Blog 2 - Nong Khai

I’ve finally reached Nong Khai. This is where I’ll spend the next four months teaching and living. It’s a beautiful place. Situated on a river bank, it borders the Communist... sorry, “socialist party” Laos. You can see Laos life from Nong Khai, I’ll have to cross over to renew my Visa once mine runs out. I’ve heard it’s an amazing place to spend a day or two, but I’m keeping my options open. Border hopping for Visa is a common enough practice that many travel sites and books have ideas of how to spend a day taking in the sites.

I pretty much fell off the train from Bangkok, having had the bright idea to stay awake the whole ten hour duration. Still, wrote the first blog and listened to a good amount of a twenty-two hour audiobook (Brent Weeks – the Black Prism, available now). I’m living in a relatively spacious typical Thai home, kitchen, bathroom, few bedrooms and a large living room. There was still some work going on when I moved in, but most of the lights seem to be working, power is consistent and the water is now working properly.

This is particularly important due to my love for showers. But also, the government is creating water defences to protect the shrinking Thai beaches and damaged roads. This means the dust thrown up by lorries and concrete mixers is nothing short of choking. Plenty of my clothes and shoes are covered in a muddy red dust that seems to be everywhere. I’m getting around mostly by bike, the main three transports seem to be bikes, mopeds and pick-up trucks. Of course, bikes are at the bottom, and pulling out into a junction can be terrifying. The bikes are fixed gear, which is a change for me, but with the landscape being completely flat with no hills I can see, it’s not much of an issue.

Nong Khai is a peculiarly shaped place. It consists of three main streets running parallel, but stretched very thin. It’s very narrow, but continues for miles, so navigating your way around is simple, just head left and you’ll eventually find your street, and keep one direction until you see the turning for the house. I’m having a couple of problems finding my way around, especially finding a decent German Bakery for breakfast but I’m sure I’ll start recognising some of the landmarks soon and be able to have a Danish pastry before long.

The street I’m on is relatively busy, mostly cafes but a few pubs and shops mixed in. Including the wonderful ex-pat bar Mut Maa’s, a place I’m writing now due to the free wi-fi and pleasant atmosphere. The owner is Julian, originally of South Hampton, who lives here with his Thai wife and two children. It’s mostly populated by tourists, backpackers and other ex-pats, all in search of a cold beer and a good hearty meal. Thai food is delicious, but doesn’t fill you up like a warm English breakfast. They also run boat tours down the river, which I’m interested in on a day off, apparently the views are dazzling.

I had one new experience that is completely unknown to me. Whilst in the market (more on that when I’ve explored more, you could spend a day wandering around and still scrape the surface) I was spotted by a group of excitable Chinese girls, who all wanted a photograph with me. The excuse was they had an art project on foreigners, but I think we all know the real reason. Somewhere on Facebook right now there’s probably a picture of me looking awkward surrounded by smiling girls all about as tall as my shoulder. Still, they all seemed happy and gave me a happy and respectful “swai” (traditional Thai greeting) when they left me, looking confused and a little amused. People seem amazed by my height,  they seemed particularly proud to have snagged this giant foreigner roaming free around Nong Khai market.

This afternoon I have my first visit to the orphanage, which I’m honestly apprehensive about. It’s going to be a pretty steep learning curve, but I hope I’ll be some hope to the whole affair. Best regards to those of you in England, I should have some interesting yarn to spin once I start teaching at my college, on Monday.