It doesn't take long to fall for the Mekong

Written by Gaelle Berthelot

Thursday, 23 November 2006

It's five o'clock in the afternoon in Nong Khai, a city about the size of Rockhampton and located in Northeastern Thailand. The harshest heat of the day has gone and a nice breeze, while walking along the Mekong River, makes the excursion quite enjoyable.

Wandering along the river, I see at least three aerobics classes where groups of about 20 women do Step and follow high-speed dance music beat on the sidewalk. Passerby also include joggers, and here and there you can watch a game of Takraw* as nets are put up along the way. 5 o'clock is definitely exercise time in Nong Khai.

A little further, following the low stone-wall, resteraunts are setting up tables outside and putting up lampions. Once it gets dark, the simple lighting of the colourful paper made lamps sets a really warm and pleasing mood. No need for fancy adornment to woo potential customers, as cheap picnic metal tables and plastic tools are sufficient when the resteraunts looks over the Mekong River.

The atmosphere is great but the food is even better. The Thai Sukiyaki is a delectable meal: a kind of steamboat with the broth contained in a heavy ceramic bowl and kept hot by the container underneath full of braise. You can put thinly sliced beef/pork or shrimps along with rice noodles/cabbage/basil/cilantro/garlic and lime. Different sauces, such as fish and soy sauces complete the taste. Lit it simmer for a few minutes and then everything is ready to be picked up with chopsticks. This warm and tasty meal seems the perfect complement to the riverside atmosphere and, looking around, it is great to witness groups of friends and family enjoying themselves and casually picking pieces of food out of the hot pot.

What I like best is how uncomplicated the whole process is so to enable such an enjoyable experience. Simple, yet delicious food, and no need for fancy restaurant decor or the undertaking of major development projects: it just needs a river and the willingness of the kitchen and the family outside. It's the community taking ownership of its surroundings!

Earlier the same day...

Sipping a cold local beer on a hot afternoon in a river front restaurant is another way to enjoy the natural appeal of Nong Khai after a walk at the nearby market. People come and go, sit down and relax and conversations extend. As I am writing these lines, I am overlooking the Mekong River and by the same act looking at the other bank that is Laos.

I've crossed several borders, but the thought that another country lies so close and is only separated by a stream inspires some kind of mysterious appeal. I like not only the fact that Laos is so close, but mostly that the riverbank on the Thai side is built so to enable me to slowly enjoy this aspect. from my side, I have time to build up and imagine what Laos looks like, how its people are, what they do; and even though the other side actually looks quite similar to my own, my imagination makes it almost more appealing than the reality. Or perhaps not... as I will discover in a couple of days when I cross the Friendship Bridge from Nong Khai to Vientiane.

*It is similar to volleyball with a net. But players cannot touch the ball with the hands but only with the head and feet or any other part of the body and the ball is made of osier. (http://www.thaiworldview.com/sport/sport2.htm)