Part 55

Tony's View

Published

09  09

09

Matters arising from last episode

Yes it's been a long time since 5th June and the last episode. For much of June and most of July I was back in the UK taking care of my parents. My mother spends a high proportion of every day taking care of my father, so it was a pleasure to give her a break from that daily routine for a few weeks.

More Bars close in Nongkhai

Of course this is hardly news in itself, and yes it is the same picture from the last episode. Then it was under the headline 'three new bars in NK'. These three bars were all opened just before my trip to UK, and had all closed before I got back. Did my absence contribute to their demise? I think not.

On the opposite side of the road, the Outback also remains firmly closed, but it is subject to rumours that it may reopen soon, while Nobbi's also remains closed but there are no such rumours. The Two Wheels biker bar evolved into the Loch Inn and has permanently closed. Last time I passed the Meeting Place there was little sign of life, but at least the gate was open.

Good News : Bad News

The bad news : Greg's Mekong Sunset Bar closed.

The good news : Greg has opened a new bar a couple of kilometres to the East named either the Jungle or Young Girl Bar  according to your preference, since both names could sound roughly the same.

Now this may not look much like a bar from the outside, and the first thing you meet in the doorway appears to be a shrine surmounted by beer cans but Greg has given it a layout unique in NK, and succeeds in creating a great atmosphere. He also continues to stock Carlsberg (a k a Chang light).

Once inside, the bar is horseshoe or 'U' shaped, designed for patrons to sit opposite each other, yet close enough to converse without shouting. Below left, A and I were sharing a Carlsberg (a k a Chang light) and chatting with Paul and Matt opposite. You appear to sit under a thatched roof which has a 'jungly' feel to it and may provide a link to one of the names for the bar. The bar is only yards from 'Beer Belly Billy's' so it was not too surprising to see Peter, in the company of Sean's wife Lin in blue and with his arm around Alec's wife May. Well I was surprised about the arm, but Alec has vetted the photo.

Above Lin posing with Nit who has a clothes shop next door, while in the centre A enjoyed something in excess of half a dozen tequila slammers with Alan and Craig, and right this is definitely NOT a photo of A, but is a staged reconstruction of the alleged events of the early hours of the next morning using a professional body double wearing similar clothing. So absolutely not A then !

'Funky Monkey' Bar

Don't ask. Another bar also only yards from 'Beer Belly Billy's' was opened this month (September) by Simon who gave it this this unusual name. A and I attended the opening but I was disappointed to find that Simon does not stock Carlsberg (a k a Chang light). To be sociable I substituted a Heineken (rather a poor substitute for Carlsberg I know) but A preferred to go off to Greg's bar for a tequila or six. Behind the bar is Simon, and in front of it are Gordon partly hidden by Peter, Dave with his back to the camera and Sean. By chance this bar is next door to Oy's now defunct Flamingo restaurant, which failed largely because this end of town did not attract enough customers. That seems to be changing, it definitely seems busier there than it did three years ago, and you now have Greg's, Peter's, Simon's and Milford's in close proximity at the eastern end of the riverfront.

Milford's New York Bistro

Neither opening, closing nor moving, Milford's New York Bistro continues to provide a menu unique in Nongkhai. All the food that I have tasted has been good, and it seems that everyone who goes has their own particular favourite. I am no exception, and mine is the Spaghetti Al Fordo which I am eating left. It is a truly unique Nongkhai dish, as it cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Milford's Bistro is also special because it stocks Carlsberg (a k a Chang light) my preferred beer.

But here's the rub. Perhaps I have been too eloquent in the praise of Carlsberg (a k a Chang light). It seems that other Nongkhai habitués are drinking my beer. One such is Mr James C Aitken (formerly of New York, and pictured right with A) who had the temerity to drink the entire stock of Chang light at Milford's, leaving me with nothing to drink with my Spaghetti Al Fordo.

This was a disaster Mr Aitken, and simply will not do !! Desist immediately !!

Honeymoon in Thailand

Sounds great doesn't it, but read the small print .... honeymoon in Thailand with our three children, staying with my father/father-in-law and his girlfriend in Nongkhai. Not the traditional honeymoon for newlyweds, but wait a minute "if we're staying with the children's grandfather, we have a ready made babysitter" ...... So it was that Jon and Jacq rented a motorbike and headed off to the hills leaving Anisa, Chandi and Che with A and I. To be fair the five of us had such a great time together that J & J were not missed. We went to T19 twice, (the second time at the request of the children).

When A single-handedly cooked a superb meal for us all, we were joined by Muzz and Jack who were staying at the Mut Mee in NK and like J & J come from Bury St Edmunds.

Above clockwise from Muzz (in white T-shirt), Jon, Jacq, Che, A, Chandi, Anisa and Jack, while right I am in the pool at T19 with my grandchildren. For those not familiar with T19, it is an excellent resort with a great pool, about 10 km south of Nongkhai, not far from Victory Park.

