The Forgotten Isaan Farmers and their problems.......................

[lostinisaan]

It took quite a while to find out how a lot of farmers in Isaan really live. And what's behind their smiles.

Many of them do not "make" enough money to buy basic things like toothbrushes and toothpaste.Neither shampoo, nor any conditioner can be seen ii an ordinary Isaan style bathroom.

Too many people do not brush their teeth, they're only using some powder and rub it over their teeth which doesn't clean them.

Not too many have hot water to have a shower in winter. And the list goes on and on.

Most of them do not have enough money to see a dentist, if they've got a toothache they just don't go to see a dentist, just because they know they can't afford it.

A dentist at a hospital has only 10 minutes per "30 baht patient". If there's a root canal treatment necessary, or something else, they have to see a dentist at a clinic. But they can't afford it to go to a clinic.So they can't get it done and lose more and more teeth. Weird, or?

Many kids at rural schools have rotten teeth in the age of five, the dentists who check their teeth at school can't fix their lives in poverty and nobody seems to care about these circumstances.

Many older people have to raise the kids of their own children who work somewhere else. If they don't send money every month, life's getting even more extreme. The suicide rate is very high in rural Isaan...

I've read some posts on this forum where people thought they'd receive warm clothes every year from their government and that they'd be lazy bastards.

All they receive when over 60 is 1,000 baht per month, an amount we easily spend when we eat out.

Child pregnancy is very high. Uncles and other relatives take advantage of little kids, nobody talks to the cops. Nobody wants to lose face.

Plenty of people have HIV, or already developed AIDS, which is now treated at rural hospitals, as well. But too many of them just don't go to see a doctor, because it's a stigma to live with this virus.

Another big problem is tuberculosis. Those who're sick might receive treatment and the advice to take it for at least six months. But many of them stop taking the medication when they feel better. And all comes back, others get infected, etc.. Insanity pure, caused by non existing education.

I've seen quite a few people dying of AIDS in my wife's village, one mother refused to wash her daughter because she thought she'd get infected. I've told her what I thought of herti

Another guy, a Japanese national brought his wife back to the village. She wasn't needed anymore and died a lonely death. I was with her in her last hours.

Neighbors stopped talking to them, once they found out that somebody in the house had the virus. Nobody really knows what the virus really is and schools don't touch this topic because the teachers don't know anything about it.

Nobody gets a free house with a red door. Nobody receives free food from an organisation. And nobody really seems to care about them.

They received some money when they voted for Thaksin % Co, the current military Junta seems to be too busy to help them.

One rice harvest per year and only a few baht per kilo for their rice is the total rip off. Well, the 3 baht per kilo harvested chilies in the hot sun makes life not much better. Only good business for the guy who sells them on the market.

How do they feel when they watch the soap operas about the always rich people in Bangkok with their fancy houses and cars is what I think when we sit there and watch always the same bullshit. Day by day, week by week, month by month.

The teachers at village schools are often so uneducated that they can hardly teach anybody anything. If you find a village English teacher who can say more than hello in English, you had good luck.

Farmers in a village can hardly send their kids to a better school in the city, so what chances do they have when they're older?

Each and every refugee in Europe has a lot more to eat, more clothes and a much better future with a good education all these people can only dream of. These Thai farmers do not deal drugs, they're honest people.

The government's trying to get their land by telling them that they can have a cheap credit, knowing that they can't afford it to pay it back.

And so many people are wondering why so many young people take drugs, trying to leave this boredom for a few hours?

The forgotten farmers of Isaan are the poorest farmers of the ASEAN member countries. And that includes Myanmar and Cambodia.

I truly feel sorry for them and do all I can to help them. Have a great weekend.

.

[tomwct]

Are you NUTS? My wife's family farms rice in Ubon! None of the above applies! Yes, they are poor, but happy! My wife went to

work in Korat at 18 and then she got her undergraduate degree at night! She took the Civil Service Exam after graduation and was

Number 2 in NE Thailand. Got a great job in the District Admin. She now has her MBA and is C-7 at 45. Her Teeth are beautiful

and I asked about brushing her teeth on the farm. Her Grandmother made toothbrushes and toothpaste at very little cost, if any.

so, don't put this CRAP OUT!

