Tag: Mekong

In My Kitchen, September 2015

Today I went to the market in Nong Khai and bought some treasure for my kitchen back home in Australia. I tried very hard to exercise restraint but some things have found their way into my luggage. I am sure they are weightless.

Ka tip Khao or rice steamer.
Ka tip khao or rice steamer.

I bought this little rice steamer from an 82 year old woman who pointed to her stomach, then to mine, and told me that I needed to exercise, like her. What, am I that fat? Must be the Chang beer or maybe the Pad See Ew. After we mimed our way through this funny episode, she handed me some change, a little local and unasked for discount! I loved this Ka Tip Khao so much, I went and bought another from the Sadet market. The young folk working in the kitchen ware shops laughed hysterically, seeing it draped over my shoulder like a handbag. Why? Another crazy conversation in Thai followed. You have to laugh.

Rice serving bowl.
Rice serving bowl.

I then bought a lovely rice serving bowl for a few dollars. It’s very light weight, and I can always shove my undies inside it for the journey home. One can always justify some purchases! Like these cute little blue cups below, just two for a dollar, which can fit inside the rice bowl.

Cute little tea cups
Cute little tea cups

I found a shop dedicated to painted rooster ware. It’s nice to specialise!

Painted rooster ware pottery.
Painted rooster ware pottery.

I purchased this little saucer for my kitchen for 30 cents and now regret not buying a few more for small gifts.

Irresistable.
irresistable rooster bowl

Thai, and Asian markets in general, always remind me of my intense desire to set up an outside Warung, or small street kitchen, back at home. I’ve had this desire since 1979, the first time I went to Indonesia and the feeling just gets stronger. I gazed longingly at these wok burners on stands, and have about 50 photos of them, all different models. Heaven on a stand. I am sure I can pick one up in Melbourne although at a cost! My Warung will be made in time for this summer.

Big wok burner on a stand.
Big wok burner on a stand.

Then these little beauties caught my eye. They are the heavy metal Darth Vader model of charcoal burners. You may have seen these in the past: they came as cement filled buckets or in terracotta forms. I want one badly.

Charcoal BBQs
Small Charcoal BBQs

It is great to see that Thailand is still making these highly decorated kitsch enamel ware plates. They are not in the same street as the old, collectable Chinese ones, Nancy, but they do wear nicely and gather a bit of patina. I didn’t buy any- now how’s that for discipline!

Still made in Thailand. Enamel ware trays.
Still made in Thailand. Enamel ware trays.

This In My Kitchen post comes directly from Nong Khai, in the North East of Thailand, a small town that stretches along the banks of the Mekong river facing Laos, a parallel universe across the bank. But now I’m in my last few days here, and I long for my home kitchen, and a Pizza would go down very nicely too.

Thanks Celia, the hostess with the mostess, for this enjoyable monthly event.  Head to Fig Jam an Lime Cordial for further kitchen inspiration.

The Mekong and its Ancient Lands.

The Mekong river flows steadily below my veranda, muddy and expansive, treacherous and mesmerizing.  In the warm mists of early morning, a lone fisherman balances on the deck of his long tailed boat, a giant rod held horizontally as nets are cast. He drifts with the fast moving current. 

Morning view of Laos, from Chiang Khan, Thailand.
Morning view across the Mekong to Laos. Chiang Khan, Thailand

The day opens gently in Chiang Khan: the oppressive heat of the afternoon is a distant thought. In the teak guest house next door, the sounds of Thai opera waft across the deck, and a man lounging on a daybed sings along. We are close to a Wat: the early morning prayer and response is suitably soporific. Over the way lies Laos, so close and yet, at this point in the river, so different from Thailand. The village on the opposite bank is enclosed by dense jungle and hills: shanty villages with early morning cooking smoke rising above the trees, and the familiar pointed roof of a Wat just visible in the distance.

Thailand to Laos. view from Chang Khan.
Thailand to Laos. view from Chang Khan.

At this point, crossings to Laos are not possible: there are few signs that the locals bother either, although locals with border passes may do so. International tourists require a visa: from this part of Northern Thailand, obtainable at Nong Khai to Vientiane or further west at Chong Mek to Vang Tao.

I have always yearned to take the great travel adventure of a lifetime, travelling on all forms of river transport down the length of the mighty Mekong through five countries, but I suspect that time has run out.

The busy port at Nong Khai: goods are loaded for a river crossing into Laos.
The busy port at Nong Khai: goods are loaded for a river crossing into Laos.

Ten years ago we spent time on the Mekong in Luang Prabang, one of the finest spots in Laos, and then travelled by long tailed boat for two days up the Nam Ou river, a tributary of the Mekong, then stayed for a week in the village of Mung Ngoi in simple bamboo huts by the river. I hear that life is still the same in that lush, tropical valley, where young men travel up stream in the dark, watching for the glow of tiger eyes along the banks.

Sunset on the Mekong from Nong Khai
Mekong Sunset, Nong Khai to Laos.

On that journey, we also caught up with the Mekong at Phnom Penh in Cambodia, a town that has changed for the better over the last ten years. My photos of this era have sadly been lost.

A place to write beside the Mekong.
A place to write beside the Mekong.

If I had ‘world enough and time’, I would chase that Mekong river from its source in Tibet, down through five countries, to its wide delta in Vietnam, but I doubt that this will happen; I am content with the river running by me now.