After two solid weeks getting back in the teaching grind, we had a long weekend ahead of us finally as it was the Buddha’s Birthday. Which also meant that in many Esan cities it was the ROCKET FESTIVAL! We chose to go to Nong Khai, a city right on the border with Laos (connected to Laos by the Friendship Bridge), about 6 hours Northeast of where we live.
We got on a bus around 7:45 am to make our way to this next unexplored city with a group of 7 and two more on the way later that night. We got to Nong Khai around 3pm and as the bus circled the station it seems a one tuk tuk driver caught site of farongs standing up on the bus and started chasing the bus (to ensure he could get our business first) and before we knew it there were about 10 thai tuk tuk drivers SPRINTING with the bus beside our window and beckoning to us while it took it’s time to circle the station. Hey, at least we got a warm welcome. We piled into a tuk tuk after some negotiating and headed to a guesthouse called Mut Mee that was like a little summer camp compound in the woods and right on the Mekong river. All the houses were cabins, and they were surrounded by wooden tables everywhere, bamboo hammocks, tree swings, and a whole community of shops (massage, bookstore, meditation, art studio, floating restaurant and bar) that lined the path to the guesthouse and belonged to the same compound. Our cabin was rustic but really nice, with a huge mosquito net covering the bed, a front porch, and an outdoor shower with soft stones for the floor. After settling in and grabbing some quick thai food, we rented bicycles from the guesthouse and began our journey to see Kalakaewkoo, Nong Khai’s famous sculpture garden.
This place was said to be one of Thailand’s very bizarre sites to see, built by a man from Laos who was renowned for a like for the underworld (symbolized with snakes in his sculptures) and his sculptures combining images from many different religions. We started our bike route along the Mekong and found out quickly how charming sleepy Nong Khai was. The whole way along the river we rode on a kind of stone boardwalk that was lined with restaurants and bars. It reminded me of a North Carolina beach town, it was really peaceful and quite and with our farang troupe taking over the boardwalk on bikes we got waves and “Hellooo!”’s from all the locals. We rode past some lively markets, and beautiful Chinese temples, before having to cross the highway and then take a long trail through lush green woods. Finally after about 30 minutes we had arrived at the Sculpture Park, and were sure of this with the clear view of a giant 7 headed snake sculpture in the distance towering over the trees which blocked it’s full body from us.
The sculpture park was indeed, truly bizarre. One of the first monuments we saw was of a big elephant being chased by hundreds of dogs barring their teeth. At first sight it just looked like a big dog gang but as we looked closer we saw the dogs were all doing ridiculous things, some had guns and ammo, some were driving motorbikes, others cars, some had liquor bottles, and all seemed to be insanely well endowed, a detail that was not meant to be hidden.
Continuing on there were tons of towering statues of gods, all entirely different, but the king of all the statues was the eerie 7 headed snake figure that we saw over the trees when we first arrived. The body of the snakes coiled into one large base and the snakes heads were huge with long tongues cascading out of each mouth like they were lapping at the wind. We continued on and marveled at the strange art throughout the park, some statues with several faces, many with strange expressions, some even looking like they were starving to the point where their ribs and spines were detailed as bare bones.
Finally before leaving we came upon what was called the “Circle of Life”. We entered by crawling through a large mouth (which we found out later on a diagram that this was the place of conception and us crawling through made us the sperm). The circle was lined with arrows which we were to follow and there was a large outer ring of statues as well as an inner ring, and a centerpiece made of about 8 rows of faces, all different going from different expressions to pure skulls. The statues all marked stages of the circle of life on the inside, kids holding hands, a young couple, marriage, and even continuing onto issues such as adultery which was a enacted with a statue of a man preparing to strike a woman while a mistress cackled joyfully. On the outside circle were different types of people from soldiers, to police, to religious people, and then a happy couple on one statue, followed by the same couple holding hands only as skeletons in the next symbolizing that even love dies. As we came full circle the first statue we saw, was the same as the last, symbolizing that everything is to come full circle, hence the name “Circle of Life”.
