the Laos side built by the same monk before he fled Laos is much smaller. I was disappointed when I visited it a few years ago, overgrown and run down but it may have been done up now.. It's true there are some fine restaurants in Vientiane but it is a capital city with a large contingent of NGOs etc. I still prefer walking along the riverbanks on the Nong Khai side and there are plenty of restaurants, Vietnamese, and Chinese as well as Thai.

[krisb]

If he gets bored, Chumpae needs a good tidy up.

[Tomtomtom69]

Germany has a lot of character.

Actually, messy or not, Udon Thani, like every other Thai city of similar size look the same as each other and are completely lacking character. If you want character and are in Udon Thani, the nearest place which actually exhibits some character is Vientiane, the Lao capital located some 70km north of Udon.

Have to disagree, Nong Khai has character, the pier,Tha Sadet market, the promenade along the Mekhong, the restaurants and the friendly atmosphere of a small town on a river all make it a pleasant place to be in my view. Plus there's the bizarre temple 4 kilometres outside town with statues of dogs wearing sunglasses, sexually aroused and riding Vespa scooters.

Nong Khai is OK, but Vientiane still has far more character. And there's nothing you can find in Nong Khai you can't find anywhere else in Thailand. Mega Home is about the only thing you'd have to otherwise go to Rangsit or Mae Sot for, as there's only 3 stores in the whole of Thailand so far but otherwise, for everything else Vientiane has it. Real French food at bargain basement prices (like a 22,000 LAK lunch special or only 87 Baht!! for incredibly wholesome and authentic French cuisine), real Vietnamese and Chinese food, and the Buddha Park along the Mekong, 25km outside of Vientiane city is similar to the one you describe in Nong Khai. Add to that French colonial architecture and old world charm...Nong Khai is simply a place to pass through on your way to/from Laos.

The Buddha park on the Laos side built by the same monk before he fled Laos is much smaller. I was disappointed when I visited it a few years ago, overgrown and run down but it may have been done up now.. It's true there are some fine restaurants in Vientiane but it is a capital city with a large contingent of NGOs etc. I still prefer walking along the riverbanks on the Nong Khai side and there are plenty of restaurants, Vietnamese, and Chinese as well as Thai.

The Lao Buddha Park is definitely not overgrown or run down. I've been there 4 times now I think and plenty of tourists visit it, whether western, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean or even Thai. Have never been to the one on the Nong Khai side but can't imagine it's worth going to as they are probably similar anyway.

The "Vietnamese" restaurants in Nong Khai or anywhere in Thailand are not authentic. Chinese either for that matter and whatever is Chinese is actually really Chinese-Thai. Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants in Vientiane are run by actual Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants and are not dumbed down to local tastes.

NGOs are not the main game in town anymore that was about 10-15 years ago, it's Chinese, Vietnamese and to a lesser extent Thai and other foreign investment. Look at the huge Chinese built condominium/housing/office/shopping center/restaurant complex that is currently under construction. Lots of big changes hitting town.

Nong Khai is soon going to be a backwater by comparison. As many Vientiane expats have told me, they can now get almost everything in Vientiane and the food scene is certainly better than on the Thai side so fewer and fewer even go to Nong Khai or Udon anymore or if they do, it's with less regularity compared to the past. Even many Thai chains have set up shop in Vientiane, with Pizza Company, Swensen's, Black Canyon, Fuji and others all having outlets in town. The Pizza Company has quite a few now even. About the only reason for needing to go to the Thai side is for shopping at places like Tesco, Big C or Mega Home, as hypermarkets and hardware stores still haven't popped up on the Lao side yet. Or of course, for medical treatment.

[bannork]

I love backwaters, if a sign of progress is the presence of junk food and large Chinese malls then I run for the rice fields and a tasty dish of somtam and kai yang.

We will have to agree to disagree, different strokes for different folks and all that

[DP25]

Germany has a lot of character.

Actually, messy or not, Udon Thani, like every other Thai city of similar size look the same as each other and are completely lacking character. If you want character and are in Udon Thani, the nearest place which actually exhibits some character is Vientiane, the Lao capital located some 70km north of Udon.

Have to disagree, Nong Khai has character, the pier,Tha Sadet market, the promenade along the Mekhong, the restaurants and the friendly atmosphere of a small town on a river all make it a pleasant place to be in my view. Plus there's the bizarre temple 4 kilometres outside town with statues of dogs wearing sunglasses, sexually aroused and riding Vespa scooters.

