Northeast Thailand Adventures!

July 25, 2012

I got to Chiang Khan early, about 11 am after an hour on a songtao. I got a tuk tuk and went to the main street where I decided to stay at Chiang Khan Riverview Guest House. What a good idea cause it was beautiful. It had been raining so I spent most my time in the shady part of the terrace writing in my journal… so awesome!

I took a bike and an umbrella and biked a few streets down to a restaurant where the owner force fed me some noodle dish which was actually pretty good. I then took a tuk tuk to Kaeng Khut Khu, a famous bend in the Mekong River. I had some iced coffee and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the mountains of Laos.

In the afternoon after reading and relaxing I went for a run along the River, it was absolutely stunning. I then walked and got some Pad Thai… Yes I am eating Thai food!!! And actually enjoying it! I guess I’m growing up.

This town has been my favorite town in Thailand by far. It is a beautiful couple streets town by the river. 

Everyone is very friendly and when it rains or it is winter if you go up to the peak it’s like sitting on the clouds. I loved the little shops, the friendly locals, and the very homey feel of it… Like a little boardwalk town back in California but with more Thai culture.

July 26, 2012

A TRAVELING NIGHTMARE

I didn’t sleep very well last night; my cough was still bothering me.

I woke up got ready and was downstairs by 6:45. I took some pictures with the owners of the guesthouse and as per their recommendation took the long route to Nong Khai. First I got a bus to a place 20 km away where I waited an hour and a half for a songtao. The songtao was a 60 km ride to Pak Chom where I would get my next bus.

On this particular songtao there was a lady with huge baskets full of fish, frogs, chicken, veggies, and everything else under the sun! I guess she was the source of food for her whole town or something like that. 

The drive was beautiful but the driver took an unannounced turn into a 20 minute detour to take this lady to her house. This would have not bother me in many other situations, not only was the scenery beautiful but this country has taught me a lot of patience… but the bus that I was supposed to catch at the next stop left at 10 am so I missed by 10 minutes and the next bus didn’t to leave until 3 pm! So I was stuck in a tiny village with nothing to do for 5 hours.

I lay on a bench and decided to relax and read but some of the village men decided to try to talk to me. They couldn’t speak English so I figured they would leave me alone but nooooo they went and got an 80 year old man (the only English speaker in town) who decided he would practice his English with me for the next 5 hours. He talked about everything even God, Joseph Smith, everything.

Slightly annoyed, I was extremely happy when 3pm came around and I was finally on my way. The bus ride was beautiful, it was 3 hours by the Mekong through mountains, rice fields, banana plantations and more. So green, so lush, so rich, so beautiful. The bus was a really old rickety bus but it was fine. It was pouring rain and there was a drip on my seat but I got over it.

I got to Nong Khai around 6pm. I got a room at Mut Mee Garden House which was beautiful.

I got myself together and went to eat Indian food. On my way while asking for directions I met an American psychiatrist who is taking a year off to teach here as well.  He joined me for dinner where we talked about the challenges of living in this country. I ended the day early by enjoying a good book.

Friday I woke up early and went for run, again along the river, beautiful views and perfect weather. It was a great I did laps along the river and back through the day market. The looks I get from Thai people when I run are hilarious. Most Thai people don’t exercise, especially Thai women.

After running I went to this amazing park full of enormous structures of Hindu and Buddha symbols and all kinds of other things. It was really cool. My favorite part was the circle of the cycle of life. You walk in and it shows you all different stages of life, from birth to falling in love, to dying, and it shows you that the only way to not get stuck in the cycle of suffering is to follow Buddha principles.

I went back to the guest house and relaxed and met some cool people. I made a friend from Australia named Andre and him and I went out and explored on his street bike.

We played monopoly, went and played pool and had a good time.

Saturday I headed back home on the train. It was a good day relaxing with my Italian friends Barbara and Christina. We took a meditating end to a course which I completely failed at (opened my eyes in the middle, was going kind of crazy), but it was a great ending to a wonderful vacation.