[SpokaneAl]

It sounds a bit like you extrapolated your conclusions based on a small sample size that may or may not be representative of the larger population.

[tom21]

the farmers look ok where I live . they may not be rich but they are well fed and happy

[colinneil]

Why do some people spout rubbish like this???

OP is living in cloud cuckoo land.

[luxoretired]

well i think LOI sees things with a good heart ,it is where i am much the same , tom makes a very relevant point in that the education of family makes the difference , of course he is right . the bottom line is that education and personal motivation makes a world of difference .i cannot motivate , even with cash as an incentive youth in the village to learn .Thai mentality puts little emphasis on the future or moving further than Bangkok. consequently my village , a rich poor village has very high illiteracy ,bad health with lung problems and cancer main killers (apart motorcycle deaths )all the villagers have financial problems except the card player who has a new house , this person is seen to be "lucky " not a scum bag stealing from the ignorant !my own wife ? educated,director of personnel , car owner, property owner , world traveller , what a difference for education !

[lostinisaan]

Are you NUTS? My wife's family farms rice in Ubon! None of the above applies! Yes, they are poor, but happy! My wife went to

work in Korat at 18 and then she got her undergraduate degree at night! She took the Civil Service Exam after graduation and was

Number 2 in NE Thailand. Got a great job in the District Admin. She now has her MBA and is C-7 at 45. Her Teeth are beautiful

and I asked about brushing her teeth on the farm. Her Grandmother made toothbrushes and toothpaste at very little cost, if any.

so, don't put this CRAP OUT!

I beg your pardon. Did I write all rice farmers? Do you really think that I made this up?

I've lived in my wife's village and know plenty of other villages from Sisaket to Mukdahan who live a very poor life.

Please go to a more rural village and look around you.

Losing face prevents many people from telling you the truth. BTW, I din't say anything bad about the people.

What you call "crap" is the sad truth for too many farmers. G'Day.

[DogNo1]

Truly heart-rending, LOI. I saw much of the same in Chiang Mai 1983-84. Back then, I had no money. Now I try to help the hard-working people around me as I can. Good for you for having a compassionate heart. These same people can take advantage of you though so be careful.

[never me]

Lost,

Thank you for posting this.

I think the best way to help these people is through Education.

The poor people farmers of Cambodia are a lot worse off than

Thailand. In Kampon Speu province 4 years ago they were living

on .50c about 15B a day.

In Asia we have the super rich & the super poor.

Some Thai friends drove me to an orphanage where the only children

allowed have HIV. This wealthy Thai family that took me refused to get out of the

car in case they might catch HIV.

Its a very sad state of affairs we live in.

[Squigy]

I agree. Same in my village.

[lostinisaan]

Lost,

Thank you for posting this.

I think the best way to help these people is through Education.

The poor people farmers of Cambodia are a lot worse off than

Thailand. In Kampon Speu province 4 years ago they were living

on .50c about 15B a day.

In Asia we have the super rich & the super poor.

Some Thai friends drove me to an orphanage where the only children

allowed have HIV. This wealthy Thai family that took me refused to get out of the

car in case they might catch HIV.

Its a very sad state of affairs we live in.

Thanks for your post. Reminds me of a nightmare, that was real.The "Sarnelli house" near Nong Khai.

It must have been about 14 years ago when my wife and I traveled through Thailand and arrived in Nong Khai.

I saw a poster of "father Michael Shee" with a few kids who had already developed AIDS. On the next day we drove to this place and I'll never ever forget what I saw.

Kids from two to about 16, almost all had already developed the AIDS symptoms and medicine at this time was not available from Thai hospitals.

WE spoke to most of the kids and then to Michael. They received money from a foreign organization and bought as much medicine as they could from the States.

