Has anyone been to Sakonnakorn

[Boston_Phil 0]

Has anyone been there before,i am going there for 3 days in early February to meet my girls family,is there anything to do there.I have not been up country before so i really dont know what to expect.Any comments or suggestions..Thanks Boston Phil....... ;D

[Papa 0]

Don't have a clue about Sakonnakorn. But from my experience from visiting my lady's folks, I recommend you make it crystal clear that you want to take the family to a good restaurant and stay at a nearby farang-type hotel.  By Thai standards my tilacs folks have a good house, tv, frig, etc.  But... A basin of warm water is their shower and the bathroom facility is floor-level. Cooking is done by a gas-fired wok. And a couple of motercycles is their transpotation. When I requsted a taxi to take all to dinner, an uncle showed up with a pickup. A 20-minutes ride away was an outanding Thia eatery. I paid about $20 for dinner for six with 4 drinking beer. It was a feast, a huge plate of prawns the size of small lobsters, baked fish, etc.  Thais know where the good food can be found. Their understanding of a proper hotel is a little fuzzy.  Search out the local ambiance. It will be useful for planning follow-on visits.  And ask your tilac to help pick out a present for mom, maybe some gold ear rings.

 

Papa Tom

[nidnoyham 30]

Phill, be prepared fora bit of a culture shock, my friend lives near Pitchit 5 hrs by coach out of BKK. you will probably be the only Ferang for miles, get used to kids staring at you. My lady's housa consists of a wooden/coriogated iron shack on stilts. one big room with no furniture but T.V & fridge, at night the beds & mosie nets come out and the family kipdown together.

I feel it is a test of your character to invite you to stay the night with them, you will probably have bed alone or with GF. they will not mind if you go to htel, but will be very pleased if you stay with them, you will get an insight into the cultural difference between you and a Thai lady, another test of faith.  The problem is we Ferangs need something to ocupy us, but the Thais are happy to do nothing but sit/lay/sleep during the hot part of the day, hardly anyone will speak English, so it is a bad place to have a row with your GF. Most of my friends who have done it say 2 days is about as much as they can stand before they want to get the coach back to Pattaya. But do go, you will appreciate your lifestyle more and lookat all the girls in Pattaya in perhaps a different light- I do.  

 

Have fun, they are lovely people- if you dont mind watching cockfighting!

 

Cheers George    

[Boston_Phil 0]

Thank you Papa and nidnoyham,very good insight to what i am about to experince,Culture shock was when i first touchodwn in Bangkok 6 years ago for my first trip,Now its time to try something else out.I was told by my girl that i will be a movie star in her home.I did not understand what she ment until she told me that half of her family have never seen a farang,except for in movies..I am very much looking forward to this experince,I asked my girl if i should bring some gifts from home for her mom and grandmom{102} she said no that we would go shopping when i got Bangkok.{as usual}.I have checked to see if there was any hotels in the Sakonnakorn area,i did not find any,its only 3 days anyways so it should be a great learning experince.From Sakonnakorn we are off to Phuket for a few days.Once again thank you for your help..  

[Papa 0]

Nidnoyham was correct in that staying overnight with the family, instead of opting for a hotel, is probably what your girl friend and her family expect and would build the relationship. Although perhaps for the second night I would like to treat the family by going to a nearby resort for dinner and all of the group staying overnight.

Speaking of being a moviestar, I took along my Sony Handicam and a tripod to capture the family visit. Although I don't understand 90% of the dialog, it's interesting viewing back in the states. And it gave me something to do. If I ever need to try for the USA visa, pictures and tapes of visits with the family will go a long way to document the relationship.

Don't think either mom or dad had ever spoken to a farang. Conversation was possible due to my Thai phrase book/dictionary. I'd find a useful short sentence,  try to speak it in Thai, and then hand over the book while pointing out the phrase written in Thai. Neither mom or dad ever said anything in English. Brother managed a few sentences. I'd say a Thai phrase book and a camera are basics for trips to visit with family.

As part of the visit provisioning process the girlfriend will buy food and (maybe) drink. My inclination is to make sure that a few large bottles of cold beer arrives with us.   Gift buying seemed to be limited to mom. For dad I offered a nice pocketknife purchased from a street vender. My TG said he'd like it.

If you can overcome the transportation logistics, I suggest some type of shopping trip so you can reconoiter the local market, foodstands, town, etc.  If you can identify and use the local resources, it may be nearly as comfortable as Pattaya.   ;D

 

Papa Tom

[Boston_Phil 0]

Thanks Papa,i will skip the hotel,i dont even no if there is a hotel in town??.I am very much looking forward to meeting her family and also spending some time in her village.Great idea about a camcorder and the purchase of a Thai phrase book.Im luckey that my girl can speak real good engrish,a few years at university.should be a great time.8 days until depature form freezing cold Boston.Thanks again. ;D

[ratshead 0]

i have been to my wifes families house many times.you will be stared at by everybody there.when the locals stare at you.reply by the thai welcome.and smile.you will find it breaks the ice.

