An English teacher's blog about his travels and his digital art.

Category: night photos (Page 1 of 3)

Thailand Trip–Bangkok and Nongkhai

Here’s the final post about my recent trip to Thailand, including some photos of Bangkok and Nongkhai.

In Bangkok we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, which I highly recommend. It’s right on Silom Road and not too far from a Skytrain station, so going elsewhere in the city is convenient. There is a good breakfast buffet and the staff are very helpful and courteous. We also stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Phuket, which is about a five-minute walk to the beach. Again, they had a great staff, but the breakfast buffet, though decent, wasn’t quite as good as the one in Bangkok. I recommend it, however, but I didn’t take any photos of it.

The Bangkok Holiday Inn was all spruced up for Christmas and there was this nice tree just outside the restaurant.

Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Christmas Tree

There is a beautiful lobby area at the hotel and checking in at reception was quick and easy, and, again, the hotel staff were wonderful.

Holiday Inn Express Bangkok

Holiday Inn Express Bangkok

Holiday Inn Express Bangkok

Here’s a nice reflection I captured on the short walk (about ten minutes) to the Skytrain station.

Bangkok Skyline Reflection

Bangkok’s lungs, Lumphini Park, is in the Silom area and it’s a great place just to hang out. The citizenry use it for jogging, aerobics, tai chi, free concerts and walking around, enjoying the greenery. I’ve got quite a few other photos of Lumphini on the blog, which you can see here and here during a protest.

This is a night shot of one of the skylines surrounding the park.

Lumphini Park Night Skyline

Not far from the hotel, we found this little hole-in-the-wall bar that had some live music on this night, a solo singer/guitar player who was quite good. Here, Nai enjoys a beer (or two).

Nai in Bangkok Bar

After several nights in The City of Angels, we headed back for Laos, but first we spent some time in Nongkhai, staying in a small hotel on the river walk. A ways down from the hotel, the town had set up some New Year’s decorations. Here are a few.

Nongkhai River Walk Dragons

Nongkhai River Walk Dragons Happy New Year

There are several places along the river where you can walk down to restaurants that are set up on boats. Here’s a nice one.

Nongkhai Boat Restaurant

Along the river walk are numerous sculptures of the various fish that can be found in the Mekong River. Here are a couple of the fish out of water that could be seen from our room.

Fish Out of Water

And finally, there was an elephant strolling down the walk, with its handler, of course. He was selling tidbits of some kind that you could feed the animal. Elephants are probably my favorite animal, but this is not the place for them. You could see them quite often down in Bangkok in the Sukhumvit area, but the city outlawed their presence in the concrete jungle quite a number of years ago. It’s not a good environment for the poor creatures and their handlers, who probably come in from the forest where they work helping loggers, but are now jobless.

Nongkhai Elephant

That’s the last of my Thailand photos from the vacation I had. I didn’t take that many photos of Bangkok because I have numerous other photos of the city posted on the blog. Just use the search function if you wish to see more.

Thailand Trip–Patong Beach, Pt.1

My partner, Nai, and I spent a couple of weeks in Thailand last month, spending six days at Patong Beach in Phuket, four days in Bangkok, and four days in Nongkhai. Here are some photos from the Patong Beach part of the vacation. One caveat, though. I didn’t bring my Canon DSLR camera along; I only brought my Samsung A52 phone, which has a decent camera, and an old Canon pocket cam. I have to admit I’m not that impressed with the photos the A52 takes compared to the DSLR.

This is the colorful welcome to Phuket Patong Beach sign. One of my favorite things to do was to walk along the beach in the early morning, the best time of day. There are very few people out and about at that time and the vendors haven’t set up their chairs yet.

Patong Beach Sign

However, the first day we arrived, the weather was cool and rainy. Not the best conditions to spend time on a beach, but I’d seen that the forecast called for warmer, sunnier days to follow.

rainy day on Patong Beach

It was much nicer the next day. This is looking towards the northern part of the beach with several resorts on the side of a hill.

