Road of Opportunity, Plenty of Opportunity

Three Lao Loum Farmers Heading To the Fields

Back in March, I wrote of a very interesting road, "A Road Less Traveled, A Path Often Not Taken" that we discovered on one of our excursions out to the Ban Chiang area.  When we drove along the dusty red road in March, the surrounding countryside was parched and largely abandoned.  Even then the photographic opportunities of the area were very evident.  We decided then that we would return to the area later this year during rice planting season.

Rice planting season is now in full force here in Isaan.  The rains returned in May and now we typically have some rain just about everyday.  Thundershowers often bring up to 30 minutes of intense localised precipitation.  The rains in May allowed the rice seeds to be broadcast over prepared flooded paddies.  The continuing rains kept the paddies flooded and allowed the seeds to germinate to create a rich bright yellow-green carpet over the Isaan countryside.  Now that it is July, the thick green carpets are being separated and the plants transplanted into other prepared flooded rice paddies.  The continuing monsoonal rains will nourish the developing rice until October when it will be time to harvest the new crop.

Yesterday was a good day to head back out to drive along that road less traveled and the path often not taken.  Although it was not a bright and sunny morning, it was a morning that seemed to promise no immediate possibility of precipitation let alone heavy rains. The overcast sky would also allow me to take the type of photographs of the planting activities that I had photographed previously.  The heavy overcast and cloudy sky created the soft light that clear, bright and sunny skies do not - especially late morning and at mid-day.  The growing rice plants and flooded fields are extremely reflective so soft light, in my opinion, is desirable. We set off around 8:00 A.M. for Ban Nong Han where we knew that the road ended.

We got to Ban Nong Han without any difficulty but quickly became confused - some would say lost.  We stopped several times and got directions.  Duang was responsible for getting directions because the people that we encountered or would encounter did not speak English.  After a while, Duang was hungry because she had not eaten breakfast back at our home.  We stopped at a very small village alongside one of the country roads that we had managed to get confused on.  We found a small market where the elderly woman also cooked noodle soup (Queteao).  I sat at the small concrete picnic table drinking an ice tea while Duang ate her bowl of noodle soup.  Very shortly I heard young voices saying words along the line of "There is a falang (foreigner) here"  Shortly afterwards, 6 young children arrived to look at me.  It was amusing to see them checking me out.  From an elderly man, we learned that the children had never seen a foreigner before.  I guess we were more than confused - we had to be LOST if we were somewhere were children had never seen a falang before!  I spoke with the children but they were very shy.  Unlike the children in the film, "ET", I was not offered any Reese's Bits or any Isaan equivalent treat.  While Duang continued to eat her meal, I saw several children come from the interior of the village to drive past me on their bicycles, eyes transfixed upon me the entire time.  This did not bother me in the least for they were just interested in someone they had never seen before - pretty much what I do so often with my camera.  They were just taking advantage of an opportunity to expand their world just a little bit.

With a new set of directions, we set off to find the road less traveled.  Perhaps it is less traveled because no one can find it?  We found a interesting narrow red dirt road that was headed off in what we believed was the right direction.  For quite awhile it appeared to be the road that we were looking for.  However, this road did not have any mango orchards that the road back in March had.  It turned out to be a different road but not a bad road.  The new road was very interesting.  There was no traffic on it.  It had no signs.  It was partially eroded by heavy rains, in fact in some places water from the higher land alongside of the road was pouring onto the road creating large puddles.

We found people planting rice in the paddies along the roadside.  I would get out of the truck and say hello to the people as I started to take photographs.  I was always closely followed by Duang who would explain to the people what I was up to.  She would then start talking to the people - finding out just as much about them as she was telling them about us.  That is the way it is out here in Isaan - people are very friendly and you are one of their own, you are like family.  As I walked about, bent down, and sometimes even squatted to photograph the planting activities, the air was filled with the sounds of Duang and the farmers talking.

After we had been there awhile a family of the farmers headed back to their home to eat.  Their home was like many of the homes that we see along the back roads of Isaan amongst the rice paddies.  These are not the primary homes of the people.  Unlike the rich American people of the early 20th century who had "summer homes" in exclusive communities along the beaches or in the mountains or even many Americans today who have a vacation home, hunting camp or fishing camp. the people of Isaan have a primitive home for work.  The small raised one room structures are where the family stays during the intense work periods associated with cultivating rice - planting and harvesting seasons.

