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

Category: Nongkhai (Page 2 of 2)

Weather Woes in Laos; Typhoon Muifa

Tropical Storm Nock-Ten recently made its way over Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. I phoned my friend Nai last night to find out how badly his area had been hit. He said that most of the farmland in his village was under water and the crops destroyed. Many people were heartsick and crying, he told me, and he sounded like he was ready to cry himself. He also stated that the Mekong was lapping at his doorstep, a possible foreshadow of a recurrence of the flooding of 2008. On top of that, he’s been quite ill recently, bedridden, unable to walk, he told me, and under medication. When it rains, it pours.

The Bangkok Post reported that Nong Khai, just across the river from Nai’s village, received 80 centimeters of rain–that’s around 32 INCHES! Really incredible. It’s easy to understand what a calamity this is. The paper also said that cars were stranded in the middle of roads with floodwaters up to their windshields. I really feel for the people in that area of the world and wish them the best. I suppose I’ll be sending some money Nai’s way to help him and his family get back on their feet.

Meanwhile, in Yeosu we’ve gotten a bit over an inch of rain this morning, with more in the forecast. More ominous, though, is that Typhoon Muifa, churning in the Pacific south of Japan and packing winds of 140 mph, is heading our way. Usually, typhoons forming in that area get swept east into the Pacific by the prevailing winds before reaching us. Not this time, though. According to the Weather Underground website, Yeosu is, at this time, right in the bullseye. According to the graphic below, we’re at almost the exact place where Muifa will make landfall in South Korea. Of course, this is about a week away and I’m sure the projected path will change before then, but still, it’ll be something to keep an eye on.

Two Sides of the Mekong

I stayed a few short days in both Nong Khai, Thailand, and Vientiane, Laos. I mainly hung out along the Mekong River, and both cities have built up their respective riverbanks.

Nong Khai hasn’t changed all that much in the year since I’d last been there. It’s a pleasant walk along the river, where you can duck into one of the small shelters, out of the hot sun, and take a nap if you’d like.

There are also any number of small, open-air restaurants. Go in, sit by a fan and grab a snack or a meal. Here, Nai and I prepare to chow down. I’m the fella without glasses. Oh, sorry about that. You’ll just have to guess which one of the handsome guys is yours truly.

I forget what Nai ordered, but I got shrimp pad thai (first photo below) and spring rolls. Yummmmm.

You can also eat dinner ON the river by taking the dinner cruise boat, located at the end of the river walkway. It’s not too expensive and it’s worth it, in my opinion. Nong Khai is very colorful from the middle of the Mekong. One of my favorite sights is the Big Buddha that sits on top of one of the temples, contemplating the river and gazing into Laos.

This particular evening, the sun was close to setting and the golden light it cast really bought out the colors along the river bank.

Let’s take a look into Laos, shall we?

Not too much to see except temples and lots of vegetation. But, then again, it’s not Vientiane. You have to go about 20 kilometers upstream, as the river flows, to get to the capital city. In the past, the river was lined with small restaurants, merely chairs and grills set up to serve diners, but it was a nice spot to watch the sun go down over Thailand. Here’s a shot of one of our favorite spots from days gone by (actually, from December, 2009).

Here’s another one from the same time from the fourth floor location of the Bor Pen Nyang bar. However, this one shows some of the dramatic changes that would be made to the riverside. The image below it gives a broader look at the construction that was still ongoing in June of 2010.

The result of all that work is a very pleasant riverside park, one that Laotians can be very proud of. Gone from that area are all the old dining areas (they’ve moved farther down the river), but there’s a very nice walkway, play areas for the kids and lots of greenery. Here’s another view from almost exactly the same location from the Bor Pen Nyang. The park stretches nearly to the large, white Don Chan Palace hotel in the background, and I believe work is still being done on the section near there.

The two shots below were taken around 6 p.m. on a Saturday, so the place was fairly crowded with families, couples, singles and even a few monks, all out enjoying a stroll or riding their bicycles in the cooling evening breeze.