[ratshead 0]

also if your confident.i suggest you rent a car and drive there.the roads are good. and you have some freedom to do what you want

[Boston_Phil 0]

We are going to fly into Undon Thani,then someone will pick us up at the airport,i think the drive to her familys home is about 2 hours? Ratshead have you ever taken the drive from Sakonnakorn to the friendship bridge at the border of Laos,if so how far is it,is it worth it.We will have a car at our disposal,Is there anything you can recommend to see.Thanks Boston Phil

[Papa 0]

My Thailand map legend shows the province city of Sakon Nakorn to be 159K east of Udan Thani. Friendship Bridge and Nong Khai are 59K north of Udan Thani. If you haven't already seen one, here is a map of Sakon Nakorn city and province. Click on the map icon at the top of the page:  http://isan.sawadee.com/sakhonnakhon/

 

About two years ago an American retirement magazine (Modern Maturity?) listed Nong Khai among 25 locations as the best places to retire in the world. It is cheaper, cooler, quieter than Pattaya but with a significant population of farangs. Some restaurants have a view of the Mekong and tomatoes are a major local crop (I love ripe tomatoes).  I'd suggest perhaps a 3-day side trip to Nong Khai to visit Friendship Bridge and check out Nong Khai's qualifications as a place to vacation and retire. No problem finding hotels there.  Here' two Internet Nong Khai sites for flavor.

 

http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/gpeach/20...001nongkhai.htm

http://www.danishbaker.dk/

 

Papa Tom

[Emil 0]

Papa,

 

If one were to visit Nong Khai, should you bring a GF or are they easy to find there.  ??? ???

 

Emil

[Boston_Phil 0]

Papa Thank you for the great info and maps,this should be a great trip,58 hours 22 mintues until i leave,but whos counting..

[nidnoyham 30]

Are you back Phil ? How was the trip, would you do it again ?  

[Boston_Phil 0]

Yes I am back,I had such a great time.I would go back for sure.My Girlfriends family was great,me and her were the only ones that spoke english,so communicating with the family was with alot of smiles.There was not alot to do during the day so we visited alot of Wats,drove up to the Laos border,went to a weekend market where i was the only farang there.In bed by 10pm,the cat in heat whould start at 4am the roster at 5am and the dog that sounded like the roster at 530am.The last night we where there was great all of her relatives came over for a party,there was about 80 people there,we drank tons of beer an whiskey,all of her relatives tied the white strings around our wrist to wish us good luck,.The best memory i have was trying to communicate with her 102 year old grandmother.The worst the craper.I will be going back in June/July for a few more days.  

[nidnoyham 30]

Yes life does start early in the country, I remember the local temple bell being rung at 4 am, this started all the dogs barking, it woke the cockerals up, the ones under the house, No wonder they sleep all day ! I am going to try to get my ladyfriend to the U.K this year, let her have a look at my neck of the woods, hope the British Embassy give her a visa.

cheers  

[Boston_Phil 0]

Good luck on the Visa,we are still trying to figure out what to do.Should i move there should she move here.Anyway you look at it,it will be very difficult.I have 2 more trips over there this year.I hope we can figure something out.But good luck to you and the misses ;D

[hm1973 0]

Boston,

 

I have stayed in Sakonn Nakhon.

 

I was there for 2 nights visiting my TG's family.

 

I am glad you enjoyed it but, I have to say, it wasn't for me!!!!

 

For the first night, we got there too late and were forced to stay in the family house and slept on the fucking floor.....not a good experience.

 

The second day, after a bad nights sleep, I grunted to my gf that we had to stay in a hotel room, there was no way I was staying in the family house for another night!

 

Basically, it is cheap up there and you don't see many Farrangs but I found this gave oppurtunity's to the local Thai's to rip me off. For example, a Tuc-Tuc ride which should have cost me 10 Baht cost me 40 Baht!!

 

If I go again, I will do things very differently!!

[Boston_Phil 0]

Thats what i found to be great about the trip,it was so different.I have been going back and fourth to Thailand for about 10 years maybe 3 or 4 times a year,going to the bars meeting a new chick everynight,but after a while it started to feel same-same.It was great to get outside the tourist zone for a while.It was not the most comfortable sleep i had in awhile but that is all part of the experience,getting ripped off is all part of the landscape of being a tourist in Thailand.But if i was ripped of $1.00 buy some poor farmer,i would bet he needs the buck more than me.