Isaan By Motorbike
Travel Journal of Spider March 2008 - Day 3
DAY 3 Wednesday
I took my time getting ready.
I felt really good after sleeping on what felt like
the best bed in the world. After I packed I went out
for breakfast. I found a Khao Tom stall. Khao Tom is
the answer to a bad stomach. It is a rice soup, boiled
until it's almost dead. Some small additions are made,
maybe a little sliced spring onion, some fried garlic,
chopped coriander leaves and depending on the vendor
some bits of beef or pork and if you are really lucky
then you could get some congealed blood blocks in there.
The additions are all optional; however you take it,
it is great for the stomach.
I bought some more medication and a
pair of gloves to cover my already burned hands and
set off. The first destination for the day is Ban Tae
Rae. It is close to Sakhon Nakhon. The town is so small
that it was hard to work out if I had passed it or not
on my way to Nakhon Phakhon.
Just before Ban Tae Rae the road passes
over the edge of what I can only think of as a reservoir.
The water comes to only a couple of metres below the
level of the road. The water seems to be endless. In
his small boat at the edge of the road an old man was
collecting huge snails for sale.
Just a little down the road from the
old snail man, to my surprise was a church. It is not
very often at all that I have seen a church In Thailand.
I know the Christian faith is growing in the country,
but this place was quite aged already. Saint Michael's
Catholic Church.
The only reason to stop
in this tiny village is to buy some dog. Yes, not pedigree
chum dog food but the real thing. It took a relatively
long time to find the dog meat in such a small place.
I was hoping for a large dog market, many stalls selling
dog soup, dog curry and so on. I was not disappointed
as although a lot smaller than I had anticipated there
was still the object of my dreams ready for me to purchase
and consume.
The stuff I got is kind
of like dog jerky. Sun dried with a little bit of spicy
flavour. The taste is a little bit like Pepperami. Made
me think about where they get the meat for the aforementioned
meaty snack. The Thai name for the meat is Nuea Mar
Yang. Quite reasonable as well I thought, 150 baht per
kilo.
The object of my desire
was to be a nice bowl of dog curry or maybe some dog
soup, Tom Yam Mar. What I found was the tiniest of meat
markets. There was a little bit of dog meat, well raw
dog meat. It was in the customary glass ice boxes.
After this I got going,
loaded with jerky. I stopped at Wat That Maha Chai.
A very quiet temple, a few local people were making
decorations for an upcoming special occasion.
Ok, on to Nakhon Pakhon
with the excessively long legs well and truly behind
me. This leg was over so quickly, the roads were beautiful
to ride on, some straight, some curved, awesome. Before
I knew it I had arrived at my destination.
I left the main highway
and took road to the port. I parked up and found a shop
to get my hard earned can of coke. A pleasant lady offered
me a chair to rest on. So nice. I sat and watched the
river flow. It had flowed before I got there and it
will flow after I have left. But it was still good just
to watch it for a while and make sure it continued to
flow. It is the widest river I have ever seen and at
this point it is still a few hundred kilometres from
its estuary. It is easy to see why it is used as a border
for so many kilometres. This huge brown snake dividing
the two countries so accurately.
After relaxing I found
my way to the TAT to get some information about where
to sleep in this sleepy little town. They were so helpful.
Drawing the names, locations and prices of the local
accommodations on the town map for me.
I chose a middle priced
room, 300 baht per night. Air conditioned with a hot
shower. The Windsor hotel was recommended by the TAT
girls. One of the girls on the desk speaks amazing English
which was a big surprise out here in the middle of no-where.
The room was lovely; a big bed, everything working properly,
minibar and multi language television.
I had a shower then went
for a massage to loosen up after the ride. I found a
great massage room in the Indo China market. There were
two ladies who worked their magic on me. The cost of
the massage was 200 baht. This was not for a time period
but for the treatment that is administered. They told
me about the nerve damage that I already know that I
have just from touching my feet. Amazing, they worked
on me for around 45 minutes then told me that enough
had been done. So cool.
I went out for dinner
to a lovely restaurant that overlooked the river. The
restaurant was built on stilts on the bank on the Mae
Khong. Every time some walked across the floor the whole
thing gently rocked, like a flower in the breeze. It
was so nice to sit and watch a local guy fishing for
his supper as I ate mine. An amazing amount of shrimp
in my Tom Yam Goong. Sour and quite salty, a huge portion
and more than enough rice to soak it all up.
This was definitely restaurant
for Thai people. No English menus, no spoken English.
Once again I was very happy that I could speak enough
Thai to get by. The restaurant was half full which yielded
a good atmosphere. This is one of a few different restaurants
on the river side. Nothing too modern, nothing to ramshackle
- really, really great.
I finished up my meal
then got myself back to the hotel. Just a quick stop
in the restaurant next door to get some ice-cream as
my night cap.
This felt like a really
good place to stay. It is a shame that I had to move
on the next day.
Motorbike
Travels in Thailand Day One | Motorbike
Travels in Thailand Day Two | Motorbike
Travels in Thailand Day Three | Motorbike
Travels in Thailand Day Four | Motorbike
Travels in Thailand Day Five | Motorbike
Travels in Thailand Day Six