Instead of receiving help from Thais, some village headmen, but also health officials just dropped some more infected kids off.

Nobody wanted any contact with them and more and more kids had to be treated.

I remember the boy with a cast, who had a broken leg and all the smiling faces. All I could do was to leave some money and I'll never forget the feelings we had when we left after a full day with the kids. I couldn't tell Michael that there's no god,, because that kept him going.

I remember one chat with Michael when he had to cremate two kids on the same day, whose relatives " couldn't make it" None of the relatives had the time to say goodbye.

Please see;

http://sarnelliorphanage.org/about-us

[lostinisaan]

Why do some people spout rubbish like this???

OP is living in cloud cuckoo land.

I wish my words weren't true.

[lostinisaan]

Truly heart-rending, LOI. I saw much of the same in Chiang Mai 1983-84. Back then, I had no money. Now I try to help the hard-working people around me as I can. Good for you for having a compassionate heart. These same people can take advantage of you though so be careful.

Last year we could give a lot of sweaters, jackets, toys and a lot of useful things to the poorest in some villages.

Thanks to the German guy in Chiang Mai who immediately put 10 K in the basket and a Khop Khun Khrap to one lady from the German embassy.

My wife bought a lot of decent stuff at second hand markets, where you can find some nice and very cheap stuff.

You're not looking for Nike, when you're poor.

[Issangeorge]

Lost, after reading your post I am so happy I live in my small village of about 1,000 people off any highways in the middle of nowhere. We must be very, very lucky, because other than for a group of people on yah bah, none of the other things you say are true of my village. Generally, they are happy, have as much food as they need to eat, and the odd one that does not is helped out by the ones that do. Yes they are poor in a materialistic way compared to the west or parts if Bangkok, but so much wealthier, in other ways, compared to the west. As for the grand parents bringing up the children, who would you rather bring up your children, someone in a day care centre or if your rich at a boarding school, or someone of your own family, who will love them and nurture them. I truly feel sorry for you living in such a poor, poor village. Thank goodness, I don't and that not all Isaan villages are as you describe.

[cooked]

I don't generally criticise Thailand, specifically Isaan, very much.

However it seems to me that the kids get the will to learn extinguished somewhere along the way. Up to about 12 they seem bright and interested, then something happens that turns (many of) them into unreceptive clods. At 68 I am more interested in learning new stuff than many 13 - 16 year olds around here. I tried to get one lad to use a shovel, he just seemed to think that as he had never used one before, he didn't need to use one now, despite the fact he could see how fast it was compared to using a scoop.

As mentioned by a few posters, education is the key but education should make learning a pleasure and not a chore that you can cheat yourself through and finish up on the farm knowing that they definitely don't want to take over the farm. but with little idea or interest of what else they might do.

Food: they do get enough, generally, although a lot of it is stuff that I have tried once and decided that I didn't want to try again, and the onset of diabetes and obesity is well known .

I have to agree about cultivating rice though, a real pain in the a**e to be getting ฿10 - 12 /Kg after all that work and worry.

I haven't met up with TB or rotten teeth in our village, ladies coming back from Pattaya willing to deny that they have AIDS although it is clear for all to see and dying as a consequence I have seen. I have also seen ladies coming back with other STDs and not having the foggiest notion what could have caused it. My wife is the go to lady for this kind of thing since she was a marriage broker and she knows the secrets (and secrets they remain) of many people in the village.

[Sealbash]

It took quite a while to find out how a lot of farmers in Isaan really live. And what's behind their smiles.

Many of them do not "make" enough money to buy basic things like toothbrushes and toothpaste.Neither shampoo, nor any conditioner can be seen ii an ordinary Isaan style bathroom.

Too many people do not brush their teeth, they're only using some powder and rub it over their teeth which doesn't clean them.

Not too many have hot water to have a shower in winter. And the list goes on and on.

Most of them do not have enough money to see a dentist, if they've got a toothache they just don't go to see a dentist, just because they know they can't afford it.

