Young farang wanting to spend some time in Isan.

[bhthai]

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20 years old eh? I give you a week or two in Isaan before the pull of some of the larger cities and beach resorts becomes too much for you to resist.

Maybe you're right. Maybe I won't even last a week, but maybe I love the place and want to spend significant time there. Won't know 'till I try and I'm willing to see what happens.

At worst, I hate it, laugh it off then head back to the beach resorts and larger cities. Nothing lost.

If anything I've still gained something from it, since I know I won't need to put thought into deciding if I want to go back or not.

That's just the way I see it.

Spend a month in a farm with a Thai family.

This'll do you good. Good luck alt=thumbsup.gif>

It has crossed my mind and I certainly won't put the idea off - I even looked into staying in a monastery, but I would like to start by putting my feet into the shallow parts of the water...

If I got to the point where my financial situation was running though my desire to remain in Thailand was high, I think doing something extreme like your suggestion could be more much likely.

[bhthai]

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I am an 55 year old Aussie living in a village about 30 minutes outside of Khon Kaen. I'd be happy to catch up in town for a drink and then maybe come out to the village. Look around, walk down to the farm, and back for a feast Issan style. I also have a lovely 19 year old neice who would love to meet a falang. She has little English so you could practice you Thai and learn their Isaan/Lao language. I think you can send me a PM if you are interested. Cheers, Charles.

Thanks Charles, really appreciate it. I will be sure to send you a message if and when I come by KK area.

Always keen to see how expats are set up in Thailand. Even just to know basically how you guys came to live over in Thailand and what advice you have to offer.

Being my age and having the desire the one day be set up in Thailand, there really isn't a straight up way to get into that position, so even just hearing everyone's stories is interesting and potentially going to be useful for me in the future, if I decide to do the same.

"This time, I really want to get 'soaked up' in the the real things about loving Thailand. The culture, the food and basically just the Thai way of living. I'm also very interested in learning the Isan Language. I come to Thailand to experience THAILAND. I can't relate to other foreigners, especially my age who do nothing but farang things..."

You can't relate to other foreigners who live here for many years? Do you think all of them are alcoholics and psychopaths? Okay, you're a special kid then.

I think you missed his point. He wasn't slagging all farangs who live in Thailand, just saying that he can't relate to those farangs who spend all their time with other farangs doing 'farang things' (which I take him to mean hanging around westerner-oriented bars, eating at western restaurants, etc.). I think he's just saying that he wants a more genuine 'cultural experience' ... not just to be in a version of Sydney in Thailand. I personally relate to that myself...

It wasn't directed at the expats. It was more directed at the typical traveller my age, who comes to Thailand, sits by their pool, drinks a coconut then talks about how much they love Thailand.

Some will be a bit more adventuress and spend their whole trip at Khao san rd or maybe even do something different like go to a full moon party.

One time in Pattaya I had a young English fella, about the same age as myself, ask me where to find English girls...

I mean, at least your stereotyped fat, beer drinking farang is drinking Thai beer and banging Thai girls (Or perhaps ladyboys )

[bhthai]

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bhthai.

Remember me lad it's your life and it's for real not a fun run.I have done everything I have wanted to do.

90% has been great 5% well I did it and 5% F***.me gently, I should never have done that, but you learn and you have memories.

See a corner go round it, an open door go through it any opening any opportunity take the chance or you'll spend the rest of your life thinking ''what if?''

Still do it at my age now 68 but a bit slower irks the missus but she understands Thai feminine logic = karma in her mind(s)

Live life to the full, don't be a boring young or old fart,remember when you're drooling away in the old folks home in years to come your memories will be more precious than gold

Appreciate your support and this is my philosophy to what I'm doing with my life at the moment.

As I said earlier, I definitely feel there is people who can't quite understand to live my life this way - and I mean by people in the Western world, wondering why I want to live in a developing country, working towards a shit wage, if at all - And maybe their right, maybe in a few years this will all have no interest to me and I will be back in my nice little suburban home, living the typical western, life. But right now, this is what I want to do with my life and this is what I not only feel interested and motivated to do, but it's something I also do feel happy doing.

