There are many different cultures to explore in Thailand, and the north eastern region of Issarn has plenty to offer the adventurous traveller
This is a guest post on Travelhappy written by Chris Osborne from Absorbing The World
I have lived, worked and traveled in Thailand for 2 years. I have spent the last year in a quiet village located in Issarn, the north east region of Thailand.
There are many differences between this particular region to the rest of Thailand. The following 5 are noticeably different:
1) Clothes
As most of the Issarn region is farmland, it comes to no surprise that the clothes worn here are very loose so people can move easily when working. It’s even more noticeable with the elder ladies who wear sarongs. In Bangkok, women seem to be more fashion orientated and the women in the other Thai provinces seem to be more casual.
2) Food
The main difference here is the rice. In Issarn Sticky Rice comes with all meals, even soup!,whereas the other Thai provinces mainly eat steamed rice. Eating different styles of rice means that different meat and vegetables are served. You would normally find salads and grilled meat to be eaten with Sticky Rice, whereas you would find curries and stir fries served with steam rice.
3) Music
The music may sound the same if you do not understand what they are singing, however once you have listened to Thai style music for a while you can easily spot the difference. The difference lies in the tone, speed and language, rather than the instruments used. Pleng Luuk Tung is the name for Issarn music and Pleng Sa-Ding is the syle of Thai Music.
4) Language
In the Issarn provinces near Cambodia, Khmer (The Cambodian language) is mixed with Thai. In the north part of the region, the language is almost the same as Lao. Issarn ladies say Jha, instead of Ka, however men say Khrap the same. Here is an example:
To ask some ones name in Thai you would say: Khun Chuur At-lie Ka
To ask some ones name in Issarn you would say: Jal head e young jha
5) Smiles
People laugh when I say more people are smiling up here than the rest of Thailand, only to find out they have never visited Issarn. More people are relaxed here, as opposed to working in Bangkok and with the easy slow paced of life, it’s no surprise every ones smiling!
Read more about planning a trip to experience Issarn at Absorbing The World
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