Thailand   (For travel and country facts: Thailand)

MURRAY'S DIARY for the complete story.

                                          THAILAND Part 1

The shortcut

 What an absolute genius idea, leaving Laos to make a shortcut through Thailand to Cambodia, who's idea was it again?! Never seen an absolute more boring countryside for the full 600km. All elements that make it worthwhile are not to be seen here. Instead, all we get is long roads, no curves, no mountains, not even a single hill (except for one). Very smooth asphalt that provides us with distance information every 350m (painted on the road), and all 600km it's the same scenery: rice, rice, palm trees, rice and more rice.

"Nong Khai"

 But nothing negative about the Buddha park in Non Khai that we have visited just across the friendship bridge coming out of Laos, and the Dinosaur museum. In fact this area is dinosaur heaven, a lot of footprints and bones of various sorts of dinosaurs have been found in this part of Thailand.  This is a very welcome relaxation.  Back on the boring asphalt again. I suggest we start a chess game, ''horse C7 to B9"", having no idea if this move is allowed.

"Looking at......................................................................Muriel"

''It's a rabbitcow!'' Raymond says suddenly. He must have gone brain dead from this boring road and has nothing else to do I think, but when I look at the cow…

---->              ---------------->                                 "the day after"

Tonight we will have another nice activity: The finals of the World cup Rugby 2003 between England and Australia (played in Australia). I'll be there for the close-ups and the beer; Raymond goes for the match itself. In Surin we find a hotel and also some retired Europeans who have found a Thai wife and can tell us where we can watch the match. We end up in the ''Falang connection'' with 15 ex-pats living in the area. A 60" screen really put is on the rugby field. It's already late when we return to our hotel. We realize it is the first time in four months that we are not in an ex-/communist country. After cycling through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Laos we hungry grasp for the Bangkok Post, watch BBC world and buy English books in the bookstore.

 After 7 days we finally reach the Cambodian border. We know behind this line there will be less asphalt and more dynamic scenery. Just before the crossing we see already the signs of a country still recovering from a civil war. Just before the border signs along the road warn for land mine areas next to the road, this was to make sure that the Red Khmer army could not get into Thailand.

"out"