Column – Welcome to Isaan, where even boredom gets bored
There you are. Far from civilization, somewhere in the deep armpit of Thailand. It's called Isaan here, although 'Isgaan' sounds more logical. A region that you won't find on any bucket list, unless your bucket list is filled with punitive expeditions and self-mortification. This area is not a holiday destination but a well-intentioned reckoning with yourself. After seven days in this nothing from nothing, in which even the clock drags on excruciatingly slowly, I finally understand why so many people in Thailand become monks. Isaan simply forces you to make radical choices: seek enlightenment or flee.
The first thing you notice in this land of scorching boredom is the smell of smouldering waste and smouldering dreams. There is always someone busy ritually burning their daily dose of joy in life. In Isaan, fire is not a natural phenomenon but a social phenomenon. The only local entertainment that betrays any form of passion. And it provides a magnificent visual spectacle: thick plumes of smoke rising from fields where people once had a future.
Those looking for adventure or culture would be better off taking a detour of hundreds of kilometres. Here in Isaan, every street corner is the same: a collection of half-asleep people under peeling corrugated roofs, waiting with a lethargic look for something to happen that never does. Is nothing really happening, you ask yourself? Oh yes, it is! Exciting daily highlights such as counting mopeds or staring at plastic bags floating by are major events here. Except of course for the one thing that never gets boring: expertly discussing each other's shortcomings. Gossip is national sport number one, two and three here.
Here, your reputation is your most important currency. “See that lady next door? She only washes her rice once a day.” Massive indignation, collective disapproval. “And that boy over there? He laughs at jokes without a punchline.” Unforgivable, of course. That’s how the locals while away their days, hanging in hammocks full of holes, the best topic of conversation always being the one just out of earshot.
Isaan, dear people, is not a place where you come to find yourself. It is rather a place where you lose yourself. Slowly. Very slowly. So slowly that even turtles and snails pass you by laughing, while filling out their tax forms. If you ever thought that heaven existed, Isaan is the exact opposite. Not because of the heat or the insects the size of croissants, but because the ultimate punishment here is an endless repetition of the same day. You get caught in a loop of absolute nothingness, trying in vain not to go crazy with the thought that tomorrow you will have to experience the exact same misery all over again.
One week, seven days, one hundred and sixty-eight long hours. That is exactly how long a normally functioning human being can survive here before his brain slowly liquefies. The moment of departure from Isaan is therefore the true reward. The only real attraction of this region: the moment you look in the mirror and realize that you never have to come back here again. As far as I am concerned, this region deserves a slogan “Isaan: visit it once, if you really can’t go anywhere else.”
For now I pack my bag again and wave goodbye to this sad piece of earth with great joy. As I leave with my friend who felt the need to visit her family, I just hear my name echoing through the village in the last flurries of gossip. And that is probably the most exciting thing that will happen here this month.
About this blogger
- The Expat (66) has been living in Pattaya for 17 years and enjoys every day in the land of milk and honey! Previously employed in road and hydraulic engineering, but fled the capricious weather in the Netherlands. Lives here with his Thai girlfriend and two dogs just outside Pattaya, a 3-minute walk from the beach. Hobbies: enjoying life, going out, sports and philosophizing with friends about football, Formula 1 and politics.
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Great column again Expat and so true. I have agreed with my girlfriend that I want to stay in Isaan for a maximum of 5 days once a year. Longer? I would rather amputate my left arm. The only nice thing about Isaan is the bus to Pattaya.
Yes Mark,
And that bus to Pattaya is full of Isan ladies who also go to make you feel at home there. Moreover, ladies from Isan are known for their beautiful appearance.
Whether they are dancers, barmaids, waitresses, cleaners, 7-Eleven cashiers, construction workers, street sweepers, bartenders or hotel receptionists.
When they all stay home, you run out of Pattaya waving that one arm.
Great weather, Expat! You have a deep insight into Thai society. That must be because you live in Pattaya, a vibrant city where farangs tell each other the truth about Thai society. Pattaya is also home to many refugees from Isaan.
A small insignificant correction, Expat. It is 'the' Isaan, the Northeast, just like 'the' Achterhoek.
More information
Do you also say 'the' Holland?