Patong Beach on a nice day

Here’s another nice day, viewing one of the bars in the background. Notice the “weed” sign. I’ll have a separate post on that.

Patong Beach area

Here’s one of my early morning walks. Quite peaceful compared to the previous two photos.

Patong Beach morning

There are a few surf schools along the beach, though the surf was nothing to speak of here. The owners probably take surfers to other beaches on the island where the waves are better.

Patong Beach Surf School

Looking towards the beach from the back of the school.

Patong Beach Surf School

Among other beach activities, you can get a massage. Here’s Nai enjoying one.

Patong Beach massage

As nice as the mornings are, so too are the evenings. This is one of several gorgeous sunsets.

Patong Beach Sunset

And another beautiful evening.

Patong Beach Sunset

How about a few moments of parasailing to enjoy the sunset?

Patong Beach parasailing

Nai and I enjoying a sunny day.

Nai and Ron selfie

I’ll have another post up shortly about the trip, so stay tuned for more later.

Relaxing in Nong Khai

I spent a few relaxing days last week in Nong Khai, Thailand, which is just across the border. My house is actually closer to that town than it is to Vientiane, since the bridge across the Mekong River is about 8km away, whereas the distance to downtown Vientiane is 16km. Nong Khai is a fairly small town that many tourists probably bypass if they’re heading to Laos, but there are a lot of expats who have retired to the area.

Nai came with me and we stayed at a small hotel, the Baan Mae Rim Nam, located on the banks of the Mekong and right on one of Nong Khai’s chief attractions, the Walking Street, a river walk that runs for several kilometers next to the river. It’s a great place for strolling, jogging, bicycling, or relaxing. I especially like it at night when it’s gently lit by streetlamps, and families and joggers are abundant. There are quite a few bars and restaurants along the walkway, and the one we frequented, Macky’s Riverside Kitchen, puts a few of their tables out in the evening next to the river’s edge. It’s so nice to sit outside, when it’s not raining, and dine or have a beverage and do a bit of people watching. It’s also great for viewing sunsets:

sunset

walking street in Nong Khai

Walking Street at night

dining outside

Outside Macky’s Riverside Kitchen

sunset

sunset boat practice

A crew practices for the boat races that will take place in a few weeks or so

Down a bit from Macky’s is the Irish Bar, which also features a decent restaurant and a good view of the river and the walkway. The owner, Mick, an Irish expat, of course, is a jovial fellow, so stop in and say hello if you’re in the area.

Another highlight is the Saturday Walking Street market, which has a number of food stalls, handmade crafts, and a stage area where bands entertain the market goers. Usually. Unfortunately, it rained quite a bit on the Saturday we were there, and the market was washed out. Oh, well, next time.

We also went to the former Tesco-Lotus shopping center (I think it’s just called Lotus now) and replenished our wardrobes. I needed some new shirts, jeans, socks and other types of clothing, and Thailand is cheaper than Vientiane right now, since the inflation rate in Laos is quite high.

All in all, it was a relaxing time in Nong Khai, but even better, it was a chance to get out of Vientiane and visit Thailand after being stuck in Laos since December of 2019, mainly because of the covid virus epidemic restrictions that had been in place. I’m looking forward to December when I have plans to get down to Bangkok and perhaps to one of the beach areas, like Phuket or Koh Samui.

Bangkok in December, Part 2

As promised, here are some photos in part 2 of my visit to Bangkok this past December.

I usually stay in the Silom section of Bangkok at the Silom City Hotel, which is near the extremely interesting Hindu temple of Mariamman. I don’t know if you could call this the Hindu section of Bangkok, but a stroll around the area offers paintings and murals of Hindu interest. Walking up Silom road I saw these paintings–bright, colorful, beautiful.

Hindu painting

Hindu Painting (I think) that I saw on Silom Road.

Hindu painting

Another Hindu inspired painting on Silom Road. Check out the litte mouse near the lower left corner–cute.

