The train arrived a little late in Nongkhai and there’s still ent time to catch a glimpse of the sunset. Luckily the sky wasn’t too cloudy and the sunset was colourful and uplifting. The driver of the tuk-tuk kept going at his usual speed without slowing down for me to take better pictures along the river. So, it was always a challenge taking pictures on a moving vehicle.
The lively atmosphere by the river and the light fresh air gave me new energy after a long train journey. I was so glad to be back at this small town by the border between Laos and Thailand. The slow pace of life on this sleepy town just suited me very well. I always look forwards to riding the tuk-tuk on my way to the countryside.
I wished I had the spare time to enjoy some evening snacks by the river where there were always many street food vendors and restaurants. I noticed an ice cream van selling coconut ice cream. Perhaps I should make a quick stop to buy an ice cream next time. Some restaurants seemed to be very popular with youngsters and families. I felt sorry for several restaurants that couldn’t attract many customers.
Many young and old people came for walking exercises and to enjoy the sunset. For me, I had to get home as soon as possible, I missed my orange cat very much and Kwan was waiting for my return. I noticed some changes along the river. It seemed more trees have been cleared from the land and preparations for building a house had begun. It amazed me how some people could afford to buy a big plot of land by the river in this area. This location was very good and the prices would be very high. I would like to see the new owners in the near future.
It’s common knowledge that wealthy people from Laos would marry local villagers so that they could buy land here. So far, I haven’t heard of Chinese businessmen having their nominees buying land as a way for money laundering. But most people knew that some high ranking policemen and politicians would buy a chunk of expensive land as a way for money laundering from the ill gotten gains from drug trafficking.
Luckily we didn’t have the problems of illegal casinos in this town. Lots of Chinese money was involved in grey businesses in Thailand during the last few years. Several fraudulent call centers were set up along the border between Thailand and Laos, including between Burma and Thailand. These call centers recruited people from Thailand by misleading them that they were going to work in restaurants. Then these people would be imprisoned in a big building with high security and forced to scam people to install applications which would steal money from their accounts. Some people would be scammed into transferring money to fake official accounts.
So, whenever I saw big building projects near the riverfront, I would suspect whether these were for money laundering purposes. It would make no sense to me that a businessman would invest in a luxurious hotel project where it would be very difficult to make profits. The prospect of the direct train service from Thailand to Laos with connection to China would instigate many changes in the near future. I hoped that these changes wouldn’t affect the slow and simple life in this town. More land along the river could changed hand and be occupied by rich Chinese businessmen. But the slow down in Chinese economy might make the expansion of Chinese influence during these few years. The prospect of a major war would also dampen new aggressive investments from China.
I hoped and prayed that outside influences and dominance would become subdued and became stagnant. I would be very very sad if the natural surroundings and peaceful atmosphere were to be drastically altered by progressive modernisation and big investment projects.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity
Stay strong and cheerful.
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