Sala Keow Ku

After the last few day's laziness I feel I was well and truly active today.  I walked to this amazing sculpture park called Sala Keow Ku.  It is maybe the best sight I've seen in Thailand so far.  I really enjoyed walking through the sculputes in this far off setting in a strange land.  Highly recommend anyone to come and check it out.


In the evening I walked to the Thailand-Laos Frienship Bridge to watch the sunset.  What made it more memorable is I spent the time chatting to a novice monk, Dai.  He is a cool guy.

Not much

Most of time in Nong Khai I've spent doing not much.  Except today I did wonder a little into the market.

Chinese festival

I left Khon Kaen as early as possible because I knew the trains were disrupted by the floods in Bangkok.  That said my train only left at 11am.


When I got to Nong Khai I learned that it was the start of a Chinese Festival that evening.  After snapping a shot of the sunset I peaked in on the festivities.  It's just like any festival or carnival anywhere around the world, food, music, people, noise, kids, colour, roller coasters, no candy floss though, smells and a lot of fun!

Khon Kaen museums

The city name is impossible to pronounce.  I have to resort to writing the name down for people to read.  Its not said the way you read it either.  I think you need a Thai tongue to be able to say it correctly.


I spent the whole day just mooching around and checking out two of the museums in the city.  The Khon Kaen National Museum is excellent.  The Khon Kaen City Museum sucks.



I also walked to this really cool temple, Wat Nong Waeng Muang Kao.

A Travel Day

The day was mostly a travel day.  I started by whittling some extra baggage from my bag.  Said my goodbyes to Gai and caught the train to Khon Kaen.  I got there very late but its a friendly city.

Cycling Day 3

I explored Pha Taem on foot for most of the morning.  After a brief lunch I started the long cycle ride back to Ubon.  I had in mind that I'd have to find a place to sleep along the way.


When I got to Khong Chiam my butt was killing me.  It was agony sitting on the bicycle seat any longer.  Bad dream from Gjeongju in South Korea were haunting me.  I can admire Satoshi and all those other long distance cyclists with butts of steal.


I chanced my luck and started hitching a ride (with the bike next to me) around 3pm.  I was home by a little after 4pm. haha!


Gai and I had a really interesting Japanese nabe cross Korean style barbecue for dinner.  It was real tasty. 

Cycling Day 2

After exploring the Kaeng Tana National Park briefly I started day 2 of my cycle trip.  My first stop was to a local waterfall a lot of people had raved to me about.  I don't mean to sound snobbish but its not Victoria Falls, it's not The Angel Falls and it's not Iguassu.  I was expecting a little more water given the recent flooding in Thailand.  That would have redeemed it a little in my eyes.


I had lunch in Khong Chiam which is on the confluence of the Mekong River and the Mun River.  The area is very pretty and has a nice temple at the top of the hill.  I have to report another geocaching fail.  I should learn my lesson.


I made it to Pha Taem National Park very pooped by mid-afternoon.

Cycling Day 1

I started really early this morning.  We'll I intended to.  I was cycling by 9am, when I wanted to be on the road by 7am to beat the heat.  I was making good pace because most of the trip was down hill.  


By mid-afternoon the heat was really getting to me.  I took a short break under a shelter when a lovely old lady noticed me.  She beckoned me to here house and invited me to eat lunch with her family.  One look and my rational brain shouted bacteria, diarrhea, dysentery, dehydration, suffering.  My explorer brain said go one, you don't ever suffer from those ailments.  So I joined them for lunch.  Quite tasty in fact.


The little old lady who didn't speak a word of English was happy to show me pictures of her two daughters married to farrang and living in either Denmark or America.  Not only are hoards of old men coming here and marrying up all the Thai ladies but they are also being exported en mass.


There wasn't enough daylight for me to make it to Pha Taem so I stopped for the night at another park called Kaeng Tana National Park.  There is no reason to go there.  Ever.  Unless you need somewhere to hang your hammock that sounds nice.

Another Geocaching Fail!

Gai very kindly offered to lend me his bike for the day.  Straight away I headed to the nearest geocache and... fail.  Getting quite frustrated with my GPS and the whole setup.  I might throw it of a bridge or something.  I guess I'm quite crap at finding hidden boxes.


It was while cycling around town that I hatched the plan.  I asked Gai if I could borrow his bike for a few days and cycle to Pha Taem National Park.  It lies on the Laos boarder.

Elephant Town

I woke up fairly early in Sisaket, where I spent the night.  This town is elephant crazy.  Every October they have an elephant roundup (whatever that entails).  Apparently the town goes a bit nuts with visitors from all over Thailand.  I'd asked some of Bill's mates if they were going to attend.  They said "no way in hell".  The raids leading into the town are lined with cars up to 6km out.


I saw a lot of shrines etc dedicated to the mighty mammoths all over the town.


In the afternoon I caught a train to Ubon Ratchatani and met up with Gai (pronounced Guy).  He is also on couch surfing.  When we met we went out for dinner and chatted late into the night.  This is normal for guy.