The Mahboonkrong (MBK) Shopping Center always has some kind of exhibition outside the main entrance and December through January was the “Amazing Carnival” display. Amazing it was, and, though it’s a short walk around the plaza, you could spend quite a while taking in this bizarre but delightfully fantastic exhibit. Most of the photos below don’t contain any captions, because what could I say about them. Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words (or imaginations). (Note that there were a lot of people walking around and it was difficult to get many “uncluttered” shots.)

MBK Christmas tree

Here’s a night shot of the main entrance to MBK, featuring an 18 meter (60 feet) Christmas “tree.”

band

There’s gotta be a band leading the performers into the carnival, like a circus coming into town. So, here’s the small ensemble.

This is the main feature.
All the smaller characters are scattered around her.

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

MBK "Amazing Carnival"

And, back to the start.

There is usually some kind of display on the skywalk from MBK to the skytrain station. At this time, the display featured cats. Nai and I found ourselves attracted to them.

Nai and cat

Nai enjoys the company of one of the felines near the National Stadium skytrain station.

Ron and cat

This guy is the cat’s meow, don’t you think?

That’s it for the Bangkok trip. I don’t know what’s up next on the blog, but I haven’t worked on my photo art in quite a while, so I’ll probably concentrate on that and try to get some stuff posted here. More later.

Bangkok in December, Part 1

Here are a few photos from my stay in Bangkok around Christmas this past December. In this part are some shots of the “Rubik’s Cube” building, as someone else termed it. It’s actually called the MahaNakhon Tower and it’s the tallest building in Thailand at 314 meters (1030 feet). The Edition hotel will be In the lower third of the building and the upper sections will be devoted to Ritz-Carlton condos. It’s supposed to be finished and ready for use sometime this year, but I think some of the condos might already be occupied. See the night shot of the building below.

MahaNakhon Tower

Remember the “Rubik’s Cube” building from previous posts? It’s called the MahaNakhon Tower and it’s almost finished. It’s the tallest building in Bangkok and it really dominates the skyline with its height and striking design.

Bangkok at night

Bangkok at night. Notice the MahaNakhon tower at the left. It appears that quite a few of the rooms at the top are lit, suggesting that perhaps some of the condos are open.

Here are some closer views of the building. It’s located right next to the Chong Nonsi skytrain station, a stop that Nai and I use all the time. I don’t know how I missed the building before. I took these shots from near the station.

MahaNakhon Tower

Shot taken from near the Chong Nonsi skytrain station, just down from central Silom

MahaNakhon Tower

A much closer view of the tower.

The tower looms over you this close to it. I took this shot from “The Square” at the front of the building.

In The Square, the front courtyard of MahaNakhon, sits an interesting sculpture, “Bangkok Soul”. From the MahaNakhon website:

MahaNakhon Square features a 9 meter tall sculpture by Jaume Plensa “Bangkok Soul” featuring various letters from different languages combining in a crouching human form.

Here are a couple of photos of “The Square” and of the sculpture. Click the second one to enlarge it and see the individual letters making up the “man.”

"The Square" at MahaNakhon Tower

A photo of “The Square” at the base of the tower. This area also contains an upscale restaurant and shopping areas. If you look closely, you can see some construction workers in the final phases of finishing off the exterior.

"Bangkok Soul" sculpture

“Bangkok Soul.” Click a couple of times to enlarge it to see the individual letters making up the piece.

In Part 2 of Bangkok in December, I’ll show some photos of the delightfully strange “carnival” exhibition at the MBK Shopping Mall.

Bangkok Bound

In my previous post I mentioned, more or less, that this was my favorite time of year in Laos because of the weather. I also like it because it’s the end of the third term at the school, so that means there’s some time off, about five weeks. So, foot-loose and fancy-free, I’m bound for Bangkok with Nai for a week.

