Around Mahasarakham
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and the wind whispers
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Rainbow on the Bypass (Maha Sarakham)
A fortuitous sign right at the start of our journey…
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Maha Sarakham Restaurant Review – Little Tokyo
Went to a new Japanese restaurant opening today with Tong. It wasn’t crowded at all, and my first impression was bad because it reeked of fresh paint inside. I don’t want to go into much detail, because we only had a few dishes, but what we did have was enough to lure me back again to try some other things. Overall, I give this place a 6/10 (so far) – worth going to check out. The food had problems, but hopefully they will be ironed out soon. Strengths: Reasonably priced (much cheaper than Japanese restaurants in Sermthai Complex). Has at least a couple strong dishes; soup gyoza is pretty…
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Golden Shower at New City Hall, Maha Sarakham
The Rachapreuk tree has naughty names (only for perverted minds?) in English (golden shower tree), Latin (Cassia fistula), Spanish (caña fistula), and translated Chinese (sausage tree). It’s name in Ayurvedic medicine is aragvadha, or “disease killer,” and it’s the national Flower of Thailand as well as the state flower of Kerala, India. It blooms at the hottest time of year here in Thailand, and I think serious modern research into its medicinal properties is long overdue.
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Keeping termite nests
A couple months back, we visited a small restaurant in neighboring Kosum Phisai, on one of the two main routes to Khon Kaen from Maha Sarakham. This place advertises along the highway as serving spaghetti and pork steak, the local iterations of which are invariably disappointing… but I bever order that crap anyway, so it didn’t really bother me. What did bother me was what I found on the bathroom wall: Nam reported that the same could be found in the women’s restroom as well (the man’s and women’s were separated by a wall, so it was probably connected through cracks or something. This was one of the more disturbing…
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It finally cooled down…
Just a little present for Christmas I suppose. Usually we have a month or two of cool weather here, but it stayed hot for the longest time I’ve ever seen. Fucking global warming. It’s only 20°C (68°F) right now, but I’m sure most of my students will be dressed for skiing this week.
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Hi-so in Sarakham – New Sermthai Complex, Maha Sarakham
——– Three years ago, when we moved into this house, many people doubted my choice of location. I simply told them that it would be a few years until this became the new center of Maha Sarakham. Our house was one of the first up around here and, back then, was surrounded by nothing. Now there are hundreds of houses that have sprung up all around us, a new Big C supercenter, dozens of new stores and restaurants, and as of today, a huge new shopping mall. The oldest shopping center/minimall in Mahasarakham is Sermthai plaza, located next to the canal in the old downtown district – this year is…
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Jules Verne in Khon Kaen?
In the lobby of the Pullman hotel (ex-Sofitel Raja Orchid), Khon Kaen, Thailand.
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Monsoon Season
A big storm blew through here yesterday… At one point, it was gusting as hard as I’ve ever seen it. The reeds at the edge of the pond were blowing sideways, and the doors of the house seemed unsure of whether to blow in or out. The babies were sleeping at the time, and stayed that way even though the thunder seemed to boom right over us and the lightning tripped the Saf-T-Cut twice. Nam was still at work, and the street in front of our house flooded a bit, but not as bad as last time. The storm blew over and the sun came out. The babies eventually woke…
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The Toyota “Kujira” Crown, Reborn
After five months of being held hostage by a rogue body shop, a brief return home, and then a serious accident caused by a negligent repair shop, the Kuj has returned. These are the kinds of photos I really wanted to take before the accident, but I never had the chance. The body shop to which the work was outsourced did a good job – they pounded out parts I thought would be impossible to save, and finished the job slowly while looking for parts. Only one rare part was totally lost – the lower right front turn signal lens and frame. The shop returned the car to me apologizing…