I'm doing what I really want to do with my time and life at the moment, not what brings me the most money, not what my parents or friends think I should do, but what I feel most passionate towards - and to me that is truly the most important thing.

I've always been a very big procrastinator, but now I feel different. I don't care whatever happens, I'm never going to say "I regret doing what I felt passionate about and what made me happy, at that time"

Hello bhthai. You have a plan. Now all you need to do is stick to it.

You have a good plan. When you arrive skip Bangkok and Pattaya and all that. Don't go there, even for one day. They can be like magnets for farangs and if you get sucked-in and stuck it could easily eat up your entire six months time and budget, or a couple of decades of your life.

I'm located in Central Thailand, the lower North - not Issan. But your plan could easily be implemented here, Issan, or even in the south. All are good choices - avoid the farang ghettos.

I can't recommend a specific spot in Issan, however you should be aware than Issan has three main cultures.: Thai (This Is Thailand), Khmere, and Lao.

Buriram, Surin are heavily Khmere influenced with many people there speaking Thai and Cambodian dialect. Towards Udon Thani, (anything past Khon Kaen), it is heavily Lao influenced and they speak Lao-Thai dialect. You should experience both, (all three). Note: several years ago there was a big exodus of farangs from the bar scene in Pattaya and they relocated to Udon Thani. (If you are trying to avoid that). I'm not knocking Udon Thani.

Look at the map with a view to transportation. I like the recommendation of another poster who touted Mahasrakham as it is quite central and still very Thai. I hope you are able to stay in the center of the Isaan wheel, and make frequent trips out on the spokes to neighboring cities. All of the big cities in Issan have all the amenities a farang could want including farang food when you get the craving.

The biggest obstacle I had when I was twenty, (I had plans similar to yours), was inertia. I always tended to get stuck in one place.

Expect your new Thai friends to be quite clingy and try to keep you captive in one place. They will tell you tales of the cannibals in neighboring provinces where they make soup from farang bones.

I often found myself sucked into farang ghettos like Phuket, Samui, Pattaya. The attraction of those places can be overwhelming and costly.

Someone posted in this thread that you may have visa problems. I'll leave it to you sort out which type of tourist visa you plan to use and where and how you will get it. Things right now are changing quickly. Don't let that worry you now.

You can certainly be a tourist in Thailand for six months, with border runs. You might need things like letters of invitation from Thai people etc. in order to prove you are a real tourist. Stuff like that, eg. having addresses or letters of invitation will help you when doing a border run to prove you are a tourist. You can get these when the time comes. This forum can help you with that when needed. Check back here.

Another poster in this thread mentioned something along the lines of; "A fool and his money are easily separated". Yes, you are going to need to watch out for that. I hope you can get some help here on this forum. You can. You will first need to sort through the naysayers and bitter old men.

If you are heterosexual, brush up on your knowledge of contraception. This because the young Thai girls are not really adept or proficient with that, so it seems.

Good luck, you have a great plan.

You make a good point about not necessarily having to live within Isan to be away from all the popular farang areas. Something I never really thought too much about, and will think about more.

"They can be like magnets for farangs and if you get sucked-in and stuck it could easily eat up your entire six months time and budget, or a couple of decades of your life."

This is another good point, I will talk about that below.

----

As for the comments suggesting I go to Pattaya and for those defending young guys having other interests than the girls and drinking, I just want to make it clear that I did in fact stay in Pattaya for most of my trip last time.

I'm not shamed to admit I definitely had some great times there and often drank far too much. However, at the time I didn't really have much of an agenda being in Thailand and I feel for the potential farang trap 96tehtarp mentioned above. While I do feel confident I could in fact stay in Pattaya without getting into the habbit of excessive drinking and blowing all my money, this time I want to experience something new.

