UBON

Sawadee Khrap (Hello) from Thailand.


Yes, we are still alive but there is no internet where we are staying.

It has been about 35-40 C each day here and very sticky. However, we’re finding it bearable and our days are still very full. The first day we arrived in Ubon, Joey and her sister picked us up at the airport and we came back to the family home. It is a nice two story house with a nice front garden with lots of tropical plants. All Joey’s sisters (accept for the married one) were here to meet us and their Mom, too. They are treating us great and with such kindness, even if they can’t understand what we are saying and we have NO IDEA what they are trying to say. We are thankful to have Joey here to translate.

In the late morning of the first day we went to a large University and had a tour. Then one of the Professors took us out to lunch. It was an out of the way spot pretty much in a field but they had the most wonderful food. After lunch, Joey was giving a talk about Education to several university Professors and asked Greg to help out. It was an informal talk and everyone seemed to be very interested and had several questions. We talked a little about Canada, and then focused on New Brunswick’s educations systems and programs (most could speak English, thank goodness). They were excited to try some of the suggestions Greg and Joey offered. Greg did put a plug in on “Professional Learning Communities”. After it was over, the Vice President presented us with some golf shirts from the University.

Later in the evening that same Professor we had lunch with, picked us up at Joey’s mom’s house and took us out to dinner. She also invited other faculty and friends out to meet us. We had a great evening and DID WE EAT! The food just kept coming and coming. Since the menu was in Thai we had no idea what to order, so they ordered for us. Greg even had his first Thai beer called Leo.

The next day started early and we were on the road by 7:30. We hired a van and driver for about $50.00/day (as long as we wanted him to stay kind of day). Our first stop was a school that Joey attended when she was a girl. She was giving out 3 scholarships to needy students. We met many of the staff and a few of them even spoke English. We had a chance to observe their morning routine of exercise, the anthem, and some meditation of the older groups. Both Greg and I even had to give a talk in front to the students (they assemble all outside). Afterwards we had a chance to visit a few classrooms and handed out Canadian flag pins to the students, if they asked a question first. (Actually, they all got pins in the end).

We left the school and the driver took us to the border of Laos. We needed visa so we didn’t go over but it was nice to see and we did do a bit walking around and looking at their market. After that we stopped at a restaurant in a Government operated park. It was a dam but they also made it into a park. A lot like Mactaquac near Fredericton.

The next stop was one of the “coolest” historical places. A wonderful 4km walk takes you into some scenic valleys where you can see 3000-4000 year old drawing on the sides of rock walls. Not a lot of tourists make it out this way so it was nice doing something different. We also took in a natural wonder... mushroom like rock formations eroded by weather. We had a wonderful time there but it was HOT! We were sure that in some spots it must have been near 45 with humidity. However, we were prepared with lots of water and sunscreen.

Our next chore was to find a hotel to stay at. Greg and I thought that we were out in the middle of nowhere and were surprised that there was even a choice of hotels. Nothing fancy but still a choice. The first place we went to only had one room, so we needed to go to the next spot. The next place was more like cabins in the bush. Wasn’t a 5 star for sure but the price was right and it was pretty clean and had AC!!!! Our cabin was built on stilts and the washroom was out on an outside balcony. We thought what the hell; it is kind of like camping. Once we got settled in and got the AC going (it was 36 C when we started it) we had a nice outdoor shower and met Joey for a short walk down to the river overlooking Laos for dinner on a boat. The food was nice and the scenery great as we ate and watched the sunset.

It was almost dark when we started our way back to the cabins.

We must digress here and tell you about the gecko that was in our room when we arrived. Even though it was the biggest gecko we had seen before it was SMALL compared to the few waiting for us up at the light when we got back from dinner. Greg had walked up the steps to the door first and Joey and I were about 20 feet behind him. He said something about the size of the geckos but I was thinking it was the one we seen before which might have been 8cm or so. He said, and I quote “no, these are small crocodiles”. WELL HE WAS NOT KIDDING. These things were HUGE (the pictures don’t really show perspective but they were). I would put the biggest one at about 30-35 cm and pretty wide too. Well we all kind of froze and watched them move away from us. Not sure who was the most freaked out, us or them. Well I kind of scooted them away from the door and we got in. Once we got to see them for a bit we were not so scared anymore but you must remember that our toilet is outside. So... think about! All we could think about is ‘please bowels don’t work through the night!’ Anyway, things all went well and morning came fast enough.

The next morning again started early and we were on the road around 8:00 after our traditional Thai breakfast of a rice soup and a donut looking things. Our first stop was a market where one could see lots of interesting produce and way too stinky meats/fish for the early hour. Let’s be thankful for the Canadian Board of Health!

The next stop took us to our first Wat (temple). This one is very famous since it has the remains of a great monk. You can see by the pictures that no one can do detail like the Thai people. These Wats are pretty amazing places. We even got to witness some monks chanting and doing some praying.

The next location the driver took us to was the Asian Grand Canyon. It is certainly not as deep but still pretty cool. We hired a long boat and they took us on a nice two hour tour of the river way. We also stopped in a few places and crawled up the banks/rocks to see some things like the bowls. They are holes that have formed in the rock. The view here was great. We think these rocks were formed by lava many millions of years ago.



This now brings us to our current day. February 28th (Happy Birthday, Marlene) Oh and Cheryl, Happy Belated Birthday. I would call but there is no internet and well... we sleep during your day.

Today AGAIN we were up early to go see a big Buddhist Monk chant thingy. Tomorrow is a holiday here and many people went to temple today. We asked Joey many questions about Buddhism and their rituals and customs. It was all VERY INTERSTING but seeing 100s of chicken/rooster walking the grounds was cool too.

This afternoon we went to a nearby mall. You should see how Thai folks park at this mall. You block folks in and cars are left in gear with the wheels locked straight. If you need to get out you begin pushing cars until you get enough space to move your car out. It is very funny but for sure you can’t be in a rush. We did buy some great name brand clothing for cheap cheap.

Tonight we have prepared a festive Canadian meal for 14. We are cooking 3 chickens and stuffing, potatoes, vegetables and gravy, coleslaw and for dessert chocolate cheesecake. They don’t often get potatoes since rice is pretty used during all 3 meals. FYI, even KFC serves rice with their meals. Take a look at how the chickens are packaged. I felt like be vegetarian.

We hope all is well. Take care until next time we find Internet.

Joey and Greg giving their talk at the University

 

The food was great here!

Noi, VP giving us a gift.

More food... and still more food.  Cost about $75 for 12 of us

Grade 5 sitting meditating before school starts

Greg doing his best to make the school listen

Who is short now?

I just finished handing out CDN flag pins

The Thai border with Laos

This site had the coolest "mushroom"looking rock formations

Joey getting a bit of rest before a walk up the cliffs

The 3000-4000 year old drawing

This is a drawing of an elephant

This is us in our robes...kidding it is a few monks

The cabin where we stayed one night... outdoor toilet and shower

The boat we had supper on

This was one BIG gecko that is a normal size door below

Our first Wat (temple)

Our trip on the long boat

Interesting holes in the rocks

HOT STUFF