The sun was setting so we hopped back on the bikes and pedaled back to our guesthouse to get ready for the night. We strolled along the boardwalk again and found a restaurant that gave us a table on a spacious, and empty, rooftop that was lined with colorful lanterns and lights. As it was our first trip of the semester (and more accurately, we all got a pay advance the day before after not being paid for 2 ½ months), we went all out on the meal, ordering all western dishes like burgers and PIZZA, dishes that are know for being way overpriced in Thailand and usually of disappointing taste.. but these pictures on the menu just looked too good (and actually turned out to be not bad too!). We all got mixed drinks, something we should know our lesson of after 8 months in Thailand, but again the pictures just looked so good, but unfortunately unlike the food all tasted pretty bad. Most people even topped it off with banana splits and sundaes, again true delicacies for where we live in Thailand. After our hours on the roof a torrential downpour started outside and after about an hour waiting we made a very slippery, and soaking 5 minute dash down the boardwalk back to our guesthouse. We realized most everything was closed for the Buddha's birthday, so after hanging out a bit at the big tables we soon all went back to our cabins to get dry and call it a night.
Morning 2 started late and leisurely as we all hung around the guesthouse and took our time getting breakfast there (BAGUETTES.. aaahhh something absolutely delicious for us with no cheese or bread in our diets that you can only find near Laos in Thailand) before catching a ride in the back of the guesthouse owner’s pickup truck to the ROCKET FESTIVAL! After about 20 minutes of driving, half of which was on muddy paths through the woods we finally came upon the giant field full of tents and people celebrating. The rockets.. which I somehow though wouldn’t be a big deal, actually looked like what a bottle rocket would look like.. times 1,000. The people had built 3 giant wooden platforms for the rockets, which were like ladders with an area to strap the mega rockets in.
Our first rocket launch .. for lack of better words, literally scared the shit out of us all and proved these were no measly rockets. The sound of the rocket was deafening and the whole area filled with smoke before they launched straight up to surprisingly high heights. After about 10 rocket launches none of us could still help literally jumping out of our skin and cowering each time a rocket launched while all the Thai people cracked up at us. The scary thing was that it was said that sometimes the rockets didn’t launch and would explore injuring all the people who weren't shy about standing right beside the launching area. There was a giant mud pit for the failed rockets and if something were to happen there definitely wasn’t an ambulance in site or a hospital anywhere moderately close. Leave it to the Thai’s to celebrate their holidays in the most dangerous and unregulated ways possible. The third rocket we saw seemed to NOT want to leave it’s enclosure once it was lit and started to lean backwards. As in, if it kept leaning it would shoot AT the crowd instead. To our releif it finally shot up to the sky leaving us holding on to each other (let it be known clutching boyfriends were hiding BEHIND girlfriends) with our mouths gaping, and hearts beating a hundred miles a minute. After the mini-adrenaline rushes every 3 minutes we decided it was time to take a seat at a big table under the tent to watch the rockets from slightly more of a distance. We all bought ridiculous giant straw hats like all the other Thai’s were wearing to give some shade from the beating sun and settled in to play group games, and order drinks and delicious food (sticky rice, grilled chicken, and Laab, a dish of pork spiced with herbs), while watching the rockets.. SLIGHTLY less startled each time.
After about 5 hours of rocket watching, we all declared we would watch the next round before calling it a day. Of course, our last rocket we saw was the one that decided NOT to leave the stand when it was lit, something we anticipated happening eventually all day. I wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on but all I know is Felix and I were taking a picture with the rocket that was SUPPOSED to be shooting behind us and then next thing everyone is scrambling in every direction (remember, we aren’t that far away from these rockets). When you see Thai people running, that’s when you know it’s serious so in seconds we were running with the hundreds of other people for cover. Luckily, nothing really happened. It was more of a you see one person run the whole crowd panics kind of situation, but the rocket did catch on fire in the stand and had to be put out. Needless to say, after that scare thinking the rocket was going to either explode, or shoot backwards right into our tent, we were ready to let now frail hearts take a break for a day.
We rushed back an had an hour to get clean, after sweating profusely all day in the heat, and prepare for our river cruise dinner! We boarded a river boat right from our guesthouse that served us all delicious Thai food and drinks while we slowly putted along the Mekong while the red sun sank behind the mountains. After the cruise we settled right into the serene surroundings of the guesthouse and grabbed a giant wooden table for all of us to hang out until late into the night.
