Mahasarakhan

My friend is taking me to Mahasarakhan next month to meet his family. The furthest a field IтАЩve been so far in Thailand is, Bangkok. IтАЩve not been able to find much out about this place тАУ other then, its gonna take ages to get to тАУ and I think there wonтАЩt be many English speakers about. NoiтАЩs words тАШIsan is nice place. Not crazy placeтАЩ havnтАЩt exactly sold me the idea тАУ but whatever makes him happy.

So, anyone know what this place is like? IтАЩm hoping I can find a nice hotel, and a bar to hold up in for a week. Some decent shopping would be good, and a cinema тАУ would be great. Am I asking for to much? Or should I resign myself to being sat in a field for a week counting buffalo?

I think it's safe to say that you're going to have a rude awakening if you're expecting shopping, cinemas and bar-hopping.

PS: you might have more luck finding out something about the place if you spelled it correctly: it's an "m" on the end, not an "n".

[GWMinUS]

Always some good hits...

Here is the tourism web site
http://isan.sawadee.com/mahasarakham/

HUM
A University Town...
Sounds interesting??
Have FUN!!!

So, anyone know what this place is like? IтАЩm hoping I can find a nice hotel, and a bar to hold up in for a week. Some decent shopping would be good, and a cinema тАУ would be great. Am I asking for to much? Or should I resign myself to being sat in a field for a week counting buffalo?

Firstly it will take about 7 or 8 hours by car from Bangkok. An aircon bus will probably take up to 2 hours more than that. Add another 2 hours to these journey times if you are going from Pattaya.

You will probably be able to find a half decent hotel but Thai hotels "in the sticks" are quite basic - roughly tourist 3* in our terms (although they might be advertised as of a higher standard). The main complaint with nearly all of them is that the beds are damned hard - basically a very thin mattress on boards. Average room price is about 700 to 800 Baht per night (including breakfast - most likely buffet type).

Shopping will also be quite basic and orientated to Thais rather than farang but things are a lot cheaper than in BKK or Pattaya, but less variety.

There may be a cinema but that far out it will probably not have any films with English sub-titles.

As for bars - forget gogo bars or even gay bars for that matter (although there may be some gays in bars, which is a different thing) - the bars will almost certainly be straightforward beer bars or maybe karaoke. Again prices are a lot cheaper but the variety of drinks may not be large.

Very few people will be able to speak or understand english.

If your boy lives out of town on a farm or in a small village you are certainly going to have a culture shock. Be prepared to be buying a lot of food for the family and also providing copious amount of beer and whisky both for the family and any neighbours, who will descend (good naturedly) like a plague of locusts to see/greet the farang as you arrive. My total bill for a daytime one-day visit to my b/f village cost me in the region of 8,000 Baht just for food and drink.
Be prepared for the head of the family to be hinting though your b/f about making a cash donation to the family (possibly with a broken down tractor or pick-up or need for another buffalo as an excuse). "My" family asked for 10,000 Baht (to fix and service the pick-up!). This "donation" may seem to be an attempted con or rip off but it is generally expected that you as the (rich) farang will have some money to give the family, (as well as "supporting" your b/f), indeed you are expected to look upon it as a honour to help out the family.

Finally, you indicate that you may be there for a week - I would think that you will find that a maximum of 3 days will be more than enough for you to cope with on a first visit. Don't forget that unless you are actually living with them in the family home, you will be expected to provide some food and definately more drink each day you visit.

It is not all doom and gloom, in fact it is quite an eye-opener and a very interesting and educational experience - just don't expect to be feted for free - remember always that these will probably be very poor people living a basically hand to mouth existance.

thanks a lot for the advice, bit worried about those figures though!

Is that a typical "meet the folks" experience?

I think after that I'd be living a hand to mouth existance :(

[Boxer]

It is near Kon Kean (with Airport so fly up, hire car) and Kalasin for those who might not know where it is, not exactly off the beaten track.
As for the cost well yes it is expected but talk to your boy before you go and sort out spending before including a present for momma and poppa. I go to a big family and my boy says 3 boxes of beer and one Thai Whiskey is enough for a week. If your not there they dont have, but fun will come from it in the evenings before you go to bed about 10pm with nothing to do in evening. I take my own drinks juices water and tea and coffee stuff and toileteries to be sure i have. Get some fruit also for daytime snacks. Lay back and enjoy it, even if 7 days is a bit long for first trip, you will understand Thai boys and family so much more after the visit.

thanks a lot for the advice, bit worried about those figures though!
Is that a typical "meet the folks" experience?
I think after that I'd be living a hand to mouth existance :(

No they are not typical by any means and it all depends on your financial resources and the numbers involved.
The nearly 8000 Baht for food and drink DID cater for over 50 people (17 family members and the rest neighbours and friends !!). It was a damn good party though :thumbleft:

You could probably get away with about half of what I quoted or less depending on how many people turn up.

