Nong Khai

      After our rickety 10 hour van ride through the night on back country roads we arrived in Nong Khai. Which is nestled along the Mekong River that flows wide and brown in the rainy season. It's the divide between Thailand and Laos. Here we found a mellow guesthouse that sits on the river bank called Mut Mee.  It has the best food, Eugene can't stop eating.  He orders breakfast and then lunch, back to back. He says he's getting fat and wonders why!  The day we arrived Eugene ate all day, while we recovered from our transport, and its a good thing it rained all day!
      After not doing much for two days when the rain let up we rented bikes and took to the streets.  We followed the map to one of the most interesting and weirdest sculpture parks we have ever been too. Apparently the guy was gay and loved snakes thinking he was one himself; he used cement from a U.S. project that never happened. Some sculptures were seven stories high!! After our walk through we got caught in the rain squall which soaked us to the core. I got a flat tire this time, and didn't realize it until we returned the bikes.  I was wondering why it was so hard to peddle!! 
       The next day we braved the streets, this time on a motorbike rented from a nice toothless guy named Sun. He was full of information and had details on how to start the bike if it had trouble.  Good thing Eugene is a California driver and spent the past two years driving for his job.  We cruised two hours into the countryside to a Historical Park called Phu Phrubat.  At one point it was a glacial terminal moraine depositing rocks that later eroded by rivers into mushroom shaped creations that were used 5,000 years ago by hunters and gatherers for shelter.   Some of the rocks displayed caveman artwork and the giant footprint of Buddha.  The history was fascinating, the park was well kept, and the people were friendly.  We met park employees, monks, thai students, and a monkey riding a giant pit-bull.  It was a great day! The ran has stopped for now and its blazing hot. Tonight we head to Bangkok to continue our journey south to a jungle national park and the beaches.