IN NAKHON RATCHASIMA (KORAT), THAILAND

We took a four hour bus ride from Bangkok’s Mo Chit bus station up to here. Passed out on the bus were hand wipes, red bean buns and water. We also were given a Rob Roy pattern blanket to use on the bus. The ride was uneventful although the Thai dubbed Chinese Kung Fu movie they showed on the bus we could have done without.

If you read our blog last year you might recognize a similarity in that in both years we left Bangkok for Korat. This time though we are not going to the Cham temples scattered throughout the area. Korat is the gateway to the northeast of Thailand, or Isan. So, we will be spending a while in this part of Thailand. Last year when we were in Korat, there were protests here in favor of the government, this year it’s quiet, and where the protesters were, there are temporary markets. This year Thailand is under Martial Law, but outwardly there are few signs. We have only seen soldiers once, and when we did, they were too busy photographing each other to notices what was going on. We did here the Thai Air Force in the skies above Korat. They were having some sort of exercise because we could see and hear the fighter jets climbing nearly vertical and zooming along in formation.

Yesterday in the center of town there was a fire fighting festival. Firefighters took kids up in the snorkel of their snorkel truck, 

showed them how to fight a fire with a fire hose connected to their pumper truck,

and how to evacuate people using a boat in the old city moat.

Plus, there was lots of drawing and water coloring painting for the kids especially “Hello Kitty.”

One of the most innovative things was a toilet bus. Instead of using porta potties the city had equipped a bus with toilets. Men entered through the back and women through the front. What we liked best was the slogan on the side of the bus “Happy Toilet Healthy Life”. Not too sure of its meaning but catchy.

We also had our first massages of the trip. There are two Klang department stores downtown. One is in a newly remodeled building and is part of a high end mall, the other is older. They are about five blocks apart, and both seem to be doing a good business. We went downtown to the old Klang Deprtment store and went up to the massage area on the fourth floor. Last year the massage area was behind the televisions, this year they have moved the televisions elsewhere and the massage area is now behind the artificial flowers. As we headed up the escalators we could smell the menthol from the massage area before we could see it.

We both had foot massages for which we paid slightly less than $5.00 each for the one hour massage. When Jim’s masseuse reached his big toe, which had physical therapy in Topeka, she stopped and consulted with Laura’s masseuse about the toe before proceeding. Jim's masseuse made his toe feel a lot better, and at a lot cheaper price than the physical therapist in Topeka.

There are a lot of taoist temples in Korat, and with these temples go paper items and money you burn to send to your ancestors. One of the stranger items we have seen is these paper people, for which we are not sure of the reason.

At dinner last night in a food court, Laura was invited to sit down by this Thai lady who wanted to talk in English. This lady's mother was from Thailand and her father was from India. We had a very nice chat over dinner and then exchanged taking photographs of each other.

The main statue, and hero of the town in Thao Suranari, also known as Ya Mo (Grandmother Mo), who lived from1771 to 1852, and was the wife of the deputy governor of Korat. In 1826 the Vientiene King invaded Siam seeking complete independence. The king's forces seized the city by a ruse when the governor was away. The invaders evacuated the inhabitants, intending to resettle them in Laos. Lady Mo is credited with saving her people by harassing the enemy. Varying stories describe her either getting the invading soldiers drunk, or leading a rebellion of the prisoners on the way back to Vientiane. The generally accepted version is that, when the Lao invaders ordered the women to cook for them, Lady Mo requested knives so that food might be prepared. That night, when the invaders were asleep, she gave the knives to the imprisoned men. They surprised the Lao troops, who fled, and the prisoners escaped. Thai King Rama III soon sent an army in pursuit, defeating the Vientiane in three days of fighting and completely destroying Vientiane. King Rama III awarded her the title Thao (Lady) Suranari, (the brave lady) in recognition of her courageous acts. Her statue stands in the center of town, and is a popular object of devotion. 

Chinese New Year is coming next month and the town is getting ready.