Sunday, May 27 - Getting to the middle of nowhere

The picture just doesn't do it justice. And words? They simply fall flat.
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Okay, I'm not really in Bua Yai. I'm actually between there and Sida (see-dah), the next town east of Bua Yai and near the highway between Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat) and Kohn Kaen. I'm spending the next few nights in a tiny village called Ko Phet, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only westerner for miles and miles (except for the homestay owner, and he doesn't count).

Let me tell you how I got here - that in itself is a story! This afternoon, I hopped on a bus from Bangkok, from the north bus station, Moh Chit Mai. The very "helpful" fellow who beckoned me over as I walked into the station sold me a ticket to Sida for a mere 154 Baht...or so I thought. As it turned out, that bus only went to Khorat, but he didn't tell me that, even though I asked again and again! ("Sida? Goes to Sida, yes?")

Isn't my room NICE?? I was expecting something a little more rustic! I mean, this is northeast Thailand, after all...
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I also asked how many stops it would make, and he mentioned three, but those were only the "real" stops! We actually stopped about a hundred times at every random point imaginable, picking up people in an effort to fill the bus! Every time we made a stop, the bus would honk a bunch of times, pull over, and then a handful of people would get on or off. Sometimes they had to cross an access road or a muddy median bridged by a wooden plank just to get to the bus! I never could quite figure out what designated some of those places as bus stops...

The bathroom and bedroom have helpful little notes like this scattered around the walls and furniture. I think it gives it a real down-home feel.
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The road to Khorat took us through Khao Yai National Park, which was just lovely. At one point, I saw a huge white Buddha on the side of a mountain. As it turns out, it's actually a retreat center for Boy Scouts (!!), but it's also where the Buddhists hid a lot of their gold when the British came through years ago. The sunset tonight was just spectacular, like a window into heaven! For a bit, we were driving past a big lake, and with the hot pink sky reflecting into the water, it was even more beautiful! It literally brought me to tears. (I'm such a sap - just like my dad...)

This is the Lamai Homestay. I'll be staying here for a few nights while I get a taste of village life!
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When we arrived in Khorat at last, I was transferred to a new bus that would take me the rest of the way to Sida, but it wasn't leaving for another hour, so I grabbed a bite to eat at the food court nearby. As I walked across the parking lot, plenty of guys wanted to sell me a ticket somewhere - "Where going? Where going?" I was relieved to already have a bus ride somewhere!

As we pulled out of the station, I discovered that I had to pay for this bus as well, which shouldn't have surprised me. My impression, however, had been that this was the second half of my trip from Bangkok. *sigh* Well, the bus from Khorat to Sida cost me another 50 Baht. (I shouldn't fuss over it - that's less than $2.) So don't be fooled - be prepared to transfer buses in Khorat if you're going from Bangkok toward Kohn Kaen!

This gardening store was on the side of the highway as we traveled through Khao Yai National Park. In the background, you can see the fields stretching out toward the horizon.
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Jimmy, the homestay owner and the only westerner around these parts, met me in Sida, along with his wife, Lamai, and his daughter, Lizzie. He put my things in his pickup truck, and we drove to the village, which was just a short distance away. Lamai, a young Thai woman (he's around 50; she's around 30), had prepared a big dinner for me, and I immediately regretted eating in Khorat! I barely finished half of it!

After dinner, Jimmy and I stayed out on the front porch, and he told me many of the things he's experienced here in the village and some of the unique ways of life here. I think the most "unique" thing he told me about was the way they make this fermented fish sauce they like to put on their rice. They catch these little fish, throw them in a stone jar with salt (and maybe something else, but I can't remember now), and then let it sit for up to three years!!

Sometimes they seal it right away, but sometimes they leave it open and let flies lay eggs in there so there's maggots in the mix too! BLEAHH!! After a year or two, it all decomposes, little by little, and soon it's no longer fish-like but sauce-like.

Jimmy said he's eaten a lot of "interesting" things - fried scorpions, beetles from under cow patties, mushrooms from under the rice stacks, frogs (there's plenty of those to avoid running over at night!) - but he said he can't eat the fish sauce. Apparently it's really smelly (yes, oddly enough, rotting fish smells bad). Now, I'm not a picky eater; Mom taught me to like lots of foods from all over the world. But I'm pretty sure I would have to turn down the fermented fish sauce. Just a hunch...