01/01/2011 happy new year.

Sleep is a comfort commodity that is definitely hard to come by here. Karaoke is second only to the much revered King and not indulged in lightly. So you can imagine a village like Nong Phai with a town planning strategy based on chaos theory, and it’s locals all going bezerk with their karaoke gear. These guys don’t hold back when it comes to sound gear. Amplifiers just don’t come big enough to empower them to out do their next door neighbor. Fortunately for me my family doesn’t indulge in this nonsense. However that doesn’t mean you miss out. The subtle nuances of the eclectic Isan music certainly have a way of finding one’s ears.

So after a good nights sleep we received a visit by one of our nephews from Petchabun. (Note to self. Do family tree). With all the introductions out of the way he then started the rest of the proceedings off by opening a bottle of Sang Som. This is at 9 o’clock in the morning. I’ve now learnt that excess knows no time zone.

Later we went off to see some Ghai boxing. Ghai meaning Cock. Definitely a not a sport for the masses. There was no gambling involved and cheers were coming from around the ring for no reason that I could see. Two roosters jumping around a ring trying to claw each other is not something I would go out of my way to see.

We then went off to check out the farm and upon our return we were stopped by the local constabulary. These guys are volunteers that help keep the peace in the village. Four guys under a sun shelter, on the side of the main road, and, drinking, you guessed it, whiskey see sip. At least they looked good as they were all decked out in khaki uniforms. I was not surprised to see that one of the four was Mr Whiskey.

Help keep the peace…….?

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