Sunsets and Rainbows

Spending Update: I spent $482.44 over 23 days in Laos for an average of $20.97 per day. Since leaving Texas, I have spent $2972.36 over 106 days for an average of $28.04 per day.

Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010--Nong Khai (Part II)

Nong Khai is a very nice small city that is clean and attractive. It has a good selection of guest houses for tourists including many facing the Mekong River. It has a wonderful market called the Sadet Market (and also the Indochinese Market and sometimes just the Chinese Market). It is very clean, well organized, and is popular with both locals and tourists. At the suggestion of my guest house owner, I wandered through it during part of the afternoon. Many stalls sell locally woven fabrics. And many other specialize in dried fruits that look good. I bought what looked like wine crackers hoping that would be what they would taste like, too. However,they were very sweet and have more of a taste of crunchy meringues.

Back in the room to avoid the heat, I searched the TV channels. The only English language news I could find was Fox News and China News. Yuck! I can't stomach Fox, so I guess I will watch the Communists' version of what is happening in the world while I am here. I miss BBC!

In the late afternoon, I walked along the promenade with views of the Mekong River and Laos across the way. It is a very nice promenade and is very long. People along it were playing games such as badminton, fishing, exercising, setting up sidewalk restaurants for the evening, and visiting with friends. There was a fantastic sunset which I captured on my camera.

Back in my neighborhood, I found a sidewalk restaurant and had Phad Thai with shrimp, pork (including crispy skin), tofu, etc. It was one of the better versions of this dish that I have had.

In the room, I watched a French film on TV with English subtitles. Just as it ended, about 2 3/4 hours after I had eaten dinner, I had stomach cramps and diarrhea. Then the diarrhea returned two hours later. My guess is that it was caused by the shrimp in the Phad Thai. Anyway, the rest of the evening, everything was fine.

Friday, Aug. 20, 2010--Nong Khai

I have finally arranged a hotel in Bangkok for my last 5 nights here in Thailand. I have had trouble finding one with a decent price and free wifi. I decided not to stay at the Mandarin where I have been staying for years because their price has gone up to 1400 baht per day and they do not have wifi. The first two hotels I picked out for Bangkok said they had wifi, but they didn't use the word "free." I wrote to ask. The first one which was 900 baht per night said that the first hour of wifi per day is free and that they charge 250 baht per hour after that. (A cyber cafe in Bangkok only charges 20 baht per hour to be on the Internet!) The second hotel wrote back that there was free wifi in the room but that I had to pay 450 baht per day for a password. The rate for the room was only 1000 baht, so wifi was going to increase the daily cost by 45%!! Today, I finally found a decent place in a good location with a special promotion of only 770 baht per night including free wifi.

While on the computer, I also decided to order a new TV cabinet for my bedroom. I found one I like and delivery takes 4-6 weeks. So I ordered it in hopes of getting it before the end of September.

When I finally left the room at 10:00, it was already hot outside. That's because this was the second day with no clouds. Still, I went to the bus station to confirm the possible times for taking the bus tomorrow to Udon Thani, went to a local crafts store, and returned to the market to have a sandwich and buy some fabric. I told the lady at the market what I planned to do with the fabric, and she started taking notes. I think I may have introduced a new product that will be for sale here soon.

In the late afternoon, I was back out on the promenade. Some clouds had moved in, so it was rather comfortable walking along it tonight. I also had my book with me and sat and read for a while. When it started looking like it might rain, I headed for a street restaurant I had seen last night. It is operated by two ladies. The one who cooks looks rather elegant and elderly. She made a nice dish of stir-fried chicken and vegetables which was served over rice. While sitting there waiting for her to cook the dish, a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky. And at one time there was the faint hint of a double rainbow. I was so glad I didn't miss it.

Back in the room, I finally found BBC News. I don't know how I missed it yesterday. Anyway, it was such a relief to have a nice news program to watch. I also saw a very interesting documentary on French TV5 about a female judge in Afghanistan who is working with tribal groups in an effort to get them to follow democratic ways of dealing with their problems.