Isaan is the northeastern region of Thailand, one of the country's most rural and agricultural areas, and the home region of many of the Thai women in these stories, even if they later ended up living in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, or Pattaya. It has historically been poorer than central Thailand, which explains why so many families rely on money sent home by daughters or wives who married a foreigner. Understanding Isaan helps make sense of the real context behind decisions that, seen from the outside, are sometimes judged without knowing the full story — from the dowry to family financial pressure.
At 44, divorced for a decade, an American meets Tay on Facebook. A month later, already in love, he finds out she'd spent the past year with an Australian man who'd visited her village in Isan. She confesses everything honestly and asks for one chance. Years later, they're married and building a house to retire in.
A 42-year-old Dutchman started visiting Pattaya in 2010 and never stopped coming back every January. In 2022, in a bar on Soi Honey, he met Jib, from Isaan. Two years later he bought land from her family, fully aware of what that meant.
A 62-year-old retired American recounts how he met Dada at a Pattaya massage shop, married her in a Buddhist ceremony in Isan, and everything fell apart when she started quietly withdrawing money from the joint account he'd opened for the dowry.
A 51-year-old Canadian recounts how he went from a tense relationship in Pattaya to supporting Lek for two years as she built a food stall in her village near Prakhon Chai, until she vanished without explanation after a temple retreat.
A recently retired American looks back on his relationship with a Thai woman he met in Hong Kong. What began as a romance with visits to Bangkok turned into a growing list of monthly payments, until he discovered he wasn't the only man supporting her.
A 25-year-old British English teacher met Nisa in Khon Kaen, a university graduate from Isaan with zero interest in the nightlife scene. Her mum, living in Germany, had other plans for her daughter. This is the story of how he won the family over and decided to stay in Thailand.
After seeing plenty of bar scams in Thailand, a Swedish man was introduced online to a woman from Isaan looking for something serious. Months of daily calls and a visit to her family later, the relationship never quite came together. It wasn't the love story he hoped for, and it wasn't a scam either.
On a group tour of Thailand in 2019, an Irishman met a divorced woman running several small businesses on Koh Samui. Lockdown forced her to move back to Isaan, but they never stopped talking every single day. Years later, he's planning to propose on his next visit.
A divorce sent me to Pattaya on holiday with my brother. There I met Nat, a single mother who'd lost her partner before her daughter was born. I fell in love, started doing bike deliveries at night to support her, and months later proposed at Bangkok airport. We've been married four years now in London.
Graham, a 51-year-old Scot, first came to Thailand at 32, on holiday after a long breakup. In the bars of Koh Samui he met Dao, the woman he'd later marry. Nineteen years, a Thai wedding, and a house built in Isaan later, he lives surrounded by her family and wouldn't change a thing.