Pattaya was a great experience (Most of the time, anyway) but that's not the reason I'm coming back to Thailand for, and in fact, it wasn't the first time, either. Originally I decided to live in Pattaya just because I got so sick of BKK and Pattaya seemed a lot more easy going. The girls and everything else came after. This time I'm looking for a new experience.

In fact, if it wasn't for going to Pattaya in the first place maybe I would have never hoped to one day spend some time in Isan. Obviously there is a lot of Isan girls in Pattaya and I've made quite a few connections, which may provide very helpful while being in Isan (Even for just general information)

[SlyAnimal]

You actually have a reasonably situation and goal to myself and most of the good Farang mates I've had over here.

Whereby we were all under 30 when we came over, with an interest in learning the language, getting to know Thai people and trying to experience something different to our home countries. Most of us initially went to touristy areas but then decided we wanted the more authentic experience and moved to Isaan.

All of us have absolutely loved our time in Isaan, although most have ended up having to return to their home countries for various reasons.

Most of us have absolutely loved teaching, and actually do it for the love of it rather than as just a source of income. As we know we could make more money in Bkk but we want to live in Isaan. There is just something magical about how special the locals make you feel, especially when multiplied by the respect they have for teachers.

You're a bit younger so might find it trickier to get a job teaching, but I'd definitely reccommend it if you can. Or otherwise study over here, something which will get you involved in the community in a positive way. Studying Thai and then maybe doing a bachelor degree via a Thai university would be a great experience (or go back to Aus for uni, as the unis are more internationally recognized there).

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[Docno]

Without wishing to upset anybody who lives in Udon Thani, its not a place that I would like to live. Nong Khai is a much nicer city. If you want to get a feel for rural Issan visit our guesthouse website** link to commercial link remvoed ** If you are interested in Issan girls go to Phuket or Pattaya as that's where they live.

"If you are interested in Issan girls go to Phuket or Pattaya as that's where they live"

Well, that's a pretty cynical and even offensive statement coming from someone who is promoting a guesthouse in Isaan. Not everyone seeks romance from a bar stool ...

I am sorry. It was intended as a joke and I hadn't anticipated that anybody might be offended by it. I was just making the point that she sort Isaan of girls a young man might be interested in are probably working in the bars whereas the girls in Isaan are generally much more conservative. All Isaan girls are lovely in any case. I apologise unreservedly for my crass attempt at humour.

Well, it turns out you may have been right after all. Seems that a good part of his last trip was indeed spent on a bar stool in Pattaya (OK, he presumably went to the beach also), and from there he made a number of 'Isaan connections'. So my apologies back to you ... I simply thought you were suggesting (in an exaggerated manner, of course), that all Isaan girls are former or potential working girls. I wholeheartedly agree with you that 'Isaan girls are lovely'. And, as you suggest, if he expects that the Isaan girls he met in Pattaya are representative of their 'sisters' back home, he's in for a rude shock....

[irishsmile]

My advice to you is DONT GO THERE!!! Are you mental? Why the F^%k would you want to go to Isaan when Thailand has Pattaya? ?

Because he wants to experience and enjoy REAL THAI CULTURE.... not a dump with western overtones and western culture like pattaya!

[squarethecircle]

Sounds like a good plan: one piece of advice I have for learning Thai or Issan is to go to one of the bookstores they have near the schools (just about any school has them nearby) and pick up the books they use to teach their own kids the language. You can start out with the "Go Gai" alphabet books and move on from there. They are designed for teaching 5-year-old kids the language but this is how I am learning, only cost a buck and if you study in public you'll find yourself surrounded by locals eager to help you.

