Isaan Escape

This weekend I ran away from home. I packed a bag and headed to the Northern/Northeastern bus terminal in Bangkok with only a faint idea of where I would end up and a backpack on my shoulders. I bought an overnight ticket and arrived in Ubon Ratchathani the next morning, where I met up with fellow Fulbrighter Katie. She showed me around the rural province she has called home for the past three months. We spent the first day on a farm, eating ripe starfruit straight from the tree and snacking on sticky rice from a handwoven basket. Just before lunch, we were joined by an elderly couple, who had previously done mission work in Thailand for the Mormon Church. While the husband fished (to the point of wastefulness!), the wife told me her life story... everything from her daughter's hysterectomy to the floor plan of her timeshare in Cancun to her thoughts on the fate of Russian orphans.

On Sunday, Jessica (a Fulbrighter teaching in nearby Sisaket) joined us for the day. We went fabric shopping for silk and watched women weave beautiful cotton at the tedious rate of a meter a day. We went to the main attraction of Ubon- a large golden candle in the middle of a park honoring the King. Then we went to a wat tucked away in a peaceful forest. After dinner together, we had to part ways at the sound of duty calling; we each had morning classes in our respective provinces. Though the weekend was too short, I had a marvelous time seeing two friends and another (wonderfully tranquil) side of Thailand.