tartempion Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Yesterday I visited a friend in his farangland village. I haven't been there for 10 years and his house/street is accessible from the main road, without needing to pass through "downtown" church et all. I had little memory from what his village looked like and I decided to park near the church to buy some small present, if such could be found in such a place though. I am still shaking my head with disbelief. There were two absolutely luxury boucheries/charcuteries. There is no way I can describe the foods, meats, hams, patés, salads, cans and glasses containing delicacies. Nowhere around Udon, Khon Kaen or even Bangkok can just one similar shop be found. What to say about the village where I live? A traffic light on a main road linking some provinces, some dirt streets around that traffic light, the houses: the concrete lower part with the wooden construction and metal roofs no one can stay inside during the day due to the heath, chicken and dirt all around. It's not a small village, it's not a big village, but I counted at least 18 shops. Now what can you buy there? Soap, beer, water, Coke, soy milk, Mama noodle soup, chips and some dry lousy industrial backery items. No real food. A few places where you can find a half a Euro meal at lunch time (fired rice - pun intended, noodle soup or grilled fish) After dark one place where you can a have a chair and order some food, not deserving being called "restaurant" You know, hygiene not having found his way yet outside that handful of Bangkok places. Just holding the menu card, you know what to expect :alert: Back to my friend's farang village, OK not far from the big city. I saw a "fromagerie". It looked like a German Christmas market, the hundreds of cheeses on display, the shop interior and finition costing probably one million baht. Utterly luxury as seen only in hiso Paris streets. Next doors a library/tabac with magazine and reading material, no such shop in/around Udon Thani. I noticed a Pitta place and a real 3* restaurant. Udon Thani might have a few 2*, none up to par in any way to the small out-of-town French village restaurant. I just can image what's on the farang village menu as compared to my Isaan village eating place The bakery, I almost forgot the bakery: breads and "tartes" and cakes and chocolates. Thailand? No habe. Have tons of inedible breads. A few places are still miles behind, The sofitel Kon Kaen backery might get 1* from me, a few Bangkok places 2*, but the usual ordinary 3* backery you find everywhere in France and the 5* patiserie any decent French town has? Beautiful houses, nothing resembling the dumps in my Isaan village. I have seen near abandoned, near ruined and fully ruined villages in France. In fact that is as close as it gets to a thousand Thai villages I have seen. I have seen dirt poor French villages and they probably still exists, but Thailand does not have one single luxury village as the one I stopped by accidentally. How could my Isaan village have a decent restaurant? How many inhabitants could afford to pay for a decent meal? The villagers prepare their sticky rice for the day at 6am, boil some leaves from trees a vegetables, barbecue a fish caught in the rice field, do give little they have to the 20 monks begging in the early morning. Some people have a few baht to buy vegs, eggs, fish, toads and insects at the morning market. Thousand miles away from the ordinary luxury goods at display in my friends village. Nothing, absolutely zero of this to be had in any Isaan village. Thailand truly is a third world country thinking of it. One month ago Tesco Lotus opened a shop at the Amphur, 10kms from my village. Seriously, they have little more to buy than the lousy village shop, and this kind of progress will not put Thailand on the map of acronym groups of countries. Well They do have ASEAN, if that means a bunch of poor countries, they are right. OK, I miss my Isaan village, I almost puke from having seen so much luxury and excess, but I have more sympathy for the poor Isaan farmer. I know, I drive to Udon and can buy a small piece of the cake on display similar as in a lousy French village, because I can not live on sticky rice and som tam. Just wondering where my heart is right now. I am afraid this puking feeling will follow me from the world of excess to the world of nothingness (is there a better English word to describe the absence of these things which are near to basic but make life that more enjoyable or am I completely seeing this wrong?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Hi, I guess a lot of these differences can be summed up in 2 words: disposable income. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Go to Villa Supermarket some time and watch overweight expats pushing trollies (= grocery carts) filled with expensive imported food. I've seen many spend 25,000 to 30,000 baht at a pop, and that is only meant to last them a few days. I'd be happy if I could just afford a few bottles of decent wine and some real cheese once a week. Yet many Thais think I'm rich, and I am in comparison to them. A Pakistani restaurant owner gave me some advice years ago. He said, "My father always told me look at those who have less than you, not more. Look down, not up." Smart man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Hi, "I've seen many spend 25,000 to 30,000 baht at a pop, and that is only meant to last them a few days." Damn. My weekly grocery shopping bill is usually around 1,000-1,500 Baht and I think I eat fairly well. Of course, no alcohol, which probably makes a large difference; not much imported stuff either, just some chocolate and cookies. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 I go into Chiang Rai every two weeks and spend about 3000B on bread, cheese, bacon etc, including household stuff like soap and detergent, at Big C and Don's Foods. Everything else we buy in the local market. If you can find Don's Food's in Bangkok, I know he has a factory there, you'll find his imported cheeses are reasonably priced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Not sure -- seems he is just a wholesaler in BKK? These guys are good: Food Glorious Food. Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Don is eager for any new customers, wholesale or retail. He likes people to email an order direct to him a few days before it is to be picked up. It may be worth making an inquiry, his bacon alone would be worth the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Try the Spanish bacon from FGF...yummy!!!! Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 I don't think it's for me SD, I live too far out in the sticks. I'd be seriously pissed if I drove all the way to the Airport to find my 2,500B box of goodies hadn't turned up and "may" be on the next plane. And they'd never deliver it to my "doorstep". Yikes... is this the one you mean? [color:red]Product: Sliced Bacon Pack - 180.00 Bt / 100g[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Anybody ever stop in at the Saint Germain bakery near, what is it, MBT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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