I was under the impression you have moved to a province a fair distance from BKK. That made me think it was near some of her family. You have to admit, there are often diverse physical characteristics depending on region. The provinces near Malaysia, (which these days has more ethnic Chinese than it does ethnic Malay), would have some mixing of Thai blood and Chinese blood with lighter complexions and finer features. Thais from say, Trang, and those from say, Khon Kaen, will usually look much different. I'd heard the same about NW Thailand, i.e. Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, etc about being mixed with Chinese more often. Thai-Chinese are also quite significant in BKK, and your wife may have such ancestry. Former president Thaksin is Thai-Chinese and was born in Chiang Mai, for example.My wife is pure Bangkokian. Educated. Top of Class. Sorry to put a spanner in your stereotype
I married here straight out of University. Been teaching her ever since... Wanna see her at 23??
Go Tua!
Isaan Thai are mostly ethnically Lao. Those from Isaan often have a darker complexion and have features that IMO, make them look more similar to the ethnic Malay which now makes up most of Indonesia and The Philippines. Even though there is no connection. I used to know a girl from Khorat who many mistook for being half-black because she was so dark and had a head of wild curly hair. But I saw both her parents and they were both Thais.
I'd be pleased to see your wife at age 23. She does not look much older in that B&W pic you posted yesterday. One of the nice things about Asians, is they seem to age slower than Westerners.