“Isaan (Isan or esarn) is the name often used in Thailand to indicate the northeastern region of Thailand. The northern and eastern borders with Laos are formed by the Mekong River. The southern border with Cambodia is formed by a low mountain range. The southern and western borders with the rest of Thailand are also formed by a low mountain range, the Phetchabun Mountains. A large part of Isaan is formed by the Khorat Plateau.” source Wikipedia.
I don't read 'the Isaan' anywhere here.
And before I get cancelled again by the editors: I just want to point out that both forms can be correct.
You don't say "de Holland", or "de Frankrijk", but you do say "de isaan, de achterhoek, de Peel, de Randstad, etc. No place name is mentioned, but an area. That this does not always apply is also evident when you say West Friesland and not 'de west Friesland". But just as you also say 'de vogel' and not 'het vogel', that is how I was taught when I was younger. I could be wrong and feel free to correct me if I am wrong. Perhaps one of the regular writers or another linguist can explain this better?
Both forms can be correct, depending on how you use it in the sentence. Here's the difference:
1. “Isaan” without the article:
This usage is often seen when referring to a name of a region without further specification, as you would do with other geographical designations:
• “I will be traveling to Isaan soon.”
• “Isaan is the poorest region of Thailand.”
2. “The Isaan” with article:
The article makes it more specific or informal, and is often used when you want to emphasize that it concerns the region or area:
• “In Isaan, life is still authentic.”
• “Isaan is known for its dry landscape.”
Conclusion:
In most Dutch texts you often see “de Isaan” when it comes to the region as an area or region. So when you are talking about the geographical region, “de Isaan” is a bit more common and sounds more fluent. But both forms can, depending on the context, be fine.
“Pattaya is also home to many refugees from Isaan”
What makes you say this?
What does such a refugee look like?
If you take the bus from a Thai province to Pattaya, you are a refugee?
You're talking about the Achterhoek, so Achterhoekers are called refugees in Groningen?
When you started practicing as a general practitioner in Vlaardingen, were you also labeled as a refugee from Groningen?
You, as a reasonable person, will probably have intended a different meaning.
They are fleeing poverty and the uncertain future. If they could build a good life in Isan, they would definitely stay there.
Dear Pear,
The irony in Tino's response is surely lost on you.
Perfectly presented Expat, from today you are held in high regard by me, for all readers take the advice of the Expat to heart and stay away, there is nothing, absolutely nothing in Isaan, you will die of boredom here.
STAY AWAY!!!!!
The Expat, as well as many others who criticize Isaan, have apparently never been to other regions of Thailand. Take for example the province of Phichit, Khampeang Phet or Nan, just a few examples of provinces in Central Thailand that are not inferior to Isaan because yes if you criticize Isaan then there is nothing left to criticize many other regions in Thailand that are completely comparable and I know because in the first 20 years of my Thailand life I had never been to Isaan but always stayed elsewhere in Thailand. Come on if you criticize Isaan then you criticize Thailand because there are no real differences with other regions. By the way 4 of the larger cities and urban areas of Thailand are located in Isaan, so there is more than a rice field or a hammock. By the way, I think my view of Pataya is not that great either, I lived on the edge of the Red Light District in Amsterdam and I think that is why my aversion to drunks, sex workers, tourists and other marginalised people is quite coloured and I have not been to Pattaya since 1997, in fact, if I have an appointment with someone from Pattaya I invite them to come to Chonburi or Bangkok just to stay far away from Pattaya, which does show what I think of the Expat's place of residence.
Ger Korat,
I agree with your statement that Isaan is probably not much inferior to other regions of Thailand, where often there is nothing to do. Of course you can't compare a city like Pattaya with the dusty village where my mother-in-law lives, and there is indeed not much happening there, that's true.
But it does have its charm, if only because you don't run into hordes of other farangs. And if you feel the need, Korat is an hour's drive away and you can get lost in a few gigantic malls full of goodies and, yes, foreigners.
Because my wife was born there and her family lives there, I cannot avoid visiting Isaan, but that is part of it.
I often hear from Mrs. Oy about other farangs who stay on the beach while their wives travel to Isaan to visit family, but I wonder how these farangs would react if it were the other way around.
I think it's a matter of respect, so I just go with my mother-in-law.
Traveling there will never be my hobby (in fact I hate it), but once every two years or so should be possible.
I certainly don't hate the area, and I like to take long morning walks through and along the fields, which is wonderfully relaxing. But after a week under my mother-in-law's roof, I am always happy to be able to explore other areas.
