Khon Kaen

In November we went to the heart of Isaan country: Khon Kaen. Isaan is one of the poorest regions of Thailand and typically where many of the bargirls and Bangkok taxi drivers come from. It's the home of spicy food and wonderful country music.

We stayed at the five star Sofitel because it was ridiculously cheap - something like £20 a night. Khon Kaen itself is quite a dusty town with very straight streets and low buildings (punctuated by the odd five star hotel that is), which reminded me a little of a cowboy western town.

There are some beautiful temples. The one below - Wat Nong Wang Muang (I think!) is a pyramid of layers which you can climb up higher and higher.



It's next to a serene lake. Fringing the lake are bars and restaurants and lake-side stalls where you can paint your own plaster models (hello kitty etc.) and partake in tasty street food.




Khon Kaen also has some night markets. Again these are great grazing grounds. We had Islamic food from a nice couple who looked more Pakistani than Thai. Saffron rice, fantastic chicken drumsticks and a nice onion pancake earnestly fried by their little boy.



The best grilled chicken in town is reputed to be Kay Yang Rabiap. Yum. It's closed in the evenings though - we didn't know that the first time we went. So we made sure the other two times were at lunchtime. Below is grilled chicken, som tam (Khon Kaen style - normal som tam is less intense), and a variety of herbs.



So to sum up, Khon Kaen was pleasant. Nice food, markets, lakes and temples. Nice hotel.

Koh Kret

A couple of months ago (see how far behind I am?), Fatt and I toddled off to Koh Kret, otherwise known as (Mon) Pottery Island. On the map, it's not too far from Bangkok, but it was quite exhausting getting there and we went all the way by taxi to the nearest pier! It's something about the heat of the day outside, the relentless stop start of traffic, the sheer boredom!

Anyhow, a tiny boat ride later, we were immediately disembarking at a temple with foodstall after foodstall. Speciality? Fried flowers. Look how beautiful they are:




Not bad tasting either, sort of fried bitter batter. We wandered along little lanes, contentedly munching our fried flowers and fried snacks, followed by the odd stray dog who were canny enough to spot a softie (Fatt) a mile away. There were stalls of ceramics - some very beautiful: delicate pots and candleholders with intricate carving. Other more factory commercial stuff. There was the usual tattle of hippy clothing and incense sticks. That's the worry apparently: Koh Kret is becoming less a centre for Mon pottery and more a centre for the crap tourist tat.

I'm not sure they need to worry that much - there was still plenty of pottery going on:


and a nice demo organised by OTOP - which was quite instructive. The mud is mushed first by water buffalo (here not really doing much mushing):



and then simply thrown direct (straw'n'all) on to the potter's wheel and moulded almost instantly into shape, with matching lids! When I think how tortourous my kneeding is - how inadequate and inept, when all I need to do is get some of this local mushy stuff and voila! Pottery mei, not bkkmei.




One of the highlights of the trip was stopping off at what can only be described as a saloon bar, where you can sit up at the window and down a few heartening cups of... coconut dessert. Yum yum. The owner would gently strum his guitar until a new punter came along for feeding. It was a blissful moment.

OK, one more pic - I really like the one below which was a happy coincidence of kids in bright t-shirts.

Korea: Day 7 & 8 - Back to Seoul

I've been soooo bad with the blogging. I have my reasons - it'll be revealed evantually. But may as well finish Korea up in a couple of words.

We went back to Seoul and the highlight for me was most definitely going to the War Memorial Museum. The museum focuses on the Korean war. I hate war - and how much more bitter, how much more cutting it must be to fight your own countrymen in a civil war. Much of the fighting was acutally done between American and Chinese soldiers. The 38th parallel went south, then north, then back south practically back to where it was in the first place, and at the cost of millions of lives.

The statue of Brothers outside is quite moving (I've recently become addicted to Band of Brothers). It depicts a strong, hefty South Korean soldier clutching at his collapsing, weaker North Korean 'brother' soldier. Despite it's obvious propaganda function, I found it difficult to look away.



For the rest of the trip, it rained and we got sucked into a very touristy dinner at Korea House - not recommended.

It's a pity about that last bit because Korea was an absolutely fascinating experience - the food was awesome, the people were friendly, boisterous, proud and spoke their mind, the history and culture was interesting, the social life was fun. Would love to go back...