Khon Kaen, Thailand

Khon Kaen is a large university town and this was kind of a stop off for us on the journey south. The usual bus munchies haunted us and we opted for a whole chicken on a stick. There's something so ridiculous about chickens on sticks, it fast becomes hilarious!

We get off the bus at the air-conditioned or the non-air-conditioned bus terminal, I forget which! There's not much in the way of tourists or tourist accommodation here, if anything. We ask at a few hotels but some have no free wi-fi (?), some are expensive and some are closed. We eventually find one called hotel Roma. It's like a 1980's business hotel with the biggest foyer this side of Las Vegas; which is fine, if you have something to put in it, like a giant fountain or fighting midgets. Once the 20 minute walk to reception is complete we check-in and are shown to the room. The porter opens the door to dimness and quickly puts the television on. Once he's gone our eyes adjust and start to investigate. The reason for lack of light is apparent; the two main light bulbs are missing, only the light above the odd-shaped mirror is working. There's no windows here, just a metal mesh that leads out onto a rooftop. There's a beautiful patch of damp above the mirror and in the other corners. The TV wires are lead across the wall and up to the ceiling. The bedding was clean and the bathroom fine so I'm not complaining, I actually like it; it wins an award as one of the most memorable rooms I've stayed in! I since did a little research and now realise that the room we had was in the old wing and we paid 230 Baht. People who left good reviews paid 600 Baht. If I went back knowing this I'd choose the 230 Baht room. 

Reception (echo... echo... echo... echo...)

Ceiling fan regulator

We took dinner at the Roma, as there were 2 live bands playing and they were good; playing 80's and modern pop classics. It's a shame that only about 10 people were watching. I guess that they were music students from the university although one or two of the band members looked like John Lennon might do if he was alive today.

Our bus was due to leave that evening so we powered around the town. It's hot, really hot. I had a few moments where I felt incredibly dizzy. Maybe I was a little sick, or de-hydrated; I found myself ducking to any shade I could find and had intense relief from air-conditioning (normally I'm the opposite). One Wat we ducked into had a hoard of 300+ Monks, all in robes, eating lunch. The sea of orange is a photographers dream but who wants to have their picture taken while eating? We decided against it and moved on to the huge main hall, expecting it to have an enormous Buddha inside. It didn't! (see photo)

There's a skate park near the top of the lake. I can't imagine anyone skating on it anymore! The quarter-pipes had huge holes and the paint was peeling off. The boxes were split and the rails rusty. I guess no-one skates in Khon Kaen anymore which is a shame as it could be a great park. In a similar state is a giant concrete open air amphitheatre a little further round from the skate park; I'm not sure when the last performance was here, but I would guess at a while ago! Getting on a stage is the last thing I would do with an audience present but it's usually the first thing I do if alone or with close friends. Underneath the stage is a local museum; It didn't look particularly interesting, maybe we just weren't in the mood.

Skate with your life

The turnout for Charlie Sheen's new show was bad

There is was. It knew our bodies were sugar-starved. Before I could open my mouth to say something Anna was there and schmoozing with the friendly owner. The Tasty Chocolate shop sells real Belgian chocolates, at a premium of course. We opted for the "lets treats ourselves" thought pattern and bought 4 individual chocolates each and one large tub of white freezing cold chocolate buttons. Anna also bought a chocolate cake and the lady gave us one free. Nicely bagged with a block of ice we happily munch our way out of the shop. I was first to overdose and flat-refused the second cake (I'm more savoury than sweet) which we gave to a surprised lady on the street. Anna, like a trooper, continued with the chocolate binge for a little while longer until the sheer number of buttons got the better of her. We now only had an hour before the coach left so I bought a new T-shirt and we hid in a deliciously-freezing McDonald's with some fresh orange juice (confession: I had a bouncy fillet of fish also). Next stop Nang Rong!