Lao Loum Family Eating A Meal In Their "Work" Home

We stopped at the family's work home and socialized with them while they ate their meal.  Naturally we were offered to join them but we respectively declined having only recently eaten ourselves. I learned quite a bit from this family thanks to Duang's efforts.  I thought that the two older adults were the parents of two young children, three and four year old sisters.  I was wrong.  The two adults were actually the grandparents of the two girls.  It turned out that the young woman that I thought was the 18 year old sister of the young children was actually their mother.  The husband and father was away working.  He was far away working - working in Israel.  This is not all that uncommon.  Many Thai men and some Thai women go off to work in Israel, Taiwan, or Korea.  They can make two to three times their Thai earnings a month in those far away lands.  An aunt of the little girls was a widow.  She asked me to find her a foreign husband.  This is also not uncommon here in Isaan.  I have been asked by at least 95 Thai women to find or better yet bring them a falang husband.

The family had been staying in the partially sided house for four weeks and expect to stay there another two weeks until the planting is completed.  They will return in October for the labor intensive manual harvest of the rice crop.

Three Year Old and Four Year Old Sisters Ready to Return to the Rice Paddies

As they prepared to return to the paddies, Duang and I drove ahead back to where we first encountered them.  Duang recommenced her conversations with the workers - I suspect right from where they had left off.  Feeling more comfortable with the location, I set off to be more adventuresome in my photography efforts.  I left the relative comfort and safety of the roadside to walk atop the rice paddy berms, raised dirt mounds that create the containment for the paddy water.  These dirt mounds offer some challenges as well as opportunities.  They are either covered with a thick mat of weeds or are freshly created with a clumps of what was recently moist dirt.  There are opportunities to slip and slide off into the water on either side of the raised berm.  I know that I could personally cope with falling into the mud but I am fearful of the problems that would be created for the camera gear that I carry.  The heavy weed mat also provides opportunities to twist an ankle or perhaps to break a leg.  The weeds often camouflage holes or uneven surfaces of the berm.  I also am very attentive when walking along the weed covered dikes to ensure that I do not have an opportunity to be bitten by a snake.  There are Cobras and other poisonous snakes in Isaan.  Fortunately either due to my diligence, luck, or the actual scarcity of snakes, I have not seen a live snake other than in a show.

Worker's Quarters In Rubber Plantation

After taking some more photos, we continued along the red dirt road.  We came upon a rubber plantation - another opportunity to take some landscape photographs.  I got out of the truck to explore a lit bit of the plantation.  Further down the road a couple of dogs came partly up the road to my location, barking and let me know that they had their eyes on me.  For some reason I do not find the dogs in Thailand anyway as threatening or intimidating than American dogs.  I ignored the dogs and soon they ignored me, returning to their original locations.

The rubber plantation was an interesting combination of textures, shadows, and colors.  I first encountered rubber plantation 13 years ago in Malaysia.  This plantation was much smaller and younger but just as fascinating.

After a while I was joined by a small herd of what originally believed to be "guard cattle".  Several cows and calves approached me and the crossed the road.  About five minutes later an old hunched over man approached from the original direction of the cattle.  He was the herd tender.  I pointed to the direction where the cattle headed and told him "cattle" in Thai.  He nodded and headed off in the same direction.

Follow Those Cows!

Eventually and after several false turns we found the dirt road that we were seeking.  The road split a market area in two.  The road appeared to be a path to a parking area for the various stalls rather than a way back to Ban Nong Han.  I was very pleased and Duang, my reluctant navigator and guide, was very much relieved to be once again on the right path.

The road was more damaged from water than the road that we had discovered that morning.  Along the road we saw plots of corn, rice paddies, mango orchards, rubber plantations, cassava plots, and banana trees.  Although there was no traffic on the road, there was plenty of opportunities for work along its sides.

Where we had seen a parched and rather desolate countryside in March, yesterday the worker's huts were now all occupied and in many instances repaired.  The countryside was a brilliant and vibrant green.  We no longer left a large and long red dust cloud as we drove along the road.

There were several locations where people were busy planting rice.  At one of the locations I pulled over to the side of the road as much as I could without getting the truck stuck in either a ditch or in the mud.  A man and a women were planting rice in separate enjoining rice paddies.

