What did she say? Not in her experience?johnnyk wrote:(one, 75 years old asked the XGF if it was true falangs had big willies!).
Life in Isaan
Re: Life in Isaan
Re: Life in Isaan
I help up my pinky and the XGF gratuitously offered, "Not this falang!"BaaBaa. wrote:What did she say? Not in her experience?johnnyk wrote:(one, 75 years old asked the XGF if it was true falangs had big willies!).
(She's XGF for other reasons).
The old lady cackled with glee. I love their earthiness.
Happiness can't buy money
Re: Life in Isaan
It's not for everyone. I've visited the wife's village many times but only spent one night there... that was enough. Now we stay in the nearest town about half an hour away that has a/c'd guest houses, choices of restaurants, and places to shop for necessities. I can go rural, but not primitive! 
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
Re: Life in Isaan
Never been north of Bangkok but interesting reading. Been meaning to have a look around up there for 20 years. Might get around to it one day.
Crazy 88
Crazy 88
Re: Life in Isaan
Many have asked why I do it well the answer to me is simple.
I have spent most of my years living a good western life even when in Africa and Thailand but I have always had a yearning to mix it with the poverty stricken and learn. I am lucky enough never to have been poor
Many years ago I read book about the complete devastation of the world save but a few. No more electricity, no mobiles, no computers, no aircon, no fridge freezer, no car etc and it was how suddenly one is plunged into living and surviving off the land. That memory is always with me and so I feel refreshed when seeing how those without cope
If I had a magic wand I'd turn concrete into woodland. What a better world we would live in. Of course our generation would struggle but our kids would adapt. roll on 2012
Everybody needs a dream to cling to
Well back to building the ark. More like the Kon Tiki I fear
I have spent most of my years living a good western life even when in Africa and Thailand but I have always had a yearning to mix it with the poverty stricken and learn. I am lucky enough never to have been poor
Many years ago I read book about the complete devastation of the world save but a few. No more electricity, no mobiles, no computers, no aircon, no fridge freezer, no car etc and it was how suddenly one is plunged into living and surviving off the land. That memory is always with me and so I feel refreshed when seeing how those without cope
If I had a magic wand I'd turn concrete into woodland. What a better world we would live in. Of course our generation would struggle but our kids would adapt. roll on 2012
Everybody needs a dream to cling to
Well back to building the ark. More like the Kon Tiki I fearRICHARD OF LOXLEY
It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
Re: Life in Isaan
A good point richard, but you're only half way there. You still have many luxuries there eg:
- electricity
- TV
- fridge
- laptop
- phone
- batteries
- lighting
- I could go on
You only said last night how you struggled by candlelight when the power went off for a while. How would you have coped if it went, never to return? You'd lose all of the above luxuries.
- electricity
- TV
- fridge
- laptop
- phone
- batteries
- lighting
- I could go on
You only said last night how you struggled by candlelight when the power went off for a while. How would you have coped if it went, never to return? You'd lose all of the above luxuries.
Championship Plymouth Argyle 1 - 2 Leeds Utd 
Points 46; Position 23 RELEGATED
Points 46; Position 23 RELEGATED
Re: Life in Isaan
True BB
If push comes to shove you have no option and soul wise I think you are better for it knowing of it
Yeah I struggled the other night but the villagers took it in their stride. They even had a Sukiyaki birthday party by candlelight and reveled in it
At the moment most have options. Some western luxury or back to basics. When the power goes off or they have no food it's back to tribal customs and live off the land. Something we westerners could not come to terms with
Many of the villagers (wife included) go off during the night hunting and sleep under the stars, light a fire and roast frogs, snakes etc and head back to the village when the sun comes up.
Many in the village do not have TVs, Fridges, Phones. It's life at the raw end
If push comes to shove you have no option and soul wise I think you are better for it knowing of it
Yeah I struggled the other night but the villagers took it in their stride. They even had a Sukiyaki birthday party by candlelight and reveled in it
At the moment most have options. Some western luxury or back to basics. When the power goes off or they have no food it's back to tribal customs and live off the land. Something we westerners could not come to terms with
Many of the villagers (wife included) go off during the night hunting and sleep under the stars, light a fire and roast frogs, snakes etc and head back to the village when the sun comes up.
Many in the village do not have TVs, Fridges, Phones. It's life at the raw end
RICHARD OF LOXLEY
It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
Re: Life in Isaan
It's also worth remembering that many, if not most, have only had these things for the last 15 years or so. My mother-in-law always likes to remind us all that 15 years ago, only one person in the village (perhaps of 1500 or so people) had a mobile phone, you were considered rich if you had a motorbike or TV, even now there's under 10 families that have a pickup or small family car.
