The Other Side of Paradise (i.e. the Mekong River)

After crossing the border, I headed into Nong Khai and found a little place on the river to call home for the night. My impeccable budgeting made it so that I was down to my last few kip as I crossed the river. I had exchanged my last few baht a few days ago to replenish my supply of kip and so as I walked off that bus I had several different currencies on me but they only totaled up to about $2. I needed to get cash and kept my eyes out for a Bangkok Bank ATM (so that I could avoid those nasty fees). I spotted one, but I thought that I’d rather check-in first and then come back so I didn’t stop. The after checking in, all I wanted to do was eat dinner, but in order to do that, I had to have money and thus I needed that ATM. I re-traced my steps trying to find the ATM that I had seen earlier but I couldn’t find it. I ended up at the bus station and hadn’t seen it. I circled back and still didn’t see it. I eventually consulted the map I had and found a Bangkok Bank branch in town and went there. Plain and simple – no problem. But had already wasted a good hour trying to find that ATM. Stupid Ryan. I did find food which I promptly ate and went to sleep.

The next day I rented a bicycle and rode out to the second Buddha Park. It’s another sculpture park much like the one that I went to in Laos - only cooler. It was actually built by the same man is they are pretty much across the river from each other. This one is much larger and older, and in my opinion, a much cooler experience. But the one is Laos is more well known and people, mostly foreigners flock there. I’m glad I got to see both. The statues were huge! They dwarfed me. I remembered to bring my tripod that day, after forgetting it when I went to the other one – I’m glad I had it this day instead of the other day. I got some really neat pictures of myself with the statues. It was a large park and took a good hour to walk around and absorb all of the statues. There was a lot of emphasis placed on the wheel of life sculptures which represent different stages in life. The guest house gave me a handout explaining it, which was neat, but I still don’t fully understand it. Many of the statues were explained, but in Thai and my reading isn’t that good yet. I headed back to the guest house, but was caught up by the boat races! I decided to ride back along the river and ran into this huge festival along the river. Everyone was watching the river, and it turns out that they were watching the Dragon Boat races. They are an annual event held at about this time of year all along the Mekong River. I watched a few and then dropped off the bike and came back to get some food and snacks and watch the races and people watch. It was really neat. There was an announcer and he would talk about the different teams and people would get really excited as the races were underway. In each boat there were maybe 30-40 people and during the race they all paddled. They were going downstream so they must have gotten going pretty fast. They also trained by paddling upriver.

After I had my fill of food and boats I caught the bus to Sangkhom. That was an adventure – but it’s good I’ve re-gained my patience otherwise that would have been unbearable. I was told to take the yellow bus – it’ll take me straight to Sangkhom, he said. Wrong, he was. It took me to the next town were it stopped. I had to get off and wait for another bus. That bus arrived after a good bit of waiting, but it also didn’t go all the way to Sangkhom. I got off again. And waited. The last bus was finally here – I climbed aboard, ready to go. But then they said we won’t leave for another 30 minutes. That’s okay because I was in the right state of mind and eventually I got there. I left at 1and got in at about 6 – five hours. Direct it should have taken about two. The country was really pretty and I didn’t have any where to be. It was great to be able to take on those problems and changes and not get stressed. It’s very different than most of my trips to Chiang Mai. I stayed in this great little bungalow along the river. It was really cheap and right on the river. It wasn’t the nicest place, but it worked for me. I just wanted a place to rest my head and then a place to read and nap in the morning, which is exactly what I did. I met this English guy there who just couldn’t stop talking. When one person would leave the room, he would start talking to another. He even followed the lady around while she was working in the yard. He is retired and has come out here for a few months to relax and get out of England. Interesting man. A bit annoying. He sold doors. I then hoped on a bus to Loei. I was told to catch the yellow bus going left and I’d be set. It came, I got on and I was set. This time the bus actually went where it was supposed to go but it traveled very slowly. At one point, we even stopped for 30 minutes. I’m not sure why. A lady got on. Then she got off. But I stayed and eventually we started moving again. I got to Loei and checked bus times to Phu Kradung and Lampang and found a place to stay. Dinner was found and then I had a date with The Saint dubbed in Thai.

The following morning I headed for Phu Kradung. I had to make a connection near the park and had to wait for a bit and so I did. I ended up going to the park with a group of students from Khon Kaen and they tried to befriend me. I entered the park and got my tent arrangements made – they’d have the tent set up and waiting for me when I arrived. The only thing that was left was climbing the mountain. It was about 1000 vertical feet and about a 8.5 km hike from the base to the park headquarters. The climb was fairly straightforward. I just went up. There were some good flat parts along the way to recoup and many shops along the way to stop at if you needed. I stopped at the last area for a bit to eat and some water and then headed to the summit. The sign at the top of the mountain reads, 'Welcome Phu Kradung Conqueror'. They make a big deal about climbing it. And now I’ve done it. From the summit it was another 3 km to the park headquarters, but it was flat. It was quite a strange environment. It was sandy with pine trees. But there was also this meadowy yet tropical feel to it too. There was a mist and clouds which hung over the mountain as well. I found my tent and got settled in. I ran into the guys I rode over with again and they made me take a shot of whiskey – I guess that’s why it took them so long to get to the top. I read a bit and walked around but then it started to get cold so I went to a shop and got some hot tea. While sitting and reading at the shop, the shop owner asked me to translate her menu into English for her so that it would be easier for her to help the foreign customers. I did and sat there for a long time reading and watching people as they passed by and ate dinner. Eventually those guys found me and we spent an hour or two engaging in conversation (and drinking) but the events of the day soon overtook me and I sought out the refuge of my tent.

I woke up early the next morning before the sun so that I could walk out to the edge of the mountain and watch the sunrise. I joined a large group of people and hiked the 2 km out to the edge. The tea and coffee cart beat us there and was set up when we arrived. I then watched the sun rise. It was very cloudy and foggy but the mix of everything was really beautiful. I met some more people there who were standing by me as the sun rose. I was able to get some really neat pictures. This experience and the views themselves made the whole trip worthwhile. I headed back for some rice soup before hitting the waterfall trails. There were 4-5 waterfalls that I hiked to that morning before heading back down the hill. A short bus trip and I was back in Loei by 5. It was into the hotel, find dinner and I called it a night. I had been up since about 4:45am. Oh by the way, on the way down the mountain I did pick up a few souvenirs including a Phu Kradung shirt which also says "hello, how are you? I’m fine and you?". I thought that was hilarious.

And so that brings to an end my vacation. It was a good one. I’m glad I went and I got to do some cool things and I’ve got some good stories. And another one bits the dust.