Water Spews from Farmer's Hands As He Plants Rice

I walked out and along a set of berms to where the woman was planting rice.  A fairly large tree grew out of the berm so I walked up to it in order to lean against it to further steady my camera.  As my hand approached the tree, I noticed the the bark was a busy highway, heavy in both directions, with large red ants some that were carrying large pieces of vegetation.  In a flash I realized what they were - weaver ants.  Weaver ants are the creators of "kie mot si daeng" (red ant eggs) that many Lao Loum people enjoy eating.  I had encountered them before and it was not pleasant - I had stepped on one of their trails and my feet were instantly swarmed with biting ants.  The bite of the weaver ant is initially similar to that of a fire ant but does not contain the enzymes of the fire ant that dissolves proteins, causes welts, causes burning, causes scars and can cause death.  The weaver ant bite is just a mechanical bite.  I looked at my feet and just like before they were getting swarmed by red ants.  I hastily got away from the tree and commenced to frantically brush the ants off of my shoes along with the few that had started to climb up my trouser legs.  I had no difficulty brushing them off and despite my fears none had bitten me.  After several repetitions of inspecting and brushing off of ants, I seemed to have gotten rid of the ants.  Then I started getting a tingle up my leg.  Since I am not a President Obama I knew that tingle could only mean a red ant.  I rushed across the berms and across the road to get to the far side of our pickup truck. After hearing me shout to her as I hustled across the berms. Duang arrived at the far side of the truck just as I arrived as I ... dropped my pants to the ground.   She quickly found and destroyed the two ants who were climbing up my legs.  We all enjoyed the opportunity to have a good laugh!

Women Planting Rice with the Infamous Tree in the Background

Further down the road we encountered a woman harvesting rice plants for transplantation in another paddy.  It was too good of a photo opportunity to pass up.  Besides it was also a great opportunity for Duang to pass some time speaking Lao to a farmer!  I am truly fortunate to have a wife who indulges my passion so well.

A Farmer Harvests Rice Plants for Transplantation

Excess Water Drains from Bunch of Rice Plants

Farmer Shakes Water from Rice Plants

After photographing the woman, we drove down the road further where we found a newly constructed rice mill operating.  This was not a mill were 18 wheelers delivered raw rice and transported finished sacks of rice away.  This mill was a village mill run by one man with help from his assistant.  It was at this plant that neighbors delivered sacks of rice from their small holdings to have the husks removed from the grain so that it could be consumed by the family.  The rice was transported to and from the mill on the back of motorbikes, on hand carts, or hand carts attached to motorbikes.

Fellow Travelers On the Road of Opportunity

Our excursion along the dirt back roads of Isaan ended as we got back to Ban Nong Han.  It had been a rewarding and entertaining day along the roads of opportunity.  There had been many opportunities to take photographs but more importantly we had seen many opportunities for the residents; opportunities to make a living. opportunities for work - plenty of opportunitis to work.

01 January 2009 - Ants In Their Fish, Ants In My Pants

Ants In Their Fish, Ants In My Pants
02 January 2009

Yesterday was New Year's Day here in Isaan - a day of family gatherings just as in many other lands around the world.

We went to Tahsang Village at 10:00 in the morning for a "family" party. I should have suspected that it would be more than a simple family get together. I have often joked with Duang regarding the number of aunts, uncles, and cousins she has.

After a stop at the market in Kumphawapi to buy some squid and shrimp, we arrived in the village which was alive with the sounds of mahlam lao (Lao Music) and partying from several houses. We walked to a "cousin's" house which happened to be the house with the loudest music, and greatest amount of people.

People of all ages were enjoying themselves inside and outside of the house. To prevent accidents, a cousin had removed a portion of the sliding door. With the door removed people and dogs could freely wander about unimpeded.

Inside the house, toddlers were sitting or standing on the sofas along the wall. The adults were either sitting on the floor eating and drinking or dancing. Wherever they were, they were talking or more closely screaming with each other. It was apparent they had been partying for awhile. I later found out that they had started the night before and this was just a continuation of New Year's Eve festivities.

In the middle of the room were several large speakers and large amplifier. The television was showing Isaan karaoke videos - loud, pounding, and driving beat. A microphone was passed among the revelers to participate in the "singing". People were very friendly but several kept forgetting that they had previously wished me a Happy New Year and drank a toast with me.
People sat on sahts placed on the floor in the center of the room drinking beer and whiskey along with eating Isaan food - chopped up raw beef with chili, marinated fish, broiled fish, dried fish, sticky rice, pauk pauk, and assorted green things.

It was an overwhelming scene. Our contributions of a bottle of whiskey, shrimp, and squid were welcomed and quickly dispatched. After about one and one half hours, I was in the groove and comfortable. Our glasses were never empty.

One of Duang's female cousins, who is a real party animal, told us that she wanted to be "Village Headman". The Village Headman takes care of some aspects of village life in Thailand. I have to get a letter from our Village Headman stating that I have been living in our home since September so that I can get a "House Book". My "House Book" will allow me to register a car in my name, and allow me to make contracts as well as agreements such as utilities in my name.