I think A is a gifted cook, so it was  especially gratifying that Muzz who is a seasoned Thai traveller rated it the best Thai food that he had ever eaten !!  Jacq said that A stands for Amazing and I totally agree, but in reality it is short for Aranya - pronounced Arran-yar.

If you are interested, there are more photos, similar to those above on Facebook. They can be reached by following

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=138580&id=602689745&l=756f119c28

Visit to Tha Rae

Not surprisingly Jon and Jacq took full advantage of the resident babysitters while in Nongkhai, which meant that we had hardly seen them before it was the end of their week's visit, and time to move on. From Nongkhai, all 7 of us travelled in my Jazz (3 in the front, 4 in the back, luggage in the boot) to A's parents home in Tha Rae (pronounced Tar Rare) near Sakon Nakon. While we were there I spoke with A's parents and formally stated my wish to marry A. They were very pleased, and asked me how much I would pay them for the loss of their hard working daughter.

We haggled for a while over the amount, but in the end A intervened and told her mother to accept my offer because she was certain she wanted to marry me. We set the date of 21st August for the ceremony (exactly two weeks later).

There are lots of photos of Tha Rae in the last episode (and more of the wedding later), so I won't put more here apart from these two. In the one above A's children and my grandchildren are being driven by A in her mother's samlaw or tuk-tuk.

While above right we revisited our favourite karaoke bar and managed to get Jacq to sing accompanied by Che. Later Jon took over the guitar and together they did a great duet to Dire Straights 'Sultans of Swing'.

Jacq & Jon were keen to get to Koh Samet, where they were meeting up with Jack, so we stayed in Tha Rae only one night. The next day found us driving to Pattaya, for two nights before moving on to Rayong for one night at Mae Ramphong beach. The following morning A and I took Anisa, Chandi, Che, Jacq and Jon to the ferry terminal, said our farewells and headed back to Nongkhai.

I always take the 304 road to and from Korat, as it winds through some pretty hills, and is far more interesting than the road to Bangkok. Alongside the hilly section of the road is an area with a number of people selling orchids. We stopped and spent 1000 baht (about £20) on orchids, coir, and baskets to hang them in. Once home, A set to and arranged all the orchids in the baskets. Here she is posing with the fruits of her work.  

Aranya and Tony get married

Returning from Rayong, we had a week together in Nongkhai before we headed to Tha Rae on Tuesday 18th August to prepare for our wedding on 21st. Our first task was to go to a local printer and arrange for 100 invitations to be printed, and was followed by visits to the homes of relatives living locally to seek their help in preparing for our big day. On Wednesday we collected the invitations and took them to 'wedding central' (A's parents house and environs) where our helpers where already assembled. While they got on with the jobs of folding the invitations, putting them in envelopes, addressing and delivering them by hand, A and I went to local wedding specialists to choose her dress. The one we both liked was at the first shop we visited, but in the way of these things we had to visit all the others to check what was on offer before returning to the first shop where A tried on the chosen dress. It was a perfect fit. We returned home to wedding central to find all the older men of the family having the grey dyed out of their hair, while A's younger brother Ek had been busy with friends and a pick-up truck fetching tables, chairs and marquees. There followed a lengthy discussion about the catering, starting with how many to cater for, followed by the menu itself, and finally the brands and quantities of beers and lao kao (Thai whiskey). I have put a few photos on a separate page, which you can view by clicking on this blue link.  Wedding preparations photos  To return to this page press the 'back' button on your browser or use one of the links I've provided.

Thursday morning found us in Makro buying most of the food and drink. Seeing the large amount that we had bought standing next to the Jazz, a bystander commented that it would never go in the car. They were wrong, not only did it all go in, but 4 adults and a child got in too. Mind you the car was very low on the suspension, so I did have to drive back slowly and carefully to wedding central. Once the car was unloaded, A and I were off again to collect her dress, buy some shoes for her, and order flowers for the morrow. In the evening there was time to pull out a few chairs from the stacks and to relax with everyone over a few beers.

On Friday, as the wedding ceremony was due to start at 9 a.m., A and I were up around dawn. I took her to get her hair and makeup done, went to the market to get the flowers, and got myself ready. I picked up A from her beautician and we headed to wedding central, arriving perhaps 20 minutes early. We found that everything was ready, and there were even some guests tucking in to the 'wedding breakfast' and enjoying an early morning beer.

A few minutes before nine, I went off to a neighbours house where we formed into 'the groom's procession'. We proceeded to walk or dance to wedding central, where I had to pay the gatekeepers a small amount to enter the house. At the beginning of proceedings A and I exchange rings and I pay in cash the sum agreed, which is then carefully counted and displayed for all to see. When everyone is satisfied that I have kept my side of the bargain, the actual ceremony can proceed. By 10 o'clock A and I are married in the eyes of the village. Btw this ceremony has no legal status - we will do the legal thing later this year, hopefully when my son Chris and his partner Gemma are here.

Far left, a few minutes after the ceremony was completed, the photographer caught A in this pose, clearly taking control. While left another of my favourites from the day. There are a lot more photos of the wedding which some will have seen on Facebook. They can be reached by following  this link.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=141206&id=602689745&l=c0a18cd452

(You will have to copy and paste the whole link into the address bar of a new tab on your browser).