Remember, this sort of support for the family allows the b/f to leave with his head held high, having saved face with his family and his family with their friends/neighbours. Saving face is a big part of the Thai psyche and you will find that the b/f will be most impressed and grateful.

This has to be one of the nicest threads/posts etc in ages. Question asked and lo! some great responses with really first hand info. Lets hope the fuck someone doesnt hijack it
Go for it

[llz]

Mahasarakham is one of the very few thai provinces which NEVER got the slightest line in any of the well-known tourist guides (LP, Rough Guide). It is also (but you probably could not care less ...) the only isan province which I have never '"offed" a boy from. So for me it has the charm of an "off-limit" kind of place where I surely will go one day.
From an australian guidebook which was issued in 1997 (and never had any new edition, probably because covering everyone of the 76 thai provinces was not a good selling point), this is what I read about the province ...
Bordered by Kalasin to the northeast, Roi Et to the east, Surin and Buriram to the south and Khon Kaen to the west, Mahasarakham is located on the lower center of I-san. Regarded as a centre for education, it is also known as 'Taksila of I-san'. The province is mainly comprised of rolling hills and its occupants are principally concerned with cultivation and animal raising. The hand woven silk of this province receives particular recognition.
Some other links besides the very interesting sawadee.com one :
Virtualtourist (http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Thailand/Northeastern_Thailand/Maha_Sarakham-1445109/TravelGuide-Maha_Sarakham.html#tips)
thai-tour (http://www.thai-tour.com/eng/mahasarakam/attractions.html)
Doljit.com (accomodation list) (http://www.doljit.com/en/northeast/mahasarakham/stay.php)

[Monty-old]

DO NOT GO.
BUT if you do let us all know, what happens
I went there over 2 years ago, family wedding , never again.
I was the Only farlang , and had to pay for most things.
drinks , gifts. flowers, monks,and donation to the Wat, singers & dancers.
But the food was surplied. but it was to hot for me to eat. over 60 people turn up at 3 parties.
If you need Thai cultrure at is best GO.

[AMARETTO-old]

TAKSILA HOTEL 1227/68 Somthawailrad Rd, T.Talad A.Muang, Mahasarakam

Taksila Hotel: 99 Rooms : Superior , Deluxe and Suite rooms.

Room Rate until end October (breakfast included):
SUP. Room : 1,170
DLX. Room : 1,280
EXEC DLX : 1,390
JR SUITE : 2,200
GRAND SUITE : 2,500

Room Facilities :
Air-Conditioning Compact Disc Player Hair dryer
IDD Telephone Internet Connection Minibar
Refrigerator Room Service Satellite TV
Tea & Coffee Making Facilities Telephone

Hotel facilities :
Air-Conditioned Rooms Banquet & Conference Facilities Business Centre
Car Park Gift Shop Laundry Service
Lounge Bar Massage Restaurant
Safety Deposit Boxes Swimming pool Travel agency desk
Wireless Internet

Map : http://upload4.postimage.org/1348409/Map.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/1348409/photo_hosting.html)

I have never been in Taksila Hotel, but if you are near Kalasin I can recommend you to go to "Rimpao Hotel" in Kalasin city with swimming pool. You can find a disco not far from there. On day time, ask someone to show you the Dam for swimming and banana boat, you will see very soon that you are not the only gay people in those remote village. Personnaly, I use to stay in my boyfriend's farm in Yang Talat. Don't forget your mosquito net.
5,000 Baht a dinner for 14 people in a restaurant in Kalasin City. Have a nice trip. I recommend you to go by plane to Kohn Kaen and to take a bus in KK city at the "non air con bus station" to go to Mahasarakam.

[Smiles]

... I think Pepperami can expect something in between the very negatives (poor old Monty) and the more romantizised comments.

My experiences:

I've been to my guy's family farm many times (actually farms as the older and younger brothers each have their own, as well as an older sister. There are a few more plots, some sisters I've never met) in Surin Province (just south of Mahasarakam) and none were ever as costly or as pressure-filled as some comments above.

I normally picked up a case (12) of large Singha or Heineken, some mix and ice, and a bottle of whiskey along the way (these are somewhat cheaper upcountry) plus assorted fruits and vegetables (also cheap there) and perhaps some nice pork. The beloved does all the shopping in small places he knows well, and bargains are had. That's about it. I bought an amount that I think would generously feed 7 or 8 people . . . the rest of the spread was shared by family members. Simple meals, nothing fancy.