Running for office, Duang's cousin decided to organize an event for today's festivities. She chipped in some money with everyone else to hire the people who performed at the Christian Christmas party that we had attended the other night. Only in Thailand could you set up and organize a street party at 2:00 PM for that evening.

Duang and I took a little break from the partying and walked about the village. Walking around the village is always such an adventure. Unlike Americans, the people of Isaan live much of their life outdoors. If they are not out working in the fields, they are sitting outside. You can not walk by without stopping and having a little chat - especially if they are one of your relatives. The population of Isaan is more youthful than the USA which means there are many more babies around. Yesterday during our walkabout, I got to hold one month old, two month old, and four month old babies.

Duang and I eventually arrived at a home where the young men including her son were having their own celebration. The guys were outside busy drinking and preparing some food. Duang had told me that the boys had caught some "big" fish. I expected to see some large catfish around 25 pounds (10 Kg) or more. The "big" fish were definitely larger than the typical fish that I have seen in Tahsang Village - 1/4 pound or less but at around 3 pounds each I wouldn't consider them to be big. I guess size is in the eye of the beholder.

One young man was busy tending the cook fire. The fire was contained in a manufactured cook stove. The cook stove is a cylinder about 12 inches in diameter and 18 inches tall. It is lined with refractory material. There is a shelf in the center of the cylinder where about 6 small diameter sticks are burned to cook food that is placed in pots or pans at the top of the cylinder.

In addition to tending the fire, the young man stirred the pot of boiling water, garlic, and greens.

Another young man was busy drinking and preparing the "big" catfish. The fish had been dressed out when we arrived. The heads, entrails, skin, and fins were set aside in a container. I was initially surprised that they were not in the pot with the boiling water and greens to create an Isaan version of Bouillabaisse. The young man was sitting cross legged on a raised wood platform with a large chopping disk in front of him. He was using a heavy knife to chop the fish fillets into a paste - the same process used to prepare beef or pork. I noted that the fish paste was rather dry but surmised that when it was put into the pot of boiling water it would become juicier and might even be tasteful. Little did I imagine what was going to happen next!

There was some talk and I picked up the word "mot". "Mot" is Thai for "ant". From Duang I learned that the men needed to get some ants for their meal. I had seen Duang eat "kie mot" (ant eggs) with her fish before but today the actual ants were to be used. One of the young men, who had not been previously involved in the food preparation, took the lead and set off with two other guys to get the ants. This was something that I had to witness so I tagged along. We went to a couple houses and walked around their houses looking up into the bushes. We stopped at one bush and the young men grabbed a couples leaves. The leaves were covered with active and aggressive red ants. The ants were dumped and stripped into the bowl of fish paste. The ants bit the young men and they energetically swatted and brushed the furious ants off of them into the bowl.

At the last house that we stopped at, I saw the object of the young man's desire. Up in a bush, there was a large leafy mass that resembled a wasp's nest. The mass was about 12 inches long and 9 inches in diameter. The young men broke the twigs off that supported the nest and dumped the nest contents into the bowl of fish paste. The bowl exploded into a mass of red - red furious ants! Ants were everywhere. It reminded me of the scene where you step or dig into a fire ant mound in SE USA. The young men were also very much more animated at this stop - many more ants biting them. They threw away the nest, and the leader devoted his attention to killing the ants in the bowl by squeezing them into submission in the fish paste with his bare hands taking time to remove attacking ants from his body.

We returned to the cooking site to continue preparing the meal. I was busy telling Duang what had happened in the neighboring yards to get the ants so I don't know exactly happened next. The next time that I saw the ant/fish mixture was very moist - I don't know if this was attributable to the addition of the ants or water. Anyhow the young man was kept busy for the next five minutes squeezing the ant/fish paste to kill the remaing ants that were alive and to get the mass thoroughly mixed. The remaining ants did not go quietly into that good night. They fought to the end. Due to the intensity of the mixing activity, an ant flew up into the air and laded on my neck. It promptly bit me. The bite was like a small sting similar to a fire ant bite but without any swelling or blistering. It was just a plain ordinary bite - no toxins, or venom. I promptly swatted the ant and tossed it into the bowl.

Once the ants had been killed and mixed with the fish paste, the young man to the bowl to the boiling pot of greens and squeezed the liquid from the ant/fish mixture into the pot of boiling water. The removal of excess fluid was repeated three times.

