With no longer having any work-related responsibilities in Chiang Mai, and after living there for 10 years, we decided to embark on a change of location and lifestyle. With 3.5 Rai of land that Ace, my partner, had available, why not build a new house in a rural countryside area – something different?

So we moved from Chiang Mai to a small town in Isaan called That Phanom. It is known for its famous Wat Phra That Phanom Woramahawihan (temple), & is located in Nakhon Phanom Province in the northeast of Thailand. The temple is about 500 meters from the Mekong River, which is the border between Laos and Thailand, and about 800 kilometers from Bangkok.

Thailand is broken up, generally, into five regions as depicted in the map below. We will be located in the “North East Region,” in Nakon Phanom province (as highlighted on the map). You can see from the second map that we are located on the border with Laos & where we sit with respect to other countries in the Region, such as Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

Exploring the New Environment

So a “new life journey” began. We had a busy & productive trip to Nakhon Phanom Province for 10 days in early January 2024. The main reason for the trip was to scout out the potential to live in the area & build our country cottage on Aces’ 3.5 Rai of land – that we decided to call ( “RAce บ้านนอก ฟาร์ม” ) or “RAce Country Farm/Cottage” – check it out.

During our visit, we explored the region to check out the infrastructure & facilities for a future life there. We stayed in the towns of That Phanom & Nakon Phanom, but took day trips to Mukdahan (50 km) & Nakhon Sakorn (70 km) – both being substantial cities with major shopping facilities (Robinson Mall, Makro, Home-pro, Big C & the like). We also stopped in Udon Thani on the drive over & it compares to Chiang Mai for infrastructure, shopping & food offerings. It would be about 220 km (3 hr. drive) away from our future home.

Sale & Move

We sold our home in Chiang Mai with a contract closure date of 14 March 2024. Movers are arranged for an uplift of our goods on 17 March 2024.

There is a farmhouse adjacent to Ace’s land – on his mother’s land, that we are currently having renovated/updated by our builder for our use to stay in for the next 6/8 months while the house is built.

It will be an adventure in itself. But the renovations have made it nice inside with some drywalling to establish a lounge/bedroom, new electrics, air conditioning, new shower & updates in the kitchen. 

For the move, we will have to drive taking 2 days with our 2 dogs & cat – (oh joy), – stopping partway overnight. We have already found a place to stay on that journey that will allow our animals to overnight with us in a resort outside of Udon Thani. We have met the neighbors that live nearby – a retired Policeman (that nobody messes with) & nearby his 84-year-old brother. Both are very friendly & welcoming. 

For the rest of February or until we depart, we will tackle a clean-up of the house, cupboards, storage & clothes to eliminate anything that is not necessary to take with us. Looking forward to the change but a lot of hard work & effort ahead before being settled quietly in rural retirement life in Isaan, Thailand.

Check out the other pages about “Farwell Chiang Mai” and “That Phanom” to explore our new life in rural Thailand.