Backpacker's Tales: Thailand, Udon Thani (Part 1)

Click to read the previous entries!

Backpacker's Tales: Thailand
Backpacker's Tales: Thailand, Bangkok
Backpacker's Tales: Thailand, Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai

(It's been a month since I last drafted this post. I shall split it into 2 parts and publish Part 1 first. It's going to be really long...)

After 6 days and 5 nights in Thailand, we were finally heading off to our main objective of this trip---to visit my aunt's kampung! Woohoo! (I can still feel the excitement I had as I'm typing this.) Previously, I was chionging shopping at Bangkok, then I was sight-seeing at Chiang Mai, now, I was to get myself all dirty and muddy in good old laidback Udon! What a fulfilling holiday! =)

We left the Sri Tokyo Hotel early in the morning to prepare ourselves for another gruelling 10-hour trip to my aunt's hometown in Udon Thani. On the way, we stopped by a day market for lunch. It was Thai Laska for me again. =P~ After lunch, we explored the market for awhile, and we spotted a few stalls selling insects! Woo... Pest control. =X

Soon it was nightfall, and we stopped by a roadside stall to have dinner. I must say it's the 2nd best dinner I had in Thailand (more about the best later)! It was the really dirty authentic roadside Thai food, yet it was surprisingly delicious. There were a lot of veggies, but like I said earlier (Backpacker's Tales: Thailand, on F&B), veggies in Thailand is like meat in Singapore to me. There was also Tom Yam soup, herbal soup, egg and seafood dishes. Yes, we ordered THAT many dishes. Thanks to the driver's recommendations! =)

The journey from the town to the village was quite a frustrating one (for the driver at least). The roads were completely dark. There were no streetlamps and sign posts, and we were lost! It took us quite some time to find that place...

Finally. The village!

Some snapshots....

Kh's room... he was supposed to share it with the driver, but the driver wanted to sleep in his own van instead. Nice huh?

the staircase leading to the second floor. very steep! it looks like a ladder in fact.

the kitchen!!!

that is where washing is done.

DAY 1

My aunt's family members were very hospitable. When we arrived, they had mattresses made ready and laid out for us. They even put talcum powder around the house to give it a fresh smell. However, my aunt had to wipe it away as my nose is ultra sensitive to powder. =X Also, they let us sleep late and wake up late, and leave the fans on all night. It was like VIP treatment. It was making me feel so bad. =\

As there weren't enough soft pillows to go around, I took the small and hard block pillow instead. Nevertheless, I had a good night's rest--many hours of uninterrupted sleep--something I hadn't had in a long time. Even so, I always found a need to wake up at 10am. It was always,"If you don't get up now, you'll be missing all the fun." There was always something going on everyday. =)

Indeed, everyone had already gotten up long ago and were busy with their work. The kids kept screaming at me to go see the farm. -_-" ... The farm was a few mins walk away from the house. People usually walk or cycle around, but during that time, we had the privilege of taking my aunt's bro's tuktuk. It was the very old and modified version of Bangkok's tuktuk, seen only in the poorer regions. Too bad I don't have the photo!

The farm was a large plot of land acquired by my uncle for investment and retirement purposes. There was something interesting going on that day. My aunt's brothers and workers were trying to drain water out of their natural pond so as to draw boundaries for a permanent pond, which is more suitable for farming. I thought I'd check it out, so I just went ahead in my t-shirt, berms and slippers. As it turned out, the walk there was a long one and difficult one. The ground was very uneven and rocky, and there were a lot of weeds, thorns, and tall grasses. By the time I reached the pond, I had scratches and cuts all over me. Imagine my journey back! OUCH. I totally respect my aunt's bro for walking all the way there BAREFOOTED (tough guy, really).

They used simple machinery to do the job, but it still took a long time to drain the water as the pond is huge. My aunt told us that when the pond is almost drained, she would let us catch fishes for dinner. Eww. I wouldn't catch, but of course I'll watch. Heh. ^__^ (I'll talk about that in Part 2.)

In the afternoon, we visited to the village saloon. My aunt and sis went to rebond their hair. While waiting for them, we went shopping at the state shopping centre. I bought myself a bottle of Loreal hair dye when Mum said it was cheaper there, then I went back to the saloon to have my hair dyed. I think it was supposed to be copper red, but the colour didn't turn out well. Everyone was like,"Huh, you dyed your hair?" They couldn't even tell. Argh.

Dinner was great though. It was definitely the best dinner I had in my entire trip. It's not even restaurant food, not hawker food, it's homecooked food! Our driver is such a great cook. He whipped up a feast for us with whatever ingredients available for him. Of course that's not part of his job, but he volunteered, so why not. I've never had such a satisfying meal in ages. I drink the soup, then I go,"WOAH! SO NICE!". Then I eat the veggie, and I go,"WOAH! SO NICE!" And I go on doing the same for every dish he cooked. Every dish he cooked was nice. Every dish was worth complimenting. And it's not like he's cooking shark fin and abalone, you know. They were simple dishes, consisting mostly of vegetables. And everyone knows how much I hate veggies. Give that guy some extra credit, for making me luurrrvveee veggies. Woohoo I really miss his cooking now. =P~ Next time must hire him again!


DAY 2

The next day was a Sunday. My mum wanted very much to visit the church our missionaries planted in Isaan. Prior to this trip, my mum was about to sign up for a mission trip to this church. However, as my aunt was planning to go back to Thailand, she decided to tag along as well, and visit the church on our own.

It was a long and tedious journey. I don't think the church was that far away. It was just that the roads in Isaan were even more confusing than those in Udon. We were circling the village for more than 2 hours before we finally reached our destination. It was a huge relief that we did because our driver was ready to quit!

the church exterior. doesn't look any different from the other homes!

the hall... the pastor (3rd from left, playing the guitar)

The pastor and his wife were surprised to see us. I don't think they were expecting us at all. Our church's missionaries visit them a few times a year and the next visit was to be a few weeks later. They welcomed us to their service and provided seats for us.

It was a rather heartwarming experience to see them worship in Thai. The Thai worship songs were very lively and cheerful, something like our typical Sunday school songs. The small congregation consisted mostly of children. In each of their hands was a simplified version of the New Testament translated in Thai and English.

After their worship session, the worship leader (that girl above) asked my mum to go up to the pulpit to give a speech! It was weird. My mum was totally unprepared. She went up and started speaking in English, which, no one except us could understand. Then, she translated it in Hokkien for my aunt, and my aunt translated it in Thai for the audience. Zzz... so troublesome. It was quite a good speech though, except that my mum would've gone on and on if we hadn't given her the "stop beating around the bush" signal.

In the afternoon, we went back to the state shopping centre again. My aunt wanted to get more food for our BBQ (on our last night), and Kh, after seeing me dye my hair, wanted to try dyeing his hair too ( but of course with a lighter shade). Then that's when I bought Dogdog. In case anyone's wondering, Dogdog is the stuff dog I bought for myself at only S$12. Really cheap, considering the size of the dog. (The name "Dogdog" given by my cousins. Cute!)

When we got back to the house, my aunt helped Kh dye his hair with the hair dye he bought. Then she used his remaining hair dye to help me highlight my hair! Hehe. It's nice. Better still, the colour CAN be seen. ^__^



To be continued...