In the village

Yesterday I got to reexperience some of the delights of Thai folk. They love to eat, and being invited to take a shower is de rigeur in the tropics. Jamlong's nephew, who teaches Science at the Ubon teachers college, collected me from my tranquil retreat and we picked up J and his brother Kovit - who'd just flown in from Bkk - and headed for a lunch of Kanome Chine (rice noodle bundles about the size of a mandarine) with various sauces and fresh basil and other veggies.

The nephew, Jo, took us by the coffee shop he is building at the college. Number nine, is the name - nine being a lucky number. The college administration has changed this year and he's hopeful the new admin will continue to allow his entrepreneur endeavor; hence the need for luck ;-)
We hadn't driven 2 km before we stopped at a roadside stand selling one of Isaan's best winter snacks. Steamed sticky rice in bamboo. Rice and coconut milk are poured in bamboo sections and roasted.



These are the empty sections and other snacks we picked up along the way home. We also had to stop for tea and coffee and the market of course.
Dinner was at the temple in Kovit's village. Thousands dressed in all white had come to make merit and meditate all night with the famous Abbot. It was also a fund raiser for a new building at the wat (temple). Thousands of blessed strings connected everyone and everything, they even stretched as far as Kovit's house a block away.


hundreds of papaya became somtam for the masses. It was part carnival, part blessing, and part community gathering. People came from other states to participate. I wasn't one of those staying up all night to meditate and pray, but we heard it all over the loud speakers from 4 km away.

-On the road with Kathryn

Location:Trakhan Muu 11