I usually buy a small gift for Mom (the last was a rather pretty necklace I found in a shop here at home: 1500 baht) and I leave an envelope (with a card) each for both Mom and Dad containing 2000 baht. The amount is optional, as is the gift. You will not be thought any less of if you do not do this, but your boyfriend will be very proud of you for doing so.

In my experience there were no expectations or requests for anything more than the above . . . and even that was unrequested: what I bought along (the first time anyway) was those things I talked about beforehand with my guy, as I had no idea what I should do. You should do this as well.

Talk over with your boyfriend what you would prefer NOT to do (e.g. give in to unreasonable requests for gifts or money ... though I am certain this will not happen), and rest assured he will make sure there are no such requests. This is part and parcel of "Thai face" . . . he will not allow you to be put in the position of having to say "no" to anything: he will protect your "face", as well as his own, and as well as the person who might ask for something. Complicated ... but it works for Thai people.

After that I would forget about the costs and go get drunk, have a good time:

Show them you can "dance Isaan"[/*:m:2iv137p0]
Show them you know how to make sanook (even though you won't undestand them, nor they you). [/*:m:2iv137p0]
Always keep your guy at your side so he can translate for you. Ask the family questions through him . . . get him to tell you what they are saying. [/*:m:2iv137p0]
Make friends with the brothers & sisters![/*:m:2iv137p0]
After a few drinks, hold Father's hand and talk to him through your boyfriend.[/*:m:2iv137p0]
Wai to Mom & Dad when you arrive and when you leave. [/*:m:2iv137p0]
Don't wai to the brothers and sisters unless it's a "return" wai. [/*:m:2iv137p0]
Don't wai to little kids.[/*:m:2iv137p0]
Don't expect to be thanked vorciferously for your generosity or gifts. It won't happen. Your boyfriend may do it later!! :blackeye: [/*:m:2iv137p0]

One proviso. Your plan for spending 7 days in the village is probably a bit much. Your back will kill you if you actually spend nights in the family home. You do not say whether the family is a typical Isaan farm family, or a Thai middle class family (lots of these in Isaan). If middle class then you may get a more comfortable western style bed. If on a farm, it'll be a lot harder by many degrees. Toilets in farm houses are, well, interesting.
Personally, I would suggest to the boyfriend that you spend time in a (Thai) hotel if you can find one reasonably close by. This will not be viewed as an insult, and will probably relieve some hosting pressure from the parents.


LIFE ON THE FARM:


Some festival . . . a candle/Buddhist thing I can't recall the name of


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Thailand_2005/villagelife2.jpg


Younger brother's pickup. And no, I wasn't asked for funds to repair it!! :bounce:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Thailand_2005/family4.jpg


(Left to right) Suphot, older brother's wife, 1 nephew, 1 niece, older brother (a local loan shark)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Thailand_2005/family1.jpg


(Left to right) Neigbour's kid, niece on tricycle, younger brother's wife, younger brother, Mother, Suphot


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Thailand_2005/family2.jpg


Part of younger brother's new house. He was most proud of this place and I got the grand tour.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Thailand_2005/family3.jpg


Another shot of the above-mentioned festival. Suphot was the central candle-bearer. He's never had a photo op he didn't take ful advantage of.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/Thailand_2005/villagelife3.jpg


Cheers ...

[Smiles]

" ... I went there over 2 years ago, family wedding , never again. I was the Only farlang, and had to pay for most things. drinks , gifts. flowers, monks,and donation to the Wat, singers & dancers... "

What do mean you "had" to pay for everything?
What, and who's, gun was being held to your head? Did you say 'no'?
If the fear was losing the opportunity for the Absolute-Best-Fuck-in-the-World I guess I could understand. But other than that I cannot imagine where the threat to 'pay for everything' would come from. Can you enlighten us?

Cheers ...

[Monty-old]

What I said was that i paid for MOST things, I did not say everything. and nothing about threat, More to do with losing face.
I was willing to pay, and no one twisted my arm. And Did love the Thai culture.
I was just trying to let those of you that have never been to boys village, what might happen.
I might add , that the short time B/F I went with . also asked me for 50,000 bht , so we could also get wed.also 45,000 bht for a new motor bike. I declined both. and am still happily single.
The ONE thing I did hate, was having to swat.
Smile, you got one thing right, ( Poor old Monty )
A farlang Friend of mine , told me I was Dirty, Filthy Rich.
Not true,
But 2 out 3 is not bad.
Mai pen rai.

Wow, thanks for all your thoughts on this (and those photoтАЩs are great) тАУ sounds quite daunting, but should be quite an adventure!


