I dodge this hole every day on the way home from work, and I pass two others just like it on the way to work - 100 meters of scars and black-topped bandages. Al Qaeda IEDs could not do more damage.
They're all fixed every year, and then, three months later, they will re-appear along with some new ones. It's a fact of life in a developing country like Thailand. In a rush to build an infrastructure (while lining the pockets of politicians), the roads that are stretching across Thailand have been spread too thin - just like the paint that covers government offices, or the money that was allocated to set-up public services, but is unable to maintain them.
In Korat, the belly-button of Thailand, I'm surrounded by a city that, while growing exponentially, always looks rundown. Buildings, houses, apartments, restaurants, schools, hospitals, and hotels that were only recently built look worn, tired, and forgotten.
That's why when you find a place that is pristine and cared-for, you make it part of your weekly routine. Just down the street from my house and on the other side of the fence from the pothole is Korat's only (that I know of) public park, Bung Da Lua.
It's a scab on the face of the earth compared to other world-famous, city parks, but compared to its decrepit surroundings, Bung Da Lua is a life-giving oasis. Only 2 square miles, it's impossible to get lost, and you can walk around the entire thing in 20 minutes, but it's green, clean, and holds the only significantly-sized body of water within 100 kilometers - the next biggest being the pothole pictured above during the rainy season.
These pictures were taken during a holiday morning, when the park was relatively quiet, but it's usually filled with families, students, soldiers from the army base nearby, and friends enjoying a little fresh air and some rare, green grass (when Thais do their yard work, they don't bring out the John Deere, they wield a hand-smelted machete).
Since I'm the only foreigner I've ever seen there, I assume they wrote "jogging" and "speed" for my sake.
Bung Da Lua is not just for the fitness freaks of Korat. Every evening there is an art center where kids rent easels and paint pictures. Others braid palm fronds (thank you, spell-checker).
This Chinese pagoda along the lake seems a bit out of place and is always empty. I suspect it's haunted by ghosts.
The other day I visited the park and there was a rainbow. I can't remember the last time I saw one.
So, not knowing when I would see one again, I took lots of pictures.
You can see a small amphitheatre next to the lake where they sometimes have concerts. I'm still waiting to see U2.
It was getting late, and as the sun began to set, I passed a temple that can be seen from the edge of the park.
So, that's it - just a brief escape from the rise and fall of Korat and the pothole infested roads of this backwards, yet-somehow-still-going-forward country, that is Thailand.
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