So, yeah, it’s a nice park and a welcome addition to Vientiane. I kinda miss the small eateries, but they can still be found if you look for them. Sitting on the river, sipping an ice-cold Beer Lao or another beverage of your choice and watching the sun go down over the Mekong is also still possible and a memorable experience.

That’s it for now. I’ll get some more photos up later of Bangkok and Phuket, so stay tuned.

Laos Update

After an uneventful journey on the overnight train to Nong Khai, I met up with Nai and we decided to stay in the small border city for a few days before going to Laos. At the moment, I’m in Vientiane, and I still haven’t decided whether to venture up to Vang Vieng or to go back to Bangkok tomorrow and then to either Phuket or Hua Hin to take in a few days at the beach.

Nong Khai hasn’t changed all that much, unlike Bangkok, which has dozens of new buildings going up and old ones being torn down; the skyline seems to be in a constant flux, undecided as to what face it wants to show. Everything is open again, at least those places not destroyed by arson in the recent protests. There are very few signs of the trouble, though a cleaning man pointed out a couple of bullet holes in the metal railing of one of the skywalks near Central World, courtesy of the Thai army, he told me.

Vientiane is also seeing a lot of activity, with new construction going on in the city itself and along the banks of the Mekong, where a new waterfront park is slowly taking shape. It’s been very dry and hot here, though we’re getting a bit of rain this morning. I’m not sure where my next post will be from, but I’ll certainly have more later.

Update-Friday 9:00 a.m.

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

Sandbagging1

Here’s Nai taking a walk in the floodwaters at his house.

Nai_Flood

Some of the kids having fun.

Children_Flood

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.

Nongkhai_Flood

In Thailand and Laos

It’s been an uneventful trip so far. The flight over to Thailand was long, but there were plenty of entertainment options (movies, games, music) on board the China Air plane, though the food wasn’t up to the standards of my usual carrier, Thai Airlines. I learned that the Taipei airport was shut down several hours after my flight left there, due to a Category 2 typhoon that hit the island.

I spent a pleasant Monday evening in Bangkok with my former Moroccan supervisor, John Scacco, and his wife, who invited me to their condo apartment for a delicious home-cooked meal. Then, on Tuesday evening I took the overnight train to Nong Khai, where I met up with Nai.

There has been plenty of rain here in Nong Khai, but not enough to prevent me from going to my favorite massage parlor, Healthy Garden. If you’re ever in Nong Khai, I highly recommend that you visit the place. Another nice business is the hotel that I stay at when I’m in Nong Khai– The Pantawee. Good rooms for $30 a night, free internet, nice cafe, close to the Mekong. Give it a try.

Ok, so today we’re heading into Laos and I don’t really know when I’ll be able to post again. Perhaps in a week or so, hopefully. More later.

P.S. I’ve turned on comments again, in case OGM wants to say something about the Manny Ramirez trade (snicker).

The Boat Race

I’m back in Thailand, in Nong Khai, heading for Bangkok on Saturday on the overnight train. Not too much exciting has been going on, just taking it easy between rainstorms. A few weeks back, I went to a boat race north of Vientiane. Here’s what I wrote about it shortly after. (Sorry, no photos. The computer I’m on right now won’t let me upload any to my website. When I get to Bangkok, I’ll try to add some to this post.)

Nai’s small village, Ban Sitthanthai (ban=village), is renowned for the quality of its boat racers, the village having won the national championship the last two years and about half a dozen times in the past 10. The boats they race are sleek dugout canoes, more or less, but are about 30-40 meters long and are paddled by a crew of over 50. (Sorry, I looked for something on the web about them, but couldn’t find anything.)

We traveled over 40 kilometers north of Vientiane to watch a race featuring Sitthanthai racers, including Nai’s brother Ler and his cousin Thui. Though not a national championship race, which is basically the boat racing festival which takes place on the Mekong near Vientiane in October, its trophy was hotly contested for by about a dozen boats. The Sitthanthai crew, because of their reputation, was hired by another village, Ban Ling Xang, to man their boat in the race. (This coming week, they’ve been hired by a Thai boat owner to race his boat in a contest.)

