The province of Amnat Charoen is a small province, located inside the Northeastern region of Thailand. The province borders Laos, though that is quite a drive  (200km) from Baan Paassaa Thai.  You can use my house to do some trips across the border and back. My province borders the mighty Mekong River, and is located (partly) in the Mekong valley.

Amnat Charoen is one of the smaller provinces of Thailand, and mostly rural. Most people work in agriculture, as do I. After living for many years in Bangkok, I moved back to my village and opened a rice farm. Most people farm rice industrially, something I don’t do. I grow my rice organically.

It’s not just me going organic, a lot of farmers do it too. We call it Dhamma agriculture. Dhamma is a Buddhist principle, roughly translated as ‘the law of nature’. Our provincial authorities promote and support it.

What you can do and see is based on what we do daily: agriculture and related crafts, such as basket weaving, silk weaving and pottery.  Yes, those are tourist attractions – for you. For us, they are the necessities of daily life.

The best time to visit Amnat Charoen is from November – January, when the weather is coolest. From February – June it’s the hottest season, and from July – October we have (hopefully!) the wet season.

My village Pla Khao is located in the Mueang Amnat Charoen district. It’s not big, but we are well known for Mor Lam. That’s a form of singing very popular in Laos and the Isan. I love it! My students and guests like it too, participation is the key word.

Isan is also spelled ‘Isarn’ or ‘Isaan’. It’s a group of provinces in the Northeast of Thailand, bordering Laos.

Our local Isan culture and Isan dialect is a mixture of Laotian and Thai. I’m happy to show you around in our culture, but I do teach proper Thai!