A dentist at a hospital has only 10 minutes per "30 baht patient". If there's a root canal treatment necessary, or something else, they have to see a dentist at a clinic. But they can't afford it to go to a clinic.So they can't get it done and lose more and more teeth. Weird, or?

Many kids at rural schools have rotten teeth in the age of five, the dentists who check their teeth at school can't fix their lives in poverty and nobody seems to care about these circumstances.

Many older people have to raise the kids of their own children who work somewhere else. If they don't send money every month, life's getting even more extreme. The suicide rate is very high in rural Isaan...

I've read some posts on this forum where people thought they'd receive warm clothes every year from their government and that they'd be lazy bastards.

All they receive when over 60 is 1,000 baht per month, an amount we easily spend when we eat out.

Child pregnancy is very high. Uncles and other relatives take advantage of little kids, nobody talks to the cops. Nobody wants to lose face.

Plenty of people have HIV, or already developed AIDS, which is now treated at rural hospitals, as well. But too many of them just don't go to see a doctor, because it's a stigma to live with this virus.

Another big problem is tuberculosis. Those who're sick might receive treatment and the advice to take it for at least six months. But many of them stop taking the medication when they feel better. And all comes back, others get infected, etc.. Insanity pure, caused by non existing education.

I've seen quite a few people dying of AIDS in my wife's village, one mother refused to wash her daughter because she thought she'd get infected. I've told her what I thought of herti

Another guy, a Japanese national brought his wife back to the village. She wasn't needed anymore and died a lonely death. I was with her in her last hours.

Neighbors stopped talking to them, once they found out that somebody in the house had the virus. Nobody really knows what the virus really is and schools don't touch this topic because the teachers don't know anything about it.

Nobody gets a free house with a red door. Nobody receives free food from an organisation. And nobody really seems to care about them.

They received some money when they voted for Thaksin % Co, the current military Junta seems to be too busy to help them.

One rice harvest per year and only a few baht per kilo for their rice is the total rip off. Well, the 3 baht per kilo harvested chilies in the hot sun makes life not much better. Only good business for the guy who sells them on the market.

How do they feel when they watch the soap operas about the always rich people in Bangkok with their fancy houses and cars is what I think when we sit there and watch always the same bullshit. Day by day, week by week, month by month.

The teachers at village schools are often so uneducated that they can hardly teach anybody anything. If you find a village English teacher who can say more than hello in English, you had good luck.

Farmers in a village can hardly send their kids to a better school in the city, so what chances do they have when they're older?

Each and every refugee in Europe has a lot more to eat, more clothes and a much better future with a good education all these people can only dream of. These Thai farmers do not deal drugs, they're honest people.

The government's trying to get their land by telling them that they can have a cheap credit, knowing that they can't afford it to pay it back.

And so many people are wondering why so many young people take drugs, trying to leave this boredom for a few hours?

The forgotten farmers of Isaan are the poorest farmers of the ASEAN member countries. And that includes Myanmar and Cambodia.

I truly feel sorry for them and do all I can to help them. Have a great weekend.

Obviously you have never been to Myanmar

.

[lostinisaan]

It took quite a while to find out how a lot of farmers in Isaan really live. And what's behind their smiles.

Many of them do not "make" enough money to buy basic things like toothbrushes and toothpaste.Neither shampoo, nor any conditioner can be seen ii an ordinary Isaan style bathroom.

Too many people do not brush their teeth, they're only using some powder and rub it over their teeth which doesn't clean them.

Not too many have hot water to have a shower in winter. And the list goes on and on.

Most of them do not have enough money to see a dentist, if they've got a toothache they just don't go to see a dentist, just because they know they can't afford it.

A dentist at a hospital has only 10 minutes per "30 baht patient". If there's a root canal treatment necessary, or something else, they have to see a dentist at a clinic. But they can't afford it to go to a clinic.So they can't get it done and lose more and more teeth. Weird, or?

