Nong Kai, Sunsets and the Mighty Mekong

When we arrived in the boarder town of Nong Kai, the first thing on our minds was internet. I needed to register for university courses, and Megan's Gmail inbox list was overwhelming. After we took care of the boring stuff, we walk the couple of blocks to the river's edge. The Mekong river is one of the main water sources for much of China as well as Southeast Asia. The river seems much wider than the Mississippi and has a very strong current. Nog Kai is beautifully set up on an elevated place with a long boardwalk the extends for miles. On one side is the always-beautiful view of the river, and the other, shops, stores, Wats, and other thing. We found a very pleasant guesthouse just around the corner from the river. The owner was notably goofy in his mannerisms. We enjoyed a pleasant walk by the river after sunset. As we looked out over the river, with Laos in the distance, the most unexpected thing happened; a Thai-style crew boat came busting down the river. It was just visible in the darkness; the rowers counting as the coach chirped orders.

Many of the restaurants that we on the boardwalk would set up dining across the street nearer to the river. Some of them were simply low wooden tables with four straw mats. We decided to share a pot of soup at one of these. They brought us a clay pot with hot coals in it. The big pot of broth was set on top of it and a large basket of greens to add. We chose some raw meat and sat down to enjoy form people watching and conversation. It was fun to be able to add individual bites to the always-hot broth. There was a large family celebrating a birthday next to us.

The next morning, we enjoyed some complimentary biked. After walking so much, it feels so liberating to ride. I remember feeling a bit of nostalgia for my good ole Peugeot city bike(and unfortunately closer to being used single-speed winter mountain bike) back in Marquette.

We came back and I decided to do a bit of reading. Megan left with her orange sunglasses and guitar. After I had finished reading, I went to look for her. Almost instinctively, I found her playing guitar in the very middle of the enormous city market. She had a sign written in Thai and a box full of Baht! I was so excited for her! I hid and watched her for some time then left. I really didn't want her to see me because I think that it would have changed it for her. Later, when she arrived home, I played dumb, only to see her expression as she told me what happened. She is officially a performer!

The next day I woke up before sunrise. I was amazed at how many people exercised on the boardwalk. There was also a public aerobics session that was quite entertaining to see. Later we left for the border.

Corey