I wonder. Isaan was originally populated in the 19th century by ethnic Lao and Khmer who were invited in by the Thai king. If goji had been around he would have been complaining about the government being more welcoming to the newcomers than to the Thais themselves. Meanwhile Bangkok was being colonised by ethnic Chinese, who still make up the merchant class. Most older Isaani speak either Khmer or Lao as their first language at home and certainly know if someone is from the "other" group. It's more likely that just as the urban Thais of Bangkok can spot a country bumpkin a mile off, the rural Thais can equally spot someone even more of a bumpkin from a neighbouring country without much of an effort. Lunching at Mrs Balbirs a couple of weeks ago with a Thai I was informed by him that the waiter (mango chutney anyone - see my restaurant review) was "probably" Burmese despite the fact they exchanged a very few words while the order was being takenOriginally Posted by cdnmatt
Not, mind you, that Thai people are racist. Everyone knows that it's only middle-aged white men who can be racist
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