We’re crossing the border into Nong Khai, Thailand, and then taking an early morning bus to Udon Thani to catch a noon flight to Bangkok. The ride to Udon takes about an hour, so we’ll probably leave Nong Khai around 9 a.m. The flight to Bangkok takes an hour, so we’ll get into “The Big Mango” around 1:00 and be at the hotel about 2:30 or 3:00. It usually takes about an hour (everything takes an hour, eh?) to get into the city by taxi and the ride costs around $10, if I remember correctly. Not a bad deal.

As usual, we’re staying in the Silom area of the city, close to good street food, entertainment venues and the skytrain and subway. Speaking of entertainment, I’ve just gotta go see the latest Star Wars movie. I’ve heard a lot of good things about, so it’s a must-see.

Here are a few photos from previous trips to Bangkok.

Bangkok Skyline

Here’s the view outside our hotel window up on the ninth floor (out of 10). If you stay at the Silom City Hotel, be sure to get a room that’s 8th floor or higher for a great view.

Bangkok at night

Bangkok at Night. This photo was taken in 2013 and the one above in 2016. You can see that a few new buildings, including the odd one on the left, were constructed in the three years between photos.

Food vendor

Food vendor near the hotel. There are a lot of these little outfits about a block from where we stay.

Phuket Photos

At last, a few photos of my trip to Phuket, Thailand back in December. We stayed at Patong Beach at a couple of different hotels, the Thara Patong Beach Resort (our usual favorite) and at the Ramada Phuket Deevana Hotel. They’re both nice places to stay and have swimming pools (though the Deevana’s is rather small and fills up early), good service and decent food. If you by chance decide to visit Patong and stay at one or both of them, I recommend reserving a room at the Ramada with the free breakfast buffet option. The buffet is awesome, with a few dozen or more choices of food and plenty of hot and cold drinks. The buffet at the Thara Patong is OK, but can’t compare with the one at the Ramada. Either hotel is a good choice, though.

The weather during the first several days of our stay was a bit unsettled at times with cool temperatures and occasional rain, but near the end of our holiday, the sun and warmer weather dominated. As I mentioned in a previous post, I did a bit of shopping and bought a Lenovo Tab Essential, mainly to use as an ebook reader. It was a great buy at $75, and I use it every day. I’m getting in a lot of reading in my spare time, having recently read “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” native-Montanan Ivan Doig’s “This House of Sky,” and George Saunders’ “Lincoln in the Bardo,” among others. Next up is “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing, followed by Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States,” and the first book in a trilogy by Ivan Doig titled “English Creek.” I better get reading.

Here are a few of the photos that I took. More later.

Thara Patong swimming pool

One of the swimming pools at Thara Patong Resort. This is the smaller one, just a little splash pool compared to the much larger one at the main building a little ways behind it. This one has a bar right beside it, featuring a “Happy Hour” (limited selection) every day, so be careful if you swim and imbibe here.

Swimming Pool, Patong Beach.

This is the view from our eighth floor room at the Ramada. The swimming pool is on the property of a hotel next to ours. It looks inviting, but there appeared to be little shade available.

Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand.

This was high season, so there were many vacationers at the beach and in the town. The hotels were booked full and some of the choice spots at the beach were taken. Nai and I always stayed at one particular spot, where we made friends with the ladies who gave massages and sold beer and food under a shaded pavilion, of sorts. This is the scene near that pavilion.

Nai drinks a Heineken beer.

Nai really likes Heineken Beer, even more than Beer Lao, I suspect. Here he enjoys a cold one under the umbrellas at “our” spot on the beach.

Nai gets a massage at Patong Beach

Nai gets a massage from the “boss lady” of this little place on the beach, where, along with the massage, you can get food and drink. This gal, whose name is Ma, I think, was a dear. She addressed everyone as “Dahling”, a la Zsa Zsa Gabor. A very friendly spot.