After a one-and-a-half hour motorbike ride, we traveled 10 kilometers on a dirt road to the river, the Nam Neum. There we found an event that was equal parts carnival, street fair, concert and, yes, boat racing. Food vendors were abundant, selling grilled fish, chicken, pork, and beef, various other Lao foods and, of course, roast crickets. You could also buy 7-Up, Pepsi and other sodas or indulge in the national drink, Beer Lao. Lots of carnival style rides and games, like breaking balloons with darts, were available for the kids. Both sides of the river were lined with picnickers watching the races from the banks, while loudspeakers all around blared with music. Further down, at the judges’ stand, the public address announcer for the races competed with the cacaphony elsewhere. This somewhat frenetic sideshow added to the intensity of the races.

It seemed to be a double-elimination type of event–lose twice, and you’re out. One team lost its first 2 races easily, but seemed to be out more for the fun than for the trophy. They also appeared to have indulged quite a bit in their sponsor’s product before the racing even began. Their sponsor? Beer Lao.

The competition started about one o’clock and eventually ended about 5:30. The Sitthanthai guys had very little trouble beating each of their opponents. It was easy to see why, because their paddling was so much more synchronized and powerful than almost any other boat out there. I noticed, too, that the course, about a kilometer in length, was laid out going downstream. Several times I’ve watched the team practice on the Mekong, a 5-minute walk from Nai’s house. (Half the village, it seems, comes out each practice to watch their heroes.) These guys’ most intense workout comes in paddling against the current of the Mekong, so going downstream must have been a lark for them.

After each race, many of the boats would get a tow back upstream to the starting point, but the Sitthanthai crew always went back on their own power, as did some of the other boats. I watched quite a few of the early races and noticed another boat, from Ban Kunh, which was easily knocking off their challengers, always in sync, always going back on their own power. Like the Sitthanthai paddlers, they were also clad in day-glo green shirts. Half way through the competition, I felt that the championship race would be between the two green-shirted teams. It was.

The expectations and apprehensions were high, almost palpable, as the ultimate race began. Most of the spectators seemed to be rooting for the Sitthanthai boat. Because the start line was so far away, we could not immediately see which boat had the advantage. At about the mid point, it became clear that the crews were neck and neck. Further on, the Kunh boat began to take the lead. They started to draw away by about 30 feet, while the paddlers in each boat cranked away in unison. It was like watching two gigantic centipedes, legs working in unison.

The boats now drew near enough to see the sweat pouring down the faces of the crews, taut muscles straining to produce more power to the paddles, determination set in the intense faces and straining bodies. The crowds along the banks of the river were shouting and screaming, urging their favorites on, trying to give them the energy to overcome the Kunh lead. Now was the time for all those evening practices on the Mekong to pay off.

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the Sitthanthai boat closed the gap. The crew picked up their pace, always precise and machine-like as one entity, rather than as 50 individual young men pushed to their limits. Another meter was gained, but the finish line was only 100 meters away now. Again, a meter, and another. We could sense that the Sitthanthai crew was going to come through, that strength, stamina, skill and superior training were going to carry the day. 50 meters to go . . . 40 . . . 30 . . . The boats were even! Then a surge carried the Sitthanthai boat in front. The jubilation from the crowd followed the crew across the finish line, the boat a few bare meters in front of the Kunh entry. Victory! We waited expectantly for the judges’ confirmation. It came about 10 seconds later. What a race. The boat’s owners were given the championship trophy to parade around through the crowd, held aloft and touched by all, much like hockey’s Stanley Cup on-ice parade after the finals. Both crews made their way back along the river to the cheers of their admirers. It was a long ride back for us on the motorbike, but we didn’t care.

As a side note, I was told yesterday that the village has hired a legendary Thai trainer to help the team. Perhaps that victory was too close!

