Picture Courtesy John Sweet

This week saw yet another Veterans day pass with the observance by most nations of those brave men and women who have served their countries with honor and in some cases made the most noble of sacrifices by giving their lives for their countries.

Everyone knows that Thailand played a role in the American war with Vietnam but most have only seen that role as one of R&R provided for American Military away from the front lines. Others may know that Thailand filled a much more needed role to the American military.

Today I received an E-mail from John Sweet about a site I might be interested in because it deals with the history of Nakhon Phanom and some of those brave individuals I mentioned before. The link he sent me was to Nakhon Phanom During the Secret War 1962-1975 which tells the story much better than I ever could.

I had known that the American military ran operations out of North East Thailand but I didn’t know to what extent. John’s web site is filled with information and pictures concerning Nakhon Phanom’s role in the war and I would think he would know exactly what he is talking about since he served there between 1969-1970.

You will also find a link from John’s site to The Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood which John and almost 500 other servicemen are a part of. This brotherhood provides humanitarian assistance throughout Issan and Laos. This says so much about the honor and integrity of those who have served and continue to give of themselves.

John, Thank you for sharing your site and for the service you and all the other American servicemen and women have given to your country, and continue to give though humanitarian efforts.

John Sweet

TUOC – 1987th Comm NKP 69-70

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While working on the family farm in Nakhon Phanom this past April I put in more than my fair share of sweat equity getting the fields ready for the upcoming rice season. Most of the family fields are located just behind the house so we didn’t have far to go with our tractor loads of dung we had mucked from the stables.

One thing kept bothering me though, a tree right in the middle of the family fields. You don’t see many large trees still standing in the rice fields but now and again you’ll see one lone tree defying the odds. At first I thought I had it all figured out, with the sun as strong as it was and me sweating my ass off and looking for any patch of shade I could find that could be the only answer. Then I realized that couldn’t be the answer. There were small huts and thatch roofed decks spotted around the fields for just that purpose.

My last day on the farm was all about relaxing and hanging out with the family and I spent a good part of that day sitting under that tree enjoying it’s shade. Pookie and her Aunt joined me, although they didn’t seem to understand the relaxing part because they were digging in the dirt around the tree. Next think I know they are pulling up what could only be described as hard black balls and throwing them into a straw hat. I swear to Buddha I thought they were collecting some sort of dung.

Before I knew it I was digging around in the dirt and finding similar hard black balls and wondering just what the hell I was up to. Before long we had a hat full and were heading back to the house to relax in the shade there and eye up our curious find. Pookie disappeared into the house only to appear a few minutes later with a very wicked looking knife and a very determined look on he face.

After I realized she wasn’t coming for me but the hard black balls I settled down and watched as she started to split them in half with her wicked knife and feed me the treasure buried inside. As soon as I saw the first ball split open all my questions were answered. They were almonds and that big ass tree was an almond tree. I had missed the blooming of the tree earlier in the year and the harvest of it’s nuts. The nuts fall off the tree at will sometimes and bury themselves in the dirt. So now and again a treat can be had on a hot spring day.

I had never seen an almond in it’s shell before and the only almond trees I have ever seen were very small and ornate looking. The nut grows as the tree blooms and looks very similar to a small green peach. When the peach like shell hardens and turns a deep brown or black the almonds are ready to harvest.

I have to say relaxing under the tree was nice but relaxing under the house while being hand fed the fruits of that tree was priceless. And some of us relaxed more than others.

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Martyn over at Beyond the Mango Juice had a great post the other day,   Off Road in Thailand, that really struck a note with me. Rural Thailand is really an amazing place if you’re in the right frame of mind and getting lost on the back roads of rural Thailand can be an almost zen like experience.

My last trip I helped out with the family rice fields and I learned a lot about what the rural Thai families do to sustain themselves. Most of the family fields are just behind their house but they own a few fields about 4 miles away so that meant taking to the open road on the trusty tractor. I had my camera with me so I decided to take some ” on the road” pictures as we finished hauling our last few loads of manure.

I never really thought about posting these pictures until Martyn’s post reminded me just how much I missed being in Nakhon Phanom and how beautiful the back roads can be. So, Martyn these photo’s are dedicated to you. I call this gallery ” Rural Thailand as viewed from a tractor by a falang”

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I first found out about this annual festival held in Nakhon Phanom last year through a series of cryptic e-mails my girlfriend had sent with pictures of beautiful illuminated boats attached. I say cryptic but the reality of the situation was that she couldn’t explain about the festival in English but she hoped I could figure it out.

It took a while but I finally solved the puzzle and the reward was the Illuminated Boat Procession Festival.  The Festival,  as well as other festivals in the region,  marks the end of Buddhist Lent. The Thai’s believe that Buddha spent the last three months, or Buddhist lent,  in heaven preaching to his mother.The illuminated boat festival is the Thai way of paying homage to Buddha’s return.

The once ancient festival originally included very small boats made of banana tree trunks or bamboo that were illuminated with candles and lanterns and decorated with many lit joss sticks before they were launched into the Mekong. Today the boats are much more extravagant and the ancient rite has turned into a competition as well.

Now every year invitations are sent out to the various temples, organizations and citizens to take part in the beautiful competition. This year the illuminated boat festival,  which takes place in Nakhon Phanom,  begins on September 29th and will go through October 15th with many boats and people taking part. As well as the beautifully illuminated boats the festival also includes nightly fireworks.

The Mekong at night as seen from Nakhon Phanom is a beautiful sight in and of itself,  the illuminated boat festival will only make it more spectacular and definitely a must see.

