Incredible Isaan - Northeast Thailand Adventure 4K 

The Western Party animals,bring their western ways with them,they have very little soul,it is consumed within their egocentric lifestyle,..I am SORRY to say ! I have visited Thailand first time 1971...went back many years later...part of me ..stayed....the rest is history ! Thai rak Thai .

@@rockinrollinntrollin616 why is it always western?.indian,japanese ,korean,russian.lots of country visiting thailand to party not just westerner so fget yr facts right.

I recently spent 12 days in the Isaan region and loved it!! So much so, I’ll be back after Christmas

Thanks!

Thanks! I spent around 10 hours editing this.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video and it brought back some good memories. It’s a beautiful area of Thailand and the people are great!

I live in Isaan, and you’re so very right about the people, especially the kids. They restore faith in humanity, don’t they? The river’s name is Kong, and her title is Mae Nam (pronounced mare narm). Which translates to Mother of Water, Kong. Mae Kong (Mother Kong) for short. This is really important in understanding Isaan reverence and respect - the river is a mother to them, not a “thing”. I live part time on the bank of Mae Kong in Beung Kan province, and the people in the town are family. The strong sense of belonging in a family of thousands is something that I never even dreamed existed in humanity. They call strangers “Pii” and “Nong” (older brother/sister and younger brother/sister) and they mean it. There’s even more reverence for senior strangers (who they refer to as uncle/aunty, or father/mother if very old). Their generosity to total strangers is staggering, and you realize they are genuinely treating people as family. They really know how to live, eat, share, celebrate, love and die. Come back here some time, and stop in one place for a while so people can get to know you. Slowly, slowly your preconceptions will shatter and fall away. Only risk is that you may not want to leave - but would that be a bad thing?

@@kevinfarrell955 great to hear from you Kevin. I posted that months ago and i only just got email saying i had replies 8 Aug 2021. Anyhow Kev, the first time i drove up there with my gf of course, or i would still be lost lol, we had loaded up with as much groceries, seafood presents, beer and Thai whiskey as you could possibly fit in a Ford Focus (lots) about 3 shopping trolleys full. When we arrived, the yard was full of people, most older ones and always had me stumped how many Auntys and Uncles Duan had 555. Thanks to you, now i know. I have another ? i think you could help with Kev. The first day i seen the Mae Kong, we were at "the old ship" in Bueng Khan from memory. The really old river boat is surrounded by temples and by the way, the row of 6 toilets only have squatters as i found out the hard way 555. Anyhow it has a large car park and when we were ready to leave i asked the ? was it the Mae Kong and got told im sure, it is Mae Nam. So in the car park i proceeded to drive toward the river for a better look and Duan and her family all freaked out. I always put it down to the Thais thinking the Laos are coming to get them but maybe you can explain better. I think that part of Thailand looking back is a real jewel that obviously doesn't get the hammering/infestation of falang tourists. My current Thai partner is from Thatum at the top of Surin. The country side there doesn't hold a candle to up North, but she is one of the nicest most genuine people i have ever met. Not much changes in Isaan except the country side a little. I am always treated with total respect in Thailand and go out of my way to do the same. My partner, Tick has been here for over a year now due to the situation and never ever complains.... Amazing.

@@markdrewett149 Hey Mark, yes, they were saying "river". I have no idea why they freaked, but maybe they thought you were going to try to drive down to or into the river. A big source of misunderstanding for us westerners is the Isaan tonal language. We think we're saying it right, but if the tone is wrong they are hearing some other word entirely. I'm sure you know the 5 tone maa maa maa maa maa example: come, dog, horse, and 2 more meanings that I don't know. I've never heard of Isaan people being afraid of Lao people - they are the same people, and the river was just a river, not an enforced national border until relatively recently. Families span the river, and in normal (non-covid) times you'll usually meet many Laos people at big family gatherings. They can cross on small boats just using their ID cards, although crossings are often restricted to particular days of the week. half of my mother-in-law's sisters live in Thailand, and the other half in the town exactly opposite them in Laos. Post Covid we should see the floods of Lao people return to Udon Thani on weekends. The impression of Laos is of poor people, and surely that's true - but the weekend convoy of left hand drive Lambos, Bentleys, Benz, BMWs is something to behold. You'll find them parked at Central Plaza in the "Supercar Section" on each floor. Don't ask how they make their money, but you can guess :) I lived in Phuket and in the south for years, and loved it, but it was driving me crazy. I finally decided to see the north, and it was everything I needed in life. Sometimes I hear of efforts to increase tourism in Isaan, and I shudder at the thought. It would be a tragedy to see Phuket / Pattaya style tourism infest Isaan. So far, so good :) The Isaan people are very resilient. Huge numbers (probably in the order of millions) of Isaan workers have returned to their home villages since Covid shut down the tourist industry, and they are simply absorbed and chip in with family businesses and agriculture. There's a heck of a lot of building work going on, and from what I gather it's those returned workers spending their savings on whatever the plan was to go and work for the big money in the first place. It seems that a lot of those plans were to build a modern comfortable house for their elderly parents, or a new shop so they can stay in town and make a living. It probably varies from town to town, and I know that many people are in dire straights with debt or whatever. Tick sounds great. She's in Australia in winter? She must be suffering - she must love you a lot! Thai women really are wonderful, unless you are a butterfly, and then you're in mortal danger. They never take that sort of behaviour well, so be a good boy Mark. I'm sure you've heard the stories, and they're all true :)

Whoops! Just realised I answered from a different account, sorry Mark, it's Kevin