In the Isaan a wedding starts in the morning followed by a day of quiet celebration leading into an often rowdier affair in the evening. Beginning with an early morning gathering of the local women to prepare the feast for the day it all starts quietly enough but can often turn in a boisterous, happy celebration involving an abundance of drinking and eating followed by a free for all style of dancing.
Often belittled by the more conservative folk of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, the Isaan show their fierce pride in their Isaan culture in a manner unmatched in other regions of Thailand. They are surely the most communal minded of peoples when it comes to a celebration for any of a multitude of reasons. Marriages, births, deaths, Buddhist ceremonies and a multitude of seemingly endless reasons for a celebration are not to be missed. Often starting with a chance invitation to sit and enjoy a neighbourly nibble the Isaan food based culture will soon explode into a merry feast. All of this from the poorest of Thailand's peoples. An unsuspecting visitor will often be amazed as a feast of magnificent proportions will often appear, as if by magic, from small and empty (often turned off because no one can afford the electricity) refrigerators, barren cupboards (if they exist at all).
The Isaan social culture at it's most visible and enjoyable.
