Vietnamese of Isaan

There is a old Lao adage which states: 'Lao and Viet--Cat and Dog', implying the impossibility of the two peoples ever getting along well together. Yet again, another old saw - this time attributed to the Khmers - has it that: 'The Viets plant the rice, the Khmers watch them working, but the Lao listen to the rice grow'.

Sayings like this, rooted not just in centuries, but in millennia of rivalry and competition for land, are vivid indications of the mistrust which developed between the numerous, industrious, Sinicised Vietnamese, and their less numerous, more easy-going, Indianised neighbours--the Lao, the Cambodians, and the Thais.

Traditional rivalries between Vietnamese and Thai were not improved by the arrival, in the mid-19th century, of European colonialists. Thailand, through a fortunate mixture of geopolitical luck and the wise judgement of good kings, was able to safeguard its independence, albeit at the cost of losing substantial peripheral territories. The Vietnamese, however, were swallowed by Imperial France, causing an initial outflow of refugees to Thailand at the beginning of this century.

These first Vietnamese migrants - calling themselves Viet Kieu, often translated as "Overseas Vietnamese"- settled in Ubon Ratchathani, Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon, away from their French overlords, but close enough to their Indochinese homeland to be able to foment revolt. This was the beginning of the Vietnamese nationalist movement, which was observed by the Thais with profound mistrust.

David Henley / CPA

View over the Mekong towards Laos from a Vietnamese church, near Nakhon Phanom.

Subsequently, in 1946, a renewed wave of Viet Kieu migrants sought refuge in Thailand following the Second World War, the reimposition of French authority over Indochina in 1946, and the establishment of a communist regime in Hanoi in 1952. During these years an estimated 50,000 Vietnamese crossed the Mekong, seeking shelter in Thailand's broad Northeast, known locally as Isaan. Like earlier Viet migrants, they settled mainly by the Mekong, in Udon Thani, Nong Khai, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom, and Ubon Ratchathani. Today these provinces, together with the recently constituted province of Mukdahan, still form the main centres of Vietnamese settlement in Thailand.

Right down to the present day, the Vietnamese remain perhaps Thailand's least-known minority. The reasons for this are based on earlier historical rivalries, compounded by Vietnam's promotion of communism in Indochina and tacit backing for the (now defunct) Communist Party of Thailand. Put simply, the Thai authorities - indeed Thai people in general - didn't trust the Vietnamese. The Viets of Isaan knew this, and worked diligently to improve their living standards, whilst playing down the question of ethnicity.

Fortunately, now that Vietnam has abandoned socialism in favour of free-market economics, bridges are being built across the Mekong not just in concrete and steel, but in cultural and commercial relations, too. In earnest of this, the Thai authorities have begun the long delayed granting of citizenship to all grandchildren of Viet Kieu migrants in the country. As this process continues, the long-silent Vietnamese of Isaan are rediscovering their cultural confidence and ethnic roots - secure, at last, in their country of adoption.

Visitors to Isaan, both Thai and foreign, are increasingly able to take advantage of this development when travelling through the Mekong provinces. A good starting place would be Nong Khai, just one short stop from Vientiane, the Lao capital, with its two Vietnamese quarters and numerous, delicious Viet restaurants. Yet to experience the cuisine, and to meet the Viet Kieu of the Mekong Valley, there is no need to cross the Friendship Bridge.

Nong Khai itself has a small Vietnamese community, and in parts is redolent of French Indochina. A row of Sino-French style houses lines Meechai Road to the east of Soi Si Khun Muang, parallel to the river, whilst shops along the same street are today packed with wares from Vietnam, as well as from Laos and China. Excellent Vietnamese food is available too, especially in the vicinity of the Tha Sadet pier.

West from Nong Khai, along the narrow road that follows the Mekong to Chiang Khan, lie several settlements where business revolves around the resident Viet Kieu community. The first such town is Tha Bo, an unremarkable but prosperous settlement with a large church, known locally as wat satsana krit - the 'Christian temple'. The presence of churches, and sometimes of small cathedrals, in the riverine towns of Isaan is a sure sign of Viet Kieu residents. Many of the refugees who fled North Vietnam in 1952 were devout Catholics, and they brought their faith with them when they came to Thailand.

David Henley / CPA

Spring roll wrappers drying on rattan racks, Sri Chiang Mai, northeast Thailand.

Further along the same road, directly opposite the bend in the river that shelters the Lao capital, Vientiane, may be found the affluent little settlement of Sri Chiang Mai. Much of the wealth of this town - which is apparent from the well-stocked shops and the frequency of direct air-conditioned coach services from Bangkok - rests on the manufacture of khanom paw pia yuan , or Vietnamese spring roll wrappers.

David Henley / CPA

Making Vietnamese spring roll wrappers in Sri Chiang Mai, northeast Thailand.

On the outskirts of Sri Chiang Mai, and in many of the neighbouring villages, may be seen rows of rattan spring roll drying frames, and in warehouses near the bus stop great piles of ready-bagged wrappers are stacked to the ceilings. Sri Chiang Mai is the 'spring roll capital' of Thailand, and exports its produce not only to Bangkok, but as far afield as Hong Kong and Singapore. The trade is almost exclusively in the hands of local Viet Kieu, and business is booming.

Turning eastwards from Nong Khai, a sizeable Vietnamese presence may be found down river at Nakhon Phanom, directly opposite the Lao city of Tha Khaek. Here the traveller can sample some of the best Vietnamese food in Isaan, whilst revelling in panoramic views of the Mekong River and the jagged mountains of Laos beyond. Trade between Nakhon Phanom and Vietnam, already well-established, will be set to boom when a bridge is constructed, as planned, between the Thai city and Tha Khaek. Eventually a modern, hard-surfaced road will lead from here directly to the Vietnamese port city of Vinh.

Fifty-three kilometres further down the Mekong towards the sea is the important Buddhist centre of That Phanom, site of the north-east's most important temple fair every February, and the cultural heart of Isaan. Here, too, links with Vietnam are readily apparent. Hundreds of Lao and Vietnamese merchants cross the river to participate in the regional market each Monday and Thursday. Goods from across the river are widely displayed, including Lao herbal medicines and forest products, Vietnamese pigs and animal skins, and a selection of other exotica. Other indications of Vietnamese (and Franco-Vietnamese) influence include colonial-style shophouses and restaurants where the traveller can buy French-style baguettes known locally as khao jii, best eaten with French-style paté and coffee. And why not? Hanoi, after all, is closer geographically than Bangkok, and the Gulf of Tonkin is just over the mountains.

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