Isan Part II
Geography
Isan covers 160,000 km² (62,000 square miles). It is roughly coterminous with the Khorat Plateau, which tilts 
from the Phetchabun mountain range in the west of the region (the location of several national parks) down towards the Mekong River. The plateau consists of two main plains: the southern Khorat plain is drained by the Mun(4) and Chi(3) rivers, while the northern Sakon Nakhon plain is drained by the Loei(1) and Songkhram(2) rivers. The two plains are separated by the Phu Phan mountains. The soil is mostly sandy, with substantial salt deposits.The Mekong forms a large part of the border between Thailand and Laos to the north and east of Isan, while the south of the region borders on Cambodia. The Mekong's main Thai tributary is the Mun River, which rises in the Khao Yai National Park near Khorat and runs east, joining the Mekong in Ubon Ratchathani Province. The other main river in Isan is the Chi River, which flows through central Isan before turning south to meet the Mun in Sisaket Province. The smaller Loei and Songkhram rivers are also tributaries of the Mekong, the former flowing north through Loei province and the latter flowing east through Udon Thani, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom and Nong Khai Provinces.
The average temperature range is from 30.2 °C to 19.6 °C. The highest temperature recorded was 43.9 °C in Udon Thani, the lowest -1.4 °C at Sakhon Nakhon Agro Station.
Rainfall is unpredictable, but is concentrated in the rainy season from May to October. Average annual precipitation varies from 2000 mm in some areas to 1270 mm in the southwestern provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima, Buriram, Maha Sarakham, Khon Kaen and Chaiyaphum. The rainy season begins with occasional but heavy showers, eventually raining very heavily for longer periods almost every day, usually in the late afternoon or at night until it ends abruptly at the onset of the cool season.
The other seasons are the cool season from October to February, when the people sit outside around fires in the evenings, and the hot season from February to May with its sudden peak of high temperatures in April.
Economy
Agriculture is the largest sector of the economy, generating around 22% of the Gross Regional Product (compared to 8.5% for Thailand as a whole). Rice is the main crop (accounting for about 60% of the cultivated land), but farmers are increasingly diversifying into cassava (manioc), sugar cane and other cash crops. The long narrow province of Nong Khai Province which stretches along the Mekong River is also noted for the production of pineapples, tobacco (which is dried, cured and shredded by the families before collection by the cigarette manufacturers) and tomatoes which are grown on an industrial scale, particularly around the town of Sri Chiang Mai.
Despite its dominance of the economy, agriculture in the region is extremely problematic. The climate is prone to drought, while the flat terrain of the plateau is often flooded in the rainy season. The tendency to flood renders a large proportion of the land unsuitable for cultivation. In addition, the soil is highly acidic, saline and infertile from overuse. Since the 1970s, agriculture has been declining in importance at the expense of the trade and service sectors. Very few farmers still use water buffalo rather than tractors. Nowadays, the water buffalo are mainly kept by almost all rural families as status symbols. The main piece of agricultural equipment in use today is the 'rot tai na' (Thai: รถไถนา, lit. "vehicle plow field") colloquially referred to as 'kwai lek' (Thai: ควายเหล็ก, or "iron/steel buffalo"), or more generally by its manufacturer's name of "Kobota", a mini tractor comprising a small diesel engine mounted on two wheels with two long wooden handlebars for control and steering. It is usually attached to a trailer or a plow. Buffalo are now mainly used for grazing on the stubble in the rice paddy which they in turn fertilize with their manure. The main animals raised for food are cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks and fish. Isan is the poorest region of Thailand: in 2002 average wages were the lowest in the country at 3,928 baht per month (the national average was 6,445).
The region's poverty is also shown in its infrastructure: eight of the ten provinces in Thailand with the fewest physicians per capita are in Isan (Sisaket has fewest, with one per 14,661 in 2001; the national average was 3,289); it also has eight of the ten provinces with the fewest hospital beds per head (Chaiyapum has fewest, with one per 1,131 in 2001; the national average was 453). Nevertheless, as in the rest of Thailand, all districts (Amphoe) have a hospital, and all communes (tambon) have a clinic providing primary health care. The introduction of the "30 baht" health card has dramatically changed the numbers of those attending hospitals for treatment, as it has meant that full health care is available to all who register for only 30 baht per visit. The few who can afford it travel to the modern private hospitals and clinics in the large cities for non urgent specialist consultations and care.
