Anyway, this small village is home to perhaps no more than 300 people, and until yesterday I never really took a great deal of notice of much, as there is nothing to see, and I have always tried hard (but not always succeeded) to not judge the lifestyle of these people, and their communities. So what was different about yesterday, that made me want to write something about this altogether insignificant rural village?
Well, I was in hunt of a couple of bottles of Archa beer (being a hot day and some cooling down was in order). There is a shop not 30m from the house we were visiting, but they had sold out of their beer, so we went of to find the next shop, which is another 50m away, and they had no beer in stock either. On we went, to fulfill the quest, and it emerged that this tiny village has 5 shops, all within 100m of each other - to serve 300 people?? 1 or 2 shops, I could understand, but 5?? Small wonder that none of them actually make much money then.
Later in the day, I wanted to buy some cigarettes, and this is where the next revelation was made....if you live in Nong Kon San, you will smoke the Krong Thip brand, as this is the only brand sold in the village (yes, all 5 shops sell the one brand only!). While on the stock of these shops, it was also noted that all 5 shops basically sold the same things, same brand names etc, and in all probability got their stock from the same supplier as that would work out easier and quite probably more cost effective, but it was indeed strange seeing the same old, same old in each and every small shop (which were also laid out exactly the same!)
Are all villages the same? Based on my observations to date, I would imagine that the vast majority, if not all small farming communities such as Nong Kon San, are developed in exactly the same way, with a clutch of 'village centre' shops, each selling the same things at the same price, at the same time of the day. It really is a perfect example of why the economy in the rural areas of Udon Thani are so poor. The farms do not produce vast wealth, and what little money made is spread around too many shops for any one of them to thrive in any degree of comfort.
The poverty in these communities is further highlighted by the absence of cars or pick up trucks, which you see all over the city of Udon Thani, and there is not a single air conditioning unit in this small village, as the cost of running it would be too much for most. The houses are old, and very typical in construction with a block 'square' on the lower floor and a wooden 'walled' room upstairs, and tin roofs, of which most are corroded quite badly.