First weekend trip to Nong Khai with it’s uncanny sculpture garden, serene boardwalk and bicycle paths, the peaceful Mekong, and crazy rocket blasting celebrating left us with a good feeling after the 3 day weekend that this was the first of many great trips to come in the semester.
We got on a bus around 7:45 am to make our way to this next unexplored city with a group of 7 and two more on the way later that night. We got to Nong Khai around 3pm and as the bus circled the station it seems a one tuk tuk driver caught site of farongs standing up on the bus and started chasing the bus (to ensure he could get our business first) and before we knew it there were about 10 thai tuk tuk drivers SPRINTING with the bus beside our window and beckoning to us while it took it’s time to circle the station. Hey, at least we got a warm welcome. We piled into a tuk tuk after some negotiating and headed to a guesthouse called Mut Mee that was like a little summer camp compound in the woods and right on the Mekong river. All the houses were cabins, and they were surrounded by wooden tables everywhere, bamboo hammocks, tree swings, and a whole community of shops (massage, bookstore, meditation, art studio, floating restaurant and bar) that lined the path to the guesthouse and belonged to the same compound. Our cabin was rustic but really nice, with a huge mosquito net covering the bed, a front porch, and an outdoor shower with soft stones for the floor. After settling in and grabbing some quick thai food, we rented bicycles from the guesthouse and began our journey to see Kalakaewkoo, Nong Khai’s famous sculpture garden.
This place was said to be one of Thailand’s very bizarre sites to see, built by a man from Laos who was renowned for a like for the underworld (symbolized with snakes in his sculptures) and his sculptures combining images from many different religions. We started our bike route along the Mekong and found out quickly how charming sleepy Nong Khai was. The whole way along the river we rode on a kind of stone boardwalk that was lined with restaurants and bars. It reminded me of a North Carolina beach town, it was really peaceful and quite and with our farang troupe taking over the boardwalk on bikes we got waves and “Hellooo!”’s from all the locals. We rode past some lively markets, and beautiful Chinese temples, before having to cross the highway and then take a long trail through lush green woods. Finally after about 30 minutes we had arrived at the Sculpture Park, and were sure of this with the clear view of a giant 7 headed snake sculpture in the distance towering over the trees which blocked it’s full body from us.
The sculpture park was indeed, truly bizarre. One of the first monuments we saw was of a big elephant being chased by hundreds of dogs barring their teeth. At first sight it just looked like a big dog gang but as we looked closer we saw the dogs were all doing ridiculous things, some had guns and ammo, some were driving motorbikes, others cars, some had liquor bottles, and all seemed to be insanely well endowed, a detail that was not meant to be hidden.
Continuing on there were tons of towering statues of gods, all entirely different, but the king of all the statues was the eerie 7 headed snake figure that we saw over the trees when we first arrived. The body of the snakes coiled into one large base and the snakes heads were huge with long tongues cascading out of each mouth like they were lapping at the wind. We continued on and marveled at the strange art throughout the park, some statues with several faces, many with strange expressions, some even looking like they were starving to the point where their ribs and spines were detailed as bare bones.
Finally before leaving we came upon what was called the “Circle of Life”. We entered by crawling through a large mouth (which we found out later on a diagram that this was the place of conception and us crawling through made us the sperm). The circle was lined with arrows which we were to follow and there was a large outer ring of statues as well as an inner ring, and a centerpiece made of about 8 rows of faces, all different going from different expressions to pure skulls. The statues all marked stages of the circle of life on the inside, kids holding hands, a young couple, marriage, and even continuing onto issues such as adultery which was a enacted with a statue of a man preparing to strike a woman while a mistress cackled joyfully. On the outside circle were different types of people from soldiers, to police, to religious people, and then a happy couple on one statue, followed by the same couple holding hands only as skeletons in the next symbolizing that even love dies. As we came full circle the first statue we saw, was the same as the last, symbolizing that everything is to come full circle, hence the name “Circle of Life”.
