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Shredded Wheat
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A quick strawpoll please.
Imagine yourself driving along an Isaan road - either driving yourself or travelling as a passenger in a taxi or minibus that you have hired. You could be going from Khon Kaen to Bangkok, or the opposite direction, and there are lots of typical thai villages that you pass by.
It is a hot sunny day. The road is dry and dusty. The car seat hurts your backside. The scenery is unremarkable and you are getting bored with it.
You have been on the road an hour or two, you need to stop to use the toilet and you would also like a bite to eat an a drink. You are in the Isaan countryside and there are no nice motorway service stations and no Macdonalds or KFCs. (This is not the motorway from Pattaya to Bangkok).
Then you see a thai guesthouse/motel/cafe with a large sign written in English that advertises a western food and drink menu and that English is spoken there. The sign might also say that there are clean western toilets on the premises. There might also be a small swimming pool advertised.
Questions:
1. Do you pull in and use the facilities or do you continue driving until you reach the next big town or city where you hope you might find something better or have more choice?
2. The pool looks inviting and the place is nice and clean. Would you consider breaking your journey and staying a night?
I make no secret that this is crude market research for a possible guesthouse venture in the middle of Bahn Nakhon Nowhere that Mrs Shreddie and I are considering. I am interested to know if travelling farangs might be potential customers. Any thoughts please?
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:56 pm on Feb. 4, 2007
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Sarge
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Have you ever been in Isaan? Have you ever driven a car in the province or Thailand for that matter?
I regularly hire a car and drive around (and be driven in the past) to various Isaan cities, almost everywhere in the province. There are more petrol stations with farang eateries than you can shake a stick at. It's incredibly easy and convenient to drive around Isaan and even if you can't read Thai (like me) all major and secondary roads are double labelled in English language, just arm yourself with a road map and you're off.
PTT Oil, Esso, Shell, Caltex and Jets petrol stations are common sight throughout the road network in Isaan and Thailand in general.
I find Isaan road system easier and more logical to navigate than anything found in Australia. Give it a try, you may like it.
Sarge
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 4:34 pm on Feb. 4, 2007
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CalEden
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Sarge is right! When I go to Bkk Buriram. Other than petrol the regular stop "The Farm" for the "Chok Jai Special" 28 day aged filet Mignon. Then beeline to Buriram or back to Bkk. No dallying on the way back, other than Chok Jai!
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:52 pm on Feb. 4, 2007
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MadStockBroker
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Agreed with the above. I drive a lot around north east and to the south and never had a problem fidning anywhere to stop for eat or drink.
As for the toilet... just pull over and piss into the ditch taxi driver style.
But still if there was a nice farang run guest house and it was on a route I was taking then yes I probably would prefer it over the PTT garage.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 2:58 am on Feb. 5, 2007
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Skip
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I had a Thai friend point out the obvious to me and it really stuck.
Think of it this way- Thai's love to eat! So where ever they go, you can be assured they've either brought with, or someone's set up shop to cater to their belly's.
Personal experience of time and travel has proven my friend to be right.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 11:45 am on Feb. 5, 2007
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Shredded Wheat
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Quote: from Sarge on 11:58 pm on Feb. 4, 2007
Sarge - nearly all the service stations in the chains you mention, that I have stopped at in the N East, have Thai style squat toilets. They tend to be accompanied by filthy sinks with crap washing facilities.
My keys once fell out of my pocket and went down one of those squat toilets - no fun fishing them out afterwards. Now when I sit down I prefer to read the newspaper and make it a pleasurable experience. My days of trying to steady myself so that the only stuff that goes down the hole is the sh*t are behind me.
One exception was a service station I stopped at on route from Pattaya to Chaiyaphum - do not remember where (so that is no use) - but our driver told me it was the No 1 in all of Thailand. He may have been right as the toilets were exceptionally clean, western style, and well supplied with free toilet paper. There were no flies, or cockroaches looking up at you from a hole in the ground.
So far as the farang food options at the service stations are concerned - my experience has been that the only concession those places make to farang food has been a puff pastry from the hot counter in the shop.
All the roadside places we have stopped to eat at while on route to somewhere have been Thai and they have not spoken English. Perhaps that is because Mrs Shreddie usually decides where we will stop. Only in the larger provinicial towns have we found western food and usually I have had to hunt for that. Nothing wrong with eating Thai (except it gives me the sh*ts).
I must have been less lucky than you (and others here) with my toilet stops.
Mad - I do not like the idea of pulling over to the side of the road for a dump but have no problem with stopping for a p*ss. But would prefer a stop with a clean western toilet so I can also wash my hands and freshen up. I must be more delicate than the average visitor (and the average Thai).
Thanks for the feedback guys please keep it coming.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:29 pm on Feb. 7, 2007
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BobFiveHead
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Maybe I'm not normal, but I shit once in the morning and thats it for the rest of the day. So toilets fter that are a non issue, peeing I can do anywhere..
Like the others above I have spent a lot of time in the NE, all over the friggin place, and wen I saw your large sign, my first thought would be rip off. However saying that, when I am in Thailand I am just a tourist, not a person that is living there full time, so I don't have a great desire to eat "Western Food". I guess my scond thought would be, "Oh, here some guy that got sucked into buying this for is girlfriend.", especially this being the NE.
Thats just me. I've been to Ban Kruat in Buriram and the Sweedish guy there with the little hotel seems to be doing fine, but it seemed more like a destination sort of place, stay there and visit the historic sites in the day and the market in the evening, or just go swimming. But Ban Kruat is a very nice place. How is your place?
I would guess that unless this was going to be located in an area where the local foreingers could hang out, that you will loose a shit load of money.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:30 pm on Feb. 7, 2007
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IBFarang
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Would tend to agree with B5H – except I take my shit in the evenings rather than in the morning.
I think your best bet in regard to potential customers are Farang that will be visiting somewhere near your guesthouse. Farang that are looking for some western touches or a place to crash between visiting the Thai in-laws/ future in-laws.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:49 pm on Feb. 7, 2007
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Shredded Wheat
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Quote: from BobFiveHead on 3:54 am on Feb. 8, 2007
...Ban Kruat is a very nice place. How is your place?
A bit of a shit hole actually. A small village in the middle of nowhere - does not even have its own thai bar yet. Nothing much for miles. The only real attraction near by is Nam Tok Tad Ton - maybe 20km or 30 km or so.
We think there may be a factory built soon (otherwise it is all farming, and I am not sure the locals are any good at that). So we were thinking of aiming the guesthouse at the Thais, but with the passing farang trade as an extra. Thought about making a small restaurant & karaoke also (for the thais) as they seem to have nothing like that nearby also. But the locals are probably too poor to be able to buy beer anyway.
As the land is on a main road could also try to persuade the bus company to stop there.
Possibly market it to farangs as a chance to see the real Thailand? Stay here, get a tour of village, go to the local temple, go watch farmers working in the fields, come face to face with a water buffalo, etc.
But you are all probably right that this project would be doomed to fail.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 12:17 pm on Feb. 8, 2007
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DaffyDuck
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Seems like a dreadful place to live, why do you live there (serious question) ?
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 12:31 pm on Feb. 8, 2007
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