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Nai and I took a tuk-tuk to his village yesterday. As expected, the Mekong was spilling over its banks for most of the way that it neared the road and sandbagging was active in the area around the capital. However, no such activity was occurring in his village, and, again as expected, his family compound was under water. The narrow dirt road running past the houses was just a bit less than knee-deep with water, but the housing area drops off a bit from the road and the water was waist-deep there. Of the 6 houses, two were under water, but they were temporary quarters, made up of plywood and tin siding. The other 4 “real” houses are still habitable, due to their having a second floor or the first (and only) floor being built a bit higher on its concrete base.
For the kids, the area is one big swimming pool, and they were frolicking in the water as I waded to one of the houses, which belongs to Nai’s sister and her husband and two young children. The adults seemed to be looking at the flood as a slight inconvenience more than anything else, and life continues as before. The major effect is that their croplands are under water and those who depend on farming for their livelihood are in a bad situation. Some of the family work outside the farm, so all is not desperation. Still, I gave them a bit of money for food and water and will give them some more when we go back to visit on Sunday, the birthday of one of the kids–Kim, 6 years old.
The water is still rising, although very slowly, and, despite a very heavy, but brief, downpour last night in Vientiane, today’s weather looks very good, with clear blue skies–no rain in sight. Hopefully, the worst is over, but one never knows. One report suggests that this is the worst flooding since 1966, and there are other reports that the flooding will abate this weekend. [Note: Edited on 11/17/09 to remove non-existent link]
After Sunday, I’m going to Nong Khai for a day, then will take the overnighter to Bangkok, staying there until flying on to Korea next Sunday. Hopefully, Bangkok’s annual flooding will not take place early this year. More later.
Sandbagging along the Mekong in Vientiane
Here’s Nai taking a walk in the floodwaters at his house.
Some of the kids having fun.
And here’s the flood from the Nongkhai side. This jetty/pier extends down a good 7 or 8 more feet, but it was underwater then.
Today is Buddhist Lent in Thailand, Laos and elsewhere, and it is probably the main reason I couldn’t get a train ticket to Nong Khai until today. At any rate, I leave this evening at 8:45 and arrive in Nong Khai at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
I forgot to mention that I left my big camera, the Digital Rebel, back in the States. I love the equipment, but it tends to get to be a bit much to haul around after awhile, since I hate leaving it in guesthouse rooms, susceptible to theft. So, while in Montana I bought a new Canon Powershot SD800 IS, a small point-and-shoot that’s very portable. I’m also able to upload photos to the blog because I purchased a memory card reader here in Bangkok (only about $4). Hopefully, I’ll put up photos as I go along. Unfortunately, they may not be as high quality as I like, but I think they’ll be acceptable. 
So, here’s one of all the rain we had, taken while I was sitting on the veranda of the Suk11 guesthouse.
Speaking of the Suk11, I’ve mentioned how quirky and eccentric it is. Here are a couple of inside photos of its dark, mysterious interior.
Looking down the corridor to my room.
One of the nooks and crannies in the corridor.
Another interesting corner.
The day before yesterday, I did a lot of walking, mainly to go to the Panthip computer plaza to look for a card reader. Along the way, I stopped at Central World Plaza (aka World Trade Center), a huge, upscale shopping mall that I hadn’t visited before. This area of Bangkok is filled with shopping malls, including the previously mentioned MBK mall and the extremely upscale Siam Paragon. Here’s a shot of the outside of the Central World center, with the Amari Watergate Hotel and the Baiyoke Sky Hotel in the background.
Inside the mall, the Bangkok International Film Festival is running (ends today), and the central corridor is suitably decorated.
Also along the way is this interesting clock. What time is it, anyway?
Ok, I’ve had my fun for the day, uploading photos and killing some time before the train leaves in 6 hours. Hopefully, I’ll be able to show you more photos as I travel around over the next few months. Keep your eyes peeled. More later.
As promised, I’m finally posting some photos and comments about my recent trip to Laos and Thailand. Some of the comments I made in earlier posts, so if I duplicate myself, forgive me. I’ll post these over a period of days (hopefully), so hang in there.
