21-day South-Asia trip (2007)

January 27th

Wake up in Panorama Hotel. $13

Bus to Maesariang 6am. $3

I was so excited to be going to my child-hood home-town I didn't notice the quality of bus I hired. It is the "orange bus", the more-or-less public transit for 3 hours. A measuring tape from seat back to knee-front will probably measure no more than two and a half feet. Definitely made for smaller Thai people, not a White Giant like me from the Northern Hinterlands, an exotic species of locale they call in local lore "Kanadaa". Thankyou, kaap.

Arrive in Maesariang. Get lodgings just off scenic river-front. Rent a 100 CC motorcycle for 24 hours: $7 Definitely worth it if you want to tour the town and immediately surrounding environs.

I drove up and down the streets, up to the high end of town, zipped down to the old airport (no longer in operation, but airstrip is still intact). Past the old military HQ - still there; wonder if the bear is still there?

Snack: authentic small-town Thailand kwiteau; served with a wye from the farmers wife.

Afternoon indulgence: Singha Beer, so good on a warm and sunny day

Dinner: fried chicken on a stick, liver on a stick, pork on a stick, bags of yummy sticky rice

The Girls of the Sawasdee were having dinner so I joined them. They were having the food style of their home-province; Issan. Steamed whole fish, steamed vegetagles. Very nice.

Mixed it up with travellers and locals. Without a doubt my best day during the 21-day adventure. Tried the Maesariang rice-whiskey with a lawyer from Singapore named Terence Tan. An interesting chap, he drove up from Sing. in his Austin Mini. Next year we'll have to do the MaeHongson Loop in 1000CC bikes eh Terence?

Happy Bar: rounding out the night at the local kids dance-hall. Thai kids dance around their tables, not on a dance floor. I bought some of the girls beer. They were pretty happy about that. For me, I was 17 and a half again for a few minutes.

Back at the Sawasdee around 1am, there was a staff party next door, so I joined in having a night-cap and a midnight-snack of delicious fried pork made by a gay guy who asked me to bring him back a nice guy from Kanadaa next time I swung 'round. Thankyou kaap.