Nong Khai is OK, but Vientiane still has far more character. And there's nothing you can find in Nong Khai you can't find anywhere else in Thailand. Mega Home is about the only thing you'd have to otherwise go to Rangsit or Mae Sot for, as there's only 3 stores in the whole of Thailand so far but otherwise, for everything else Vientiane has it. Real French food at bargain basement prices (like a 22,000 LAK lunch special or only 87 Baht!! for incredibly wholesome and authentic French cuisine), real Vietnamese and Chinese food, and the Buddha Park along the Mekong, 25km outside of Vientiane city is similar to the one you describe in Nong Khai. Add to that French colonial architecture and old world charm...Nong Khai is simply a place to pass through on your way to/from Laos.

Vientiane has 'character', which is great for a vacation, but I certainly would rather live in Nong Khai. Everything in Vientiane is overpriced except bread, beer, and booze. And apparently French food if you're in to that (where is this 22k place, all the french food I saw was like 3 times that) but basic necessities, street food, and small Lao/Thai restaurants are seriously over priced. Public transportation is bad and the tuk tuks are impossible to deal with. Shopping is overpriced and bad.

I'm sure rich expats never notice but I feel bad for poor Lao people cause basic stuff is expensive compared to Thailand and they have much lower wages. Nothing special in Nong Khai but it is cheap, comfortable, and pleasant.

[Tokay]

I can't think of a better way to spend my holiday, on the streets of Udon, in the heat of the day, cleaning up after people who don't actually care if their city / country is dirt or not.

Everyone has to have a hobby I suppose. He probably has OCD and can't help himself.

[JLCrab]

I clean the dog sh*=t on our street that the Thai neighbor's dogs leave outside my kitchen window -- the side of my house parallels the street -- after I was told by the owner of the houses that I don't own the street and if the dogs want to crap outside my window and I don't like it, I can go back to America.

Where's MCOT?

[NCC1701A]

I don't have time to read the whole tread. Has he been deported yet?

[bannork]

I don't have time to read the whole tread. Has he been deported yet?

As far as I know he only tread around the area near to his hotel, he himself didn't have time to tread around the whole city of Udon.

If you had read the initial post you would know- He was scheduled to leave Thursday and he would come back to clean Thailand every year, Khaosod reported

[Tomtomtom69]

Germany has a lot of character.

Actually, messy or not, Udon Thani, like every other Thai city of similar size look the same as each other and are completely lacking character. If you want character and are in Udon Thani, the nearest place which actually exhibits some character is Vientiane, the Lao capital located some 70km north of Udon.

Have to disagree, Nong Khai has character, the pier,Tha Sadet market, the promenade along the Mekhong, the restaurants and the friendly atmosphere of a small town on a river all make it a pleasant place to be in my view. Plus there's the bizarre temple 4 kilometres outside town with statues of dogs wearing sunglasses, sexually aroused and riding Vespa scooters.

Nong Khai is OK, but Vientiane still has far more character. And there's nothing you can find in Nong Khai you can't find anywhere else in Thailand. Mega Home is about the only thing you'd have to otherwise go to Rangsit or Mae Sot for, as there's only 3 stores in the whole of Thailand so far but otherwise, for everything else Vientiane has it. Real French food at bargain basement prices (like a 22,000 LAK lunch special or only 87 Baht!! for incredibly wholesome and authentic French cuisine), real Vietnamese and Chinese food, and the Buddha Park along the Mekong, 25km outside of Vientiane city is similar to the one you describe in Nong Khai. Add to that French colonial architecture and old world charm...Nong Khai is simply a place to pass through on your way to/from Laos.

Vientiane has 'character', which is great for a vacation, but I certainly would rather live in Nong Khai. Everything in Vientiane is overpriced except bread, beer, and booze. And apparently French food if you're in to that (where is this 22k place, all the french food I saw was like 3 times that) but basic necessities, street food, and small Lao/Thai restaurants are seriously over priced. Public transportation is bad and the tuk tuks are impossible to deal with. Shopping is overpriced and bad.

I'm sure rich expats never notice but I feel bad for poor Lao people cause basic stuff is expensive compared to Thailand and they have much lower wages. Nothing special in Nong Khai but it is cheap, comfortable, and pleasant.

Vientiane has some nice residential areas with large villas that look every bit, if not more luxurious than some of the nicer suburbs I've seen anywhere in Thailand. Access roads may however still be dirt roads.

I can guarantee you everything from French food to proper bakery products (and booze as you mentioned) are not only much better, more readily available but also way cheaper than on the Thai side. I regularly find mediocre cakes and pastries being sold for like 150 Baht per piece/slice at any given bakery/shopping mall in Thailand, but in Laos much better tasting French style pastries cost the equivalent of just 50-70 Baht per piece.

Also, there are certainly no French restaurants in Nong Khai. The most popular and best one in Vientiane [La Vendome], which is tucked away in a small soi right towards the main tourist strip not far from the night market area is cheap, as I've stated, while another one near the riverside I went to years ago is more expensive, but certainly not any more expensive than a French restaurant would be in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, if one can even find one to begin with. These days you almost have to go to chain restaurants to eat pizza or western food in Thailand, unless maybe you go to Suhumwit, but even there I wouldn't know where to begin...whatever good quality, authentic western (or other foreign) cuisine is available, it's going to be way more expensive than back home, think 500-1000 Baht per person. Lao options are dirt cheap, by comparison.