Finely chopped fresh scallions, celery leaves, and some spices were added to the dewatered ant/fish mixture. I was appalled at the amount of MSG that was used. Earlier in the year I had some concerns over my heart. My concerns were over a period of five days. I finally got an idea what might have been the cause. I asked Duang what she was putting in the food that she was preparing. She told me that she was using "Vietnam Salt" (MSG). In Vietnam, MSG was sold in 5 kg bags (11 pounds!). Mystery solved - no further concerns. No more MSG in my food! Well yesterday I was concerned at how much MSG was used. Duang assured me that it was OK "Isaan not same as Falang". Perhaps the red ants counteract the effects of MSG.
The fish heads and other parts were placed into the pot of boiling greens. The soup chef seasoned and sampled the soup. He offered me a taste of the broth. I tasted it and found it to surprisingly astringant and bitter. It was edible and I could eat it although it did ot suit my tatse. I believe the bitterness came from some of the plants used in the soup. I have tried some Kao Lao (Lao Food) sticks and twigs before and found them to be bitter.

Duang and I continued our walkabout as the young men commenced to eat their feast. As a boy, it was our French-Canadian heritage to eat pork pie on New Year's Day. Perhaps Ant/Fish salad is an Isaan tradition as well. A tradition that I will not be adopting.

As we walked along the main road we came upon some squashed fruit and a small piece of road kill (a frog). The debris had red ants on it. We saw and recognized the ants but in no time at all we were getting attacked by the ants. My sneakers were crawling with angry red ants. My pant legs had several ants running around on them. Some ants were running up my socks. Other ants had rapidly made their way up my pants and were biting my legs. I responded by stomping my feet, jumping around swatting ants off of me - all to the amusement of a local family sitting outside across the street from us. Duang was also under attack but to a much lesser extent. We made our way to safety and the local family turned out to be cousins so we stopped. As was many stops that afternoon, we had to talk and drink a toast to the new year. The people of Isaan are very hospitable and definitely know how to party. While I was drinking my glass of whiskey, I got another bite on my bare leg just below the knee. Now I was getting very worried as the attacks became higher and higher up my legs. Fortunately that was the last as well as highest bite of the day. Everyone got a good laugh at my encounter with the ants. Duang said that ants like falang but not Isaan people - the same thing that she says about mosquitoes. It may very well be true. I get many more mosquito bites and more severe bights than her. She says that I am too sweet. Perhaps I should eat some of those bitter Kao Lao foods or pala (fermented fish). Better yet I will go find some "OFF" repellent.

At the midpoint of our walk we came upon a group of older men including Duang's brother the entertainer. They were drinking and playing petanque - a French version of Bocce Ball. I even got to toss a couple balls and did not embarrass myself or Duang. The newly elected government representative from the village was there. He ran on a campaign saying that he would fix the roads. On the way out Duang had remarked that the roads were bad - still. They were actually getting worse - the heavily loaded trucks of sugar cane just tear up the roads. Repairs consist of filling ruts and repaving - to be destroyed during the next harvest season. The sub base needs to be removed and replaced to do the job properly but is too expensive. Anyhow I had Duang tell the man that I wanted to buy a new truck but that with the way the roads were I was afraid to. He told us that the roads would be repaired in 5 months. We all enjoyed a good laugh. Everyone understood the joke as well as point.

We returned back to the original party sight just as the enertainment arrived - well not really the entertainment but the venue. We were to be the entertainment. The people that were hired provided a stage, lights, sound system, and karaoke system. It was awesome. They set up in the middle of the street in front of the Buddhist Wat in the village. The speaker system was the same that they use for their live shows. They played Isaan music and people went up and sang. They even had some English songs and had me go up and sing a couple songs. The highlight was Duang's brother and one of her female cousins. They perform for a living and last night they put on quite a show for us. It was very entertaining - singing, drinking, and dancing under the stars. We left at 8:30 PM. Today we found out that the party lasted until 2:30 AM - a party that had gone on for 32.5 hours - only in Thailand.

I am not sure about Duang's cousin becoming Village Headman. There was a pitiful man from the village that was a problem. He is insane and completely drunk. He was falling down, soiled himself, and was a danger to himself as well as others. He became a nuiscance and it appeared that there would be a fight if he remained. Duang's cousin who was in charge of the party ignored the situation and him. One of Duang's older aunts went up to him and escorted him away. I made a big deal out of it and had Duang tell her cousin that as Headman her job would be to take care of situations like that. She had not and I did not know if I could vote for her. Since the aunt took care of it, I would consider her for Village Headman. I then pantomimed looking at a ballot and then their faces, to end up checking off the Aunt's name on the imaginary ballot. We laughed like crazy and had another drink

It was a very nice way to welcome the New Year.