Sometimes you just have to let the heat have its way.
That Phenom was baking in the heat. Even the breeze of the Mekong seemed unable to offer any relief. And so it was a lazy day, a day to let the heat have its way. We did nothing worthy of lengthy remarks or ponderous prose, but that has never stopped me in the past.
We managed to go shopping for a special treat, Kalamae, a Thai sweet. A sweet little jelly wrapped in a banana leaf, Kalamae is rice flour, palm sugar and watermelon seed. The stuff is steamed in the banana leaf. The dark blue coloured comes from a natural dye derived from butterfly pea flowers.
The beautiful little Kalamae nestled in their banana leaf wrappers.
We sat along the Mekong, trying to stay in the shade and the breeze. Eventually hunger overcame heat and we sought out lunch. Ironically, we ended up in a Thai cafe' that caters to Vietnamese pilgrims. The Aircon was frigid and in this case, wonderful. We went crazy on fantastic food and a great change of pace.
Spring rolls with greens and a sort of Vietnamese pork sausage pizza or quesadilla on a rice flour crust.
Crepes!! My favorite. And not one, but two!!
The aftermath. Not a pretty sight, but pretty damn satisfying.
The blessed cool of the evening began as the sun set behind the Chedi. Slowly, slowly, the concrete began to cool. We walked around the town and encountered the hordes of white-clad pilgrims on their way to the Chedi. The Chedi itself was a beehive of activity as the people waited in lines for blessings, waited for food or water, or stood in line to circle the Chedi. We left the devout to their labor and wandered back towards the night market.
Tackling the heat with a giant coconut-ice and fruit thing. It's a dinner, it's a dessert!
The night scene along the Mekong Promenade, That Phenom, Thailand.
The concrete of the promenade was still warm hours after the sun went down. Like many of our Thai brothers and sisters, we hung out of the waterfront with cold drinks, watching the river run and letting the cool breeze waft over us. Now and then the breeze would stiffen, a sign that a monsoon cloud was passing nearby, but there was no rain. The rainy season is drawing to a close. The clouds will still chase Farrang around, but less and less over the next two weeks. Then the blessed cool season will begin, but by that time we will be winging away from the Land of Smiles. November will bring the start of the tourist season, which builds to a flood from mid-December to February.
It was a day of heat and food, napping and eating. Tomorrow will be a long travel day to a very small village. For now, well, it is time to retire to the bungalow for a well deserved sleep. As always Friends and Neighbors, travel often, travel well, and Ciao for Now!
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