The region also lags in new technology: there was only one Internet connection per 75 
households in 2002 (national average one per 22 households), [update needed] but by 2006 every district town (Amphoe) had at least one publicly accessible internet connection either in the local computer shop or in the district office. Extension of landline telephones to remoter areas not previously served has been largely superseded by the use of cell phones, primarily of the GSM format, which now cover the entire region with the exception of a few sparsely populated mountainous areas and large national parks. Many people, even the poorest and sometimes children, have cellular telephones, although they have no fixed-line telephone. The region also has the lowest literacy rate [source?] when compared with other region in Thailand.
Many Isan people seek higher-paying work outside the region, particularly in Bangkok, where they fill many of the worst paid and lowest-ranking jobs. Some of these people have settled permanently in the city, while some migrate to and fro. Others have emigrated in search of better wages. Rather than relocate as a family they usually leave their babies and school-age children in the care of relatives, friends or neighbours.
>>Isan Part III
from en.wikipedia.org
Isan(NorthEarth Region Of Thailand) - 2
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Isan(NorthEarth Region Of Thailand) - 1
Isan part I
Isan (Isan/Thai: อีสาน; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issan, or Esarn) is the northeast region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River (along the border with Laos) to the north and east, and by Cambodia to the south. To the west it is separated from Northern and Central Thailand by the Phetchabun mountain range.
Agriculture is the main economic activity, but due to the socio-economic conditions and hot, dry climate output lags behind that of other parts of the country. This is Thailand's poorest region.
The main language of the region is Isan, which is similar to Lao. Considered by some to be a dialect of Laotian, but written in the Thai alphabet Isan is among the Chiang Seng and Lao-Phutai languages, which are members of the Tai languages of the Tai-Kadai language family. Central Thai Thai is also spoken, with regional accents, by almost everyone. Khmer (the language of Cambodia) is widely spoken in regions near the Cambodian border (Buriram, Surin, and Sisaket). Most of the population is of Lao origin, but the region's incorporation into the modern Thai state has been largely successful.
Prominent aspects of the culture of Isan include the indigenous form of folk music, called mor lam (Thai: หมอลำ), Muay Thai (Thai: มวยไทย) boxing, cock fighting, and celebratory processions (Thai: กระบวน). Isan food, in which sticky rice (Thai: ข้าวเหนียว, khao niao) and chillies are prominent, is sufficiently distinct from Thai cuisine that it is considered unique. Sticky rice is a staple of Thai Northeastern cuisine, and it accompanies meals frequently.
History
Isan has a number of important Bronze Age sites, with cliff paintings, artifacts and early evidence of rice cultivation. Iron and bronze tools, such as found at Ban Chiang, may predate similar tools from Mesopotamia. The region later came under the influence first of the Dvaravati culture and then of the Khmer empire, which left temples at Phimai and Phanom Rung.
After the Khmer empire began to decline from the 13th century, Isan was dominated by the Lao Lan Xang kingdom, that had been established by Fa Ngum. Thereafter the region was increasingly settled by Lao and Thai migrants. Siam held sway from the 17th century, and carried out forced population transfers from Laos to Isan in the 18th and 19th centuries. Franco-Siamese treaties of 1893 and 1904 made Isan the frontier between Siam and French Indochina.
In the 20th century a policy of "Thaification" promoted the incorporation of Isan as an integral part of Thailand and de-emphasised the Lao origins of the population. This policy extended to the use of the name "Isan" itself: the name is derived from that of Iśāna (Sanskrit: ईशान), a manifestation of Shiva as deity of the northeast, and the Sanskrit word for northeast. The name therefore reinforces the area's identity as the northeast of Thailand, rather than as a part of the Lao world. Before the central government forcibly introduced the Thai alphabet and language in schools, the people of Isan wrote in the Lao alphabet. Most Isan people still speak the Isan language which is closely related to the Lao language.
>> Isan Part II
from en.wikipedia.org
Wat Supattanaram - Ubon Ratchathani
Thursday, February 21, 2008
