The Dock On The River

On Monday while Duang was off in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) taking care of my passport, I spent 6-1/2 hours along the waterfront of the Mekong River in Nong Khai, Thailand. It is hard to believe that it was 6-1/2 hours but time always seems to go by quickly along bodies of water. There appears to be something interesting happening around water.

In Nong Khai there is a large market along, or rather more accurately above the Mekong River. We are into the rainy season now so the Mekong River has greatly recovered from its historic lows of three months ago. Later this year there could be flooding. As I walked past the market, I came upon a place where steps led down to the river itself. I would estimate that the river was about 45 feet below the street level. There were three permanent flood stage markers close to the street level to monitor the water as it rises significantly in the flood season. It is quite impressive at times to see evidence of the variability of Nature in a single location.

After watching the people clean outside their hotels, stalls, or hotels, I wandered down to the dock on the river. Boats from Laos and Thailand crossed the swiftly flowing Mekong carrying passengers and cargo between the two countries. I spent several hours at the Thai Customs Station watching goods being offloaded by hand from somlaws (three wheeled motorcycles), pick up trucks, and lorries. Since it was Monday, there was a great deal of activity - especially exporting of bicycles to Laos. I must have witnessed the offloading of 500 bicycles each in its own individual cardboard box.

The offloading of the cargo in Thailand is performed by stevedores. I learned from them that they make around 200 baht a day ($6.00 USD) a day. The men dress just the same as the men working out in the fields. There are no hard hats, gloves, sturdy boots, or back braces. There is no personal safety equipment at all. Down at the wharf, some 45 feet lower than the street level, there are no life vests, life rings, or rescue equipment.

From what I could see across the river to Laos, about 1/2 mile away, the same was true - offloading by hand. From the sounds coming from Laos, it appeared that the stevedores over there were having a good time. It sounded more like a party than work. On the Thai side it was not all work. During lulls in the arrival of goods to be offloaded, the men played checkers. Their board was a thin square piece of sheet metal that once had blue squares spray painted as required to produced a grid of blue and bare metal squares. Their board had been heavily used for a long period of time reducing many of the blue squares to very faint smudges of color. The game pieces were a combination of beer, soft drink, and Kao Lao (whiskey) bottle caps. One player's pieces were smooth side down and the other player's pieces were rough side down, After watching a while, the men invited me to play. I had not played since a long night in a bar in Malaysia 10 years ago and then it was against my wife of that time. These guys appeared to be a much higher level of competition. I agreed and started to play. The first game was a tie. They changed my opponent and I won the next match. During the third match, we or rather my opponent started getting "comments from the peanut gallery" and advice from several kibitzers. Since I had made sure that we weren't playing for money (gambling is not legal here in Thailand ;-) ), I pretended to be upset and told the men in Thai that it was one man against one man and not 2 men, 3 men, or 4 men against one falang (foreigner). We all had a good laugh. As the match continued, my chastisement did not deter some of the guys, they were giving advise to my opponent - they were reminded of my words by their coworkers. Again we had a good laugh. I ended up losing this match but won my next three matches. It was all good natured fun and amusement. It was an easy way to burn up some time along the river and I enjoyed the time.

Unfortunately, I had not brought my camera with me on Monday. When I met Duang at the border, I told her of my adventure and we decided to return to Nong Khai the next day before going to visit family in Tahsang Village.

Tuesday we drove back to Nong Khai so that I could photograph the activity at the dock. Even better, Duang could translate for me to ensure that I understood what was going on especially the details that were not readily apparent. I want to be reasonably sure of what I write about. Sometimes I suspect that I might understand just enough to get confused. Having Duang to confirm and verify what I believe that I understand is very assuring. We arrived around 8:00 A.M. for the start of the work day on the river. Many of the workers from the day before were in place awaiting the arrival of the day's cargo. Some were finishing their breakfast on the steps of the Custom's House. Breakfast consisted of the Isaan main staple of "sticky rice" brought to the job site in a woven bamboo container called a "gong kao" - a sort of Lao Loum workman's lunch box. We have three in our kitchen. Balls of sticky rice are dipped into a sauce or into fish or sometimes vegetables by hand. Typically plain water is consumed with their meals.