Paragliding at Patong Beach

Late afternoon paragliders enjoying a flight over the beach. It’s a pretty expensive proposition, costing about $30 for a 3-minute experience (I timed it). Still, a lot of people shell out the dough for it.

Patong cruise ship

Quite a few large cruise ships pulled into the bay off Patong Beach. They didn’t stay long, mainly for a day or overnight. Lots of smaller boats anchored in the deeper water away from the beach.

Patong beach at night

Patong Beach at night. As the evening progresses the beach goers head back to wherever they’re staying. This is a pleasant time to take a casual stroll on the sand.

Bangkok Trip December 2016

Here, finally, are some photos from my December vacation in Bangkok and Phuket. Below are some I made in Bangkok, and in the next post I’ll feature some Phuket photos.

My friend Nai and I stayed at the Silom City Hotel, which is about a three-star facility, so the price per night is fairly modest, about $40-45, depending on if you want to have the buffet breakfast, which is not that great, but it’s ample. The hotel is in a great location and the staff are wonderful, so it’s become our go-to place when we stay in Bangkok.

We were there for four nights, enough time to do a bit of shopping, walk around at night and wander through Lumphini Park, Bangkok’s version of New York City’s Central Park. I highly recommend Lumphini for some serenity amidst the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.

Here are the photos. If you’re interested in other scenes of Bangkok from previous trips, just do a search in the search box on this page.

(Please note that my Photo Gallery link on the right side of the page isn’t working at this time. I’ll try to get it back up soon.)

Bangkok Skyline

Here’s the view outside our hotel window up on the ninth floor (out of 10). If you stay at the Silom City Hotel, be sure to get a room that’s 8th floor or higher for a great view.

Ron at fountain at Lumphini Park

Here’s a fellow that looks suspiciously like me, posing at the fountain at the entrance to Lumphini Park. Nai took this picture, but he made everything in the photo look older than it is.

Lao man at fountain at Lumphini Park

This is my friend Nai at the fountain. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you’ll recognize him from innumerable previous posts. What a ham!

Silom Skyline from Lumphini Park

This is near the entrance to Lumphini Park, looking toward the Silom section of Bangkok in the late afternoon. Around this time of day, many urbanites use the park for jogging, strolling, bicycyling and relaxing on the luxuriant grounds.

Nai at lake at Lumphini Park

Here Nai stares across the pond (lake) at Lumphini Park, watching the boaters enjoying the afternoon coolness.

Lumphini Park skyscrapers

Looking across the lake at Lumphini Park with the late afternoon sun highlighting some of the skyscrapers that surround the park. Perfect time to go boating.

Lumphini Park Lake

More skyscrapers around the lake, and one of the fountains is gushing, sending spray on some of the boaters. This is a great place to relax in Bangkok.

Dusit Thani Hotel spire

This is the spire atop the main building of the Dusit Thani Hotel in the Silom Area of Bangkok. I’ve never stayed there (too expensive), but I’ve heard it’s pretty nice. I took this photo at the entrance of Lumphini Park at dusk.

GPF Building in Bangkok.

This is the top of the GPF building in the Silom area. I took this one also from the entrance of Lumphini. The building is not far from the Dusit Thani, but I have no idea what the GPF stands for. I’m fairly certain it’s not a hotel, but it could be a bank or investment firm.

Baannakee Restaurant, Nongkhai

We’re having a short mid-term break of nine days before starting again on July 4th. (Obviously, not a holiday here) Nai and I are staying a few days across the river in Nongkhai. I’ve got to do some shopping at Tesco-Lotus, a French chain that’s similar to Wal-Mart, more or less. My old computer bag is literally falling apart, and I’m in the market for a new compact camera, probably a Canon Ixus (Elph, in the ‘States.) I’m also looking for an e-book reader, but I’m not sure what I can find in Nongkhai.

