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Sang Khom isn't so much a town as a small street. But it is big
enough to have at least two guest houses. One of them had been
recommended to me by Theo at the Mut Mee, and as luck would have it I
was put off the bus right outside it. There were maybe half a dozen
huts at this guest house, but the only other occupants were a Kiwi and
his Thai wife on their honeymoon.
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The bungalows at Song Khai
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My hut had a hammock outside
and that is where I spent the afternoon, reading and listening to
music with the Mekong making a pleasing backdrop. Perfect.
Pleasant though it was for one day, I figured it would get very
boring very quickly, and anyway I needed to head towards Laos, so I
left the next morning. I took another cramped bus to Loei, or at
least so I assumed. Instead, a couple of hours into the journey I was
told to get off, and get on a songetheuw (a covered truck with two
benches in the back, along the sides). This was actually more
comfortable than the bus.
I took an instant dislike to Loei (it is a boring industrial town),
so I booked a ticket on the night bus to Chiang Mai and went for some
food and drink. The drink was a big mistake. I don't normally get car
sick, but this time I did. I had to fight really hard to make sure
that I didn't physically puke. One of the side effects of this was
that after the feeling had subsided, I was so tired I slept quite
well.
I really liked Chiang Mai last time I was here, and I enjoyed it
again this time. I only stayed for two days and for one of those I
went on a cookery course. Chiang Mai is a great place to come for
courses.
If you want to buy things, then Bangkok is your place, but if
you want to by experiences then go to Chiang Mai. Every other shop
seems to be advertising treks or cookery courses or massage courses or
meditation courses or some combination. There's more passive stuff as
well, where you can get on a minibus and get a guided tour of the
golden triangle or other outlying area. Of course there's a big market
here as well in the evenings, so you can stock up on material
positions as well.
I have to say that the cookery class wasn't great. On the plus side
we cooked five or six different dishes, and some of them tasted like
real thai food. On the down side we seemed to spend far too much time
not doing very much. We were each presented with a cookery book, which
I've been making use of, and discovering the limitations of, since I
returned.
I got a bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong. On the way we stopped
for a toilet and food break and I had an ice cream. However, this was
from a tub rather than individually wrapped.
Chiang Khong was quiet, but friendly, in some ways similar to Nong
Khai. I quickly sorted out my Laos visa, which would be ready by
Monday (this was Saturday). I was staying at a guest house run by a
blues fanatic. Some of what he played was good, some was
awful.
Fortunately he never had a Clapton night. I had a beer in his
restaurant and suddenly felt really ill. In hindsight I reckon it was
probably the ice cream, but at the time all I could think about was
lying down. So I went straight to bed, and slept somewhat feverishly
for more than 12 hours. During the night I felt I was burning up, but
by the morning this had subsided. I never threw up, though it felt
like I might.
The next morning I felt a bit better, so I decided to
have something to eat and see if that helped. I went to a guest house
down the road, run by Mr Wat. The Rough
Guide mentions this guest house and describes Mr Wat as really
friendly and helpful. I had some yogurt with fruit and felt no
better. I was worried that I might have malaria and wanted to get it
sorted before I went into Laos, so I asked Mr Wat if there was a
hospital in the area. He told me there was, a couple of miles out of
town. I asked him if I would be able to get a tuk tuk there, and he
then asked me if I would like to use his bicycle, as a tuk tuk would
be expensive. Several guest houses were hiring fairly dilapidated
bikes, and I assumed he was offering one of those. I took him up on
his offer, and was surprised when he brought out a good quality
mountain bike, obviously his private machine. I offered him a deposit
for it, but he wouldn't hear of it. "No, you're ill" was all he would
say.
I cycled to the hospital, waited for a while and then was seen by a
nurse, as there were no doctors working on the weekend. She checked my
temperature (now normal), heart rate (normal), blood pressure (normal)
and my throat (normal).
She told me that she thought it was food
poisoning, but if I was still ill the next day I should come back the
following day and see a doctor who could do a proper test for
malaria. She prescribed some pills for food poisoning and sent me to
the pharmacist. The whole lot cost me less than 5 Swiss francs. I was
well impressed.
So I cycled back and returned the bike. I offered to pay Mr Wat for
it's use, but he wasn't having it. So instead I spent most of the day
in his guest house, drinking water and coffee and eating something
that wasn't too challenging.
Mr Wat easily gets my vote for the nicest Thai I met on my trip. A
truly wonderful person. I just wish I could remember the name of his
guest house.
The next morning I felt better, though not 100%, so I decided to go
to Laos anyway.
© Copyright Chris Rouch. 1999-2008. Comments, complaints, abuse and beers to
chris_at_rouchrumble_dot_org Last modified on 22nd December 2007 3:31 PM EST ![[Back to photos]](/furniture/back.png)
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Ko Samui