7 days does sound long, but I think with work etc. Noi doesnтАЩt get to spend much quality time with his family тАУ so think it would be good for him. I told him I can sleep anywhere he can sleep, but I think he wants to stay in hotel.

If he wants big party thatтАЩs fine тАУ especially as one night weтАЩll be celebrating his birthday, just as long as we donтАЩt have to do it every night. He doesnтАЩt drink himself, his fathers passed away, and most of his families in Chang Rai. From what I can gather, its his 65 yo mother and a sister weтАЩll be visiting. CanтАЩt see them wanting to get to legless every night, but IтАЩm probably wrong!

Wow, thanks for all your thoughts on this (and those photoтАЩs are great) тАУ sounds quite daunting, but should be quite an adventure!



Hope you have a great time - if you go with an open mind I'm sure you will. The hotel option certainly sounds the best and I would not contemplate anything else if I visit again - but there again I like my creature comforts (not least of all being able to sit on a proper toilet instead of squatting over a hole in the floor !). The whole paraphernalia with mosquito nets and no aircon is also a put-off for me.

BTW the house in Smiles' photos looks quite posh and his b/f's family seem to be fairly well off in comparison with a lot, if not most, farm/village families. Certainly my b/f's family house was a lot less salubrious.

Enjoy. Would be nice to hear how you got on in due course.

[Smiles]

" ... BTW the house in Smiles' photos looks quite posh and his b/f's family seem to be fairly well off in comparison with a lot, if not most, farm/village families ...
Hi Snowkat,

The house in two of those photos is that of one of Suphot's brothers. He has done fairly well for himself, though by no means rich. The land on which the house sits was originally part of the family farm and was given to him by his father (quite common). The house itself was built over a period of 2 years by the 3 brothers. It's very roomy inside, but not luxurious and Pot's brother is incredibly proud of the accomplishment.

This is an Isaan family whose original house still sits beside the father's new house as a reminder of the past. It's a tin roofed, 3-walled, one-room house on stilts and in it the father and mother raised 12 kids (Suphot being one of them, the middle brother of 3. All the other kids were girls).
There are 8 children left (4 died over the years) and most are doing well .... some living in the home village in Surin Province, a couple in Bangkok, and some god knows where.

The older and younger brothers are both reasonably successful farmers (the older brother is building a new house as we speak " ... better than Suban house ... " he says). Suphot himself lives in the family home, working the farm and taking care of his father who is sick most of the time from a lifetime of heavy smoking and drinking.

All in all the family has made great strides in the last 7 or 8 years and have a rather high status in the village ... especially the older brother. But they started off dirt poor (it didn't help that the father's gambling 'bad luck' lost at least half the family land ), and life still isn't particularly easy out there in rural Thailand. But for this family at least, life is quite a bit better than it used to be.

This is a long shot of Suban's "new" house (now about 4 years old):


http://upload4.postimage.org/1356571/subanshouse.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/1356571/photo_hosting.html)


Cheers ....

My boyfriend's family home in Ratchaburi is close enough to Bangkok or Hua Hin, where we normally stay, for a day visit to see his mother to be possible. His father died six years ago and left him this house.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Ratchaburi.jpg

He doesn't live there anymore and it's flooded at the moment anyway as it's near a river.

My boyfriend is over protective of me and wouldn't let me stay in the village as he's convinced I'd catch something from the food, water, locals etc.

A favourite activity which used to involve his relatives was to arrive by taxi and join a whole host of cousins, nephews, aunts and uncles along with his mother. They would have hired a mini van and we'd all go to some local beauty spot for the day. This always involved lots of eating and I'd pay for the whole thing but it wasn't very expensive as neither my boyfriend or I drink and alcohol didn't seem to figure much with his relatives either. I think the most people we crammed into a mini van was 18.

He now lives away from his family home so I'm not sure if I will see his mother on my next trip as family relations are strained at the moment and he doesn't see any of them.

" ... BTW the house in Smiles' photos looks quite posh and his b/f's family seem to be fairly well off in comparison with a lot, if not most, farm/village families ...
Hi Snowkat,

The house in two of those photos is that of one of Suphot's brothers................

Thanks for the background information. I never meant to infer they were rich but just that the house was a cut above the normal farm/village house. Certainly my b/f family house, although not on stilts, is also a one room single-storey house with breeze-block walls and a tin roof. The kitchen is "al-fresco" under a lean-to on the side of the house. The other dozen or so houses in the village are nearly all the same.

Anyway, Pepperami is in for quite a culture shock, whatever the standard of his b/f's family house ! I hope he enjoys the experience - I did. :cheese:

Cheers.