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2005-2008

When I returned to Thailand from my last big journey, Nee was at the airport waiting for me.  We returned Udon Thani and I took up my teaching job at Rajabhat University in Udon Thani.  My friend Clem had accepted a job at Thammasat University in Bangkok so I took over his apartment and we set up housekeeping.  Nee opened a beauty shop and her son Top lived with us. 

In November of 2005 we were married in a village ceremony in Ban Yang Um (Nee's village).  And I happily settled into domesticity.  After a while, we decided to buy property in Udon and build a house.  Click here for details

In March of 2007 we went to America.  Nee was very excited.  We arrived in LA and spent a few days with my friend Avram.  We went to Disneyland and the beach in Santa Monica.  We visited the La Brea Tar Pits and went to a game show taping.  We visited my Aunt and Uncle.

Then we hit the road in a rental car.  We headed for Las Vegas and there we were married for official purposes.  This avoided the hassle of registering our marriage in Thailand which can be bureaucratically difficult.   After Vegas we saw Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon and lots of nothing.  Nee was amazed at the open spaces with so few people.

In Dallas we visited my dad and Joy.  My cousins Ruth and Aynn and my Aunt Jean flew in to visit.  I showed Nee around Dallas and we visited my oldest friends David and Carol.  Then we stopped off for a night with my cousin John in Little Rock and spent another night with my niece Alli and her husband Dave.

After a few days of luxury accommodations with my sister and John we turned west.  Driving through a spring blizzard we stopped in Limon, Colorado for the night.  The next day we visited Buffalo Bill's grave and then stayed the night in Glenwood Springs.  We enjoyed our swim in the large thermal pool and had a great dinner.

West by way of Idaho we headed for Corvallis.  I visited friends and family.  I spent one day with my son Brentley and a day with my daughter Heather.  My ex-wife Diana had graciously agreed to store my stuff and since we were building a home in Udon, I decided to ship the goods to Udon.  We stayed at Diana's house while I sorted and packed my stuff.  This would prove to be a big mistake.  Nee became very upset during our visit.  Apparently, in Thailand, it is very unusual for divorced people to be on good terms. 

After leaving Oregon we travelled south along the Pacific Coast Highway.  We took the usual souvenir photos at the Golden Gate.  And, after a few days with Avram we returned to Udon.

About two months after we returned, Nee left me.  She said she was jealous of my first wife.  I kept hoping she would return but after several months I gave up and made plans to hit the road again.  At the end of the school term in March, I sold most of my stuff, put a dab in storage, dusted off my back pack and bought my airline tickets.

Who knows what adventures await me.

Baguettes in Vientiane

15-23OCT02 We rode the motorcycle to the Friendship Bridge at the border between Laos and Thailand.  We found out that while passenger cars could cross the border, motorbikes were not permitted without lots of paperwork.  The shop that arranged our visas agreed to look after the machine so we headed for the border.  After the usual formalities we caught a $7 taxi to Vientiane.  The driver knew of a hotel that met our specifications and we checked in.  

After a few hours we ventured out into the cool of the evening.  We found our way toward the center of town and had dinner at a restaurant across from the Cultural Center.  The next day we had to find the immigration office to extend Nee's border pass by four days.  

The next day we visited the War Heroes Memorial , a big cement structure that looks like the Arc de Triomphe with an asian twist.  Then we took the rental motorbike to the big wat which is the other big tourist attraction.  We explored the rest of the city and determined that we would relocate to a hotel closer to the Mekong River.

We had a good time walking along the river.  With a combination of shops and amusement rides and a huge crowd of people, it reminded me of the Midway at the State Fair of Texas (no corny dogs, alas).  There were small riverside beer gardens with tasty food and cheap Beerlao.  We tarried awhile and watched the traffic on the river.

Nee went out the first afternoon in the new hotel and saw a dragon boat race.  Two days later, I saw a dragon boat  practicing on the river. 

Then we had a little adventure with the People's Republic Traffic Police.  While waiting at a completely deserted intersection for the light to change, I looked over my shoulder and determined that the light was green.  Surprise!  That was the left turn signal.  You see, the lights in Laos are not across the intersection but placed on the side where you wait located where the front vehicle can't see them.   Anyway, after I finally understood the crime, I was told that my international driver's license would be kept for a week or two then I could pay the fine.  I inquired if it was possible to pay the fine now and oddly enough the fine was the same as the two $5 bills I had in my driver's license.  With Nee's help we were able to continue on our way with license in hand.  

My main obsession was to find out how to view the Naga Fireballs from the Laos side of the Mekong.  The fireballs are a natural phenomenon that happens once each year at the full moon when Naga, the dragon, sends red balls of fire into the air.  We spent hours tracking down where the location was.  Many knew of the fireballs but few could explain to me or to Nee where the place to see them was located.  Nee's hometown spoke a dialect of Thai that was close to Laotian and she was a great help, but most of the directions were of the "go to the big stump, turn left, and then right at the red rock...you can't miss it" type.  Eventually we got the name of a town and the route number out of Vientiane.  

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