08. April - 11. April 2023
08.04. + 09.04.23 Hitchhiking from Nakhon Ratchasima to Nong Khai
09.04. - 11.04.23 Nong Khai
Out of the village romanticism, into the border experience.
-The Shopping High Flyer
Back in Nakhon Ratchasima, we took some time to take a closer look at a shopping center.
The Terminal 21
This shopping center is designed like an airport. And on each floor, there is a different city in a different country, and the entire floor is designed accordingly.
Sounds complicated, but take a look at the pictures.
-Hitchhiking through the Galaxy
Our next destination was Nong Khai, but we didn't feel like just booking the next bus. And there's no train here... We wanted something different...
So hitchhiking through the galaxy (though not that far).
The idea was simple, roadside, thumb out, off we go.
The implementation took a little longer. In preparation, we had already written a hitchhiking letter in English. It explained who we are and what we intend to do. In Thailand, hitchhiking is largely unknown, so we had it translated into Thai in Bangkok.
Now, the question: where do we want to go?
We got a notebook and a marker in approximately A4 size. We can write down the destinations and hold them up... The problem is that most Thais can't read the Latin script... So we asked around in a shopping center or coffee shop if someone could write down the city name in Thai script. (We had heard that trying to write it ourselves wouldn't work as we would likely make a mistake...)
Now, though, out on the street. And there we stood... (I hope we won't end up on the loading area of a pickup 🛻...) Anyone who stopped wanted to take us to the bus, which we explained with hands and feet (and the hitchhiking letter) that we didn't want to go there. But there weren't many. The problem was that we were too close to the bus station. So we kept walking, at least until we got behind the train station. The next problem was the speed. (Here Janine remembered her earlier hitchhiking experience) A car in full motion doesn't stop that quickly (psychology and all)... So we looked for a spot where the cars were slower or ideally standing. So we walked until a traffic light came (not so common on a larger main road). But there was a small police station in front of it, which made us feel a bit uncomfortable. So a little further, where we reached a gas station. That was the right place... To stand around for a while...
In Thailand, refueling is also like 50 years ago in Germany. As a driver, you only have to say how much you want to refuel and pay at the end. The employee takes care of the refueling. So the drivers had time to read our sign.
Most of them waved friendly because they were going in a different direction.
Some were curious or just read the hitchhiking letter we handed them and waved us off...
Until a woman was so kind and told us to get in. A modern SUV, tidy and clean, very comfortable... She explained to us that she can't drive us far, she was sad about it herself. But she wanted to take us to a better place. Until then, we were relatively central in the city. So the cars went in all directions afterwards. The woman took us to a rest stop between the city exit and the highway entrance. That was great, because now most cars were going in the direction we wanted. By now, we were a bit exhausted, we had been trying for about 2 hours, the sun was relentless and our hope was dwindling. When someone stopped and said he could take us, we didn't hesitate and got in.
Onto the loading area of a pickup 🛻...
We had enough space, but it wasn't really comfortable. As we raced at 150 km/h over the in need of repair asphalt, we realized that we had better ideas before. We were still exposed to the sun without protection, and now the exhaust fumes and fine dust in the air added to it. But the feeling was quite funny. After a few hours, we arrived at our first intermediate destination, though not safely, but quickly. Instead of the original plan to get to know more people, we decided to go to the next bed*.
The next day, we gathered our luggage again and returned to the rest area where we had arrived the evening before. (here we had the opportunity to weigh ourselves for a few Baht, and we found that our luggage had a total weight of 24kg and 20kg... we should sort out again and avoid flights). Due to the intense heat again, it was tiring, but it went pretty fast. So we arrived in Nong Khai in the afternoon. Nearly 400km in two days is not bad. Nong Khai is located on the border with Laos. Our visa is expiring, and we have to leave Thailand.
We had some great experiences during these two days. For example, at a cafe where we had a new city sign made, we were given two bottles of water. The vendor at a small stall approached us and said she would love to help us, but it's too far away and she has to work. A pickup driver who would have loved to take us, but was going in the wrong direction, gave us a pack of muffins. The people who gave us a ride were very friendly. We chatted a lot with the couples who took us. With gestures, hand signs, and Google Translator. With one of our drivers, we exchanged numbers, and he let us know that we could message him anytime if we needed help. In the evening, he asked if we were doing well, and a few weeks later, he even sent us pictures of his newly hatched baby.
- The Hostel in Nong Khai
The accommodation we chose here was surprisingly pleasant. The hostel functioned mostly without staff. So, we contacted the owner via WhatsApp, and he gave us the code for the door. With that, we could simply enter. There were bicycles that we could use, a basic kitchen, a dining/living room, several dorms where we could choose a bed, and a rooftop terrace with a great view over the Mekong. In the morning, the owner came by and put breakfast in the kitchen, and when you left the money for the night, he took it.
While looking for beds, we met the only person still in the hostel.
Chantal, a Dutch woman, and we went out to eat together.
- The HIGhlight at the end
As the Thai population suffered greatly from the Corona-related travel restrictions as so much is geared towards tourism, the government decided to legalize marijuana. (We had also discussed this in a previous post.) The climate on the islands in southern Thailand is excellent for growing the plants, so we couldn't resist and took a few grams with us. During our journey, we tried it on a few evenings, but since we had little experience, we had quite a lot left at the end. However, since neighboring countries of Thailand did not legalize marijuana, there were more controls there. So, we can't take it any further...
During dinner, we asked Chantal if she would like to help us get rid of the remaining marijuana. She had a hearty laugh and replied that she wanted to ask us the same thing. So, we decided that night to stay one more night in this hostel (fortunately, our visa allowed it) to work together on the rooftop terrace or balcony to destroy the remaining legal marijuana.
📷 You can find more photos in this photo album.
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