December 31st – January 1st: Nong Mek to Udon Thani and a Rest Day – 46 km
Day 79-80
We made it to the big city. Udon Thani is Thailand’s 4th largest city and in the spirit of the holiday and big cities, we have procured another tablet. We did not foresee this but we need 2 tablets. Typing, updating the blog, uploading photos, navigating, reading, language studying and keeping in touch with only one tablet has been frustrating for 2 people. We’ve done our best for the past 2.5 months, but we caved in today and bought a Samsung Note 8. I do feel a bit guilty that we have so many comforts, but so did Fridjtof Nansen when he made his expedition to the North Pole in his well stocked ship, the Fram which was equipped with a library, musical instruments games and enough varied food to provide multiple course meals. And if arctic explorers can have comforts, why shouldn’t we? The new addition to our possession made Cher’s day, and possibly the whole year. On the down side, I no longer have any excuse to procrastinate on updating the blog.
Perhaps it’s the convenience, the copious amounts of calories on display, or our own laziness, but we found that we had to pull ourselves out of the mall to get food from street stalls. Even if street stalls overcharge you, they are still cheaper. On our way to Udon Thani we stopped for lunch and ordered some noodles and were charged almost twice what they were worth, but since we have a guidebook with food translations I made the owner’s husband point to the items printed on the menu with prices shown while I double checked. He realized he was caught and to avoid losing further face he tried to waive the bill. Thanking him for his “kindness”, we paid the correct amount and didn’t give him the satisfaction. However, on the whole people have been honest and generous. While stopping to check the price at a “resort” (small cheap bungalows), the owner gave us two ice-cold Cokes and two bottles of water. She wished us a happy new year and good luck, even knowing that we wouldn’t stay at her place.
Taking a day to rest on the new year we wandered around the city and picked up some odds and ends. My discount pants from Hong Kong need constant sewing, so I picked up a roll of thread and some needles. If you were a sailor in the 1900’s this was a regular Sunday routine, which makes this a manly, adventurous activity. I have a feeling that our clothes will give me many opportunities to prove my manliness in the coming year.