Soon after 8:00 A.M. the cargo started to arrive. Somlaws, three wheeled motorcycles, arrived stuffed with all kinds of cargo destined for Lao People's Democratic Republic. Over the two days of observing work at the wharf, I saw just about everything - well I didn't see a kitchen sink but I did see two pick up truck canopies being exported to the LPDR. Over the two days I saw LG 29 inch televisions, small refrigerators, stuffed toys, hoses, plastic baskets, baby formula, motorcycle tires, truck tires, snack food, Coca Cola, Fanta Orange soft drink, Thailand's version of Red Bull, welding machines, bicycles, candy, motorcycle parts, car parts, washing machines, feminine hygiene products, plant seeds, and canned goods off loaded by hand from pick up trucks, somlaws and 10 wheel trucks. Trucks larger than 10 wheelers are too large to access the Customs House using the narrow city streets. I found it very ironic that some goods were originally manufactured in China were being exported from Thailand into a Communist state that actually shares a border with The People's Republic of China. I suspect that a contributing factor to this situation is the distribution networks available in all three countries. Here in Thailand there are not big distributors or wholesalers of goods. In general, goods are available to you, the consumer, through a series of small distributors and wholesalers with each adding a mark up. My Mother-in-law has a small market in Tahsang Village. One of her biggest selling items is Kao Lao (whiskey). She purchases about one case a week from small ethnic Chinese markets in Kumphawapi or Udonthani. I looked into the possibility of dealing with me for a greater volume perhaps 10 case purchase to get a volume discount. There was no volume discount. I looked into dealing with a larger distributor for either a volume discount or lower unit price and found that the alternative was not available. It is the system of distribution that makes Japanese cameras more expensive in Japan than in the United States. I suspect that a similar situation exists in Laos. It is most likely easier to import Chinese goods through Thailand than to deal with China directly for the small Lao businessman.

As soon as a vehicle pulls up to the curb to be off loaded, the stevedores quickly line up and off load the cargo. The cargo is staged on the sidewalk and entry way to the Customs House. The stevedores are heavily laden with the various pieces of cargo. I saw one man carrying 5 cases of powdered baby formula. Typically one case is placed on edge upon the stevedore's shoulder with 2 more cases added flatly upon this on edge case and the stevedore's head. When a stevedore gets tired and work slows down he can go across the street and lay down on a saht placed upon the sidewalk under the shade of a large tree. Some stevedores choose to play a game or two of checkers. The workers are paid by the "Boss" (Lead Stevedore"). The Boss collects 50 baht to offload a somlaw of cargo and 50 to 100 baht to offload a pick up. The big money is earned for loading the boat. The Boss is paid 10,000 baht for a full boat of cargo. He then divides the money up amongst his crew. Each member of the crew then pays him a fee for allowing them to work. If you is satisfied with their "contribution" he invites them to work the next day. If he is not satisfied, they can not work the next day. Typically the average stevedore will take home 200 baht for the day.

An agent for the exporter verifies the weigh bills and marks up the packages with a blue magic marker - a series of Thai symbols and numbers. Once in a while a Customs Agent will walk out and look over the goods. Once all the goods in a shipment are off loaded, consolidated, verified, the stevedores haul the cargo through the doors into the Customs House, through the building, and place it on a concrete pad high above the Mekong River (about 45 feet).

A crew of stevedores on the vessel moored to the wharf awaits the cargo. A stevedore up on the Custom House concrete pad slides the cargo down a long wood chute down to the vessel. Larger cargo items and hopefully delicate items are hand carried down concrete steps and place aboard the boat. A stevedore on board the floating wharf deftly uses his foot, soccer style, to direct and stop the sliding cargo arriving fro high above. To maintain his balance and perhaps to avoid an accident he uses a rope tied off to a railing to steady himself. I am reasonably certain this is a matter of personal choice rather than compliance with any regulation.