The sun was setting so we hopped back on the bikes and pedaled back to our guesthouse to get ready for the night. We strolled along the boardwalk again and found a restaurant that gave us a table on a spacious, and empty, rooftop that was lined with colorful lanterns and lights. As it was our first trip of the semester (and more accurately, we all got a pay advance the day before after not being paid for 2 ½ months), we went all out on the meal, ordering all western dishes like burgers and PIZZA, dishes that are know for being way overpriced in Thailand and usually of disappointing taste.. but these pictures on the menu just looked too good (and actually turned out to be not bad too!). We all got mixed drinks, something we should know our lesson of after 8 months in Thailand, but again the pictures just looked so good, but unfortunately unlike the food all tasted pretty bad. Most people even topped it off with banana splits and sundaes, again true delicacies for where we live in Thailand. After our hours on the roof a torrential downpour started outside and after about an hour waiting we made a very slippery, and soaking 5 minute dash down the boardwalk back to our guesthouse. We realized most everything was closed for the Buddha's birthday, so after hanging out a bit at the big tables we soon all went back to our cabins to get dry and call it a night.
Morning 2 started late and leisurely as we all hung around the guesthouse and took our time getting breakfast there (BAGUETTES.. aaahhh something absolutely delicious for us with no cheese or bread in our diets that you can only find near Laos in Thailand) before catching a ride in the back of the guesthouse owner’s pickup truck to the ROCKET FESTIVAL! After about 20 minutes of driving, half of which was on muddy paths through the woods we finally came upon the giant field full of tents and people celebrating. The rockets.. which I somehow though wouldn’t be a big deal, actually looked like what a bottle rocket would look like.. times 1,000. The people had built 3 giant wooden platforms for the rockets, which were like ladders with an area to strap the mega rockets in.
Our first rocket launch .. for lack of better words, literally scared the shit out of us all and proved these were no measly rockets. The sound of the rocket was deafening and the whole area filled with smoke before they launched straight up to surprisingly high heights. After about 10 rocket launches none of us could still help literally jumping out of our skin and cowering each time a rocket launched while all the Thai people cracked up at us. The scary thing was that it was said that sometimes the rockets didn’t launch and would explore injuring all the people who weren't shy about standing right beside the launching area. There was a giant mud pit for the failed rockets and if something were to happen there definitely wasn’t an ambulance in site or a hospital anywhere moderately close. Leave it to the Thai’s to celebrate their holidays in the most dangerous and unregulated ways possible. The third rocket we saw seemed to NOT want to leave it’s enclosure once it was lit and started to lean backwards. As in, if it kept leaning it would shoot AT the crowd instead. To our releif it finally shot up to the sky leaving us holding on to each other (let it be known clutching boyfriends were hiding BEHIND girlfriends) with our mouths gaping, and hearts beating a hundred miles a minute. After the mini-adrenaline rushes every 3 minutes we decided it was time to take a seat at a big table under the tent to watch the rockets from slightly more of a distance. We all bought ridiculous giant straw hats like all the other Thai’s were wearing to give some shade from the beating sun and settled in to play group games, and order drinks and delicious food (sticky rice, grilled chicken, and Laab, a dish of pork spiced with herbs), while watching the rockets.. SLIGHTLY less startled each time.
After about 5 hours of rocket watching, we all declared we would watch the next round before calling it a day. Of course, our last rocket we saw was the one that decided NOT to leave the stand when it was lit, something we anticipated happening eventually all day. I wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on but all I know is Felix and I were taking a picture with the rocket that was SUPPOSED to be shooting behind us and then next thing everyone is scrambling in every direction (remember, we aren’t that far away from these rockets). When you see Thai people running, that’s when you know it’s serious so in seconds we were running with the hundreds of other people for cover. Luckily, nothing really happened. It was more of a you see one person run the whole crowd panics kind of situation, but the rocket did catch on fire in the stand and had to be put out. Needless to say, after that scare thinking the rocket was going to either explode, or shoot backwards right into our tent, we were ready to let now frail hearts take a break for a day.
We rushed back an had an hour to get clean, after sweating profusely all day in the heat, and prepare for our river cruise dinner! We boarded a river boat right from our guesthouse that served us all delicious Thai food and drinks while we slowly putted along the Mekong while the red sun sank behind the mountains. After the cruise we settled right into the serene surroundings of the guesthouse and grabbed a giant wooden table for all of us to hang out until late into the night.
First weekend trip to Nong Khai with it’s uncanny sculpture garden, serene boardwalk and bicycle paths, the peaceful Mekong, and crazy rocket blasting celebrating left us with a good feeling after the 3 day weekend that this was the first of many great trips to come in the semester.
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