first visit to the village

[Guest]

The first night was spent in Pattaya like to love lorn teenagers who had spent to much time apart,i love just about everything about this girl and had promised to go and meet the family on this trip,so the next morning i picked up the hire jeep and a couple of maps and we were on our way to Phimai.

 

I was looking forward to this trip,i have never been to the village before and this was the first time Tin had brought a Falang back,i was going to try and give the "no problem"attitude to anything that happend,i wanted everything to go smoothly and this was tested sooner than i thought.

 

Five minutes outside Pattaya a fucking idiot jumps out in front of me,i hit the brakes and realise it's a police man waving me to pull in,i pull over and there is two other coppers standing there"fuck what they fucking want",i give a Sawadee krap and Tin takes over chatting to the copper,after a minute he says in English 200 Baht,it seems i have commited the gravest of crimes of travelling for to long in the outside lane.Tin hands over the money and i can't help thinking to myself he is going to be enjoying a few drinks at the cock fighting tonight,as i pull off i wonder how many more times i am going to bump into mr Plod..oh well "no problem"

 

After a slight detour in Bangkok and a few nervous glances at

patrolling coppers we are in Korat and then turn towards Phimai,i think Tin knows i am a little nervous and tells me for the hundreth time"it's ok darling i have good family." An hour later we stop off at Phimai market for food as we head for home the sky opens and a down pour starts with flashing lightning and crashing thunder, a few minutes later we we turn down a small side road"stop here darling"Tin says giggling.

 

I look out and in amongst the down pour are little dark figures running out a couple of houses,like little aliens giggling and staring at the short assed falang that had arrived on there planet,i grab the bags and follow the throng to under a house and as i am introduced my sences are not really making out there names i just wai as politely as a Falang can at the smiling enquisitive faces.

 

I meet her son aged 8 and her daughter 13 she hides behind one of her friends and smiles nervously,her sisters along with her mother all smile and chirp and chat between themselves jestering towards me with there eyes,i can see this is going to be a totaly different holiday....

Boris

[Guest]

Great start, hope will hear more.

[rovineye]

The first trip to village with tirak to meet the family is an all time mind blower. I can't think of ANY experience like it in my life. Talk about a fish out of water. It only takes a night to feel welcome, and a few days to feel comfortable. After that, it is one simple joy and pleasure after another. Interspersed with moments of intense embarrasment and confusion.

 

Any time it got to be too much, I walk away and had fun with the kids that followed. They would teach me a game, and me them. They are not too used to adults playing with them. They are easier to communicate without a common language (Lisu in this case), as they don't even try.

[spirit_of_town_hall]

Interesting report, looking forward to the next installment.

 

STH

[Central Scrutinizer]

Boris,

 

Haha! Good to see you made the plunge into village life! I hope you had fun and found it interesting. It's not for everyone, but hopefully you had a pleasant trip up, and a nice stay with your lady's family. I love the fact you decided to hire a vehicle and drive yourself up, rather than take a bus or mini-van. Good idea actually! :-) That way if things got too weird you could escape quickly! Hahahaha! Plus it gives you an easier way to get around the countryside during your visit to see the "sights" in that area without having to depend on others and their vehicles. Good plan.

 

I'll be very interested to read more on your village adventure, and am dying to see what you experienced while there. All the best to you and your lady. Hope you had a great time there.

 

Cent

 

p.s. By the way, when you got stopped by the cop and had to pay the "fine" for driving "too long" in the outer lane, what time of the month was this? The end of the month? So far I've never had to pay any fines. Just lucky I guess. I even have been called "Uncle" by one of the younge cops who have pulled me over before. Did he ask you for your driver's license? Or just the baht? :-) Tell your lady next time, and there WILL be a next time, to not be so hasty to give the cop the "fine". Tell her to argue a bit in your defense, as a "tourist" driver, and see if she can get him to not fine you.

[phoenix]

>i can see this is going to be a totaly different holiday....<

 

Prophetic words! Is it ever!

 

Yes, I echo Cent, I am pleased you took the plunge. You will have experiences you never imagined.

Open yourself up to anything that may happen, just don't get sucked in to too many reqests for assistance. A few thousand baht here and there, a few minor shopping expeditions to the market, stocking up the larder, and keeping the folk in beer and Lao lao is Ok, but be careful not to get pushed too hard.

Enjoy the family and friends stuff, use every opportunity to follow the family to events, festivities etc.

Make sure you have plenty of toilet paper, imodium and batteries for your little pocket torch (to find your way to the hong nam at night without falling over everything strewn around the place)

 

 

And have fun! I envy you.

 

 

 

[Guest]

Writing is not my strong point and i really should have made some notes, but after reading other trip reports on village life i feel i should contribute something.

 

Rovineye> Yup a fish out of water i was,but thanks to some posts on this board i went in atleast with the knowledge of what roughly to expect.

 

Cent>I got stopped on the 28th of September had to show him my driving license,i wasn't all that bothered i mean what is 200Bht to a Falang.I knew my girl lived out of town a bit and i don't like to be stuck anywhere,also i sort of had a hunch that i would be a taxi come bus driver earning me some extra Jai dee points.By the way it is most of your posts about village life that prepared me so thanks for those trip reports.

 

Phoenix> You know i remembered everything but the bloody torch,that is going to be the first thing in my bag next time.Those trips to the bottom of the errr "garden" was some of the scariest journeys i have made.

[phoenix]

Re toileting etiquette:

 

I was told that if I just wanted a leak in the middle of the night, I didn't have to go all the way to the hong nam, but could just water the garden next to the house. But in daytime, that was totally out of bounds. Double standards, that didn't stop her from the odd squatting behind the shed in broad daylight.

 

Re "showering". the concrete tub in the hong nam contained usually extremely cold water, and was filled by a gardenhose connected to the only tap in the yard. Water cam from a communal water tower down the road. I found after a while that in the afternoon, the water from the hose was about ten degrees warmer than the water from the concrete tub. That makes showering a hell of a lot more bearable.

I'd like to hear more of your experiences, keep writing!