One of the benefits of being in Singapore is proximity to my research locations. This allows me to split my time between Thailand and my office, and over the past three months I have been fortunate enough to have spent much of my time in Khon Kaen, Thailand working on a few projects.
Khon Kaen is somewhat famous for its dinosaur fossils. I'm not really sure why. I think it mostly has to do with efforts to promote tourism in areas that don't traditionally draw many foreigners.
The town is rather provincial, but thanks to Air Asia (a local budget carrier) it is connected to Singapore via a layover in Bangkok.
Air Asia allowed me to save many hours by passing immigration in Khon Kaen rather than exiting the airport in Bangkok and re-entering. I spent some lonely times in the waiting area, as I was the only one on my way out of the country. On this occasion my flight was delayed, so I had an extra 30 minutes reading in complete solitude.
I was affiliated with the College of Local Administration at Khon Kaen University (acronym COLA). The college is a sub-unit of the university that focuses on training students as well as local government officials how to deal with the challenge of governance primarily in rural Thailand.
Of course, being in Thailand gave me excellent opportunities to enjoy delicious food!
 |
| Nam Tok Muu & Sticky Rice |
 |
| A full spread of Northeastern Cuisine |
 |
| Satay & Vietnamese Rolls with my friends in Bangkok |
 |
| Roasted Fish & Tam Taeng with friends in Khon Kaen |
The food might have been my favorite part of the visit... a fact borne by my slightly expanded waistline.
I attended the local church, which was still held in the same building I had visited once on my mission for a zone conference.
The time in Thailand was a good break from Singapore, especially since the city has been engulfed in haze from forest fires in Indonesia during my entire three months away. The haze finally lifted shortly before my return. My next few posts will present some of the places I visited on weekends in Khon Kaen.
No comments:
Post a Comment