My Isaan adventure

[frequent]

Who doesn't like a man in uniform?

4537

These were two of the soldiers on duty in the central public park in Yasothon on the last morning of our adventure. No, I don't know why the Army has soldiers stationed there. In the background is a giant frog, and I don't know what its significance is either. It was, as you can see, already hot around 11am

4538

We were there for the Rocket Festival, an all day event, held the previous day across the road near the Sports Stadium and its nearby park. It's held with home made variants of this splendid item, in the park next to the frog (which, by the way, was shown with fingernails, so not a species of frog that's common)

4539

From there we headed off for the airport in Ubon Ratchathani, about an hour and a half's drive away

The rocket festival itself does not adhere to Western "health & safety" concepts, so bad luck all you politically correct members. Here's a recent video report (http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/calamity/2017/05/22/10-injured-yasothon-rocket-festival/) of the sort of accident that's quite common

The adventure will be reported from the end to the beginning, so more to come

[Manforallseasons]

Nice pics!

[frequent]

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 (http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2066/do-eskimo-men-lend-their-wives-to-strangers), 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)

[christianpfc]

Well written, amusing and informative at the same time, and I didn't find a factual, grammatical, spelling or punctuation error. That's close to the highest praise you will ever get out of my feather (figuratively, in fact keyboard).

I will leave it to others to run a google image search to see if these pictures are taken from elsewhere.

[latintopxxx]

geex...christian...soooo suspicious...

[Surfcrest]

It sounds like he's not traveling with his usual travelling partner, from the almost factual sojourn series.

Surfcrest

[frequent]

It sounds like he's not traveling with his usual travelling partner, from the almost factual sojourn series.I don't think you've been following along Surfcrest. The person of whom you write proved conclusively several posts ago that he and I are but two faces of the same person. I commented at the time that you get one, you automatically get t'other. Almost buy one, get one free. Therefore, whereever "I" am, the person posting as me has that other posting personality tagging along, somewhat like the Pope who creates secret cardinals in pectore

[frequent]

I will leave it to others to run a google image search to see if these pictures are taken from elsewhere.Knock your socks off

[Surfcrest]

I don't think you've been following along Surfcrest.

With you...I never do.

Surfcrest

[Patanawet]

and I didn't find a factual, grammatical, spelling or punctuation error.

Are you for real?

[cdnmatt]

Oh, he's for real. He even demanded a photograph of the knob on my washing machine before, because he wanted to see the temperates and I'm assuming Thai characters on it.

[francois]

Quote Originally Posted by christianpfc
and I didn't find a factual, grammatical, spelling or punctuation error.



Are you for real?

Perhaps Christian was being facetious considering cdnmatt's vision problems. Quite a feat being able to compose a post with no errors when someone is blind.

[frequent]

Oh, he's for real. He even demanded a photograph of the knob on my washing machine before, because he wanted to see the temperates and I'm assuming Thai characters on it.Do you often send guys photographs of your knob?

[frequent]

With you...I never doExcellent news

[sglad]

...and I didn't find a factual,...error.

You sure? Try again. It's quite easy.

[christianpfc]

That animal is called a toad and not a frog, wherever I read about it in English.

[frequent]

That animal is called a toad and not a frog, wherever I read about it in English.Thank you, David Attenborough

[Smiles]

Thanks for the photos and narrative Frequent.
Being there, you might enjoy these Yasathorn dances troups during the rocket festival. Quintessential morlum music.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=6TCJveaykJg

[frequent]

Thanks for the photos and narrative Frequent.
Being there, you might enjoy these Yasathorn dances troups during the rocket festival. Quintessential morlum music.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=6TCJveaykJgPatience is a virtue, Smiles

[frequent]

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)

[frequent]

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

[frequent]

Sweet isn't he?
4541

Moses: Not sure why this attachment isn't showing

He's a dancer in one of the famous Isaan entertainment troupes. You can see an example in the link Smiles posted, or here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GRzmIA6iXQ

He performed at the village we visited on the Saturday, before the rocket festival (I said I'd be reporting events backwards, timewise). The concert is apparently less a concert, more an opera, and like Kabuki or the Peking Opera it's a set of traditional moves and often tunes, with the story (in Isaan) being made up according to the whim of the promoter and lasting all through that year's performances (I'm just reporting what I was told)

You're much more interested in the boy (I can tell). He's 18 and yes, if you do one of christian's favourite Internet moves to find the origin of the picture (I didn't take it myself) - the Back 3 1/2 Somersaults in the Tuck Position reverse image search - you'll find him on one of the "dating" ie. let's meet up for a fuck Apps

I'm told someone like him earns 300 baht a performance, performs around 160 times a year, takes the Buddhist Lent off to go and work in the family fields, and rarely goes anywhere near Bangkok. And by "performance" I mean the solid nine hours of the concert we attended somewhere west of Sisaket on Saturday night (I said I was very tired Sunday night after the rocket festival). On top of the 300 baht it's "all found" which in his case is meals and the chance to sleep in the bus as the troupe moves from village to village and town to town