There are two wood slides down to the wharf but on Tuesday one of the slides was being reconstructed. Three men were busy replacing some of the boards on the chute.


After watching the two truck canopies being loaded on to the boat, we left to continue our trip to Tahsang Village.

Isaan Area Back Roads

Driving along the roads of Isaan presents a series of challenges as well as "surprises"

Having developed a certain familiarity with driving on the left hand side of the road is not the conclusion of adapting to driving in Isaan. Isaan is an agricultural area so many of the roads traverse fields and farming villages. Although the roads are typically paved, there are many dirt roads or partially paved roads that add to the challenges of driving here.

In areas where sugar cane is grown and along the country routes to the sugar refineries, the roads are seriously degraded. The large and heavily laden trucks hauling cane breakdown the pavement very similar to the breakdown of roads in northern climates due to frost heaves. The soil in Isaan is mostly clay which is not a very good engineered fill material. Houses and roads are built upon elevated sections of land created by backfilling upon clay with more clay. These elevated portions of ground are not resistant to infiltration of moisture or worse yet - errosion by rains during the rainy season. I was advised not to buy a home that had not weathered at least two rainy seasons. Some newer houses have cracks and settlement issues during the first two rainy seasons due to improper backfilling operations.


The United States has areas with similar soil conditions as in Isaan but utilizes different construction methods to ensure adequate structural soil base for roads and homes. In Louisiana, oyster shells, lime stabilization, geo-textile fabrics, and importation of granular engineered fill materials are used in combination to provide structural integrity.


Here in Isaan the techniques used in Louisiana are too expensive if they are even available. After the heavy haul season, which will end in about 4 months, the roads will be repaired. They will be repaired by removing the damaged pavement, filling in the ruts with more dirt, compacting the backfill, blading the surface to required contour, and paving with asphalt. This will provide a fairly nice road until next year when it will all have to be redone - just like this year.


The ruts, dips, and in some spots - holes create a maze and challenge for driving. When I first started driving here, I seemed to hit every road hazard that there was. Now my driving skill has evolved to the point where I can dodge just about all of the hazards. Dodging involves swerving or driving in the wrong lane along with driving on the shoulder to avoid obstacles.


Now that we are in the dry season, large clouds of dust are kicked up as you motor along the roads out to the villages. Young women driving motorbikes have adopted a technique of squinting their eyes, covering their mouth and nose with one hand as they drive with the other hand. The young boys, in general, just tough it out.


Just outside of a local village the road has been undermined by running water creating a fairly large as well as deep hole that encroaches into 1/3 of the road lane. When the hole first appeared about 9 months ago, one of the villagers placed a broken tree branch in the road as a warning ahead of the hazard. In Thailand as well as Malaysia, broken branches are used to warn motorists of disabled vehicles or road hazards. As you drive along and see a fresh tree branch in the road, you need to watch out. The use of the broken branch is a good idea except that most of the time it is only 10 to 20 feet from the hazard - you see and have react to the branch at the same time as the hazard. Now that the hole in road has been there for 9 months the villager no longer sets out broken branches. A more permanent warning has been installed for the dangerous hazard - a long bamboo stick has been placed in the hole. The bamboo pole protrudes about 5 feet out of the deep hole.

As you drive along avoiding all the road surface hazards, you must be aware of the surrounding traffic sharing or in some cases usurping the road. Along the country roads there are many farm vehicles similar to trucks. These vehicles, called "etan", transport workers to and from the fields as well as tools along with harvest. They are always slowly moving no doubt due to the small (lawn tractor sized diesel engine) engine that powers them. As they move down the road they make a "tuk, tuk, tuk" sound. They are not pretty. They are not fast. But they are reliable. I have yet to find one broken down along side of the road. One of my favorite sights here is to see one of these running down the road with the driver's wide brimmed bright yellow straw hat with the brim flipped up vertically in the front from the breeze with 6 to 12 family members of all ages standing in the back cab on their way back home after a long day in the fields. These farm vehicles are a menace only in that they are so slowly moving.

