nakhon phanom

im wrapping up my time here in Thailand and have had the fortune of going on two work-related visits to Sa Kaeo (near the Thai-Cambodian border) and am currently writing from Nakhon Phanom (near the Thai-Laos border). the visits have been super short (one night, two days max) but useful; i've gotten to tour the labs and find out more information re: the Binax project i'm working on (see previous posts). while touring the lab at Nakhon Phanom provincial hospital today (~350 beds), it occurred to me that i've never toured the lab at UMHS or any US-based hospital. perhaps this is something i'll look into when i'm back on my path/ID elective at Michigan.

Nakhon Phanom is a border town and very chill. after we arrived at the airport around 5:30 pm yesterday, we took an hour-long 'boat cruise' in the Mekong River, complete with karaoke and fried pork balls. it was striking to compare the two riverbanks, with the Thai side being much more developed than the Lao side. from the river, you can see many temples (wats) and also this huge church that runs a school (on the Thai side). the lao side is mostly small huts and also a small fisherie where it seems that fish swim in (but then can't swim out). at the big pier on the lao side, i was notified that there was a Lao Duty-Free store which primarily sells liquor. Thai and Lao people can freely cross the border but can't spend the night (same as Cambodia, and they can only stay in the province bordering the country of origin).

after the cruise, we ate dinner at this pub/restaurant named O-HI-O with live music (basically two dudes with guitars singing cheesy thai songs - common throughout the North, and also Chiang Mai). the local staff we were with were amused that i was actually born in Ohio. across the street, this huge long tent was set up with a stage for a wedding. it appeared as if some sort of talent show was going on, but i was informed that was part of the wedding, which got me to thinking that it would be amusing (albeit somewhat painful) if our weddings were talent shows as well.

after dinner, we got coffee at this cute coffee house and i got a nighttime tour of the 'city' which included a stop at the movie theater (which was closed for the night) - a movie is 40 baht (a little more than a dollar) and there are two screens. although i love bangkok, i could see why it would be appealing to live in the provinces, and appreciate the slower pace of life here.

this afternoon, i'm going to visit a famous temple in the area (wat that phanom) and also Ho Chi Minh's house in this Vietnamese farming community here. who knew that Ho Chi Minh spent years hiding as a farmer underground on the Thai-Laos border while plotting Vietnam's independence from France? apparently, the original wooden hut was eaten by termites, but they've rebuilt it. border history is really fascinating!

ok, off to lunch now. more soon!