On time in Ta Ko

“Dinner!” It's just past six thirty and we were supposed to have dinner at seven, but we have a feeling that the lady of the Rainbow Hill Hotel in Ban Ta Ko will not tolerate any contradiction.

Ta Ko is a hamlet near Phanom Rung, a Khmer temple that is mentioned in the same breath as Ankhor Wat. It's not that far from here, so that's not strange, but whether it can stand up to that comparison we'll have to determine tomorrow, when we visit the ruins. Or rather, Mieke will have to determine that, because I only know Ankhor from the pictures.

This morning we left Phimai, after we were unexpectedly treated to a light and dance show in the temple complex last night. Although we are not good students and do not live up to our intention to spend every day with the Thai language, we now have a minimal basis, which allowed us to use the banner we saw in the morning announcing that show. decipher. That the start time was half past six we had understood even better than most Thais, who came in during the performance (and then caused a jam with other Thais who had already left).

Apart from a lengthy introduction and a program component consisting of a story or poem, both of which we could not follow, we could enjoy a beautiful piece of Thai culture. However, between the few words I picked up I deciphered “Indonesia” a few times, so maybe we have been looking at Indonesian culture.

Before we left Phimai, we took a look at Thailand's largest and oldest Banyan tree. This tree is characterized by irregularly growing branches and aerial roots. Where branches touch the ground, they also take root again and this is how a system of about 1350 square meters was created, through which you walk as if you were in a forest, while in fact you walk under one tree. An impressive experience.

Phanom Rung is approximately a two and a half hour drive. The travel guide does not mention hotels or guesthouses in the area, the tourist office at Phanom Rung does not go further than a hotel in the 30 km distant town of Nang Rong, but according to Linda, our navigation lady, there must be something closer . Before the Phanom Rung resort she sends us down a gravel road, to a promising group of houses, which unfortunately turn out to be dilapidated and abandoned.

A second resort is something vague at a farm. Let's go to Nang Rong, we decide, but on the way we see the Rainbow Hill Hotel along the road, which offers spacious and beautiful rooms for a decent price. The proud hotel lady shows us how beautiful and complete the rooms are, that use of the minibar is free and what is not included in the (included) breakfast. She appears to be quite curious, although we think that impression may also be due to her wanting to please us as much as possible. Then of course you have to know what your guests want. In any case, nothing seems to escape her notice and she gives the impression that she likes to keep control in her own hands.

Before plopping into bed for siesta, we do the routine “look-in check”, which this time comes out negative. The choice between sin (draw curtains) or pity (keep your clothes on) falls in favor of “pity”. It turns out that it was the right choice when, after half an hour, someone knocks and the hotel lady comes to hand over the menu. We are supposed to eat there and indicate in advance what exactly we want to eat. Fifteen minutes later, Mieke places the order with the desired meal time: 19:00 PM.

So when we unexpectedly have to eat at half past six, everything, including the temperature of the meal that is too low, indicates that it came from elsewhere and has just been delivered ready-made. At least that explains why we had to order in advance. And that it was half an hour early… well, that is well within the Thai margins of on time.