Many kids at rural schools have rotten teeth in the age of five, the dentists who check their teeth at school can't fix their lives in poverty and nobody seems to care about these circumstances.

Many older people have to raise the kids of their own children who work somewhere else. If they don't send money every month, life's getting even more extreme. The suicide rate is very high in rural Isaan...

I've read some posts on this forum where people thought they'd receive warm clothes every year from their government and that they'd be lazy bastards.

All they receive when over 60 is 1,000 baht per month, an amount we easily spend when we eat out.

Child pregnancy is very high. Uncles and other relatives take advantage of little kids, nobody talks to the cops. Nobody wants to lose face.

Plenty of people have HIV, or already developed AIDS, which is now treated at rural hospitals, as well. But too many of them just don't go to see a doctor, because it's a stigma to live with this virus.

Another big problem is tuberculosis. Those who're sick might receive treatment and the advice to take it for at least six months. But many of them stop taking the medication when they feel better. And all comes back, others get infected, etc.. Insanity pure, caused by non existing education.

I've seen quite a few people dying of AIDS in my wife's village, one mother refused to wash her daughter because she thought she'd get infected. I've told her what I thought of herti

Another guy, a Japanese national brought his wife back to the village. She wasn't needed anymore and died a lonely death. I was with her in her last hours.

Neighbors stopped talking to them, once they found out that somebody in the house had the virus. Nobody really knows what the virus really is and schools don't touch this topic because the teachers don't know anything about it.

Nobody gets a free house with a red door. Nobody receives free food from an organisation. And nobody really seems to care about them.

They received some money when they voted for Thaksin % Co, the current military Junta seems to be too busy to help them.

One rice harvest per year and only a few baht per kilo for their rice is the total rip off. Well, the 3 baht per kilo harvested chilies in the hot sun makes life not much better. Only good business for the guy who sells them on the market.

How do they feel when they watch the soap operas about the always rich people in Bangkok with their fancy houses and cars is what I think when we sit there and watch always the same bullshit. Day by day, week by week, month by month.

The teachers at village schools are often so uneducated that they can hardly teach anybody anything. If you find a village English teacher who can say more than hello in English, you had good luck.

Farmers in a village can hardly send their kids to a better school in the city, so what chances do they have when they're older?

Each and every refugee in Europe has a lot more to eat, more clothes and a much better future with a good education all these people can only dream of. These Thai farmers do not deal drugs, they're honest people.

The government's trying to get their land by telling them that they can have a cheap credit, knowing that they can't afford it to pay it back.

And so many people are wondering why so many young people take drugs, trying to leave this boredom for a few hours?

The forgotten farmers of Isaan are the poorest farmers of the ASEAN member countries. And that includes Myanmar and Cambodia.

I truly feel sorry for them and do all I can to help them. Have a great weekend.

Obviously you have never been to Myanmar

.

I've been in Myanmar, but haven't seen how rice farmers live. I have no idea how trustworthy some "researches" really are, but please read this: I'm aware that Myanmar is about 40 years behind Thailand and my point was about rice farmers in general.

What Thailand would look like without us "Farangs" and the money we spend here is very easy to "imagine."

Thus the Thai farmers do not have any income from the tourism industry, nor are there any jobs for them. I'm sorry if my post wasn't clear enough regarding the poverty of many ( not all, of course) farmers.

It said Myanmar farmers have rice production cost of 7,121.76 baht/ton, but they get 10,605.86 baht/ton from rice sales. After cost, they still have 3,484.1 baht as profit, or 55.34% higher than Thai famers’ earnings.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/52033

[lostinisaan]

I don't generally criticise Thailand, specifically Isaan, very much.

However it seems to me that the kids get the will to learn extinguished somewhere along the way. Up to about 12 they seem bright and interested, then something happens that turns (many of) them into unreceptive clods. At 68 I am more interested in learning new stuff than many 13 - 16 year olds around here. I tried to get one lad to use a shovel, he just seemed to think that as he had never used one before, he didn't need to use one now, despite the fact he could see how fast it was compared to using a scoop.