As far as UT KK or Buriram, I haven't spent time in the latter two but wasn't impressed with UT; I spent 2 weeks in Ubon Ratchathani a few years back and had a great time, has a good minibus system, is big enough to have the amenities needed but still small, locals were friendly as. Maybe you can just take a bus loop tour starting in KK and go east over to Ubon then cut up and around to Udon and then back down, stop in main cities along the way (I prefer staying in the hotels designed for travelling middle-class Thais, usually 3-350 baht a night with very good facilities and almost always a friendly and warm welcoming as they are not used to f-rangs, these hotels have a certain look I can recognize from far away, they are usually on the side of the highway just slightly out of downtown with a sign with a bunch of Thai then "300 baht [arrow pointing to the hotel]"). You'll have a great time, also if you're interested maybe look into teaching English (I'm sure this has been suggested already) a good way to get in with locals, but maybe it is not your calling.

Chok dee

Edited July 13, 2014 by squarethecircle

[squarethecircle]

^^^maybe it wasn't clear but I meant to recommend to take a loop trip starting in say KK and stop in the main cities along the way to see which is suitable, easy to do as there are songthaews and big buses going every which way and people are friendly as can be once you get off the tourist route. Travelling around the tourist areas is annoying as people get (understandably) annoyed with the f-rangs and seem to have developed a bad attitude, anyways good luck

[triffid]

That's a great thing to do and a good idea to visit isaan. It's much better than visiting Bangkok for example with the fake culture and the stuck up mentality.

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You can add Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai to that list.

If you actually read the OP, no way in hell would you add Pattaya and Phuket to his list! But Chiang Mai is a definite possibility.

I too was flummoxed that anyone would group Chiangmai with Pattaya/Phuket. Crazy!

[mistabent]

Hi bhthai,

Good for you! I think it's great you're putting this much thought and intention into your next trip to Thailand, and I wish you all the best. Given the right attitude and perspective, I think you're in for a great experience. I'm in my early 30's now and live in Ubon, but first came to live in Thailand in my early 20's- living and working in a small village about 30 minutes outside of Khon Kaen. If you come through Ubon, either to use as a base or just on a visit, come by and say hi. You'll find me at The Outside Inn (you can google it or you'll find a link to our website in my profile). I'd be happy to chat with you about my years here in Isaan, especially as my first few years were quite similar to your situation (younger, live in rural Isaan, here single and not really looking, learn the language, study the culture, etc.). Also, there's a great group of younger expats from all over the world living in and around Ubon. I can think of about 3 dozen friends in their 20's & 30's around here, most of them teachers, but some doing other things. Fun, good people who know the area well and could make a good network of friends for you- even though you're coming here to see and learn about Thailand and Thai's, there are times when its really good to take a break and have the friendship and support of other expats as well. Feel free to contact me anytime and/or stop by when you're in Ubon. Best, Brent

[Merryman88]

Where to live in Issan,

Have lived in Bangkok I had enough of that in just three month, then I moved to Pattaya for a year hated that, too many old men parading around with young girls hanging on their arms, quite frankly this embarrassed me. Then I went to Chiang Mai, visited Udon Thani for three months ,went back to the UK and returned to Thailand and moved to Ubon Ratchathani -

Off all the places I have been the two that I preferred where Udon Thani and Ubon Ratchathani both in Issan , I liked Chiang Mai but I lived about 10 Kl out of Chiang Mai city, the social scene was OK in Chiang mai very friendly natives plenty of things and places to visit lots of backpackers and tourists.

Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani is nice and laid back its not on the tourist route most visitors are a little more sophisticated, farang population is not filled with Bar types in fact there not that many bars. I went through Khon Kaen on the way to Vientiane stayed one night not over impressed.

Ubon

very good Gym and outdoor swimming pool at the Sunee Hotel part of the city mall shopping centre they do a day pass in the summer for 150 Baht and 100 Baht in the winter where you can use all the facilities all day there is also a sports college with an olympic size swimming pool plus exercise Gyn and Weights for 50 Baht but you can't go during college times. 5.30am to 8.30am then 4.30pm to 8pm afternoons. College times are 8.30am to 4 PM . There is on Thai Visa an Isaan Forum section where you can read much more about this region . Or Email me ray.bowley(at)Gmail.com

Merryman88

Edited July 17, 2014 by Merryman88