Regards, Lieven.
Believe me Lieven, there will come a time when you will appreciate Isaan.
I never thought before that I would live here near Korat but one gets older and calmer and when I read the Pattaya news info then I am glad that I live here, I was in Pattaya for 1 week last October, that was the last time for me, it seemed like an open institution, a collection of weirdos in a pressure cooker.
It has always been a mystery to me why almost all Thais dream of building a house there. I never hear this from other nationalities. I have friends with Latino women and Africans but none of them want to go back to that countryside or birth village. I have also experienced that and despite the fact that everything is available in the house, it has really been enough for me after 1 week. It seems like a place of exile. It is boiling hot, it is teeming with insects (even in the bed) and there is simply nothing, absolutely nothing. At 18:30 pm it is pitch dark and you can no longer go outside. There is no lighting and from then on the streets belong to the dogs. Nobody speaks or understands a word of English and even with Thai you are not always of any use because most people there only speak their dialect. And I lost my time there when we did not even have internet and only 64 Thai TV channels. That was a real ordeal back then.
Every Thai who has a bit of ambition or is creative flees there. What remains are some losers and fools and especially addicts to strong drink. Of course the rice farmers themselves who are still at home there and their reason for existence.
I now see it as a (mandatory) country retreat that I would actually rather be without.
Whether you are bored is within yourself, not in your living environment.
Oh well, each to their own.
Have been coming to PrachakSinlapakom for several years, 20 km south east of Udon Thani.
Wonderful, peace and space.
Every now and then an 8 hour drive and visiting family in BKK or PTY.
And we thank Bhuda on our bare knees when we can get back into our car and go back to Isaan
Away from the hustle and bustle and highly touristic areas such as Pattaya.
Gr. Arno
I like the first days in Isaan, you also get to rest. I always say, if you have a burn-out, go to Isaan for a few weeks and you will come back completely rested. And despite the fact that I don't do much, I sleep like a baby there and even go to bed earlier than usual.
After a few days I start to get bored. No gym, no swimming pool, no shops (except for a Lotus) and no nightlife.
But here too, preferences are very personal. One likes peace and quiet, another likes some commotion. Fine, right?
It is also best not to get sick or unwell there, because by the time you can count on any help there, you will probably be dead for a few days.
So not a place that is recommended for older people who often also have to deal with ailments, serious or otherwise.
In Khon Kaen you have excellent doctors in various hospitals, state, university and private.
The ambulance service also works well.
The local clinics, because of the government, can actually be seen as the general practitioner in the Netherlands, small treatments on the spot and referrals work fine.
And not expensive.
The distances are of course a hindrance to rapid ambulance assistance, but I heard yesterday that ambulances are also being placed at clinics outside the city.
In Khon Kaen, in the middle of Isaan, you have everything that Pattaya has, but on a smaller scale. And indeed, things that even Bangkok and Pattaya cannot offer.
If you know the way, that is.
Pattaya is not Thailand, Isaan is.
Been there a few times, Pattaya, never again.
Another nail/head contribution,
Another item about our friends in uniform soon?
Greetings from Trat.
I have been living in Isaan, a village just outside Khon Kaen, for over 5 years now and I have not had a single day of boredom.
But I am very happy with these kinds of articles from the expat because they probably keep the farang away from Isaan.
Dear Expat
I have been living with great pleasure in Isaan for years on a beautiful large piece of land surrounded by our cows, chickens, dogs, cats. The most beautiful place on earth without neighbors and with a beautiful starry sky that tells us every day that there is more than money and possessions.
I have seen the whole world with many wonderful journeys but Isaan is a beautiful place to live precisely because people here can be content with having no possessions and still be happy.
I learned here that money and many possessions do not necessarily make you happy because they do not help you with illness and discomfort.
In Isaan, people are left to their own devices and must survive with family and neighbors.
I enjoy the beautiful tours on the motorbike with my girlfriend in the small village in our neighborhood where the people in their dilapidated house happily make their own clothes from silkworms into garments with the most beautifully colored patterns in them.
At the Bijenkorf in the Netherlands you pay 500 euros for this, here you see the real craftsmanship passed down from generation to generation.
In many villages here I see the most beautiful bamboo wickerwork being transformed into beautiful pieces of furniture.
