pattaya127 Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Also new homes and pick up trucks are not an indicator of a burgeoning economy ----------------------------- Correct, but bear in mind we commented on such extreme sentences such as: "Udon is a sad place. Desperately poor, extremely dry and really not a great place to live" . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMAN Z28 Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Gotta love the Yellow Bar. The one across the street from KFC and Pizza Company. Acually the bar is Mr Tongs, I beleive. I will be back in Udon Thani in a few weeks. Z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Hi IB13, so where exactly is the poorest town, area, province Good question. Trat IMO doesn`t qualify as such as it receives rather heavy rainfall and is much more fertile compared to the provinces of the Khorat Plateau. A lot of fruit is grown in this region as well as in the neighbouring province of Chanchaburi. And the farmers are able to harvest rice several times a year as opposed to their collegues staying at the Khorat Plateau. Besides I can imagine that being a border town, it benefits from the trade. With the new airport now completed and Koh Chang being marketed as the new "Phuket" I would expect a general boost in economy in this region. The city has an overall nice laidback atmosphere I found. Aranya Prathet, I was only there once briefly during a trip to Cambo last year. But it felt quite differently, but I guess I was probably just overwhelmed by the alarming poverty displayed at the border crossing with hordes of khmer children begging, sniffing glue wearing nothing but a shirt, no shoes and often carrying a younger naked sibling on their back. Worst I ever saw in SE Asia. Cannot really comment on the city itself though. I have found that the worst major town I ever visited in Issarn in terms of poverty/depression was the town of Ampher Ban Dung in Udon Thani province. Sure doesn`t have much going for it IMO. Generally I would expect the poorest provinces to be those situated at the center area of the Khorat plateau due to lack of rain and decent opportunities to make a reasonable living. Many of the towns and villages are virtually deserted during the dry season by everyone old enough to work thus leaving the villages with only old folks and children. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iuytrede Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 poorest province in Thailand is Nan Contrary to popular farang perception Isan is not considered poor by Thais (the north is). Especially the (Chinese) three big cities Korat, Khon Kaen and Udon are quite well off. As for the (Thai) women from (rural) Udon, if you ever tell a Thai you gf is from Udon you will see from the reaction that you might just as well have said she is from a gogo-bar. People on this board are not the only ones who have noticed how much women from Udon like farangs. Thais have noticed it too. And generally speaking it is not appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whosyourdaddy Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 "I think your post shows that after years of staying in Thailand, you seem just another sheltered expat, speaking on prejudices rather than reality, ready to judge and give the low-down on any place that does not accommodate your western tastes. Free of you to only pass thru regions you do not wish to know, but do not talk about it, because you very simply don't know, of your own volition." Your comments are uncalled for!! You really dont have a fucking clue about where I travelled or how I travelled in the years of living here. If you want a pissing match find someone else. I really dont want this tourist are better than expat bullshit. What I am saying is that for a normal family tourist (ie my mother and father) not some sexpat or backpacker than issan is a challange. I have been to almost every province in issan and I presume it would be quite difficult if I did not have my own transportation, know how to read and speak thai. Driving is difficult but with very few english signs in the back roads of issan. Very few people I spoke to had any English skills, even at the hotel level. We spent an evening teaching English to a class in Muang Udon Thai. Despite being one of the the most populated provinces, the level of education is very low, even had to switch to thai to speak to the main English teacher ( must to his embarassment) You might just forget what it is like to be the first time or second time tourist, areas off the beaten path would be difficult for most westerners. I always comment on what I seen. Have been to udom 2x and have seen enough to say that it is "dry and poor". That is all I said and if you are offended by me saying that it is dry and poor and the place made me feel depresses then please put me on your ignore list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Listen, now you post using reasonable words to describe your opinion, but read so many of your posts and you just like to write in a put-down and peremptory manner. yes, i can say myself that Issan is dry and poor. But this is not exactly what was the tenure of your post then. you wondered why in the hell people would visit or live in such a place. Put down again. same with tourists visiting Issan, you used a term (survived) that was not judiciously chosen. there are many good hotels in the region. You implied as well that 2% tourists meant Issan had nothing but barren interest for visitors. which is simply not true. Thailand tourism litterarure is heavily skewed towards the line Islands/BKKPattaya/Chiang Mai. many tourists come to Thailand to take it easy, not to visit old khmer ruins, or get an inside view of life in the countryside. Does not make Issan a barren place. i consider it the richest place in Thailand, for the people and the experience of traveling. If you want to avoid heated contradictions, signal how personal is your opinion. Even an "IMO" helps. Think about how your words are received and see that the tone of your peremptory unhumorous opinions may offset a few of us. Sorry if i brushed you off. Just be aware that there is something unsettling in the way you post sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whosyourdaddy Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 "you wondered why in the hell people would visit or live in such a place. Put down again." HUH??? The orginal poster was asking why udon girls are leaving and wanting to marry farang guys. I just said that it was dry and poor and I found it very depressing. Those may be the reasons why Udom girls are leaving. And yes I am putting the place down. I really did not like the place at all and was happy to leave. I was not alone in that assement, my travelling partners felt the same way. Glad to hear that the place is improving. I experienced it shortly after the economic crash when those provinces were the worst hit. But even back then there were alot of BMW etc in Muang udom thani, but considering the size and population of that province I presume some people were making alot of money off of the backs of the rural areas of Udom, Kalasin and other neighbouring provinces. I have the actual goverment figures of the breakdown for each province on my desk at work. But unfortunately dont expect to be at the office this week. "signal how personal is your opinion" All my opinions are personal. That is why they are called my opinions. I write for myself not under some alias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangkokbutcher Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 You need to try Harrys Bar next time your up there WYD, not so 'dry' in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatbastard Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Yea, Harry is a great guy, while his bar isn't exactly in the centre of town its worth a trip out to talk with him. He is happy to share his wealth of local knowledge with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Contrary to popular farang perception Isan is not considered poor by Thais That comes as a big surprise to the thais I am hanging out with :: Mostly an Issarn bunch. And one may add that this is somewhat contradicted by the number of issarn lasses serving the farang bars. They outnumber the girls from the north by a large margin. I mean the general consensus seems to be that poverty makes the girls choose this profession, wouldn`t it be fair to assume that also the farang bars generally would have a majority of BGs coming from the north? Unless some other factors play a role here, but I fail to see what that could be. As for the (Thai) women from (rural) Udon, if you ever tell a Thai you gf is from Udon you will see from the reaction that you might just as well have said she is from a gogo-bar I wonder what kind of thais you are hanging out with, I have had no such experience and frankly I wouldn`t bother to have anything to do with such narrowminded persons. Thais have noticed it too. And generally speaking it is not appreciated. As I give a flying F... Not aiming this at you but at the thais you are referring to. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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