A relaxed weekend

[by Franzi] In the last two days, not much has actually happened... We mainly booked the hotel in Udon Thani to relax a bit, which worked out very well. Yes, we stayed in a hotel instead of a hostel or guesthouse. This is because we really wanted to relax, have a pool, and it was a less touristy city, so there were hardly any hostels. The price for our spacious room (12.50€/night/person) included a very good breakfast buffet and we felt very comfortable. We didn't do much during the days. During the day, we lay by the pool, enjoyed the weather and the sun, and occasionally jumped into the pool to cool off from the 38-degree heat. Nevertheless, we both ended up a little sunburnt.

On Friday afternoon, we strolled through the city and the shopping center a bit and discovered a very interesting restaurant where we also ate in the evening: In the middle of the tables, there was a hot plate on which a kind of "pan" was placed. However, it was arched upwards in the middle and at the edges it went up quite high, creating a kind of channel where oil was poured in. You could then grill/cook/fry the food yourself at the table.

We ordered a selection of pork with a few noodles, chicken breast strips, small corn cobs, and pre-cooked rice. There were also various sauces and some salad that we cooked in the oil. Everything came raw and we started - with chopsticks. It didn't work out as well as we had hoped and I think after a while one of the waitresses took pity on us and brought us spoons and forks. Suddenly everything worked much better and we really had fun going out to eat in this way and cooking and grilling the food ourselves. It was somehow a mixture of raclette and fondue in a restaurant (400 Baht = 10.33€).

On Saturday evening, we went to the local market to find something to eat. However, since we were in a non-touristy city, there were hardly any signs with Latin letters. Judging by the signs, there was mainly fish, which Jonas does not eat and I also didn't feel like eating. After almost walking all the way around the market, seeing many clothes, shoes, and toys, and to our surprise also small puppies (5500 Baht/puppy = 140€ VB) locked up in a cage, we were both somewhat disappointed, hungry, and in a bad mood.

After a while, however, we managed to find something to eat: chicken in a very tasty, but very spicy marinade (30 Baht/3 pieces = 78 cents). But we didn't get full from that. So we decided, very European and touristy, to go to McDonald's for something to eat.

Sunday morning, today, it was time to check out and move on! We walked directly from the hotel to the bus station to take the minivan (50 Baht/person = 1.29€) to Nong Khai. We had already inquired on Friday about when the minivans depart: every 30 minutes, without reservation. So we just went there, bought our tickets, and got on board. Jonas was actually a bit too tall for the minivan again and just fit into the seat.

After waiting for about 20 minutes, we departed and arrived an hour later. From the bus station in Nong Khai, we then walked along the promenade for 15 minutes to our hostel. The complex is designed as a large garden with many small houses and is located directly on the Mekong River, which is also the border river with Laos here. If you look across the Mekong, you can see Laos.
After checking in, we took another leisurely walk along the promenade to a temple with a giant Buddha on its roof.

Since it was so hot, we quickly got ourselves milkshakes (150 Baht = 3.88€) from a small, very cute café located directly on the promenade - a good way to cool down in the weather and also delicious. I read on the internet that there is a restaurant boat that sails into the sunset over the Mekong. However, we decided against it because it was a bit too expensive for us and the reviews didn't sound too good. Nevertheless, we watched the sunset, but from the promenade right in front of our hostel: The sun set directly above the Mekong and the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, beautiful.

We had some Pad Thai and Kao Pat (Pad Thai with rice instead of noodles) for dinner in the hotel's own restaurant in the garden area (100 Baht = 2.58€). Now we're lying here in our bed in our room under the mosquito net and letting the fan in our room blow wind at us (390Baht/room/night = 10€). Personally, I'm not thrilled with this room, but that's how it is now and it's only one night that I have to sleep here.

Tomorrow we will continue. We are leaving Thailand for now and want to continue to Laos. Hopefully everything will go smoothly at the border, keep your fingers crossed!

We will keep you posted.

Franzi and Jonas