With the ceremony over, the eating, drinking, singing and dancing, i.e. partying, could begin. Once again there are a lot of photos (well worth a quick look) on a separate page, reached by clicking on this party photos link. To return to this page press the 'back' button on your browser or use one of the links I've provided.

Below in the blue football shirt is A's younger brother Ek, with my camera slung around his neck. He was one of our two wedding photographers, both of whom had a 5 minute instruction session from me in how to use each camera, and were then told 'take as many photos as you like'. I think they did quite well. The chap with the microphone wasn't doing karaoke, but was making a speech. As I listened I realised that it was a party political speech in anticipation of the local elections 2 days later.

This hijacking of our wedding party for electioneering annoyed me intensely at the time, but in the end I had to laugh when I realised that all political parties are given an identifying number, and he was exhorting our guests to vote for the 'number two' party. He could hardly be aware of the alternative meaning of 'number two' in English.

My wife and I rounded off our special day taking a trip with close friends and family to our favourite karaoke where quite clearly we had a great time.

On Saturday afternoon we returned to Nongkhai, and on Sunday we flew from Udontani to Bangkok where we met up with Jacq, Jon, Anisa, Chandi, Che and their friend Jack, for their last few days here.

To make things easier we all stayed at the same hotel, (The Federal, Sukhumwit Soi 11)  which is where this photo was taken. The long faces reflect the fact that it was the last afternoon of the last day. Only hours later they were on a plane leaving the magic kingdom and returning to grey skies, work, school etc. etc.

As well as the expected shopping trips for souvenirs, we  did manage a trip to the King's palace together with Jack. Below Chandi and Che pose with A.

I have read that one part of the palace buildings complex is styled after the Embankment in London. This part certainly has a familiar feel to it, so below I got A to pose for me. In the centre it seemed to be the thing to pose with this sentry, so I duly obliged my wife by posing with him, while right Jack (formerly known as Zac to many in Bury St Edmunds) was also a soldier. Perhaps that explains why he was always to be seen with this 20kg pack on his back while in Thailand.

Visitors to Nongkhai

Finn brought his mother and daughter to Nongkhai for a few days mainly to visit Kim and Ou. Here are Finn and Emily enjoying a coffee at Beer Belly Billy's. In the other photo is Finn's mother Alice with A. We had a couple of nice meals with them, so I would like to say 'tak for mad' to Finn. That's your actual Danish.

Also in BBB's that evening were Alec and his wife May. Peter insisted on posing with them, perhaps to atone for the un-posed picture above. You may be wondering what is the mystery object in the third photo or you may have recognised it as a number plate and reading the words Krung thep mahan nagon have realised that it is a Bangkok number plate. But what does the JJ 355 signify?

A reveals the answer. The number plate is attached to this beautiful Ferrari 355 Berlinetta, which was parked on the riverfront road. Am I being fanciful or does the Thai letter J on the number plate resemble a prancing horse? Whatever, truly an Awesome visitor to Nongkhai !!

I have to be careful now because anything I say about Jessica could be an anticlimax, but in truth I was more delighted to see her in Brendan's bar last Saturday than I was when I spotted the Ferrari. She was on a brief visit to Nongkhai and was happy to pose for me with A. Jessica is on Facebook which is how I knew she was here.

Also on Facebook are Dave and Jon, but by perverse coincidence both use avatars, shy I suppose. Here they are framing Brendan. I include this happy picture from a few weeks ago as an introduction to the fact that Brendan claims victory over Big Greg in the musical challenge of part 53 which you may recall was to play anything by the British group 'Family'. Brendan came up with 'The Weaver's Answer' on U-tube. Sadly it was a disappointing live version, mais tant pis.

I mention it here, but may one day regret it if that pesky Mr Aitken gets to hear of it. Brendan stocks Carlsberg (a k a Chang light), and has done so for a very long time. It is a fact that my preferred watering holes are Brendan's, Milford's, and Big Greg's (Jungle Bar). It may be an amazing coincidence that they all stock Carlsberg (a k a Chang light).

Well it looks like a sewing circle to me as left A and Daeng get on with their crocheting, and now they have ice-cream on sale too!  Right it was great to catch up with Dave at this end of town. 

Returning to NK and looking very well was Andrew ( original founder of the Kiwi Bar). Here he was in Greg's, happily posing with my wife. It's brilliant how many people who won't pose for me normally, will pose with A! Also recently returned is Kentish Man Ming (without his usual glasses) seen here shaking hands with Lancastrian Paul.

In Conclusion

It has been very difficult to get this episode together, marriage to Aranya definitely suits me. It feels as if it's been a lifelong search to find my special partner, now I'm glad that I never gave up nor settled for less.

On behalf of my wife and myself, best wishes to you all

 Tony and Aranya

 If you want copies of any of the photos, or want to write, but you don't know my personal email address, you can send email to :          mail@nongkhai.co.uk