Sunday night near Yasothon
The Sunday night after the rocket festival I spent in a nearby village - maybe 20 or so kilometres outside of Yasothon. No running water, outside loo, outside (cold) shower but, thankfully, one air-conditioned bedroom. Before you start getting excited about Eskimo hospitality, it was a single bed and I was very tired. I'll comment about the "dating" Apps later on
In the morning, before we set out for Yasothon town and then the airport, my host walked me around part of the village. I was again impressed, as I have been on previous visits to Isaan, at the large wealth transfer that seems to be going on. There were close to a dozen new and nearly new houses, all costing in the two-to-four-million baht range, funded by remittances from Bangkok and, in a couple of cases, Australia. The sons and daughters are off in the big city, working their arses off (sometimes literally), and sending the money home. In return grandmothers and aunts are raising their children for them while they work in the factories and shopping malls - rarely the offices, not a high enough level of literacy - and houses of the rich as well as - perhaps less often than you might imagine - in gogo bars. Few young people remain at home - just enough to do the farming. I did see one very handsome young lad who would certainly have made his fortune servicing the latintopxxxs of this world in Bangkok but his story was "married at 15, father at 16" - not uncommon, and he was a farm labourer
It had rained heavily while I slept, and was very wet underfoot but there was livestock in abundance - chickens everywhere, pigs and cows all being fattened up for slaughter. Despite the chickens being everywhere, apparently their owners are able to identify them simply by sight (so I was told)
The Yasothon Rocket Festival
It was loud, it was in your face, it was dangerous. No, not one of a447's posts, but the Yasothon Rocket Festival. Here's the promotional video which would make you think it's something like a Sunday School picnic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArzPZ06GcxE
In practice it's this sort of thing, over and over:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMOZzzgt8KA
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h_FmMVix8k
And then there's the accidents (see previous post)
The Yasothon Rocket Festival (Part 2)
And that's not to mention the dancing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KTwBQXhQFI
There's plenty more on Youtube if you're really interested
As the sun sets over my Isaan adventure ...
Who were "we" then? A bunch of gay Thais and me, travelling as the guests of a Thai who'd done well for himself overseas and invited us along for the ride. Included were a couple of lady boys, whether pre- or post-op I did not enquire. Since we were all guests I did not once put my hand in my pocket to pay - food, entertainment, petrol was all taken care off for 4 days by a Thai
Those who complain about being treated as "a walking ATM" by and large don't understand the rigid nature of Thai society nor its social norms. Every Thai family relationship is carefully defined, so that word for the son of my father's older brother is different to that for the son of my father's younger brother or my mother's older brother. How do foreigners fit in? They don't - there is no defined role for them. However there is a role in Thai society for "the Big Man" - the patron, the godfather. Everyone seeks such a person to do favours for them - one reason why corruption is so pervasive. If you trust no-one except your family (the norm in Asian societies) you look for "facilitators" who through their personal networks can find you such a patron. Enter the foreigner. The only role he can have is patron - the "walking ATM"
Our host on my Isaan adventure played the Big Man to our motley crew for a few days
The downside of the trip? The katoey who spent every waking moment primping and preening for a never-ending sequence of selfies. Every meal was Instagrammed. Facebook was her constant companion
When I first came to Thailand an old Westerner once said to me "You can keep a Thai boy entertained for hours - just buy him a full-length mirror." The need for a mirror has almost gone; the "selfie" has replaced it. The sentiment however is still the same
Re: As the sun sets over my Isaan adventure ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
frequent
Every Thai family relationship is carefully defined, so that word for the son of my father's older brother is different to that for the son of my father's younger brother or my mother's older brother.
No, it isn't. Cousins aren't differentially defined. The son/daughter of my father's older brother, the son/daughter of my father's younger brother or the son/daughter of my mother's older brother is my cousin or luuk pee luuk nong or more generally yaad or relative if the speaker is not sure of the connection or doesn't want to go into specifics. Actually luuk pee luuk nong is broad enough to cover cousins, second cousins and cousins not related by blood but through marriage.
My father's or mother's older brother is my uncle or lung. My father's younger brother is my aa.
Nice try at giving the appearance of authenticity (although I'd keep away from the Thai language if I were you) but an almost passable story woven around YouTube videos. C+ for effort.
Re: As the sun sets over my Isaan adventure ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sglad
I'd keep away from the Thai language if I were you
I always have - as far away as humanly possible while still living in Thailand singaporesexpat
