Home Stay Isaan-exploring the Thai country lifestyle

Last Friday was the Queen’s birthday.  In Thailand, the Queen’s birthday is Mother’s Day and the King’s Birthday is Father’s Day. After a long and awkward celebration on Thursday morning-where a random third grade class crawled in front of us on their hands and knees and sang a Mother’s Day song while bowing down to us at random intervals-we had a nice, long, three-day weekend.  

The third grade class bowing to those who were very obviously not mothers.

Instead of venturing off to the big city of Bangkok for some tourist destinations, my friend Ashley and I decided to go the opposite direction to Nakon Panom.  We found a nice home-stay in the country near the border of Laos. 

We left Friday morning.  After a 4-hour standing bus ride we met up with John, the owner of the farm.  John was a nice man from the Lake District, England.  He met his wife, Wi, online 9 years ago after Wi had a major motorcycle accident in which she lost her 18-year-old daughter.  Wi went through a major recovery down in Phuket where John visited her regularly.

After she was finished with her main recovery she decided to take the funds from the accident and buy some land in Isaan.  Wi wanted to build a place where her whole family could come together and live.  Wi and John took the land and built a farm.  Wi’s family lived with them for a short while, but soon their lives took them to all sides of the world and it was only Wi and John left.

They decided to hire some help soon after they developed the farm.  They built several huts along the outskirts of the farm for the help to stay.  They paid the help only by feeding them meals and giving them a place to stay.  This worked out nicely for those who were unemployed and homeless in an undeveloped part of Thailand, and for Wi and John who were growing the food they were feeding them.

Later, Wi and John started taking care of children who were abandoned in near-by villages.  Because it is such a remote area of Thailand, work is hard to come by.  Parents would leave their children behind to find work in Bangkok, visiting them rarely or sometimes never visiting at all.  When we visited their home there were 7 children living there.  They ranged from 18 months to mid-teens. 

Dino was an 18-month-old boy whose mother had lived on the farm and left shortly after he was born.  Wi and John do not know her whereabouts or whether or not she plans to come back.  Wi talked a lot about Dino and the love in his life.  She talked about how much love she and John could give him and how much everyone else in his life could give him, but it was not enough.  She could only give him so much; the rest needed to be given by his mother, who was not there to give. 

When we first arrived on the farm we were shown to our bungalow.  The bed had a mosquito net, which made Ashley and me quite nervous since it was the first time we would have been using one.  Soon after we were shown to our room we made our way back to the common room where dinner was served-with a show!  The three girls who were staying with Wi and John did a nice Thai dance for us.  They were so happy to share with us what they had learned.  

Noi and Mint in the back of John's pick up truck.

A beautiful view of the countryside.

Our bed fully equipped with a mosquito net.

Un, Noi, and Mint performing their Thai dance at dinner.

The next day, Wi served us an interesting breakfast of rice-porridge.  After breakfast Ashley and I took some bikes and road around the countryside.  The village was so small it took less than 5 minutes to ride through it.  It was so nice to breath fresh air.  After our bike ride Ashley and I decided to head back to our bungalow to freshen up.  As we approached the door we realized that there was already a creature enjoying the nice shade of our bungalow-a small but frightening snake.  I stayed and kept an eye on the snake while Ashley went and fetched one of the workers from the common room.  Ashley came back with a Thai woman holding a stick.  She used the stick to hit the snake to death and fling it out into the shrubs surrounding our bungalow.  Thankfully that was our only encounter with the wildlife during our time at the farm. 

The path to our bungalow.

A bowl of delicious rice porridge.

Bike-riding in the country.

Water Buffalo-  these are actually used for nothing now.  In earlier times they were used to plow the fields.  Now they are used as a sign of status.  They just wonder up and down the roads eating all day, although it is hard to tell that they eat anything at all.

The snake in our bungalow.

Later in the day we joined the family on their trip to the Temple where a ceremony donating food to the poor was to take place.  Once we arrived we soon found that, like everything else in Thailand, they were not starting on time.  Wi and John decided they didn’t want to wait so we headed back to the farm to prepare dinner. 

Un-on the way to the Temple.

Mint and Dino.

Mint, Dino, and Un.  Un was using the hat to shield Dino from the rain.

Ashley and me waiting at the Temple.

In the kitchen there was a girl making a wonderful fried sugar desert.  It was made from coconut milk, flour, and sugar and deep friend to make a highly unhealthy but delicious desert.  Wi let me try making one!  

Deep frying some sugar!

The finished product.

After bugging Wi in the kitchen for a while the girls came in.  I had heard from John that they had a foreign girl visit them a while ago who had taught the girls some ballet.  When I asked them what they remembered they said, “teach me please.”  So I took some time to give the girls a makeshift ballet lesson.  After we were finished they said, “teach us again please,” so I repeated the lesson.  I loved sharing a part of my life with them.

Finally dinner was ready and Ashley and I sat down for another wonderful home cooked Thai meal.  This time we were served Pla-ra.  Pla-ra is made by pickling fish.  The fish is cleaned and cut into pieces before the fermentation process, after which it is mixed with salt and roasted rice and left fermented in a pot for six months to a year.  I tried a bite, but my exploration of the dish ended there. 

After dinner Wi taught Ashley and I how to make flower decorations.  We strung jasmine buds onto a long needle and then later onto a string.  It was a long and delicate process that sells for only 10 baht at the market.  Wi let us take ours home with us when we were finished.  

Ashley, Wi, and me after working on the flowers.

The next day we woke up early, had a wonderful omelet and potato breakfast, and jetted out on our journey home.  This journey, again, consisted of 4 hours of standing on a bus.  This time, however, there was very little air conditioning.  The traveling was miserable but it was worth it for this once in a lifetime experience out in the Thai country.   

Un, John, Mint, and a sleeping Dino seeing us off.

Un, me, Mint, Ashley, and Dino.