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Published: July 16th 2017
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Geo: 16.3833, 103.933
Still no real sleep but I am amazed when we pull in to the bus station at Roi Et about 03:00 a lot earlier than we expected. By 03:30 Phon Thong is approaching and we start to gather up our things. Even the tuk-tuk drivers at the bus station are amenable at this ungodly hour. We are soon loaded up and on our way to the towns 7/11 to stock up on a few basic groceriesthen we head out into the sticks. It is dark, raining and our tuk-tuk doesnt have any lights. As the road out to the village seems to have degraded into something resembling The Somme battlefield the ride out to the village is slow and uncomfortable. The driver eben resorted to a hand held torch for a few minutes but soon gave up on that brilliant idea. We arrive in Khamnadie about 05:00.
We pull up outside the house or at least I think we do. The front garden looks like one of the tropical greenhouses at Kew and I cant even see the house through the undergrowth. I squeeze between bushes to get through the gate and nervously open the front door. The picture that
greets me looks like a squat from Taggart ad I fully expect to see a couple of dossers in the corner, but no, only one ! I dump bags in our bedroom and head for the kitchen to make a brew. At least, this is wherethe kitchen used to be but it doesnt look like anywhere that should be associated with food at the moment. Ignoring everything as best as I can I brew up andreturn to the sanctuary of the bedroom where at the moment I feel like staying for the next 6 months !
The cup of tea has gone down and a semblance of normality is slowly returning. We spend the next 5 hours cleaning everything in the kitchen and bathroom, the first signs of love and affection they have received since we left. If I excuse Jai's mum from the cleaning for a number of reasons I still fail to understand how family living next door and all around can ignore seeing the place in the state that it is. Ignorance is bliss I guess ! One of Jai's sisters even pops in whilst we are cleaning but after a quick hello where is my present she
is off without an offer to help. Nobody else shows their faces until they are sure that we have broken the back of the cleaning. Tiredness has crept up on me again and after eating I retire for a couple of hours.
Later I venture out of the back door but hastily backtrack for fear of the wold beatsts that may be lurking in the rainforest that has overtaken my back garden. That can certainly wait for another day - week ?!
I decideto get the motorbike out and it is hard work kicking it over for the first few times. Jai's grand daughter comes to visit with the little girl from next door - the devils spawn. Wetake the bike out for a short run around the village stopping to get some petrol and say a brief hello to George and Wan. I have to stay here for a beer - well, it would have been rude to say no wouldnt it.
Back to the house as darkness falls and strangely in the half light it looks a lot better. Something to eat then a shower - oh yes, I'd forgotten the joys of a cold shower ! - then to bed
to bring these notes up to date. To paraphrase James Bond, tomorrow is another day.
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