On our last visit there, we found out about a great little bar and restaurant called Baannakee, which means “The House of the Dragon,” according to the owner, a Thai man named Toom. He’s very friendly as well as being an excellent cook. The food, mostly German fare, is great. A local German expat makes a variety of sausages at his home and sells them to the restaurant. Though I’m not particularly fond of sausage, what I’ve eaten at Baannakee is not bad at all. Some of my favorite food that’s served there are the fish and chips, and the mashed potatoes, which come with a variety of dishes.

The fish ‘n chips come with very hefty proportions as well as with a generous-sized side of salad. You could almost share an order with another person, and the price is right-about six dollars at the current exchange rate. The mashed potatoes are some of the most delicious I’ve ever tasted; I have to see about getting his recipe. (UPDATE: The secret ingredient is a bit of nutmeg, believe it or not.)

The other food is superb as well, with pasta dishes, a variety of sausages, sauerkraut, pork knuckle and tenderloin, and a large selection of Thai food.

Another nice thing about Baannakee is the atmosphere. The place seats about 20 people, though it’s never been that busy, and the crowd is made up of mostly older expats, Germans and Northern Europeans, so it has a fairly laid back atmosphere. Toom has a huge, eclectic selection of cd’s, but the music is always played unobtrusively in the background; it never interferes with conversation. Also, there’s no pool table, which, it seems to me, always creates a noisier environment.

If you’re ever in the area, give Baannakee a try. It’s right near the start of the market along the Mekong, just down from Daeng Vietnamese restaurant. I’m sure you’ll like it.

Baannakee Restaurant

Here’s the entrance to Baannakee. Just to the left and up the street is the beginning of the covered market along the Mekong. In the opposite direction of the market is Daeng Restaurant.

Baannakee Restaurant

Here’s the restaurant at night. Toom will usually stay open until at least 11 pm, but if it’s busy, he’ll stay open until the wee hours. The kitchen closes at 10.

Daeng Restaurant

Here’s the Vietnamese Restaurant. Baannakkee is behind us, to the left.

Toom

This is Toom, the friendly proprietor, who’s restaurant has been in Nongkhai for 13 years. It used to be called DJ Thasadej, and Toom had a German partner. He’s returned to Germany and Toom changed the name to Baannakee.

Nai

Nai, looking dapper, vouches for the quality of the Thai food. I’ll vouch for the Western offerings. Neither of us has had a bad serving yet.

Fish and chips

This is a single serving of fish ‘n chips, but it could feed a couple of guests. Most of the portions at the restaurant are very well-sized and priced lower than what Toom probably could charge.

Pork tenderloin

This is pork tenderloin smothered in a curry-cheese cream gravy. The mashed potatoes are to die for.

Baannakee bar

The small bar at the restaurant seats five patrons and serves up a variety of liquor and beer, though the selection isn’t that extensive.

Interior of Baannakee

Part of the interior. This part seats eight people or twelve, if it’s really crowded.

The following are various photos of the odds and ends and paintings scattered throughout the restaurant. Not much to say about them, but they do contribute to the eclectic and cozy atmosphere of the place.

Baannakee Restaurant

A display to the left of the bar. Toom lives up the stairs.

Baannakee Restaurant

Another display near the kitchen area.

Baannakee Restaurant

The area just in front of the bar.

Baannakee Restaurant

Another area near the stairs.

Painting at Baannakee Restaurant

One of the paintings, which were created by a local artist.

Painting at Baannakee Restaurant

And another painting.

Pi Mai Lao Holiday

Just a few photos from the recent Laos New Year (Pi Mai Lao), a holiday called Songkran in Thailand, where there are huge waterfights to mark the three-day event. Here in the village, the water throwing was much more subdued than elsewhere. Most people ask first if they can pour cold water down your back in a ritual cleansing, so to speak. It can get a bit out of hand, with water being slung about to include any bystanders, but it’s nothing like in Bangkok or even Vientiane, where there were some large-scale water fights on the main streets.

It’s also a religious celebration, where Buddhists go to their local temple and cleanse the Buddha statues, and it’s a time for house cleaning. Most people will do a thorough cleaning of their homes, sweeping, mopping, dusting and even a bit of painting to spruce the place up.

