Issan

[Guest]

Hey Gunslinger: Did you happen to see Jim Thompson up there?

[gunslinger]

Did you happen to see Jim Thompson up there

There wes a mention of sightings of a mysterious old guy who had built himself a house in the area.

[69billy]

Very nice TR gunslinger...
It's giving me a bit off an idea what is my Udon trip is going to be like...

[Guest]

Hey Billy: When you get to Udon Thani, go to the Charoensri Grand Royal Hotel. As you come out of the hotel, turn right. You will come to a major intersection. Keep walking straight thru the intersection. In the next block, you will see lots of intercity buses on the right side of the street (there is a bus station there). Right in that area, there is a small soi on the same side of the street as the bus station. There are suppose to be bars on that soi with ladyboys and gays. Sort of a small version of Pattaya's BoysTown. Be sure to send us lots of pics.

[Guest]

Billy: Sorry, I messed up on my directions. The bus station and the soi with the bars will be on the left side of that street. Not the right.

[69billy]

Thnx..
7 weeks to go..

[gunslinger]

We continue to walk around the village, and stop at every house to say hello, like Kalasin there seems to be a complete lack of people of working age, its mostly just kids and old people babysitting, everyone else is toiling away in the fields (where they usually sleep aswell) or has gone off th BKK or some other town to try and make some sort of living.
Even in this small setting, miles from anywhere the place is rife with snobbery and one-upmanship all revolving around home onwership.This seems to be why so many head to BKK to make the most of their working years. If you don't own your own home and you are old and can't work then you are truly fucked here (as with many other places)
Whats pretty harsh here is that people will openly call other families to their faces, saying that they are pretty much scum. The only way to stop this is make some money, fast, by any means necessary. And it's here I start to see why some (not all!!) go to BKK and do what would most here seem totally objectionable.
Sorry folks don't want to get heavy but thats just what I saw,
Anwway, I have to give money to people to buy beer for no other reason than I'm a foreigner and must have tons of spare cash, I'm not that bothered really, it's nothing in the whole scheme of things,
We walk behind one of the houses and there is small field with...hey..isn't that some people playing volleyball? I bloody hope so!

[gunslinger]

Rush hour traffic is alleviated by the introduction of separate lanes for birds

[gunslinger]

What can I say about watching ladyboys play volleyball whilst laying down on the grass drinking beer, not a lot really excpet that is something that you should try and if you are ever diagnosed with a terminal illlness  it should be on the list of things you should do before checking out.
                              I'm told that many of those playing here have played the sport to a very high level (which is blatantly obvious) only being prevented from going higher by discrimination against them being ladyboys, which is a fucking shame in my book.
                            I get invited to play but seeing as this lot are just too damned good and I will get murdered I sit it out.
                             After a while we all go back to get some food, its starting to get dark. They build a fire to and cook up some Tom Yam in a big pot ontop of it (you may as well add that to your things to do before you die list seeing as you are in the area).
                            We tuck into the soup which tastes even better than I expected it to, around 7-8 the place gets very quiet, there are no cars on the road, the samll shops in the area are closed, everybody is pretty much in their homes, and its fuckin dark, really dark the only light you can see apart  from the fire is from TV sets flickereing from inside peoples homes.
                           We sit around waiting for the others to arrive to go to the party, they sit and make jokes and make fun of each other, the jokes are indispersed with stories of total dispair, and this is where I get some idea of how things are.
                         Some make the comment that they would rather just be gay, as it would be easier, one says that she is a ladyboy because she "was a butterfly man in her previous life ,who hurt many women, so now I come back as a ladyboy so I can get hurt too"
                         The need to make money to buy a home seems even more important, with no children to take care of them, ladyboys can end up destitiute,  they lose their looks and men won't go near them, if they own their own home they can at least rely on family members to look after them in order to inherit the house when they die,.i've paraphrased one of the stories:

Duan was one of 3 children, their father left them when they were still young so their mother brought them up alone. When she was 18 she moved to Bangkok to work in various jobs making a modest amount of money, but at least enough to save, her older brother also left home, leaving her older sister at home with her mother.
                       Her mother soon became sick, so she moved back to take care of here, luckily her mother owned the house, her sister had now married and she and her husband also shared the house.
                       Her mother never recovered fromher illness and when she died her brother in law told to she had to sleep outside, underneath the house and that she could only eat meals inside after he and her sister had finished.She survived by doing a series of menial jobs, around the village, her lost her looks just as rapidly as the money she had saved.
                   Onr morning her sister, could not rouse her, they drove her to a doctor on the back of a truck, but she was dead even before she arrived ,She was 32

