The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

grasshopper

I am prevailed upon by matters of the heart to try living in Kalasin. I have visited a few times and it seems a biggish town/small city but no real gathering point for the besotted falang.
What do I do? Where can I go and how do I get there/live there?
I have heard of the Amadeus restaurant but believe it is an ICOR, now how's that for an acronym? Translation/expansion(intermittently opening and closing restaurant).
True love and lust can only take you so far, right?

good2bhappy

forget being a foreigner
live and enjoy

Rural Surin

Anywhere is what you make it.

Marmite the Dog

Khon Kaen or Roi Et would be better choices. Kalasin is as dead as Chumphae or Burriram.

The Master Cool

Kalasin.

Big blue skies and clean air.
Friendly, but dumb population. Keep it light and friendly but don't get too close.
Rent a nice private house on some nice private land.
Have it fully set up in terms of western kitchen, internet etc.
Have a pick-up or truck for road trips, a scooter for about town, and nice motorbike for bike rides.
Perhaps a BBQ and pool in your back garden.
Perhaps volunteer in teaching the local kids English.
Then spend the rest of your time cooking, tending to the house/garden, riding your motorbike, doing a bit of this, a bit of that.


It sounds good to me, but perhaps not for all.

If you need Western urbanism to be happy, with starbucks and Mexican take-aways on speed dial, you won't like it.

The Master Cool

^^ I would say Roi-Et over KK. Seems a nicer, cleaner, more pleasant place all round.

DrAndy

maybe he likes dirty, boring places?

Rural Surin

This, too, would depend on what one considers boring and filthy.

Sounds as if he's seeking a Farang connection and conveniences.
Kalasin has less of this shit than other locales.

Boredom doesn't exist anywhere. People invent their own boredom.

billy the kid

you will need a cheap run around
amadeus is ok but further back, other side of the roundabout
is a reasonably priced and clean lil restaurant, tel.043 821337 ,, 083 4067941.
chinese-thai run.
khon kaen an hour away for the weekends and tobacco runs.
one or two places by the bus station or main hotel in town, snooker hall 10 mins from bus station plus a string of watering holes for football.
khon kaen is favourite for weekend piss-ups tho and meeting fellow piss-up artists.

FarangRed

Had some good pussy in Maha Sarakham. 2 sisters worked in the Hospital no joking mate

buriramboy

Buriram dead?? You ever had a night out there?? Wall to wall pussy if you get away from that manky bar that caters to farangs, forget its name.

Rural Surin

Indeed. For those whom are unacquainted with the southerly [Isaan] regions, Buriram will surprise.

Marmite the Dog

No, just daytime jaunts. All it had was a shitty 'Farang' bar and a shitty Pizza Hut.

can123

One of the attractions of Kalasin is the fact that you are unlikely to be there.

Marmite the Dog

And Wales. Aren't you a lucky boyo?

grasshopper

Well, I have gorn there and dunnit, so to speak
Put up in a no star hotel motel, very new, wifi in rooms, strange little cafe downstairs with the gel in short skirt chatting away to me, Thai or Laos, I dunno. But she's cute and I can have thoughties as we interact.
Strolled around quite a bit in the week or so here. Interesting that there seems to be no map of urban Kalasin, other than something put online at Sawadi/ee (?). So, launching myself on shank's pony, I have covered what I think is the guts of the inner city. A couple of street signs with subtitles in Angrit. Most just in Thai (or is it Lao?).
Amadeus -managed to dine there one night last week and chatted to Swiss German speakers. The owner, Wolfgang, is an Austrian (note that Marmite) and the missus spent some time chatting to his wife. Dont know what I said but the next time I strolled up there for a breakfast, sign out front said the restaurant was moving elswhere and would close till May. Been to a different restaurant pretty well every night and all good so far. All Thai/Isaan and some with live music. Hard to spend more than 500 baht per night at any of these.
If things keep going this way I might just get to like the place more and more. Reminds me of a big country town in Oz. One drawback, only one english language paper, the BKK post. If you arent quick the 4 or so copies are sold out.

good2bhappy

I concur

sunsetter

great, so you made the jump, so now add some piccies, we all love a good piccie thread

canban

Hi grasshopper, I too am in Kalasin for the same reason, have been here a week or so. staying at the Phaiboon Hotel , want to get together
with significant others or not for a beer.

Barry

canban

Also have you found alsace to live, having a devil of a time doing that.

Barry

grasshopper

Sorry Canban/Barry. The flame of love died when the mama put the word on for marital arrangments. Too soon! I cried and it was undone.
Phaiboon was the hotel I stayed at for the three weeks I was there. Pretty boring place, all in all, during the day was Kalasin, (the "intended" worked so I was at a loose end) although one of the wenches in reception did protest her love for me. A little too close to home, that was. So, single and somewhat wistful, I stay in Jomtien. But, its a lively little place. The rents are cheap, so is the food and drink and there are always things to do. Nudge nudge, know wot I mean?

chitown

I dated a gal in Kalasin that owned a resort with 6 or 8 rooms. She was nice enough, but could not cook. I was stating at her resort and things were going well. One day, she took me to the local dinosaur museum and lunch. When we got back to her resort she popped the question - Would I pay 2 million baht and give her a 5 baht gold necklace and bracelet and marry her. I was quiet and that made her a bit angry. I did not own a car back then and she was only way I had to get around out in the middle of no where. A few days past, and she got to the point of not taking me anywhere and was giving me the silent, sad routine. She was charging me for my room and food and that was adding up. Her family got involved and they both started hounding me about the dowry. I lied and told them I needed to go to Pattaya to close the sale on an 8 million condo I owned and would return in a few days with the gold and cash. I was IMMEDIATELY whisked to the Khon Kaen airport by her and the her whole family. She asked me for 3000 baht to pay, for her dad's gas and I said I would be back on Monday with that as well. I bought my ticket and as I walked to the boarding area the whole family was furiously waving and smiling and wai-ing - I never so Thais act so active in my life! I waved and smiled and as soon as I walked through the gate I opened my mobile phone back, pulled out my SIm card and through it in a trash can, I have not been back to Kalasin since.

Norton

Not nice Chi. She's still waiting for you. Saw her and the family just last week at the airport.

canban

Thanks Grasshopper, my lady is not from here but works here. This weekend she went to a work conference in Khon Kaen with a work uniform but no work papers went with her or came back. Her friend female with the same job was going too but they did not go on the same bus or come back on the same bus. The boss was driving from here to the same meeting but did not take them. She gets one or two days off a week. Last week we spent Sun and Mon together, she was off. So technically she should have been off yesterday and today but she had the meeting. Now she tells me she is not off until next Monday. Am I being bad to suspect her reason for leaving town. Oh by the way I got less than a day's notice that there was a meeting! I may be joining you in Jometien soon ha ha.

grasshopper

My lady was clever, well educated and all that stuff. Was the most safety conscious driver in LOS, according to her. My foot imprints would be in the metal floor on the passenger's side of her truck, though. Think she was inspired by Bullit and followed his safe distance driving style. When I got through the gate of the KK airport, I fell to the ground and thanked the Lord Buddha for delivering me there in one piece.
I got the sense that I was to be a "trophy hubby" as she also did the "I'm going to be late, have to meet with friends first, staff meetings etc etc."
Chitown - I felt the build up to that scenario coming on too. I wanted to just meander along to a conjugal situation over a lengthy period but the Mama didnt want a long time inspection of the goods on offer. Caveat emptor.
I thought the Dinosaur Museum was the best thing about the town by far.