As you drive in addition to all the motorbikes, driven by 12 to 80 year olds, you will encounter three wheeled motorcycles called "somlaws". Somlaws are used for just about all purposes. They are used like taxis to take people to where they want to go. Some people own a somlaw rather than a motorbike or car. At the markets you will find many somlaws parked waiting to be hired. Somlaw drivers like most people here carry cell phones and can be called for door to door service. There are no posted rates. The price of your journey needs to negogiated and agreed to prior to departure. The charges are reasonable - one way within Udonthani limits is around $2. We pay the somlaw driver that comes to our home, takes us into town for shopping, and brings us back - $6.00 USD for our 2 to 3 hour trip. On main roads there are locations will congregate. These locations are where people get off of songeaws (songtels). The songeaws are pickup trucks that have a canopy and two benches in the pickup bed for passengers. The songeaws travel a set route. The trucks have a number as well as color that specifies the route that they travel. Duang and I have traveled fro Udonthani to Tahsang Village entirely by songeaw - a journey of 30 miles for 50 baht ($1.43 USD) each - one way. It is a very economical way to travel but slow. It takes 2 hours whereas I drive it in 1 hour. It is reassuring though to know that if we did not have a vehicle we could still get around even if it is slow.

Regular trucks drive the back roads of Isaan. But, this being Thailand, "regular" is a relative term. Just as in the case of songeaws where I have seen 20 people riding in the back, outside of the back, AND ON TOP OF THE PICKUP BED CANOPY, passengers, sometimes ride outside of the cab of trucks. There appears to be no problem in this behavior. The police stop mostly motorbikes for lack of helmet by the DRIVER (Passengers are apparent exempt from the requirement), and to check for the appropriate license. Cars are stopped mainly for driving in the passing lane without actually passing anyone (Yes,I was guilty as charged - 200 baht, $6.00 USD fine "on the spot") or speeding.

Besides the other vehicles you encounter livestock along Isaan roads. All cattle here are "free range". There are no feed lots for cattle. The cattle with their herder wander about from early morning until sunset foraging for feed. The cattle consider the road to be an intigral part of their territory. They have a great deal of practise in that they do not panic when they encounter any type of motorized vehicle on the road. They continue at their determined pace in crossing the road or in their ambulation along the side of the road oblivious to the speed, size, or number of vehicles trying to get by them.

Sometimes you will come across an "etac". Etacs are versatile devices. I refer to them as mechanical mules. They can be used to plow and prepare the ground for planting. A compartment can be added to them to transport goods or in this case a family and their best friends. These vehicles which are much smaller, and slower than the etans share the road with everything else. As you drive your full sized pickup truck you execute all kinds of twists, turns, swerves, accelerations, and deaccelerations to avoid the roadway challenges as well as perils.

With this being Isaan, it all seems to work out somehow rather harmoniously. You don't get upset to see someone coming straight at you in your lane. You pull slightly over to make way for him and they only take what they need of your lane to get around whatever is in their lane. Lane designations are more of a suggestion in people's minds than a territorial demarkation. Everyone gives and takes without emotion as required by the current situation. To avoid having to travel a little out of their way to find a turnaround along the road, some people driving any and all types of vehicles will travel in the wrong lane towards on coming traffic. They do this in the breakdown or shoulder along the road so as far as I can tell (so far) head on collisions are avoided. I have become comfortable to expect the unexpected here and I am seldom left unamazed at what passes for driving

Duang has remarked that I drive good in Thailand now. She then smiles and adds that I will need to be afraid, and the police will complain when I drive again in America.

I believe that she is right. It will be different.