Life in a rural Isaan village is anything but extra-ordinary.
It is hard for foreigners that have only been to Thailand’s cities and tourist areas to comprehend rural Isaan.
Isaan is one of the largest areas in all of Thailand.
It is the farming belt with sugar cane and rice fields stretching miles and miles.
It is also home to the poorest per capita income people in all of Thailand.
Jobs are far and few between.
Manual labor in the fields during harvest season is the only way for many here to make any money at all. It is very low paid, 300 thb per day.
There are no luxuries in most homes. No furniture, no appliances, no air conditioning and many still with no running water.
Yet people survive with a smile on their face.
It is not easy but accepting life as it is, these rural people manage to live.
I love rural Isaan, and I acknowledge that being married to a foreigner, I am one of the extremely lucky ones.
However, it doesn’t take away what I witness every day.
Happy people struggling to survive on next to nothing with a smile on their face.
This is the real Thailand.