Apr
25
A Trip to Phi Mai
April 25, 2007 |
Strings had just been bound around mine and Nans wrists, and her entire family or so it seems was busily making and end to the Song Sam bottle and the beer. Luckily for me I had only slugged down half a can of beer Singha, when Nan told me that auntie, mom and a few others wanted to “go look Phi Mai”.
Departure was immediate. I knew better than to ask how many people would be going. I just went and brushed my teeth, and when I came back, car keys in hand, everyone was loaded up.
I counted about 15 people inside, and on the truck, including myself. Not so bad. So we started fro the 2 hour drive down to Phi Mai. It was still early, so traffic was not so bad. And we soon entered the old Khmer Temple grounds. The entry fee was 40 baht for the Farang, and 20 for the rest of them.
Okay so we wandered around a bit, looked at old stones, admired the Nagas, and the two older ladies went down on their knees and said some prayer things to the Buddha inside the main temple building. Nan made do with a short Wai, while I made a polite nod as I passed by.
Meanwhile the kids where everywhere. There was about 9 of them, aged 6-12. The older kids made a reasonable job of keeping the small ones out of to much trouble. So me and Nan got some time for ourselves. So we wandered around looking at the different buildings and stone murals and it was quite peaceful
On the way out we met another Thai/ Farang couple on their way in. Also with string covered wrists, and a tail of kids and other family members. Me and the farang exchanged knowing grins as we passed each other. Yup, theres a bunch of us out there.
Outside we passed by the vendors and and headed for the nearest food place. Noodle soup and sodas where wolfed down by everyone, me included. The total bill for everyone - 400 baht.
Then we simply loaded everyone into the car to head home again. Since this was the day before Songkran officially started, there where a few kids along the roadside throwing water. Nan was in stitches every time the people in the back, including her mom, got soaked.
We made a stop in Puthaisong to get some food at the market. Live fish, and some veggies. The water throwing had started in earnest here, but we managed to get trough without getting totally soaked.
Then it was back to the village, where Nan cooked up a meal for us consisting of fish, rice and vegetables. All swallowed down with a can of beer. For dessert Nan scooted up a coconut tree again.
The erst of the afternoon we spent dozing off inside the house, while the kids went crazy with water out on the road. Another nice day in Isan was coming to an end.
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Comments
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You really had a great trip. I hope that I get to Thailand this summer, we currently have a passport issue for my stepson. I noticed that Nan is all covered up while you are not. Since we have moved to the USA, my wife has learned how much all of the Farang ladies want to be so tan like her. She does not cover up as much anymore. Keep the story coming. Thanks.
About my covering up thing. I did ask Nan that morning if we were going to somewhere I should wear pants. Her answer was “Up to you” and I just could not be arsed to change.
She did make sure I was all smeared up in industrial strength suntan lotion. She learned that lesson on Koh Samet on our last trip.