Most of the 50-60 and up generation can virtually live without any money at all, except temple related stuff like paying the village insurance policy of when someone dies in the village then house owners of all the village all pay 20 baht each, man and wife equals 40 baht, so that the ceremony can be paid for at the temple and the body is cremated in accordance with buddhist ritual etc, then when you die, your funeral is paid for by the rest of the village. It's grow rice, raise chickens and feed them the rice you grow, grow your own vegatables, if you're lucky enough to have a lake then farm your own fish, buffaloes and cows if even luckier. The big move away from having buffaloes to having cows only happened about 10-15 years ago. Having a buffalo was a must as you couldn't plough the land without one. Many have changed to cows as many more people have enough of a disposable income to buy beef at 120 baht a kilo etc.
I know what you mean Richard, the term 'Living off the land'.....well....they can really do it, almost everything is OK for dinning on. Water isn't a problem as rain water is stored in huge concrete tanks to provide drinking water all year round. I remember buying a washing machine for my wife's house and the elder people would look at it for a while and just saying "Amazing", obviously in Isaan though.
The younger Thai generation would struggle more with living off the land now but the older ones, no problem at all.
They are very resilient and able to take adversity well. This is one of the reasons family connections are so strong as it is one of the only enjoyments they have or things that they gain happiness from as most else is pretty grinding. It's getting better but this change has all happened so fast that they've hardly paused to think about it.
Most of the 50-60 and up generation can virtually live without any money at all, except temple related stuff like paying the village insurance policy of when someone dies in the village then house owners of all the village all pay 20 baht each, man and wife equals 40 baht, so that the ceremony can be paid for at the temple and the body is cremated in accordance with buddhist ritual etc, then when you die, your funeral is paid for by the rest of the village. It's grow rice, raise chickens and feed them the rice you grow, grow your own vegatables, if you're lucky enough to have a lake then farm your own fish, buffaloes and cows if even luckier. The big move away from having buffaloes to having cows only happened about 10-15 years ago. Having a buffalo was a must as you couldn't plough the land without one. Many have changed to cows as many more people have enough of a disposable income to buy beef at 120 baht a kilo etc.
I know what you mean Richard, the term 'Living off the land'.....well....they can really do it, almost everything is OK for dinning on. Water isn't a problem as rain water is stored in huge concrete tanks to provide drinking water all year round. I remember buying a washing machine for my wife's house and the elder people would look at it for a while and just saying "Amazing", obviously in Isaan though.
The younger Thai generation would struggle more with living off the land now but the older ones, no problem at all.
They are very resilient and able to take adversity well. This is one of the reasons family connections are so strong as it is one of the only enjoyments they have or things that they gain happiness from as most else is pretty grinding. It's getting better but this change has all happened so fast that they've hardly paused to think about it.
Resolve dissolves in alcohol
Re: Life in Isaan
You were so lucky ........... sounds like a Monty Python skit.
Go and have a squizz at rural Cambodia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go and have a squizz at rural Cambodia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Re: Life in Isaan
There was a very old TV monty Python TV skit where the boys were trying to upstage each other which started with for eg. "you were so lucky I had to work 24 hrs a day, sleep in a match box etc and the reply would be - "you were so lucky we had to dream about a matchbox and we had to eat bitumen" etc, etc. A real pisser!
Just like life in Isaan ha, ha. Until you have seen worse.
Just like life in Isaan ha, ha. Until you have seen worse.
Re: Life in Isaan
We are all living in 'the good old days' of the future.
Re: Life in Isaan
Isaan is mainly Third World. Rural Cambodia still has a ways to go to get to that level.
Happiness can't buy money
Re: Life in Isaan
I used to visit an area of an Indonesian town in Sulawesi that had no electricity and it was really quite an amazing experience.
In the evenings they had a large busy market that was lit solely by candles and oil lamps. You went there by cycle rickshaw as the lanes were too narrow for cars and it was like going back 100 years in time.
Underneath the rickshaw they had an ingenious flashing light made from a candle in a slotted tin-can on a swivel that spun around in the wind.
You spent the evenings reading or playing cards by lamplight and it was all rather relaxing.
In the evenings they had a large busy market that was lit solely by candles and oil lamps. You went there by cycle rickshaw as the lanes were too narrow for cars and it was like going back 100 years in time.
Underneath the rickshaw they had an ingenious flashing light made from a candle in a slotted tin-can on a swivel that spun around in the wind.
You spent the evenings reading or playing cards by lamplight and it was all rather relaxing.