[gunslinger]

Just as I was about to  throw myself on the fire, the silence was broken by someone calling my name , I turned around to see Air walking towards us, I ll be honest here and say I can hardly look at this ladyboy, she is only 16 or 17 and just too young, I look in every direction apart from hers as it makes me feel like a total scumbag, what makes it even worse is the fact that she constantly reels off blow by blow accounts of her sexual exploits.
                            Suddenly there is a roar of motorcycles and the rest of the posse arrive, they have all done themselves up, more than last night. wearing make-up and short skirts, i look around not knowing where to go, they gesture towards this hot bit of suff on a motorcycyle, "Prissy" smiles and pats the seat behind her. She is wearing jeans cut off to hotpants and a white shirt tied at the front revealing her tiny tanned wasit.
                            I dont have to get asked twice, I jump on and we speed off, with one arm around her waist and the other one clutching the old 100 Pipers I feel like a fuckin rockstar, we head of into the darkness and what promises to be the highlight of the trip so far
                          The numbers have now swelled to around 15, in 2's and 3's on motorcycles, and it really is a sight I can can tell you.

[rxpharm]

(gunslinger @ Jan. 15 2007,23:03) The need to make money to buy a home seems even more important, with no children to take care of them, ladyboys can end up destitiute, they lose their looks and men won't go near them, if they own their own home they can at least rely on family emembers to look after them in order to inherit the house when they die,.i've paraphrased one of the stories:

Duan was one of 3 children, their father left them when they were still young so their mother brought them up alone. When she was 18 she moved to Bangkok to work in various jobs making a modest amount of money, but at least enough to save, her older brother also left home, leaving her older sister at home with her mother.
Her mother soon became sick, so she moved back to take care of here, luckily her mother owned the house, her sister had now married and she and her husband also shared the house.
Her mother never recovered fromher illness and when she died her brother in law told to she had to sleep outside, underneath the house and that she could only eat meals inside after he and her sister had finished.She survived by doing a series of menial jobs, around the village, her lost her looks just as rapidly as the money she had saved.
Onr morning her sister, could not rouse her, they drove her to a doctor on the back of a truck, but she was dead even before she arrived ,She was 32

Gunslinger, excellent report! I have heard similar stories from my ex-gf about her life in Udon Thani. This really shows what kind of past many of our favourite lbs have lived through and are trying to escape from.

I hope that a lot of us who lust after these lovely ladies, will consider this and stop being cheap charlies. That is not to say pay ridiculous amounts, but neither negotiate them down to a ridiculous low amount either.

[moe666]

Great post gunslinger. It still gets me how uninformed many people are who come to Thailand, on a regular basis. get out of Bangkok go to the sticks see how the ladyboy or gg lives that your are fucking.
A trip to the sticks might change some fucked up attitudes.

[Mai-Kee]

I just LOVE this report!!!!! Brings back a lot of memories. This is the world outside bloody Nana and Pattaya. That's the kind of trip everybody who's really interested what this country and its people and its lb's is all about should do! Fantastic!!!!    

MK

[ShockToe]

I have a house in Kalasin (city) and spend the equivalent of 3 months there a year. In fact, I am pretty sure there is a picture of my truck in one the pictures posted here!

I was there just last week, attending a funeral ceremony (post funeral, pre-internment), which was actually a wild party involving a bus trip to Somdet, the site a beautiful temple where the internment will take place. There were six ladyboys form Kalasin in traditional dress as part of this ceremony/party...

I also was in Roi-Et for two days for a wedding.

Kalasin is the name of the province, one of 76 provinces in Thailand, and the name of the largest city in the province.

There are a lot of foreigners in Kalasin city. There are ~ 5 other hotels, all new with great facilities. One is actually quite near the Rimpao, towards the park/lake. But you have to know where to look or who to ask. Usually 350 THB /night. I actually checked into one to watch an NFL playoff game as I do not have cable/sat service.

It's a nice city and the people are quite friendly. If you have the chance visit during Songkhran do it, it has to be seen to be believed!

[ShockToe]

(ShockToe @ Jan. 23 2007,21:53) There were six ladyboys from Kalasin in traditional dress as part of this ceremony/party...

Picture...