As mentioned by a few posters, education is the key but education should make learning a pleasure and not a chore that you can cheat yourself through and finish up on the farm knowing that they definitely don't want to take over the farm. but with little idea or interest of what else they might do.

Food: they do get enough, generally, although a lot of it is stuff that I have tried once and decided that I didn't want to try again, and the onset of diabetes and obesity is well known .

I have to agree about cultivating rice though, a real pain in the a**e to be getting ฿10 - 12 /Kg after all that work and worry.

I haven't met up with TB or rotten teeth in our village, ladies coming back from Pattaya willing to deny that they have AIDS although it is clear for all to see and dying as a consequence I have seen. I have also seen ladies coming back with other STDs and not having the foggiest notion what could have caused it. My wife is the go to lady for this kind of thing since she was a marriage broker and she knows the secrets (and secrets they remain) of many people in the village.

I guess that people were also asking you if you wouldn't have a friend, brother, etc... for one of the girls in the village?

One woman offered me 25 K to find a guy for her daughter. I denied and she send her to find a job in Pattaya, she got a Buddha around her neck and I later dropped her off at the bus station on my way home.

About two years later, a very good looking and well-dressed girl showed up and smiled at me. Some Baht of gold around her neck and other expensive jewelry made her look like a wealthy girl from the city of Angels.

When she started to speak I remembered her voice. It was the daughter of the woman and she’d found an Aussie who married her.

But she also brought something back, you don’t really want to mess with. Not long and she developed the first symptoms of AIDS.

There’s a village south of Sisaket where you mostly see huge houses with walls around.

One girl came back with an American guy who built such a huge house with a wall around that no ordinary Thai could come inside. Many others followed her and soon it became the Farang village.

Some girls even made it to three houses after how many farangs?

[DILLIGAD]

L.i.Isaan this sounds very much like the place that I call the 'Village of the Damned

Glad I moved away!!!!!!!

[lostinisaan]

L.i.Isaan this sounds very much like the place that I call the 'Village of the Damned

Glad I moved away!!!!!!!

I'm talking about a village only 7 km away from UP. But all the other villages around are same same. No different. No have.

I still don't understand how I survived more than a year living there when I settled down. With all up’s and downs.

Lhao Kao every day, nit noi every two minutes until it came out of my nose one day.

Now when we visit and bring some stuff, I can't stay long. Too many bad vibes around.

[Norlund]

Are you NUTS? My wife's family farms rice in Ubon! None of the above applies! Yes, they are poor, but happy! My wife went to

work in Korat at 18 and then she got her undergraduate degree at night! She took the Civil Service Exam after graduation and was

Number 2 in NE Thailand. Got a great job in the District Admin. She now has her MBA and is C-7 at 45. Her Teeth are beautiful

and I asked about brushing her teeth on the farm. Her Grandmother made toothbrushes and toothpaste at very little cost, if any.

so, don't put this CRAP OUT!

You have the right to disagree, but NOT the right to be impolite. I think that you should really get out there and see it for yourself. I have lived in a poor village in the middle of Isaan for many years and I know what he says is true. And if you think that people living in the villages are well educated you really need some "enlightenment".

[lostinisaan]

well i think LOI sees things with a good heart ,it is where i am much the same , tom makes a very relevant point in that the education of family makes the difference , of course he is right . the bottom line is that education and personal motivation makes a world of difference .i cannot motivate , even with cash as an incentive youth in the village to learn .Thai mentality puts little emphasis on the future or moving further than Bangkok. consequently my village , a rich poor village has very high illiteracy ,bad health with lung problems and cancer main killers (apart motorcycle deaths )all the villagers have financial problems except the card player who has a new house , this person is seen to be "lucky " not a scum bag stealing from the ignorant !my own wife ? educated,director of personnel , car owner, property owner , world traveller , what a difference for education !

Wise words. Some of them who try to rip their own guys off by buying their rice and chilies for almost nothing, seem to not care about anything else than their wallets.

