0 Mukdahan Community College Graduation - 2012

I was invited to go to the 2012 Graduation Ceremony for Mukdahan Community College to be held on December 22, 2012. This took place at Mukdahan School, very close to the Community College. I was told to get there early (8 am or so). Well things finally got rolling around 11 so I was only 3 hours early, but it was still worth it. I knew someone that was graduation and got to meet a lot of old friends and make a few new ones as well. - Khun Rut


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0 Global House Opening @ Mukddahan (Pre-Sale)

Recently, I checked in on the preparations going on for the new Global House home improvement store here in Mukdahan. It was supposed to be open in 2 days following that video. I was somewhat dubious but hey, they DID open on time and it looked pretty good too.


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0 Preparing for Global House Opening @ Mukdahan

I have been watching the progress of the new Global House store that is under construction here in Mukdahan. i was surprised to see it will be opening December 22, 2012 for a "Pre Sale". It looks mostly finished but the sides and back are definitely not done yet. They have a bunch of stuff inside and lots of carts though so it looks like its a go on this Saturday. One clown was not so happy I was videoing but screw him. I figure he didn't want me to show his manager types all sitting on their asses with less than 2 days left to open. I will be there to check it out anyhow on opening day!


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0 A Tam Boon in Nikomkamsoi

I was invited to a Tam Boon recently by a friend in Nikomkamsoi. Nikom is a small town about 30 km. south of Mukdahan. The tam boom was not in the town actually. It was in a village out in the forest just before you got into town. i was led into the party from another friend's house by a couple of partygoers on a motorbike. Its a good thing too for I would have gotten hopelessly lost. (I even got a little lost on the egress.)
A tamboon for those who don't know is a party that the family gives to raise money for the local wat (temple) they are given for many different reasons. Sometimes they are honoring a death of someone recently passed away (100 days) or all the past relatives or many other reasons. They generally consist of food for the guests (a lot of it), whisky (in this case Blend 285) and beer, singing and dancing.
Most that i have attended the guests give a few hundred baht to the host in an envelope. In this case the party goers dispensed with the envelopes and just handed the host money or "tipped" the singers who donated their tips to the family. The tamboon party is followed by the family going to the wat the next day and raising more donations and donating them to the wat.
As you can tell from the video, everybody had a real good time. Some more than others....  - Khun Rut
*The map below is just a wild approximation of where the party was so its for reference only not navigation ok?

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0 Cocktail Party for the King of Thailand - 2012

Every year, usually two days after the King of Thailand's birthday (December 5) all around the country the government officials in various cities and towns around Thailand honor His Majesty with a cocktail party. These events are usually attended by government officials in those locations but it is my understanding that there is no official "list" and that anyone may attend if he is properly attired and is there to show his respect for the King. I have been attending these regularly and mostly they consist of photo taking, snacking on hors d'overes and drinking glasses of wine to toast the King. (Make mine non-alcoholic punch please!). The evening is not complete without singing of songs and fireworks. The location was at the Mukdahan Fitness Park located behind the Ploy Palace Hotel and across the street from the Sports Stadium.


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0 Sunchai's Birthday @ Love Car Wash

Recently Dtom and I went to visit an old friend, Sunchai. He and his wife Tao had built a car wash for their son. This is located on Tadkhan Road near where the new inner bypass road will be in Mukdahan. It was a great time as you can see.


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0 Lunch @ Tom Gai Ban Near Mukdahan

Recently my wife's friend, Kim, invited us to lunch at a new place she had found called Tom Gai Ban (Gai Ban is free range chicken that are popular for making soup and other things int he villages. Tom is soup. So the name is Free Range Chicken Soup). She invited us because Dtom was out of town for her birthday so it was a belated birthday dinner.
The place is located a bit out of town near the construction site for the Mukdahan International College that is being constructed under the auspices of Ubon Ratchatani University. Its kind of out in the Jungle and the restaurant is kind of under construction itself. Now that that's over enjoy the video.**** OK with the map I am not exactly sure if the push pin is in the exact place but you go up the dirt road by the big sign with the Royal Family on it indicating the University Construction.


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0 Porn Rocks Out With the Band on Her Birthday

 My friend Porn had what I thought was her 40th birthday recently. (Turns out she was 39.).Anyhow she had a few... and decided to sing a number with the band at the place she was having her birthday dinner. The name of the place is "Muang Muk Moo Gatta" which is Muk City Pork Skillet. Its one of those places that they bring a bucket of coals and set it on your table and put a thing that looks like a hubcap on it and it heats up and you cook your food on it. Its a buffet and you just go fill up your plate with raw ingredients and have fun.
Its way too much fun and an insurance nightmare for the US or Europe but in Thailand they are everywhere. Check out her singing I think she was damned good! - Khun Rut


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0 Rice Threshing @ Mukdahan - Right in Town!

I was coming home recently by a back road that was really close to the main road in town and I found a group of farmers gathered together threshing their rice on a machine mounted on the back of a truck it was pretty cool. If you look at the map you will see how close this is to the commercial section of town.


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1 Dinner @ Charlies Steak House - Mukdahan

Recently new place opened up called Charlie's Steak House but in Thai it is spelled and pronounce Chalie. Anyhow I had a couple meals there and they were pretty good and reasonably priced so I decided to make a video. John liked the place too. Said the sausage was the best he had eaten anywhere including Germany which is famous for its sausages. So enjoy Charlie's or Chalie.


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0 Lunch @ Wine Wild Why? - Mukdahan

After a funeral one afternoon we were hungry and stopped by a local restaurant by the river. It has been there forever. It's called Wine, Wild, Why? but all the Thai folks just call it Y, Y, Y. So that's what we call it too. Its right on the river open from lunch time to late evening. Prices are reasonable serving Thai food (not Isaan) and yes they do have some wine and as you will see Heineken as well. On this trip we met some interesting characters. Maybe see you there some time.


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0 Boat Races @ Mukdahan 2012

Every year at the around the date of Aukpansa (Buddhist Lent) the City of Mukdahan hosts its annual boat races. These of course are at the river and are viewed from the Indochina Market. The crowds this year were smaller than normal but it was a fun time had by those that did attend. Unfortunately you can't see the finish line from the Indochina Market. That is located about 500 meters downstream near one of the many temples in town.


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0 An Evening @ Mukdahan's Famous Night Food Market

Isaan and Thailand in general are famous for the night food markets in most of the towns. By some accounts Mukdahan has one of the most famous and the best night markets in all Isaan. From about 400 pm until after 800 pm the streets in the area are shut down to vehicle traffic and food vendors fill the area with their wares. You will find regular Thai food, Isaan food and Vietnamese  fare and fresh fruit and vegetables. Its all there.It is held on one long city block on Sangnangsathit Rd. near the Salaklang and behind the General hospital. I advise you to bring a motorbike if you can because parking can be difficult.


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2 Ed Salsa @ Mekong Mambo in Mukdahan

If you thought Mukdahan was a provincial outback city out in the country in Thailand, you would be right. It has even been called primitive by some Bangkok natives. However it does have a thriving Salsa dance scene due to the efforts of a friend of mine, John. Recently his group, Mekong Mambo hosted a guest teacher from Bangkok to teach his students some new moves. the video above is a mixture of 3 nights of teaching and a party to celebrate their new steps. - Congrats John and Ed and the rest of the group.


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