A Place Called Nong Khai

The purpose of this December 2015 trip was to explore that area of Thailand to the North East of Bangkok, up to and including the nation of Laos. This part of the country is generally flat, and is where most of the farming takes place. I flew from Bangkok to Khon Kaen, the major city of the area and home to a large university...eight thousand graduating students each year. The flight was just under an hour, with a subsidiary of Thai Airlines, a company called "Smile Airways". I explored the city by foot, as it is laid out nicely, and this affords the best way to get pictures. It was here that I had the problem with the VISA card. I had heard that a graduation here was like few others, so I decided to visit and find out for myself. The ceremony is practiced for several days in advance. Each student has one second with the Royal Princess....a process that takes two hours and 13 minutes. The students are lined up in a line several kilometers long, and march by the sitting princess. As they get closer to her, they are packed closer together. She is sitting there with a stack of small booklets, and almost flicks the book at the student...no words, only a nod and move on...like so many robots...but it works. Two days later, I took a taxi the hour and a half drive up to Udon Thani, a small city on the route north, and only stayed here one night. The taxi was about ten dollars. The bus was less, but, when you consider a taxi or tuk tuk to the bus, and the repeat to hotel at the other end, it is better to stay with the one vehicle. There was nothing special here but I did walk through the local mall...same stores as all the others, many name brand stores as in Canada. The next day, I took another taxi to the small city of Nong Khai. This city sits on the South shore of the mighty Mekong river, and Laos is the land on the other side. A straight line from city center here to Vientiane would be about five miles, but the road is about 60 kilometers. The two countries built a "Friendship" bridge across the Mekong, and pay for it with tourist special charges...one US dollar per person. The bridge is miles from either city center, I guess to discourage local people from running back and forth. Nong Khai is one place to see the horrendous abuse of normal trade practices. There is a miles long walkway on the bank of the Mekong, with restaurants and shops where people can stroll, enjoy an ice cream, and watch the boats run between the two countries. The Mekong is wide and slow here. About one block from this beautiful walkway is one of the largest market areas that I have ever seen. The Indo-Chinese market is bout one kilometer square, all under one roof. It is like a city indoors, with rows upon rows of small neatly arranged shops and stalls, all open on three sides. Nothing has a price, so you must haggle, to purchase, or get ripped off. In most cases, you get ripped off anyway.....because 90 percent of the goods are from China...every single item a knock-off,(Phony product label), or no label. Here I could get a new "Seiko" watch for five US dollars.....where is my motorcycle trader when I need him.? I bought nothing, but am amazed that these places are allowed to operate, under the eye of the authorities with no concern for the laws of International Trade. Now, I must say, this, the northern area of Thailand is also one of the poorest....these are the prices that the locals can afford. They could not purchase the real product, and indeed are probably unaware of what is going on. That Dior perfume will probably have a different smell once the bottle has been opened for a few hours. Many of the people from this area go to Bangkok and other places down south to get better jobs, or, even work of any kind. Before returning home, I went into a massage place near my hotel to get the true Thai massage, and the lady that worked me over was from this city, Nong Khai. She spoke good English, and I will tell her story in another page. Her name is Rose. Next page we will visit Laos again.