Don's Road Less Traveled: My Last Day in Ubon Ratchathani and Some Video Experiments

Hey All,

Yesterday was kind of a catch up day, got laundry done, took a nap, did a little walking about the area of the guesthouse. One of those days you need every now and then. It felt good as I was worn down a bit and my knee has been bothering me since that fall in the Bolaven Plateau. After breakfast I did a little video editing and thought you might enjoy some of my hard work.

I did have a little issue called getting low on local currency. Went to an ATM the previous night but I was having issues as there was no English on the screen. Seems I made things worse by guessing and next thing you know it spit my card out with no cash. I decided after lunch yesterday I would go to the Central Plaza, which is the big Mall chain in Thailand. They usually have a whole area with many banks and ATM's. Took the cab over for 60 baht and its a really nice place, with movie theatres, restaurants, shops, and a western style grocery store that the expats use for things not sold in Thai stores. I went to another ATM and my card is now blocked thanks to my screw up last night. I was prepared and brought $200 to change into baht, which should last me the rest of the trip. I went into one of the banks and they asked for my passport....... crap, I left my passport at the hotel and absolutely knew I would need it to exchange cash. I had just enough money to get a quick bite to eat and pay for a cab back to the hotel. The owner told me how to walk to another bank not too far from the hotel. Passport in hand, made the trip. Went in and got in line, and when I was at the counter I handed the two hundred dollar bills and my passport to the lady. She photocopied the passport, made photocopies of the 2 bills and made me sign and date each. Had to give my phone number (even though its not with me, but did not tell them that), and write down where I was staying with their address and phone, thank goodness I had a business cared with me, I pretty much had to do everything but pee in a cup to get my money changed to baht. Finally, cash in hand, I left. Hopefully I will not need to use an ATM before I get home, but don't think I will, as I usually take enough cash to last me the trip.

While I was walking to the bank, I made a few mental notes to talk about. One interesting thing is that Buddhist countries follow the Buddhist calendar, so the year in Thailand is 2558. I have seen that date on several things and was going to mention it. Anything official, govt wise they use the normal western calendar to keep any issues at bay, but in day to day life and birth certificates and such, they follow the Buddhist Calendar.

The other thing I noticed was there were no Western companies in Laos, except one, I saw a Swensons Ice Cream Shop in Vientiane, but that was it. No McD's, no Starbucks at all. Now, Thailand is a different story as in the mall alone there was Starbucks, Dairy Queen, Mc D's, Aunt Annies Pretzels and many more. One interesting thing about Thailand is that there are companies here that you no longer see in the US, like 7-11, they are on every corner here. I also saw a Sizzler in the mall and they are HUGE in Asia, but rarely see them any more in the US.

This morning after breakfast I took a walk to this beautiful temple near the hotel, as I wandered the grounds I came to a pavilion where there was the usual statue of Buddha and some locals kneeling, praying, and the air was filled with the smoke of hundreds of burning incense. I entered but stayed back as to not disturb those praying. This older monk entered and set a mat down in front of the Buddha, and a microphone was brought to him. Soon more monks arrived the they sat down on mats to the side. I eased back to the corner, and 2 monks came over and pointed for me to sit down next to them. I did but it was not pretty as I was afraid I would not be able to get back up. A minute later the older monk started chanting into the microphone and you could here it echo across the temple grounds. The other monks started chanting too and it was quite peaceful and beautiful. I closed my eyes and just went with it. I don't know why but I started thinking about what the world would be like if we all had religious tolerance, where we did not kill because someone does not worship the same God we do. A world where Mosks, Temples, Synigogs, Churches were all in the same town, and no one judged you on which one you attended. Where did we go wrong?

After about 20 minutes my feet were starting to go to sleep. I managed to get to my feet and quietly exited. I understand this can last for 3 hours with some of it quiet meditation. It was quite an incredible experience. Before I left I said a prayer for these people, that they can live and worship in peace, as everyone should. Sorry, had to get the soap box out again.

Next time we chat I will be in Bangkok, the city I love to hate. Hope you enjoy the videos.

Happy Travels,

Don

#1 Almsgiving video from Pakse.