That Phenom

Morning light plays across the entrance to our Wat.

There was a breeze off the Mekong, but it only slightly cooled the mounting morning heat.  Mukdahan was waking up and so were we.  Today was a travel day, but only a short one.  We were heading north up the Mekong, our destination the small but important shrine town of That Phenom.  A mere fifty-five kilometers up the river, this would be an easy day.

We wandered to our little open-air breakfast place and had a "same-same" repast, thick black coffee and hot noodle soup.  This is the Thai version of a "Standard American Breakfast."  There is such a thing.  The ubiquitous "Ameican" guesthouse brekkie is bad coffee, an egg fried to lifelessness, and some white "toast" bread.  It is a meal best avoided, even when included in the price of the room.  Much more toothsome is a bowl of either noodle soup or congee, the rice soup that will keep you on your feet for hours.  

Packed and sweating, we walked to the Main Street, Thai highway 212.  A Songtheuw appeared in an instant and we were on our way across town to the main bus terminal.  Our travel luck was strong and in minutes we were the last two folks to squeeze into a vomit-van for the journey north.

Traveling like the locals aboard an open-air Songtheuw.

Packed inside the vomit-van, which mercifully only had 13 people for the 13 seats.  In Lao, I have been squeezed into on of these coffins with 18 people.  I know the locals are a bit smaller than Farrang, but it can get very tight and very hot.  Today was not bad by comparison.

In just over an hour we arrived in the town of That Phenom, dropped off directly in front of the important pilgrimage site, the Wat Phra That Phenom.  There are lots of tourists in this town, but they are from Thailand, Lao and Vietnam, traveling here to pay their respects and make merit at one of the most important Chedi in the region.  

The heat was merciless as we trudged to our guesthouse.  Showered and refreshed, we were instantly wilted as we stepped back out into the midday inferno to find some lunch.  WIth little todo, we found the Sisters Cafe', a cool oasis with wonderful grub.  We enjoyed a long and leisurely second brekkie/lunch, complete with coffee and ice cream for My One.

Give me the Nam Soda and a mini-pitcher of ice and no one gets hurt.

Vietnamese Kai Kata, or eggs and sausage in a skillet.  Yummers!

Sometimes ya just gotta take a break from rice.  My One was grooving on the fries and chicken stir-fry.

We whiled away the heat of the afternoon down along the Mekong, letting the breeze do its best to offset the torpid heat.  Monsoon clouds roamed around on the Lao side of the river, looking for Farrang to rain on.  Other than a few ex-pats, we have not seen a single Farrang traveller in this town, or in Mukdahan for that matter.  

The sun set and the relative cool of the evening began.  Relative is the key word.  Walking is still a sweaty, sticky business, but it is not quite as hot as the surface of the sun.  We toured the local parks where the Thai folk were busy working out, running, and doing aerobics.  Bless their little acclimated hearts, strolling slowly (and not splitting infinitives) was the best I was able to do.

Beached swan boats await the cooler days of November and the arrival of the Farrang.

This is why this town exists, the famous Chedi.  We circled the Chedi in the gloaming of the day, making merit by walking around the sacred tower.

The nearby market sells all the things a pilgrim might need for offerings at the shrine.  Lotus flowers, marigold braids, candles and incense are all arranged in a wild profusion.  

Once again retreating to the cooling breeze off the Mekong, we dined riverside on fish stir fry and pork with vege.  It was another leisurely meal.  In this place, a slow pace is the right pace.

Che' is alive and well on the streets of Thailand.

As we returned from our evening stroll, we happened across two British ex-pats drinking in an open air bar.  The greeting of "Hey Farrang" meant we had to stop and chat.  It took only a few minutes of conversation before one of the men voiced his displeasure about That Phenom.  "Not enough Farrang, no one to talk to, no one to play golf with."  He was selling his house here and moving on.  This after selling his house in Pattaya and moving on.  The other fella was just happy to be here and drinking beer.  I know that this will sound judgemental, and it probably is, but of the ex-pats I have met around the world, the most miserable have been those scattered around northeast Thailand.  Their days seem to start in this or that pub owned by one of their ex-pat buddies.  It goes downhill from there, as they sit, drink, drink, sit, complaining about the locals and the heat.  First of all, this is the Mekong Valley.  Of course it's bloody hot.  Hello, Tiger?  Stripes?  Secondly, the locals are perfectly fine, thank-you-very-much.  If your an ex-pat, you are a guest.  Try to act like one.  Okay, rant off.  Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

By the way, when I want to rate the happiest group of ex-pats I have ever met, it is a toss up between Panama and Ecuador.  Just sayin'

We made it back to the guesthouse, blessing the invention of aircon and cranking it up.  We tried for another night in the same place, but they were booked solid with pilgrims.  Tomorrow we will have to search for alternate digs, but for now we slipped into the cool of the humming aircon breeze and drifted off into slumber.

A great town, That Phenom.  There is nothing much to do here, nothing much to see.  The Chedi is in the center of town and does not require transport other than a pair of weary feet.  Once you have seen that (That, get it?) the rest of the "sights" here consist of watching the river, interacting with the very friendly locals, and finding tasty food and drink.  My kind of town.

We will stay here another day before wandering off of the grid to the tiny village of Bann Kham Pia, where we will hole up for about four days.  But I am getting ahead of myself, which never pays off here.  From That Pheonom on the Mighty Mekong River, I bid you Ciao for Now!  Be happy, be well, and travel much.