Day 5 - Nongkai

We arrived in Nongkai at about 7am. I was feeling lethargic as I did not sleep well in the train this time. It was kind of warm and I had trouble sleeping. We rode for about 3km to the market in Nongkai town centre. I really enjoy the sight and smell of a local wet market. Really authentic expierence.

After breakfast, we rode a further 5km to my little home. After a brief introduction, we decided that we will stay the next few nights here together instead of going to stay in a hotel. A friend (Ah Sai) came to pick us up in her white Toyota Vios and off to another local market we went.

This time to buy lots of food to go to father-in-law's place for a lunch party. He lives in a large wooden house surrounded by a large farmland area which he grows his own fruits and vegetables. He has buffaloes, monkeys, dogs, horse and lots of chickens roaming the area around the house. While the ladies were doing the cooking, Ben and I went to harvest some items such as mangos, coconuts and long beans. It's the sort of life that our generation missed and our children might never get to see. We were excited yet grateful at the same time. We had a nice selection of Issan food for lunch. I really wonder how the ladies prepared it in such a basic outdoor kitchen. It's just goes to show what great cooks they are. Ben is very adventurous in his food tasting and says he likes the raw beef that was prepared. I personally like the 'ya dong' which is a thai whiskey with herbs. A few more cousins and friends joined for lunch and we had a good time having some beer and laughing away. Father-in-law nicknamed himself 'Ameri-kan' He really opened up this time and is a really funny man. We used to think that he is very serious no nonsense man. He had a really good time with us too.

In the late afternoon, we took a cousin's pick up truck to a nearby town, Thabo where there's a new beach attraction 'Pattaya 3' The mighty mekong river has receded in the hot weather and exposed a large 'beach area' which is basically sediments of sand and many pebbles.

We could walk right out to the middle of the Mekong river and the water was no more then 2 feet deep. Enterprising Thai people seized the opportunity and quickly set up shops selling food and drinks. They were tables set up and tubes for rent. We got ourselves a table and the party continued. Beer flowed as the mighty mekong river tickled along our ankles. The river water was sometimes warm and sometimes cool.

The girls decided that they wanted to take the banana boat ride which is basically a long float which was towed behind a jet ski. It's really cheap at 50b per person for 1 ride. They went for 2 rides. It was funny watching them fall into the water. As the sun set along the Mekong, we decided to go home to rest. Everyone was happy. We were mighty tired but it's a good day spent with nice friendly people and a real cultural expierence. We are going to Laos for a day trip tomorrow.