"Welcome to Isaan, please set your clocks back five hundred years"

Imagine if you will a small hamlet in England, say Sherwood for ease of reference, around the time of Robin Hood. We've all seen the movies so you can picture the scene.

Simple folk who all work the land, raise their own chickens and cows, use oxen to plough the fields and their main form of transport. They live in wooden dwellings with straw roofs and cook on open fires . The common folk pay homage to the village elder, the elder pays homage to the Sheriff who lives in a brick built structure, and the Sheriff pays homage to the King who lives in a palace.

It wasn't that long ago that the North East of Thailand was just like that, certainly much less than the number of years I have spent on this earth so far.

Now imagine the the same place, but almost overnight, give them motorbikes, pick-up trucks, fridge freezers, colour TVs and mobile phones. It makes for a very interesting mix and one that can give you severe brain strain when you first experience it.