Isan experiences
It's a hot afternoon in the middle of the week. Oppressive heat makes people slower and especially thirstier. So De Inquisitor stops all activities at two o'clock in the afternoon and settles down on the shaded terrace of the shop after a refreshing shower.
Isan letters (2)
Hey Isaaner! I read your letter. I have to tell you that when I first came to Thailand almost thirty years ago, I had never heard of Isaan. And it took me almost another twenty-five years to get there. You should also know that I come from a completely different world than yours. Raised completely differently, different values, different norms. But yeah, that's my choice, I get it.
Isan letters (1)
Once again I see a farang in the village, it is not the first time. Strange that our women nowadays turn more and more to the strangers instead of our own men. For a part I understand, a farang has money. But that is the only thing for me, for the rest they are just strange fellows. They don't know their world, they don't know our customs.
Greetings from Isaan (10)
House Inquisitor has a problem. Sign. And they are more difficult to combat than you might think. It started quite innocently: during the daily brushing of the three dogs you regularly found an animal, but that gradually became more and more. Too much at one point, LinLin, the mother bitch of four years, has suddenly aged ten years in a short time.
Greetings from Isaan (9)
The road from the Inquisitor's house to the center of the village is exactly one kilometer long and full of bends. In a straight line it would be about half, but it is probably an ancient natural walkway that grew into a street. In the first short part there are another five houses and then you come between the rice fields. However, trees regularly stand in the way of a mechanical harvest, but they do provide a good shady spot for manual work.
Greetings from Isaan (8)
It is a picturesque building, actually no more than a few tree trunks that function as supporting posts. There are horizontally thick long branches on top of it and diagonally here, sloping from front to back, are another arm-thick branches, on which second-hand iron corrugated plates are nailed, which overhang both at the front and at the back. A kind of low fence has been installed on the side walls, also with thick branches, with a small opening as a gate. That opening is closed with loose bamboo sticks, arm-thick but light in weight. The result is a rickety whole that can still hold up when some heavier gusts of wind arise.
Greetings from Isaan (7)
And there it was, the rain. After eighteen weeks of drought a relief, a celebration. The soil thirstily sucked up the moisture, all dust was washed away. It seemed as if the air was being cleaned, a smell of ozone wafted around. Moreover, it did not cool down too much, pleasant temperature during the day so that you feel like spring.
Greetings from Isaan (part 6)
A plume of blue smoke rises from behind the fence and slowly dissolves between the green of the tall trees. That is the sign that poa Sid has lit his campfire again, during the cool period he does that every day because people arrive at his yard from sunrise. They arrive on rickety mopeds of a model that De Inquisitor recognizes from a distant past, but the inventive Isaaners manage to keep them rideable.
Greetings from Isaan (part 5)
Unfortunately, many Westerners greatly underestimate the life of an average Isan family. You notice that from many reactions to blogs, you often read that on social media. The Isan countryside and its inhabitants get off pretty badly. Lazy, addicted to alcohol, freeloaders, easily go into prostitution. Immediately the entire region, a huge area in fact, is written to pieces. Arid and dry, hot, monotonous. Nothing to see, nothing to do.
Greetings from Isaan (part 4)
Et is in his early forties, married and the father of three children. And was an important man in the village for a year. There were local elections at the time, very local, only for the hamlet where we live.
Greetings from Isaan (part 3)
The Inquisitor is awakened by the bustle of honey-dear, a glance at the window lets a beginning dawn shine through the curtains. Strange because the sweet is usually already out of bed around this time. Drunk in sleep, The Inquisitor throws off the duvet and then he feels the cold. Guys, it's that time again. Another cold wave passes over Isaan, it was announced but as always it overtakes De Inquisitor.
Greetings from Isaan (part 2)
A mixed color pallet of flowers in red, yellow, blue, white, ... attracts attention in all gardens. Bees and other winged insects flock to it so that it is a lively whole. It is clear that nature does not stand still here in Isaan, despite the somewhat lower temperatures.
Greetings from Isaan (part 1)
The Inquisitor has started blogging again, today the first of a series. He writes about his fourth winter in Isaan and that is the least 'harsh' to date. The first cold snap came in mid-December. From which The Inquisitor and sweetheart largely escaped due to an almost two-week trip to Pattaya, well, Nong Preu, partying with friends and acquaintances there. It was strange that it had been rainy there for about three days, a phenomenon that hadn't happened here in the countryside for a month or two.
Nostalgia in isaan
No, this story is not about Isaan. The Inquisitor came across some photos from his last visit to Pattaya last July. Most of them from Nongprue, just across Sukhumvit Road, east of Pattaya, his old home before moving to Isaan. That made him search for old photos and found some from a very long time ago. That makes The Inquisitor nostalgic.
Christmas in Udon Thani
Months in advance, De Inquisitor had reported that he wanted to go to Udon Thani for Christmas. He had stayed at home for the previous three years and he didn't like it. No Christmas atmosphere. However, Christmas is in his genes, that special time is about the only thing he cherished from his old Belgian life.
Ghosts in Isan
The Inquisitor comes into contact with spirits in Isan. Because not only Buddhism is influential on daily life, there is also a lot of animism.
Isan winter
Cats and dogs are kept as close together as possible, in all draught-free spots that can be found. Iguanas, snakes and other cold-blooded creatures move slowly, looking for the first morning sun to warm up. The Inquisitor and sweetheart wear a kind of slippers indoors, from some hotel, the cold floor tiles give an unpleasant feeling.