The mention of Thailand conjures up images of islands, beaches, and jungles full of elephants and monkeys. The country has all this is spades, south of Bangkok. One may also think of ancient temples and the idyllic city of Chiang Mai. These can be found north of Bangkok. But there is another region of the country that most people have never heard of: the Northeast, known locally as Isaan (often misleadingly spelled Isarn).

Isaan is almost like a separate country, and has more in common with Laos than Thailand. The people are of Lao origin and speak a variation of the Lao language. The government requires schools to teach in the Thai language, so some Thai is spoken, but Lao (also known as Isaan) is spoken in daily life.

The soil and climate are poor for farming, which is all people can do to survive there, so the region is the poorest in Thailand. Because of this, many Isaan people come to Bangkok to work and study. While a lot of young Isaan people go to university and get decent jobs, the fact is that the bulk of menial jobs are done by them. Most Taxi drivers, motorcycle drivers, and janitors are from Isaan.

This about sums up what I knew about Isaan before this weekend’s trip there. I was expecting a brown, desolate wasteland with hardly any people. It turns out everything was green and lush, and there were many friendly, welcoming old people.

Destination Khon Kaen

The traffic's more laid back than in Bangkok

The destination was Khon Kaen (the “kh” has a puff of air, and the “k” sounds a bit like a “g”), the conspirators were Stuart and Jeremy from work, and the plan was to visit Jeremy’s Isaan friend Long’s family. We missed our plane, so ended up driving, which, besides the boring six hour trip, turned out to be a good thing.

We got into Khon Kaen, the largest city in Isaan with a population of 150,000 (and fourth largest in Thailand) at 1:30 am. The plan was to check out the nightlife, but the bars were closing and the streets were packed with outrageously drunk kids. They looked about 16. Guess the older ones are working in Bangkok. So we retired to our hotel, the Pii Pii High Tech, which was very low tech indeed.
Cultural extravaganza

The party comes to you in Isaan

I’ve been living in Thailand for a year, but I’ve never really had a “cultural, drinking rice whiskey with the guys, experience.” I finally had my chance today. After doing the tourist stuff, which there isn’t much of, we were driving somewhere out in the country, when we ended up behind what can only be called a party wagon. A big flatbed truck, with a band in the back belting out Isaan music. They looked excited to see us, so we followed them to their village and partied in the street with the local people. The occasion was two young men being inducted into the monkhood. Even though this is a solemn occasion for them, there’s not much to do in Isaan, so it’s a good excuse for the rest of the town to party.

We probably could have stayed there all night, but we eventually headed to Long’s village, in the middle of nowhere. Long is very poor, and the family lives in a hut, with very basic conditions. Like my experience in Cambodia, the people keep themselves very clean, and we were forced to shower frequently, whether we wanted to or not. Like Cambodia, this is done by pouring ice cold water on yourself, and is the only way to keep cool. Unlike Cambodia, their hut was equipped with a TV and a refrigerator.

Concert in the country

That night we went to an Isaan folk music concert truly in the middle of nowhere. A big stage with flashing lights and huge speakers was set up in a field by a school. On stage gaudily dressed singers belted out wacky Isaan tunes, while poorly-coordinated dancers strutted their stuff. Surreal doesn’t even come close to describing it (You can download a ten-second clip here). When we walked up we became the attraction, and the whole crowd turned around and watched us and smiled for five minutes. People even brought me food.

The old folks sat with the children, and the young men danced in front of the stage. There were two groups of boys, and a couple guards were trying to keep them separated. Eventually the band played a very popular song, which was too much for the boys. I didn’t see what was happening, because I was filming the stage, but a fight broke out between the two groups. I don’t know if they had guns or knives, but the performers abandoned the stage, and the crowd ran away.

It only lasted a few seconds, which I didn’t see, because I was trying to rescue my whiskey. Afterwards we cowered with the crowd by the busses for about 15 minutes. Then the band came back and the show resumed, without further incident. Just your typical night in the Thai countryside.

The “real” Thailand

It's not called the Land of Smiles for nothing

The next day we went to another village and watched an old women weaving silk on her loom, thread by thread. Apparently it takes her an entire month to make a cloth. Then we went to a rice field and watched people plant rice, which is back-breaking work, before heading back to the big, noisy, stinky city.

People say Isaan is the “real” Thailand. It’s poor, but the people are friendly and down-to-earth, and welcome visitors with open arms. Unlike Bangkok, it’s quiet, and the air is clean. I definitely plan to come back.

Check out my Isaan photo gallery