Here I see the most beautiful looms to make the most beautiful bags and mats from reed, all with great pleasure.
The average age in Isaan is very low.
People die here from many innocent ailments that are still being treated in the West for a long time, but here people accept their discomforts and their premature death much more than Westerners.
People here accept their fate much more easily and do not fight against it. I think that is a more beautiful image than what I myself have inherited in my Western genes.
The average Westerner fights against death and in this environment death is accepted because it is part of life.
Drinking and drugs are also present here just like in Pattaya and other areas but I live here mainly to see the good things and that happiness in life does not lie in wealth but in initiatives to make something beautiful of this short life.
The people I know here are very happy with each other and I would like to show you the things in Isaan that will make you very happy and that are completely unknown territory for you in Isaan.
Here in Isaan too there are beautiful luxury swimming pools with cocktail bars, so you don't have to go to Pattaya or Bangkok for that.
The great deal of entertainment that tourists and you have in Pattaya and Bangkok is often due to Isaan, because many girls who work in the sex industry and bars come from Isaan.
You have become dependent on an environment that must be there for you to experience happiness in life.
You can also create your own beautiful environment without becoming dependent on constant superficial stimuli from people who will certainly not be there for you if you become demented or chronically ill.
I think you are still very healthy..just like me..but every person needs care at some point. and with that basic idea life begins in Isaan…the cradle of Thailand where care for each other still exists…but you have to be open to see those things.
I do not recognise at all the negative image you have of Isaan, even though I have lived there happily for 18 years.
I wish you above all many wise life experiences and a broader view of the world and less need for superficial stimuli that made Pattaya great.
The most suffering in Thailand is in Pattaya… imagine living there.
Kind regards from Danny from Isaan
.
For here you see
I am writing a book: about the Isaan. My target audience consists of those who have 'misfortuned' in this passage to Nirvana. Whoever would read it from prison to sanatorium or other mourning house would be able to find comfort in the reality that where they are staying is ultimately still a paradise.
Of course, for a resident of Pattaya and surroundings, Isaan is boring. Understandable, here people don't sit in the morning drinking beer in some bar out of boredom. Here in Isaan people are poor in comparison, but no less happy for that. Here people still grant each other the light in their eyes.
Furthermore, Isaan has beautiful regions, national parks and Khmer temples. The peace of the vast rice fields is wonderful. There are also beautiful beaches if you don't want to swim in polluted seawater.
For me, Isaan can stay Isaan!
Flight
I think that more than half of the Isaan men are alcoholics. In our village they start at 6 in the morning with the bottles of whiskey. Yes, what else are those men supposed to do with whole days. The Farangs who live there often have to do the same because they also try to get through the day by numbing themselves.
I would rather live in a city where, in addition to the occasional beer in a bar, I can also have breakfast, go swimming, work out, play ping pong, play golf or pool or even take boxing lessons, go to the cinema once in a while and or have an ice cream and in the evening, who knows, maybe go to a go-go bar but certainly go for a meal at a restaurant of my choice. Anyone who is still bored then has a problem indeed.
“I am currently writing a book: about Isaan. My target audience consists of those who have ‘missed out’ on this passage to Nirvana.”
Something tells me I would also be surprised if it were a book about those who were lucky, but then it wouldn't be autobiographical I guess 😉
Of course there are people here who will shout that it is fantastic in Isaan. What else can they do, they have had a house built there for a lot of money. Usually under pressure from the Thai partner. And nobody admits that it was actually a wrong decision, because then you are a loser.
But I don't believe it. Every Thai who can leave doesn't want to live there, they flee to the cities. Of course also to earn money but living in a village in Isaan is not the dream of a Thai. Why would it be a dream of a farang?
Everyone with comments is right, because everyone speaks from their own needs.
I myself have been a plane spotter since I was 13 and glorify everything about aviation. This is where my passion and need lies. Someone else curses everything about aviation. Noise, stench, nuisance, while I would rather see some planes flying over every day.
For one, Isaan is living hell, for the other paradise. While I am still going to visit Korat to experience an international exercise of air forces. A month ago I drove separately for two days to Pattaya, because there was an aircraft carrier of the USN, packed with fighter jets. I find every region three times as beautiful if there is something to do with aircraft.
