Nang Rong

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Saturday November, 10th 2007

The good thing in Nang Rong itself is that there is nothing to do. So, I can walk around with no aim and I just let the images, sounds, smells and feelings come to me.
There seems to be different quarters in this small city. South to highway 24, there is the bus station. All the shops concentrate around that place. Next to it, but not connected by any street, there is a residential area that can only be reached by the highway.
North of the highway, there is a quarter that look more popular though some house are really nice and large. That’s where I walked today. There is also a small health centre where lots of mums were bringing their children to be weighted.
The whole city have real atmosphere of rural area. Most of the houses have water tanks and do not rely solely on the city water system.
I did a bit of Taijiquan today and it was fine. A few children stop to have a look then they went away and I could continue quietly.
In the afternoon, I did try to put some order in my pictures and wrote a bit. It’s amazing how mealy is sunset. It’s only 5:30 pm and it’s already dark.

Sunday November, 11th 2007
Aujourd’hui, j’ai décidé d’écrire un peu en français.

J’ai vraiment besoin de faire de l’exercice. Comme il n’y a pas de vélo à louer au guesthouse, j’ai décidé de faire du jogging. D’habitude, ce n’est pas mon exercice favori, mais là, j’ai besoin de me dégourdir les jambes.
Il est assez tard (8h30) pour faire de l’exercice. Heureusement, le ciel est couvert et il y a du vent. Il ne fait donc pas trop chaud. Je traverse les ruelles de Nang Rong.

Des jeunes de 5 à 25 ans font voler des cerfs-volants.

Plus loin, c’est la récolte du riz. Les paysans sont afférés à couper le riz avec des serpes. Pas de photos car je n’ai pas pris mon appareil ; pas la peine de le secouer pendant mes 2 heures d’exercice.
Je m’arrête à la sortie du village pour pratiquer du Taijiquan. J’entends le bruit d’une moissonneuse qui coupe le riz dans un champ voisin. Visiblement, l’agriculture est en transition. Méthodes traditionnelles et mécanisation se côtoient.

Je commence à me sentir bien.

Un panneau annonce un village à 3km. Je décide de courir jusque là. Sur le chemin, des gens sont occupés à la moisson. Un jeune type me propose par signe de venir couper le riz. Je m'approche, mais un vieux me fait comprendre que je devrais porter des bottes pour travailler dans la rizière. Dommage, j'aurais volontier essayer.

I’m jogging on. I'm entering a village : a few houses scattered along the way. On the left a large complex for I don’t know what. I hoped to breakfast in the village, but there is no place that sells anything. I’m getting thirsty but I’m hesitating to ask water at a house. In Cambodia, in such villages, people sometimes use water from the pond. In Thailand, I don’t know. I drank such a dirty water in Chad, but in those days, I was foolish and young. I’m still a bit foolish but not so young. I decide to forget about the water.

Two young puppies are coming to me and I'm cuddling them. They start to follow me.

As I'm looking for a place to sit, I'm called by a man to come to his house. There is another fellow who gives me a piece of sugarcane. As they don't speak English, the communication is limited. I'm moving on. On the way, they're giving me some leaves from a bush. I'm chewing them, but it's bitter and I don't like it. They're showing me other leaves from which they apparently use the juice. Looking at those new things, I feel as silly as a busman discovering a computer for the first time. Further on the way, they're leading me to a shelter where they're giving me some water. The water is melting down from a piece of ice and is quite clean.

After the sugar and the water, I've all I need to go back to Nang Rong.

Monday November, 12th 2007
I've hired a motorbike to go and visit the khmer temples around Nang Rong. The sky is grey and it's rather cold. I've stopped at seeing place, but it too misty to really see the landscape. I'm going on. Then, 30 km from Nang Rong, it starts raining cxats and dogs. It's cold. Obviously, this rain will last. I'm shaking with cold. I decide to go back. I'll see temples another day.

It's 12 o'clock. Rain has stopped. It's time for my 15Baht soup of the day at my favourite restaurant. I like the shade surrounded by plants and banana trees.

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Photos

One of the local child clinic
Don't be mistaken, this is just a place where children get their babies weighted. There is a modern hospital on the highway. You may even see it in my first picture.