Last Sunday, Pa Lam, two kids from the village, and I set off on an adventure to Maha Sarakham. We had a few errands to run, but we were also going to do some sightseeing. On the way, we stopped at a little restaurant for lunch. It was a cozy place with outside seating under a shelter. The scenery consisted of countless types of flowers, colorful animal statues, and perfectly trimmed shrubs. Apparently the place was known for their pad Thai, so Pa Lam ordered that for me as well as some som tam. Surprisingly, I’ve only eaten the national dish a couple of times, as pad Thai isn’t a traditional Isan food. Nevertheless, my meal didn’t disappoint, and I was once again reminded of how much I’m going to miss authentic Thai food once I’m stateside.
After lunch, we headed to Mahasarakham University to drop off some rice for one of the professors at the school of nursing. Upon pulling into the school, I couldn’t help but notice how massive the campus was. There were large buildings everywhere, with parking lots filled with countless motorbikes nearby. The campus honestly seemed bigger than UNC (though it is possible that my time in the village has clouded my sense of scale), which was quite the wakeup call that I’ll be in college soon enough. Granted, this realization has always been in the back of my mind, but sitting in a campus parking lot while college students walked around really pulled this thought to the forefront of my mind: I’m going to have to sit in class for four years!
On the way to the next station, we decided to stop at a drink stand on the side of the road. Pa Lam stayed in the car, so I took the kids with me to order. Up until this point, I thought my Thai was decent enough for what I needed it to be. I could ask the basic questions and express my wants and needs. However, trying to order tea was nearly impossible, and Pa Lam had to come translate my order. I paid for my drinks, thanked the man in Thai, and walked back to the car with my tail between my legs. At least I had a cup of delicious Thai tea to comfort my wounded pride.
The highlight of the day was visiting Wat Pa Wang Nam Yen, a famous temple in Maha Sarakham. It was a massive temple complex, and barring the Grand Palace, the biggest one I’ve seen yet. Once past the tall, thick brick walls, we were greeted by a beautiful wooden temple, giant old trees, and a few Buddha statues. Beside the temple, there was an even more impressive structure, modeled in a Japanese architectural style. Unfortunately, it was still under construction, so we were unable to go inside, but its scale was unbelievable. In front of the building, I met a monk from Los Angeles. We talked about our travels, the States, and life in Thailand. It was a brief encounter, but still a cool one.
To reach the other half of the complex, we had to cross a bridge that was decorated with beautiful and intricate naga. Upon crossing, we couldn’t help but marvel at the towering gold pagoda. We just happened to time our visit around golden hour, so the sun was radiating off the gold, making the area even more impressive. Besides the pagoda, there were also several areas where you could pay to ride an elephant, but we avoided these because of their problematic nature. The last stop in the temple was this large hall with different Buddha statues and shrines. This was clearly a more sacred location, as there were few tourists and a pervasive, solemn silence.
After we were finished with the temple, we went to a market to pick up dinner. If you’ve read any of my other posts, then you know that I’m a sucker for market food. One of the first things we bought was some khao jee, which is one of my favorite Isan foods. I also picked up some salad (which is almost always a combination of fruits and vegetables), and the kids bought some snacks. Nothing too exceptional happened, but I love the innate market chaos nonetheless.
All in all, it was a very exciting day. Lately, I’ve been spending the vast majority of my time either at the association or at school. Obviously, I have no issue with that, as I came here to be a volunteer, and the role of a volunteer is to, well, work. Regardless, it’s still nice to have a change of scenery and to get to experience what Isan is like outside of the rural sub-districts. I also really enjoyed spending some time with the two kids. We had a lot of fun laughing and playing while we waited for Pa Lam to run some errands, and there’s no telling what kind of trouble we would’ve gotten into had I been able to speak the language.
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