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I had totally forgotten about this little English school in Nakhon Phanom until I ran across some pictures while I was editing.  The day I took this picture I was just wandering through town enjoying it’s beauty, and if nothing else Nakhon Phanom is very beautiful. When I saw this school I thought about opening the door as I passed and saying hello which is something I would have never done back home or even thought about doing.

So, I did it. The funny thing is that I didn’t get a chance to say hello before the children all screamed hello at me. I think they spotted me earlier and were planning a hello attack of their own. Everyone laughed and it really made my day. I think it made their day as well.

seeing all their excited faces as they explore a new language made me think about myself as I explore a new language and a new land. It’s easy to get lost in our day to day lives and reminders like this bring me back to the realization that there is much more to life than the hustle and bustle of our daily lives.

I hope those kids keep that sense of excitement about their learning as much as I hope I never lose my sense of excitement about exploring the world around me.

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When you walk up the stairs of the family home in Nakhon Phanom you’ll see the above object hanging  above your head to the left just before the door. It’s made of Bamboo and has a rectangular slot cut into it. in which you will find a small stick with a string tied to it.  Most of you should be able to figure this one out.

Well, I told you guys it was a pretty easy one and all of the answers were correct. It is indeed a door bell of sorts but it’s also used to call the kids in for dinner. Malcom from Retired in Thailand and Loving it was first in with a correct answer and he won the grand prize knowing he was the first correct answer. If you haven’t been to Malcolms blog do check it out as he writes some great tales about his life in Thailand and posts some beautiful photos to go along with the great stories.

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The road along the Mekong in Nakhon Phanom proper is where you will find most if not all of the government offices and about the midway point of the Mekong prominade you will see a long line of trucks waiting at the Port house for the ferry across to Laos.

Trade between Laos and Thailand is very high and the ferry across the Mekong is evidence of that. The Port operates 6 days a week from sun up till sundown. Most days there at least three ferries in operation taking anywhere between 5-10 trucks and cars each trip.

Now, you might think this is a great way to go over and explore Laos as I did but the crossing can be complicated for the falang. Although the Nakhon Phanom Immigration offices are directly across the street from the customs house there is no immigration checkpoints on either the Thailand or Laos side. The closest route across the border to Laos that has an immigration checkpoint is in Mukdahan via the Friendship 2 bridge.

Even though there isn’t an immigration checkpoint at the ferry dock in Nakhon Phanom all is not lost if you are planning on living or spending a considerable amount of time here. You can apply for a crossing permit through the immigration office that, if granted, will allow you to cross the Mekong into Laos via the ferry. From what I understand the permit can take up to three months to obtain because of the paperwork involved. No only does Thailand have to approve the application but it then needs to be sent to Laos for their approval.

I have heard differing prices on the application for permit but 3000 baht seems to be the number that comes up the most.

So, if you are considering using Nakhon Phanom for a visa run you may want to re-think your plans and head across to Laos from Mukdahan, which is only 20 minutes away,  where there are immigration checkpoints. Apparently some people got the information that they could use the ferry because while I was in Nakhon Phanom last time I saw a few falang trying their best only to be turned away.

Tomorrow I’ll write more about the Immigration office in Nakhon Phanom as it was without a doubt one of the easiest and fastest immigration experiences I have had while in Thailand.

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As I said in an earlier post, Pookie’s family splits their time between 2 houses. One in Mukdahan province and the other in Nakhon Phanom. The house in Mukdahan is owned by pookies parents and has no farm land attached to it. The house in Nakhon Phanom is Pookie’s Aunts house that has been handed down through the family and has about 4 acres of farm land attached.

Normally the family would be shuttling back and forth during the planting and harvest seasons to help out in the fields but over the past year they have been spending an increasing amount of time in Nakhon Phanom. Unfortunately Pookie’s father decided it was time to have a girlfriend and mama is none to happy about that. Plans have been made to make the move to Nakhon Phanom permanent. To this end the house in Mukdahan will be getting a makeover. The bottom of the traditional Thai house which is concrete will remain but the top of the house which is made of teak will be removed and carted to Nakhon Phanom where it will be re-built.  Endings are messy no matter what culture you are from.

For now the family house in Nakhon Phanom can accomodate everyone quite well. It’s a large house built of teak in the traditional Thai manner. Storage area’s and sitting area’s under the house and the main living quarters above.  The living area has a bathroom, kitchen, 2 private bedrooms and a modest living area. The floors are amazingly beautiful teak that the pictures just don’t do justice. Though beautiful they are also rather on the thin side so any falang of decent size, such as myself, has to walk slowly and softly while upstairs.

The house is kept very nice and the only clutter is all the stuff we brought with us to Nakhon Phanom …and a considerable amount of clutter was brought. Aside from the various pillows and blankets we also had to load up the karaoke system and the stereo. Most everything in the house was made by the family and they are very proud of that fact as they should be. And if there is any question on which shirt color they side with one only needs to look at the walls to see Thaksin’s photo’s in a place of honor next to the King and Queen.

Although Nakhon Phanom seems to be home for now there is still shuttling between Nakhon Phanom and Mukdahan due to the fact that little brother still has school in Mukdahan and he needs to be checked on to make sure he actually goes.  Hopefully the pictures bring out the real beauty of the family house in Nakhon Phanom even if it doesn’t quite measure up toi western standards.

I’ve had several readers ask me in the past few weeks why I talk about the family house in Mukdahan one day and the family house in Nakhon Phanom the next. I guess I left out a few details so this should clear that up until next time when it’s changed again…this is Thailand we are talking about

Once I get things sorted I’ll post a large galley of all the Traditional house and farm pics I have.

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