Loei, Uttaradit, Chiang Mai

Thursday evening finds me sitting on a bamboo raft which floats in the middle of a reservoir situated a short drive north of Loei. The raft is built like a thatched hut with open sides and a matting floor atop giant lengths of bamboo lashed together to provide floatation. My companion is a beautiful young lady from the hotel in Loei, who speaks excellent English.

We watch the sun go down through the open sides of the grass roofed raft and engage in deep and meaningful conversation. On the other side of the reservoir we watch the progress of a farmers burn-off and speculate on whether the flames, which at one stage cover a whole hillside, have also consumed the farmer. From the opposite shore we hear from time to time the sounds of a Karaoke bar (and also discuss what should be done to the singer). Soon the Karaoke ends and all that is left is the distant crackle of flames and the sound of the water as the raft slowly swings on its anchor (a bag of rocks) in the current.

Out of the twilight appears a small motorised canoe, the proprietor bringing us some candles, an electric lamp and a glowing barbeque on which my companion cooks our meal. The Thai barbeque is a vented container the size of a large pot with a lid which is dished around the outer rim (into this part go our vegetables in boiling water) and a raised grilled centre section on which the meat is cooked. We eat pork, beef, squid and a variety of vegetables taken straight from the barbecue and dipped in delicious sauces and watch the ever changing reflection of the full moon upon the water. All this for about two hundred baht. Tonight I am the richest man in the world!

All too soon the boatman arrives again and tows us back to the shore. We are both sorry to leave and the night is still young so we adjourn to a local bar where the band is excellent and the beer cheep and spend another couple of enjoyable hours before it's back on the bike to drop my friend home. We agree to visit the raft again, and to hire it for the night, but the moment is past and we never do.