A guy who all in a sudden became the Pujaybaan bought a brand new pick up on credit and when he saw me on a village visit he gave me "commands" to teach his game addicted daughter English, without even asking me if I'd like to.

I never liked this arrogant guy and not even ten buffaloes could make me do that.....

But that was the red shirt time and the pick up's back at the bank and the guy's as quiet as a mouse now.

And now people hate him for what he really is. A skunk.

[lostinisaan]

Are you NUTS? My wife's family farms rice in Ubon! None of the above applies! Yes, they are poor, but happy! My wife went to

work in Korat at 18 and then she got her undergraduate degree at night! She took the Civil Service Exam after graduation and was

Number 2 in NE Thailand. Got a great job in the District Admin. She now has her MBA and is C-7 at 45. Her Teeth are beautiful

and I asked about brushing her teeth on the farm. Her Grandmother made toothbrushes and toothpaste at very little cost, if any.

so, don't put this CRAP OUT!

You have the right to disagree, but NOT the right to be impolite. I think that you should really get out there and see it for yourself. I have lived in a poor village in the middle of Isaan for many years and I know what he says is true. And if you think that people living in the villages are well educated you really need some "enlightenment".

Norlund, you gotta see it from the "bright side". Of course does a good paying foreigner enrich the quality of somebody's education enormously.

Do I like nuts? Yes, I do.?.Am I a liar? Nope, I'm not. I've experienced all in my OP and I do not have a reason to lie about anything.

This guy's post made me laugh because I've never ever seen a toothbrush & toothpaste producing grandma in Isaan.

I was just wondering if she took bamboos or teakwood for the brushes? And how would you make toothpaste? Using fermented fish, perhaps?

Please let us know, I might have a new income soon.

Some people seem to live in their pink tinted walls and do not understand how the rest of the village lives.

Would his wife tell him anything about her past that doesn't fit into this so good sounding love story? I have my doubts. But who cares?

He might be one of these guys who built huge walls around his house that no (poor and uneducated) Thais can get into a house in Thailand.

[inzman]

Geez, I live in a small village and work in another small village. Everybody has a newer car than me. New houses are sprouting up everywhere I look. My students all go home in cars not motorbikes. I can't find anyone to do some work for me for less than 1000 a day as they all have plenty of work. The new tesco in town is packed and so are the new restaurants. I don't know what part of Issan I am missing. Different strokes.

[lostinisaan]

Geez, I live in a small village and work in another small village. Everybody has a newer car than me. New houses are sprouting up everywhere I look. My students all go home in cars not motorbikes. I can't find anyone to do some work for me for less than 1000 a day as they all have plenty of work. The new tesco in town is packed and so are the new restaurants. I don't know what part of Issan I am missing. Different strokes.

Lower northeast, Sisaket. Whenever you're in the area, please drive from Sisaket to Rasi Salai and stop at any village.

The new Tesco in town makes a difference. If the guys I'm on about can make 250 per day, they're more than happy.

Picking chilies for 3 baht per kilo is hard work. I've tried it once and stopped at maybe 100 gram.

Please try to pick 100 kg per day which is impossible and receive 300 baht for it.........

[cooked]

I don't generally criticise Thailand, specifically Isaan, very much.

However it seems to me that the kids get the will to learn extinguished somewhere along the way. Up to about 12 they seem bright and interested, then something happens that turns (many of) them into unreceptive clods. At 68 I am more interested in learning new stuff than many 13 - 16 year olds around here. I tried to get one lad to use a shovel, he just seemed to think that as he had never used one before, he didn't need to use one now, despite the fact he could see how fast it was compared to using a scoop.

As mentioned by a few posters, education is the key but education should make learning a pleasure and not a chore that you can cheat yourself through and finish up on the farm knowing that they definitely don't want to take over the farm. but with little idea or interest of what else they might do.

Food: they do get enough, generally, although a lot of it is stuff that I have tried once and decided that I didn't want to try again, and the onset of diabetes and obesity is well known .