I agree though that many basic commodities in Vientiane (even Laos in general), as well as street food and food served in local restaurants is overpriced compared to Thailand, but that's not what you go there for.

Don't know about public transport since I generally do the same in Laos as I do everywhere else in the world: I drive myself. Nowadays I bring my Thai car in, previously when it was on finance or before I had a car, or if I flew in etc. I'd rent either a car or a motorcycle.

But yeah public transport is not great in Vientiane, maybe that will change one day but the city has come a long way over the years in many areas.

My point however is that Vientiane has improved in leaps and bounds over the years, so much so that many expats who I know there tell me they no longer need to go to the Thai side because most things are available there now. In fact, on March 28, a new high-end mall opened in Vientiane, which was just one day after I left the city. On my next trip, which will be very soon, I'll be sure to take a look. While you might not normally go to Laos for shopping, if this high-end mall, which is possibly something like Central Embassy but probably not quite as big is any good, then locals may find themselves no longer going to Nong Khai or Udon Thani much anymore, because they won't need to.

[Oziex1]

"spotless and characterless as Germany has become"

Are you seriously suggesting that crap everywhere adds character.

[jolyonpc]

I

[bannork]

"spotless and characterless as Germany has become"

Are you seriously suggesting that crap everywhere adds character.

I can't speak about Germany, not having visited that beautiful yet well disciplined country since 1973- very friendly people,they were keen on arm wrestling in Bavarian inns,I remember- but I can say for my home town of Bristol, England which I thoroughly enjoyed living in from the age of 19 to 35, returning there every 13 years or so I'm just struck how much of a toy town it is. When I lived there i thought it was vibrant, lively, but looking back I realize that's all indoors- there's no life on the streets- it's all in the pubs, in the clubs, houses- there's no life on the streets.

Where are the vendors?

Where are the hawkers?

The tailors?

The tuk-tuks, the taxis ,the motorbike taxi drivers willing to take you anywhere in the vicinity?

The open restaurants, tables on the pavements, folks chatting everywhere.

Yes, walking the streets in Thailand is full of obstacles - people, motorbikes, shop extensions, there's no time for reflective thoughts for sure, but the streets are teeming with humans.

There's little beautiful architecture in Thailand, wood doesn't survive long with termites and fire, whilst England has towns distinguishable by their own distinctive stone, Bath is beautiful for example.but the problem is the UK and Northern Europe has a cold and inhospitable climate that makes the streets an unwelcome place to pace on at least half the year.

The weather is half the issue- the other problem is the oppressive power of the state- a thousand regulations to open a small business.

In Thailand someone sees an opportunity to sell sandwiches to office workers in the lunch hour- she starts tomorrow. In Europe she has to invest in expensive machinery and utensils before the first sandwich can be unleashed on the oh so fragile consumer.

[Happy Grumpy]

Far better example of what to do here than chasing bar girls and getting drunk, well done the German.

I'd rather get drunk and spend a few hours shagging three 20 yr old bargirls.

So yes, well done German.

[Oziex1]

The untidiness of this country has drawn a lot of comment on this forum, fair enough.

Sometimes I still get the impression that the locals would be less perplexed if I were launching a space shuttle from the front yard, than when I am picking up all the rubbish that blows in.

And well done to the guy for having a go.

[balo]

A few months ago I started to clean up the beaches here in Jomtien , I was tired of looking at all the trash that locals leave behind. At least 3 times per week in the early mornings I bring my bags and start to pick up the trash, it's good exercise for the whole body. But too hot now so will wait until the temperature drops. And I hope some day that the locals understand they need to take care of the beach and try to avoid littering everywhere . The locals didn't get my message yet , most of them are just watching in disbelief, But maybe some day ?

[Happy Grumpy]

They'll have great fun littering even more now just to laugh at you picking it up.

Might even bring bags of rubbish down from their home and dump them there just to pi$$ you off.

It's about their level and I know of that exact thing happening to a farang who spent time and money cleaning up the village he lived in. The writing was on the wall when he got sick half way through and they came round to find out when he'll finish it.

He finished it, a pick-up full of rubbish was placed on the town lawn a few nights later. That will teach the stupid farang for cleaning up and hoping to instill a sense of pride and cleanliness in the locals. You can't help these people. But if it makes you feel good, go for it, just don't expect anything but ridicule and then spite by many of the locals whose turf you are invading and altering.

[balo]

I do not agree with the latest poster and I am not sure if that story is true unless he was unpopular in the village.

Yes some funny looks for sure but the locals will not start littering just because of me .