Lao Isan - Settlements

The villages in the northeast tend to be clusters of houses intersected by narrow lanes. An average village contains 90 to 100 households. Villages are about 4 to 5 kilometers apart and are often connected by roads or pathways. The villages are surrounded by rice fields, swamps and ponds, grassy plains, and secondary forests. As in the rest of Thailand, locally named villages are often divided administratively by the system of districts, subdistricts, and hamlets devised by the central government. Housing is usually wooden or bamboo, with thatch or corrugated-iron roofs. As in most of Thailand, houses are raised off the ground on stilts 1.5 meters high. A village may have one or two shops selling general goods such as cigarettes, candy, matches, and produce. Now Bangkokstyle cement houses can be found scattered throughout the region as money from migrant workers from the Middle East is spent on elaborate houses.