Everybody owns a boutique

In villages, that are crossed by a main road, every house along the roadside is also a kind of shop. Mostly it is extension of the own kitchen where they sell food on demand. 

The first 2 shops are neighbours. The last three are from one that is more of a mixture between a classic, western, boutique and kitchen extension. They have managed to create a meeting place in that village, right on the other side of the road.

 

Fast food market

A second market in Roi Et characterized by selling Thai fast food. Mostly fruits. As I see it most of the food sold here is very fresh so it shouldn't go all under the name of junk food. It is more fast then junk.

It is notable that people buying here are better situated and the rush hours is just before people return home from work.

 

 

Also from the market

 Some literally live where they make their living.

Markets

I love the markets. Markets are some city or village area that where life is really intensive. You can visit them every day and it is just as if it was the first visit ever. I don't speak Thai so I certainly miss more then 90% of the story of a market, yet, it is more then enough.

Here are some pictures from the biggest market in the city Roi Et.

As most of the markets they shifts a lot depending of the hour of the day. These picture are from an early morning

View Roi Et - market in a larger map

 

Typical Village

Many are living in rural areas make living of farming and its offshoot. Grouped in small villages with mostly quite simple housing. At first glance all look rather much the same. Few blocks with streets made of very thick concrete roads.


Most of the houses have one sleeping room in the upper floor while the lower is used as kitchen, dining, living and garage.

The pace is set after farming so people are not going to work in usual 9 to 5 western pattern and you get the impression that most of them are not working, yet they are busy.

The domestics are often living literally at home.

Thailand Sep. 2012

Visiting Roi et in Thailand for the forth time in a row. My trips to Thailand has more private character then trips I made to Asia past few years so I kept out of writing.

This time, though, I intend to stay in Roi et area for a month so I hope to conduct some more tourist like trips.

Oppose to usual trip I am not staying at some public hotel but at private home with a very ordinary local family. Something more like bread and breakfast but I get full service as long as I stay.


The city, I believe, has about 50 thousands inhabitants. It is 700 km north east of Bangkok. The District Roi Et has some more the 150 000 inhabitants. Most of the landscape is covered by rice fields and it is very flat. There are lot of small villages in the country side with very simple housing. 

Most of the time I am not doing a classic travelling but from time to time I do bike around the small villages so I can share some pictures.

A typical road path:

Living in the rice field.

Every village, no matter how small, has its own temple. It seems to me as the villagers compete by the beauty of the temple. Visiting temple very often I can see that renovating one temple prompts the same action in all neighbours.

To the right you can see a megaphone on the mast. This is also typical for the villages in this area and it is used very often to broadcast local information.

Here is another one.

Awaiting brighter future

Today is my last for this Shanghai visit and I headed downtown. Was visiting this old quarter that they are renovating intensively. Environmental scaffold.

And then it is this - real art.