Korat - Chock Chai - Issan Sunday

My Sunday in a Thai village

Saturday night in Bangkok

There are not many other places that I would rather be, everyone was excited to take me to the disco near Ratchada. I love the Thai discos, I may be the only foriegner there with my Thai friends but it was not going to happen tonight. I returned to my room at 9.30pm with a promise to return later but my eyed were red, maybe a victim of the Bangkok pollution and my whole body seem to have an allergic reaction, possibly some msg in my pineapple rice at the pub tonight. In any case I lay on my bed, sent a text message to my friends and that was it for my wild night in Bangkok

To Korat and Chock Chai

Sunday turned out to be one of those special days for me in Thailand.

I boarded the bus for Korat at the Mochit Northern Terminal at 10.00am for the 3.5 hour trip in the pouring rain. Thankfully the buses have slowed down a bit since a recent accident with a large number of fatalities on the same stretch of road. My friend who lives in the vilage near Korat is working six days a week in the plastics factory so their day off on Sunday is my best time to visit. At the factory they are working 12 hour days every day for about $AU20 per day, it makes me realise that we have it so good in Australia regarding working and pay conditions

On arrival at the Korat Bus terminal I had a mixed grill with rice, fruit/ice desert and coffee for 75 baht ($AU3), amazing prices in Thailand for food and drink, especially in the rural areas. I caught the local bus to Chock Chai which is a slow 1 hour trip with the locals in a non air-conditioned bus, fortunately it is relatively cool at present and also there are minimal mosquitoes. At Chock Chai I woke up my Tuk Tuk driver from his afternoon siesta and he was suprised that I knew how to find my way to the village. I love the 25 minute ride through the rice fields and in rainy season everything is so stunningly green.

I have been there in every season and the people may be poor as far as money gos but they are rich so far as they are living in a natural paradise. It is such a beautiful place and it was so good to breathe the clean country air, my allergy and red eyes were already on the improve. When I arrived in the village I called out "sawatdee krup" (hello) and everyone was smiling and happy to see me. Soon I was surrounded by all the kids and had a chat with everyone, none of them speak any english except my friend but it does not seem to matter that much. I definitely need to learn to speak Thai though as I am missing out on so much by not being involved in the conversations that are always happening around me.

It was getting late in the afternoon and 15yo brother Sek took me on the motorcycle to the Sunday market to get some food for my evening meal. The ride to the market is another highlight with everyone waving to me and some looking in suprise at the foriegner in their midst. We purchased all sorts of tasty exotic fruits and then came across cousin Bell and his mum, also selling fruit at a stall so we had to buy some more, we had enough for half the village by the time we were finished. 20yo Bell and his mum are two of my favourite people in the village, kind and generous, I look forward to seeing them on every visit.

It was a perfect day, the rain had stopped and it was fairly cool, unusual for Thailand. Back at the village I became a student again as I sat on an elevated straw mat going through english/thai language books with three of the village kids. To say they are delightful children is not exagerating and they seem impressed that I am trying to learn their language. Nearly everyone in our street knows me now so it sort of feels like this is my second home although I fully realise that I seem like a visitor from another world to some of the people here.

After the evening meal I helped Sek with his english language homework while he spent 1.5 hours ironing his clothes for school the next day. The life of a Thai teenager living in the village is a bit different from an Australian teen. Everyone can have fun in the village but they also know their place and what they need to do regarding chores or helping the family unit.

After work and homework was finished we all sat and watched the Thai soaps on television for an hour before it was time for sleeping at 10pm. I had some earplugs to keep out the sounds of the barking dogs or other animals that get noisy in the middle of the night and I had a reasonable nights sleep before the alarm went off at 5am.

Everyone was awake and getting ready for school or work. Image and personal presentation is everything to the Thais and it is fun just watching them spend an hour getting ready, putting on make up or whatever and always dressed to perfection. By 7am I was on the local bus heading for Korat with people hanging out the doors and two elderly ladies happily holding my luggage on their laps in the cramped conditions.

Most tourists would not enjoy staying in a Thai village because of the basic conditions, there is no air conditioning, no western toilet and no shower, just a barrel of water. I like the city life and my western comforts but I would not trade my experiences in the "real" Thailand for anything. These visits are not on any tourist schedules so I am lucky to have made some wonderful friends in this country. I am not sure if I could live here full time but we will see what happens in the future, my education is continuing, the voyage continues.

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