OK, if you've reached this far ... he doesn't speak or write English so bad luck to most of you, and as for the rest he's "sticky rice" so that's pretty much everyone else ruled out

[frequent]

If you want to go to Isaan there are boys everywhere on the Apps and they're lining up to talk to Westerners - even the old and infirm among us. I'd guess that they're mostly not interested in money - I was certainly never asked. In fact one guy had as the notes to his account in English "I don't want money I just want fat old man". However, be prepared for those who might want you but neither speak nor write English, and those who don't want you because you're not Thai. However, that's also true in Bangkok

The Apps even had locals online in villages quite remote from the major centres (who contacted me without prompting) - the concert we attended was in a quite distant village but there were roughly a dozen boys online, and the concert itself was attended by scores of lady boys and gay boys all dancing to the music

I'm a big city guy so it wouldn't do for me, but if you're desperate for a rural idyll there are places in Isaan you could settle down. I'm not sure how you'd fill in your day or who you'd talk to, but it's a possibility I guess. I encountered Westerners all over Isaan - a memorable couple of deadbeats and the Thai wife of one of them in a Tesco Lotus between Sisaket and Yasothon, for example

[frequent]

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

[cdnmatt]

Yeah, living in Issan is fine, especially if you're in a city, or at least on the outskirts of one. I don't think I could ever do village life though, or actually I know I couldn't. Leo keeps trying to convince me we should move to his village is Laos, and sorry honey, but not a chance in hell.

In the village, you would be viewed as an alient, and would probably be hounded day-in day-out to buy things for people, such as food, Pepsi, beer, laos khao, etc. Plus depending on the village you end up in, you may have to constantly listen to red neck rice farmers talk shit about you behind your back, or actually right to your face but they just speak in Laos / Issan so you don't understand.

As for apps, back when I used them I found same as you. I found finding young and cute money boys was a little diffcult though. If I'm going to pay for sex, I want top grade 20 year old ass. :)

Was really easy finding 28+ year olds for free sex though, and some were a little too forward for my liking, but that's just me. Then seemed like a lot of genuinely great guys out there, many who are just looking for a friend or BF.

But yeah, Issan is totally fine to live in. I'm not right in the city, but it's only about a 20 minute songtaew ride away. It's nice, peaceful and communal living where I am, and 95% of what we need for daily life is available in walking distance. Then for everything else, the city is just down the street, and has everything we could possibly need available in it. Well, except Cumin. The cunts discontinued it about 2 years ago, and still haven't brought it back.

One good advantage is rent is cheap here. I only pay 12,000 baht/month for a nice 3bdrm, 2 bath furnished house with large gated yard, and 4 A/Cs. I'd be lucky to get a half decent studio apartment in Bangkok for that.

[Oliver]

Frequent; may we have some more photos, please?

[Smiles]

" ... rent is cheap here. I only pay 12,000 baht/month for a nice 3bdrm, 2 bath furnished house with large gated yard, and 4 A/Cs. I'd be lucky to get a half decent studio apartment in Bangkok for that."
12 thou anywhere in Isaan will get you a semi-mansion. Lots of walls and 45 degree turns to make. Must be a bitch to be blind as a bat. Right?
Do you stub you're toes (in Poughkeepsie) on the big-puppy king bed? I'll bet you do.

[cdnmatt]

No, but I do wander around saying "watch your bum!" all the time, so I don't accidentally kick one of the dogs, because unlike the walls and furniture, they keep changing places.

Also, quit being such a smug asshole. Very un-Canadian of you.

[frequent]

Frequent; may we have some more photos, please?Much as I would like to oblige, Oliver, not only don't I take many photos but they most often include the faces of people who'd rather not have their mug shots plastered all over a family-oriented, clean-living site like SGT. I value everyone's privacy and I doubt I'd get their informed consent if I asked for it. After all - as I routinely remark - I only ever log onto SGT by way of a VPN (which has never stopped Surfcrest asserting and publishing where he thinks I am or am not from time to time) and I will always use a VPN while living under a military dictatorship. I even deliberately obscure when and where I am most of the time; as you can see I've been deliberately vague about where I was at any given time apart from in Yasothon for a public event on a specific day

[Oliver]

Fair enough....but thanks for Isaan - and Luang Prabang.

[sglad]

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.

[frequent]

I'd keep away from the Thai language if I were youI always have - as far away as humanly possible while still living in Thailand singaporesexpat

[sglad]

That animal is called a toad and not a frog, wherever I read about it in English.

Yes, you're right that it is a toad but what about the toad in relation to frequent's story indicates that he wasn't there at the time he said he was (if he was ever there at all)? It's quite easy.

[lego]

Of course he was there. How could he post a trip report if he hadn't been there?

[christianpfc]

Yes, you're right that it is a toad but what about the toad in relation to frequent's story indicates that he wasn't there at the time he said he was (if he was ever there at all)? It's quite easy.
No idea.

I have the story of the toad somewhere on paper of a TAT publication

[christianpfc]

Yes, you're right that it is a toad but what about the toad in relation to frequent's story indicates that he wasn't there at the time he said he was (if he was ever there at all)? It's quite easy.
So what is it?