Do you or have you lived out in the boonies?

Title says it all. Have you lived out in the boonies? If so, what is/was it like? I spent a few nights way out in sticks once and I couldn't sleep for all the noises coming from insects, monkeys and whatever else was out there. Lovely in the daytime but as soon as the sun set it was a different story. This was just on the edge of Khao Yai National Park up towards Korat.

Civilisation for this bod.

I spent about 2 months in a small village called Ban Thai Hai about half way between Udon Thani and Galasin... Now that was so much fun...

I was the only white person there and I was constantly shopping with around 30 people... I never spent much money there though...

The most embarresing part was the constant need for showers, I stayed at a house with no shower on the inside, so I had to take a bucket shower on the outside... sometimes with full school classes sitting and watching me...

I donated 5000B to a rural school there and I got my picture in the paper with the current Nayok there and some other gov. officials... Good fun...

Dinner consited of chicken, I picked the one I wanted and killed it, plukked it, and then we cooked or grilled it... Very interesting...

Many nights I spent awake (they go to bed about 19.30 there) just looking at the stars, no street lights so they were really bright...

There were loads of snakes up there and one time while I was in the shower the "dad" of the house where I stayed came over (I am naked in the shower) and starts pulling me away, then he pointed at the ground and said something I did not understand but I realized I was showering next to a rather large Cobra... I guess it was about 2M long... Shaken but still, finished the shower a few minutes later...

All in all good fun, the people might have been poor, but they were so nice up there... The girls were nice too and I never had to walk to far alone before someone came on a bike and asked if I wanted a ride...

I also had the longest roller blade rides of my life there... I missed the buss from Udon one time so I roller bladed they whole way... It took me about 6 hours.. When I came back home I found out that there was a group of the village men out looking for me in the dark, they were worried someone had robbed me and killed me... Not this fat bugger... Everyone were nice to me...

Said that I did buy quite a few bottles of beer for people around there..

I miss that place..

I lived in Thung SOng for a bit. That's definitely in the boonies with the loonies.

That is only a 6 min. drive from civilization!!

Civilization? I wouldn't go that far...

Well, that means you have a 7 eleven nearbye, and a Tesco's within a day trip...

I lived so far from everything that if I wanted to go to an american standard toilet I would have to travel 4 hours on the bus, then I had to plan to stay overnight at that place as the bus would not return before the next day... Now that is out in the boonies...

Thoung Song, so close that Gillette would be proud to use it in their shaving comercials...

Snowflake wrote:Well, that means you have a 7 eleven nearbye, and a Tesco's within a day trip...

I lived so far from everything that if I wanted to go to an american standard toilet I would have to travel 4 hours on the bus, then I had to plan to stay overnight at that place as the bus would not return before the next day... Now that is out in the boonies...

Thoung Song, so close that Gillette would be proud to use it in their shaving comercials...

Snowflake, you made me laugh!!

Unless there's an Armitage Shanks nearby, with bitter on tap... There, well, I've said enough...

I've lived out in the sticks a few times, at my ex-birds place in Chiang Rai. It was about 20kms to the nearest 7-eleven. Up in Chiang Rai, right on the border with Myanmar, or sorry i should say Burma - wow what a tough sanction that is - we went swimming in the river one day and i started swimming across to the other side but my girlfriend started screaming that i might get shot by border patrols oops...there were a lot of them on the thai side you would see them cycling or walking around with jeans on and an M16 or the likes strapped over their shoulder. Lots of animal noises too but the loudest noise was the locals screaming at each other cos they couldn't be bothered walking to see them. Nice place but the beach was too far away.

I live in the boonies outside NST About 20 kms from the nearest 7-11 also. All those thing that everyone has said are true here also. The early dark nights The noises at night from god knows what,the neighbours having long distance conversations with me sat like Piggy in the middle.the only farang for miles around so you can forget about any semblance of privacy. No one has mentioned the late night loud music/kareoke from weddings, wannabe monk parties etc. It goes on till dawn. It wouldnt be so bad if they could actually sing and why is it always so loud. One time I went to see at an unearthly time of the morning. There were 6 people. Then there is the quality of the air. Everyone lights a bonfire in the evening to keep the mossies away from the houses and cattle, No wonder they are always going to the hospital. Refuse collection does not exist here. Beautiful Thailand my arse. Still beeen here 5 years now and wild horses couldnt drag me away. Gotta go now theres some people in white coats at the door.

2 years on and this rubbish thing is really getting to me. There is a refuse collection lorry but it is only used as the drivers personal transport. Now a lot of people shop at Tesco's etc everything is foil packed and it doesnt burn so people have just started fly tipping. Last year prior to a local election the wife asked a candidate why we didnt have a refuse collection like all our neighbouring villages. Some of which are considerably smaller than this village. The reply was that they couldnt find a landfill site. Has any one else had similar problems and what was done about it. Its not only me thats not happy but the Tai way is not to complain.