(Check back here in a week or so, when I hope to have posted some photos and videos.)

Back to Nongkhai

Well, with the extra 3 weeks added on to my Thailand/Laos trek, I’ve decided to go back to Nongkhai, in Northern Thailand, for about a week, and then on into Laos for a few more weeks. It’s much cheaper up here than it is in the tourist havens of Bangkok and the islands. Nai and I took the overnight train into Nongkhai today. It looked like there was a lot of heavy rain in the area, but it’s clear now, hot, humid and sunny. I’m staying at the Pantawee Hotel, a pretty decent place and only about $23 a night. I could have stayed at a cheaper guesthouse, but this place has a pool, DVD players (and DVDs) in the rooms, free Internet, spa, etc. Not too bad. When I go to Laos, however, I am going to stay at the cheaper guesthouses, $5-$8 per night.

I haven’t heard anything about the Dominican position, but that’s to be expected. Right now, the State Dept. and Georgetown Univ. are gearing up for the pre-departure orientation for the positions that were filled earlier this year. I’ve been told to sit tight, be patient and check my email, but I don’t really expect to hear anything until after the orientation next week. My contact at the State Dept. said it’s been difficult to get anything firm about where I’ll be staying (the baseball campus or Santo Domingo), how many hours I’ll be teaching, etc., because his contact with the Yankee campus in the D.R. is all over Latin America, scouting the players. So, patient I’ll be. I did get my airline ticket back to the U.S. I’ll leave Bangkok on Sept. 3 and arrive in Great Falls about 2 or 3 in the afternoon the same day. More later.

Bangkok

Well, I’m back in Bangkok, trying to avoid getting soaked by participants in the Songkran Festival. I went to one such water throwing ceremony in Vientiane at the home of Suwon, one of Nai’s friends. Everybody there got drenched by small pails of water being tossed around and got either a face blackened by soot from one of the cooking pots or got “lipsticked” with colorful patterns. Most of us opted for the lipstick, since the soot looked very difficult to remove. Quite a lot of fun, really. Yesterday, though, I went back to Nongkhai with the intention of staying dry. The only clean clothes I had were the ones I was wearing, plus I had my baggage, including my digitial camera bag. Unfortunately, and somewhat to my anger, we got doused quite heavily by the mostly well-meaning Thais. I think some people carry this ceremony to the extreme and there have been calls for moderation. I’ve read, and Nai has told me, that quite a number of accidents happen, and deaths occur, when motorbike riders get whapped with waves of water coming at them. It’s all in good fun, but, unfortunately, many people get carried away. Hence, I’m avoiding the water in Bangkok by riding the subway, skytrain or taxi, instead of taking a motorbike.

My flight back to Africa leaves on the morning of the 16th, but I don’t land in Casablanca until the morning of the 17th. I’ve got a 13-hour layover in Doha, something I’m not looking forward to. Knowing beforehand that I’d have this long wait, I brought along some texts with me to work on a few lesson plans for the classes I have in the week of my return. Amazingly, it seems, I’ll have two weeks of lessons when I get back, then the students go into the schools for 2 weeks, then come back for the final two weeks of lessons with me, if my memory of the schedule is correct. I’ll be finished in Morocco about the middle of June. I’ll be plenty busy looking for a new job, and if I get one in Korea (very possible), I’m going to try to get my return flight back to the States changed to go back to Thailand instead, spending time on the beach, which I didn’t do this time around. Hopefully, if I can get it changed, it might mean a free flight to Thailand and then a short and fairly cheap journey on to Korea, if that’s what pans out. But, everything is subject to change, so I don’t really know where I’ll be in a few months.

Meanwhile, after I return, I’ll write a more extensive journal of my travels recently, including photos. More later.

P.S. I wrote earlier that my webhost service was going to shut down my photo gallery until I could get it updated, but I just noticed that I can still access it, so perhaps I won’t have to upgrade after all, at least not right away.

Newer posts »

© 2024 MontanaRon

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