Buddhist ordination parade late this morning. Morning market building behind.
It’s time for us to leave Nang Rong. There are already some hot days in late February this time, although there are number of cool ones as well. A few things have happened.
Regarding restaurants and chain stores, it appears the local KFC may make it (refer to previous blog entry). I do often see it empty, but on a hot day the air conditioning is a draw. I remember two years back when I first brought my wife Sue to Nang Rong. I think it was a hot day in March. I can’t remember what we were doing, but when lunch time rolled around she just had to go to an air conditioned restaurant. At that time there was only one choice. We ended up standing in a corner in Seven Eleven with a hot dog and a slurpee.
Anyway, Sue has hauled me over to KFC in Nang Rong three times now. They now have the complete KFC line of food. In addition, rumors are floating about that the large area of land being prepared on the highway seven kilometers west of Nang Rong is going to be a new Lotus Tesco, which is a large discount store with groceries.
The new highway 24 just went all four lane as far east as Nang Rong last year, and development will come more quickly along its route. This will be at the expense of the old east west route 50 km north of here which passes through the capital cities of Buriram and three adjacent provinces.
Times are changing, but it will take years for change to get into Nang Rong once you get off the highway. Land rights and existing buildings will keep the old layout. Roads are narrow and corners are sharp, with most turns made at 1 – 2 miles an hour. The growth will be east and west of town along the new four lane road.
We have a foundation board meeting this Monday, then we leave for Bangkok the next day. We have a few doctor appointments there (we are certified medical tourists) and then we’ll leave for Singapore. We’ll be back in Nang Rong by early October for sure.