I have to agree about cultivating rice though, a real pain in the a**e to be getting ฿10 - 12 /Kg after all that work and worry.

I haven't met up with TB or rotten teeth in our village, ladies coming back from Pattaya willing to deny that they have AIDS although it is clear for all to see and dying as a consequence I have seen. I have also seen ladies coming back with other STDs and not having the foggiest notion what could have caused it. My wife is the go to lady for this kind of thing since she was a marriage broker and she knows the secrets (and secrets they remain) of many people in the village.

I guess that people were also asking you if you wouldn't have a friend, brother, etc... for one of the girls in the village?

One woman offered me 25 K to find a guy for her daughter. I denied and she send her to find a job in Pattaya, she got a Buddha around her neck and I later dropped her off at the bus station on my way home.

We can't walk through the local town without being asked to find some one a Farang (ie they want money). I put a stop to that, it was very near to pimping in many cases. A friend was at the local airport and saw about ten Germans getting off the plane, not a word of Thai, paying a Chinese lady a large amount of money each and then being introduced to a Thai girl. Easy to make money like that, until the police or the local mafia get wind of it.

[luxoretired]

what you see on the surface and what is actual reality are quite different ! supermarkets are full ...yes ! with shoppers ? NO ! trollys full of kids and the family enjoying FREE aircon ! not many ,if any products in the trolly .my village has many new cars but how are they obtained (note the word obtained ) they are not paid for and will not be either ,they are "ambulant " they come and go .often once obtained just sit as no money to use ,.then they evaporate .in my village people dont shop in supermarkets as they cant read ! thats why these pickups selling items for a much higher price survive because they tell the people what is what and pay on the never never . why do we have the daily news at 0600 broadcast over the village ? because villagers cant read and get informed or perhaps , be misinformed for a reason .my particular village they are well looked after , and although food is pleantifull the question of nutritional value does not enter the equation , neither does its safety as its cooked at 0600 and eaten continuously through the day along with the dog dribble, geko poo ,fly spit and , just to add flavour , the " drinking water " you know the make , comes from a concrete ong filled by rainwater 3 months ago , used as cow drinking point and served in a cup the entire village uses ! OMG !

if you look under the stone you see a different world .it was the world of my wife before she grasped the opportunity to escape and achieve a "normal"read civilised existence .there are very few in isan who have good quality life by honest means earnt in isan .the reason ? politics .an uneducated population cant ask questions.

[thaiduncankk]

You failed to mention the inter breeding that has gone on in these villages for a long time.

[DogNo1]

The idea that education should be fun is very fashionable these days but, in fact, there has always been a resistance to education because it's a chore and studying and remembering things takes work. Even my first degree in music was actually very difficult. The graduate degrees weren't a piece of cake either. Here's a quote from As You Like It:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
And then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.

[Norlund]

Geez, I live in a small village and work in another small village. Everybody has a newer car than me. New houses are sprouting up everywhere I look. My students all go home in cars not motorbikes. I can't find anyone to do some work for me for less than 1000 a day as they all have plenty of work. The new tesco in town is packed and so are the new restaurants. I don't know what part of Issan I am missing. Different strokes.

It's actually very easy to prove that there is poverty in Thailand by using statistics. The average monthly wages are about 13 500 baht. How can all these people afford to buy a car or a nice house? They can't. What you see is the middleclass and the rich driving around. Mostly the new houses are built by the middleclass and foreigners.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/wages

"Poverty has declined substantially over the last 30 years from 67% in 1986 to 11% in 2014 as incomes have risen. Poverty in Thailand is primarily a rural phenomenon, with over 80 percent of the country's 7.3 million poor living in rural areas (as of 2013), though a third of the poor are now in urban areas outside of Bangkok as well. Some regions—particularly the deep South and Northeast—and some ethnic groups lag greatly behind others, and the benefits of economic success have not been shared equally, especially between Bangkok, Thailand’s largest urban area, and the rest of the co.untry."

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/thailand/overview