Here’s a photo of my former Andong University colleague, Tyra, with whom I rendezvoused in Bangkok. She’s a Canadian and is now basking in the sun on the beaches of Bali. We also hooked up with Eugene, another former colleague (American), but for some odd reason I didn’t get any photos of him nor did he get any of me. Strange. Perhaps we were focused in on the lovely Tyra. You can see more photos of her at the Photo Gallery. This is at Wat Pho in Bangkok, site of the Reclining Buddha.
So, it was up to Laos after the short stay in Bangkok. I met Nai at the train station in Nong Khai, Thailand, and we crossed the border into communist Laos. Believe me, unless you have to deal with the bureaucracy, you wouldn’t know it was a communist state. The people, for the most part, are not political. Many of them dislike the system, but they accept it with a nonchalance that reflects their easy-going lifestyle, or so it seems to me. If another system were in place, they would probably feel the same way.
Anyway, we hung out at Nai’s house and in Vientiane for several days before heading up to Vang Vieng. Before leaving, Nai introduce me to his wonderful friends, Say (pronounced “sigh”) and his wife Joi (“joy”). Great people, who welcomed me into their home like I was a long-lost brother. I would see more of them when we returned to Vientiane later. Here are Say and Joi sharing a tender moment.
Then it was off to Vang Vieng, about which I have written. Like I stated in an earlier post, the weather was beautiful. Compare the following picture with the one I took last June.
Dry Season
Monsoon Season
Here are some photos from the river float. I’m not sure I’d want to try this during the rainy part of the year when the river is high. Here are Nai, a lady whose name I forget, and Guy (the friend of the woman) putting in at the start point.
Here’s Nai in a death defying slide at one of the many stops along the river.
And here is Robert, a fellow who was along with Guy and his girlfriend and who works in Vientiane, and Nai with a cool Beer Lao at one of the many beverage stations lining the river. Actually, it looks like they’ve had more than a couple.
There’s not a whole lot to do in Vang Vieng besides float the river. You can explore some caves or do a little hiking in the mountains. Here, Nai sits on a quaint, little, orange suspension bridge that leads to one of the caves. (Notice the Morocco cap he’s wearing.)
After a busy day on the river, though, you can visit, if that’s your thing, one of the many bars along the main tourist drag where seemingly bored tourists lay on futons watching reruns of “Friends,” something I just don’t understand. Why come all the way to Laos and then lay around like zombies entranced by the boob tube? And that seems to be all that these bars show, and there are plenty of them, at least half a dozen, all showing “Friends” reruns, speakers turned up to the max. Idiotic. Vang Vieng is infamous, though, for catering to the “pot head” tourist, so maybe the folks watching TV are actually pretty much “zoned out,” unable to do much of anything else. Just my opinion. I won’t patronize these places; the gal who came tubing with us suggested that we go to one to eat before we went out to the river, but I refused.
Or, you can walk along some of the side streets and try out some of the local food at one of the numerous vendors. Here we found some delicious chicken, broiled over the standard charcoal fire.
Ok, that’s enough for now. I’ll continue the journey to Luang Prabang the next post. More later.
Yup, I got them all posted to the Photo Gallery these past few days. Now, I’m going to go into the blog and post photos to the relevant entries. I’m nothing if not thorough (or anal, as some might say ).
I’m keeping in touch with my friend Palm on Ko Sukorn, and he told me in a recent email that there are many tourists there right now. That’s great news and just what they need! He usually gets laid off during the low season (June-October), but finds another job in Thailand. He invited me to visit him wherever he might be working. I’ll do so. Right after or right before I visit Nai in Laos. It’s good to have friends in other countries, and if they ever want to visit Korea (or the Middle East) or the U.S., it will be my pleasure to host them.
I also sent in my first job application to the Middle East for a position starting in September. This one is at a university in the United Arab Emirates, a relatively safe haven in that part of the world. Pay is great, free housing, and many other benefits, including 2 1/2 months paid vacation. (Why is it that workers in Europe get all this marvelous time off from work and laborers in the U.S. are lucky to scrounge 7-10 days vacation time from their stingy bosses?)
The weather is still cold here, but tomorrow’s forecast calls for 1 or 2 inches of rain and temperatures in the high 40′s. Spring is just around the corner, I hope. More later.
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