Another person may enjoy the world he or she lives in and thus meet needs that are necessary, while another may think that guy is completely crazy and vice versa.
Needs, things you need, are to stay in aviation terms like landing lights on a runway. If you go outside of them you end up next to the runway and you won't be happy. If you stay within them then life is ok. What is a need for one person is an abomination for another.
I think it's about respecting each other's needs. Express them fine, nice Expat that you keep doing this. There is no need to convince the other of how wrong he is, because that doesn't work. My life I hear already, you with your shit airplanes, crazy, you again and have to laugh about it, because these are often people who have no passion themselves.
I read stories here with passion about the Isaan and their place, just like ours here hopefully found their place in Thailand. So look at what your needs are
The nice thing is that you have the opinion
Well, you can't compare apples with oranges, I like to go to Bangkok but I'm also happy to be with my girlfriend in Ban Dung (Udon Thani region). And yes, it is quieter in Isaan than in Pattaya or Bangkok, but there is no accounting for taste and there is also enough to find in cities like Korst, Kong Khan, Udon Thani etc.
Unbelievable what BS I see passing by here, if you don't want or can't do anything you will be bored everywhere, but how happy and fortunate I am here in Isaan and how glad I am that I don't have to live in such a cesspool as Pattaya, BTW we still have to build and we do that because we both want to without any pressure from my wife or from me, we want to live here, live and die, without bars, drinks or hooves. But if you get depressed here then stay in Pattaya and take a healthy dose of prozac every day and I know for sure that you will be happy. Oh yes, we have been together since 1992 and have a great marriage and are happy, what more could you want in life?
In any case, you can say, Thailand changes you!
In whatever direction, for better or for worse, after a few years you are no longer the same,
Interesting. We are also going to live in Isaan, east of Udon Thani, in half a year. I have been there often enough to form my own opinion. So we have thought about that together.
I have a similar view as Danny. Now living in a big city and also flying around the world for my work. To many really big cities. Now as a pensioner I am looking for a quiet "old age". I am a bit tired of the fast life.
In and around Udon there is also enough to do. Enough (western) shops and not too far from us a nice golf course. Also our granddaughters nearby.
For me, Isaan is an absolute breath of fresh air after all the glitter, glamour and false appearances. I love coming there and feel completely at home. And that there is nothing to see, to experience ... I discover the beautiful nature and so much more every time. Isaan, an absolute must for me.
What often stands out: farangs build large palaces there, for many millions, but they are rarely there. Family lives there and does the maintenance. Not for free of course
Well well, I'm starting to get the hang of it, after reading the first sentence I scrolled down to see if it was written by the expat, and yes it was correct again.
What a shortsightedness already. If Pattaya makes you happy, fine! But what a wrong image you have of Isaan. Too bad you trample it so into the ground, because I know for sure that there are a lot of tourists who are interested in "real Thai culture" and would like to see how Thai people "really" live.
In any case, it is a different image than the pot-bellied Farang staring boredly into space behind a glass of beer, as you often see in Pattaya. But I can see through that. Pattaya has its charm too….
Now all we need is to develop a nose for irony and sarcasm…
If you like the nightlife, streets with restaurants, bars and massage parlors and lots of music, then you are absolutely right. Then Thailand is limited to a few hotspots. I like to travel around in the car, where I am often in the interior and sometimes also visit the hotspots. It just depends on what you prefer. The busy hotspots or the more quiet/real Thai life.
Isaan is 4x larger than the Netherlands and more than 5x larger than Belgium, so with such a column you quickly reach the level of the image created on social media that Amsterdam is a blueprint of the Netherlands, and fortunately that is not the case.
That doesn't change the fact that during certain phases of life there can be the feeling that there are certain places where you wouldn't even want to be found dead because it is not for nothing that children choose a life with more opportunities. Those who succeed stay there and others are happy that they have survived the rat race and can return to the simple life where nothing is demanded anymore.
But Isaan remains a large area that cannot be lumped together.
It was snowing in a parking lot upon arrival in Isaan. Black flakes. Oblong shaped sloppy burnt plant ash. “Home” A halo around the moon against a background of smoking hills. At first I thought: my glasses must be fogged up. But even without glasses I could see the same. Spent the night puffing and puffing asthma. And as the writer states; one obligatory keeps lighting a fire. As a variation on Descartes: I light a fire here, therefore I am.