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For the past week I have been living in the small village of Broken Road in Nang Rong, Isaan. Isaan is Thailand’s largest region bordered by the Mekong River to the north and east (along the border with Laos), and by Cambodia to the southeast. (Roughly speaking, the larger red circle on the map above represents the whole of Isaan, while the smaller solid circle is where I have been staying.) I’m visiting my friends Allan & Fanfan for the second time this year – the first being back in April when I got up to all sorts of interesting stuff. (You can read about that here and here.)

This time around has been much more laid back, with all of us content to just laze about – hiding indoors from the storms of the rainy season and getting out in the sunshine when we can. As well as catching up with some writing, I have enjoyed walking around the area with my camera on the hunt for the thousands (if not millions) of insects that live in the neighbouring gardens and fields. Rural Thailand’s rich tropical climate provides the perfect breeding ground for all sorts of beetles, butterflies, spiders and other amazing creatures. All these pictures were taken within a 20-metre radius of the house, so I can only imagine what else is waiting to be found.

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