There were a few parties at Nai’s family compound, just a five-minute walk from where we live. Lots of food, beer and loud music (too loud). And fun.

P.S. I’m just now getting this posted due to a couple of factors. First, I couldn’t get any posting done at the farm because of the extremely crappy internet connection. Finally, the new school term started, so I can make use of the school internet, which is mostly…hmmm, just OK, I suppose, but it works. However, I’m teaching on a full-time basis this term, six days a week, so I’ve been quite busy at the start. I’m finally up to par on everything, so I’m able to get this up today. Enjoy. More later.

Seo, Nai's niece

Nai’s niece, Seo (pronounced, approximately, Saw) tends to some grilled duck. She and her husband, Khoon, live not too far from Vientiane.

Grilled duck

The duck’s grilling and it’s just the start of all the food that’ll be eaten today.

Squid, ready to grill.

Squid, cut up and almost ready to grill over an open fire. I don’t much care for it, so I’ll wait for the grilled fish.

Squid in chili sauce

Now it’s ready to grill, after marinating in a spicy chili sauce for a few minutes. Too hot for my taste buds.

Grilling the squid.

Nai takes charge of grilling the squid. He’ll end up eating the most, since he loves it.

Cut up squid.

It’s finally been grilled and cut into pieces. Ready to eat!

Awl eats squid.

Nai’s sister, Awl, enjoys some of the squid. She’d better get her share before Nai starts digging in.

Shredding papaya for salad.

One of Nai’s numerous cousins shreds raw papaya in preparation for making another staple, papaya salad.

Preparing the papaya salad.

Nai prepares the extremely spicy hot fixings that the papaya goes into. The mixture includes very hot chili peppers (the more, the better), tomatoes, lime juice and a fermented fish paste, which looks just awful. This concoction, when mixed with the papaya , is extremely hot, much too fiery for me. I nibble a little, but I soon rush to find some cold water. Whew!

Mixing the papaya salad.

Here, Nai uses a mortar and pestle to mix all the ingredients together. Next stop, mouth.

Eating papaya salad.

And, finally, everyone (except me) enjoys the papaya salad. I don’t know how they can eat something this hot and be so nonchalant about it. I guess it comes from a lifetime of eating it. Bon apetite.

Grilled fish

Now this is more like it. I love this fresh fish from the Mekong, grilled over a charcoal flame and stuffed with a few herbs. Simply delicious. These cost about 25,000 kips each, around $3.

Guay and blood soup

Nai’s brother, Guay, enjoys a couple of beers with some duck blood soup, kind of a staple (both beer and soup) on Pi Mai Lao.

Khoon and powdered face

Khoon, Seo’s husband, has been out running around the village, meeting friends, drinking beer, and getting his face coated with baby powder, another Pi Mai Lao tradition.

Kids in a wading pool.

It’s been very hot lately, so what better way for the kids to cool off than to hop in a small wading pool. The boy in front on the left is Leo, Nai’s two-year old nephew. Whenever he sees me taking photos, he makes this little square with his hands, which represents the camera, I suppose. He’s quite a ham. To his left is Guay’s daughter, Muoy. I’m not sure who the boy is in the back, just that it’s another one of the cousins.

Washing mother's feet

This is Pang showing obeisance to her mother, Awl, by washing her feet at the end of the day. When she finished the washing, she bowed down and placed her mother’s feet on the top of her head to show further respect. She did the same for her father’s feet.

Awl and Gaith

Gaith, Pang’s father, and Awl enjoying the end of the day. I think the look on Gaith’s face was caused by little Leo, his grandson, pouring some ice water down his pants.

Mother and father enjoy a happy moment.

Gaith and Awl enjoy a happy moment. I love Awl’s smile.

Family pose.

Gaith, Pang and Awl pose for a photo. The end of a long day for everyone. Bedtime.

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