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As some of you might know, Thakek people liked to
refer themselves as "Kunh" when talking to other
people.  This way of addressing oneself was
interesting and had no counterpart in any parts of
Laos.  Telling the truth, when I first heard it, I
thought the other person whom I talked to was named
"Kunh".  Until later did I realize that he meant
himself.  By the way, Thakek accent was kind of in the
middle between Savannakhet and Vientiane.  Though not
originally from Thakek, my accent could be said to be
close to Thakek one.  In fact, it was a combination of
Thakek, Vientiane and, lastly, Savannakhet to a lesser
degree.  Whatever accent anyone had, one should be
proud of it.  One shouldn't pretend to be what one was
not as some people tended to do.  

My uncle, Loung Kinnavong Saycocie, was a typical
Thakek.  He was content with what he had: a house with
many planted trees in the yard.  Though neither grand
nor luxurious, his house was very clean.  He and his
wife, Pa Matsa, took the great pains scrubbing the
wooden floor everyday until it became spotlessly
shining.  Whenever I visited them, I had to make sure
that I wiped my feet thoroughly before stepping on
their precious floor.  It was interesting to note that
though over 30 years had passed, their floor was as
shining as before.  In both their front and back
yards, they had all kinds of fruit trees namely the
LamYai, the Mango and the Orange.  What I liked most
was that these fruit trees were so short that I could
pick their fruits right from the ground.  It was said
that the soil around Wat ChamThong was very fertile. 
Everything that was planted there gave a bountiful
harvest.  I remembered that there were some wild Mak
Tong trees, not far from my uncle's house and they
didn't belong to anybody.  So whenever I passed by
that place, I got free Mak Tong.  Unfortunately, my
stomach didn't like Mak Tong that much for I tended to
get diarrhea almost each time I ate them.  

(to be continued)

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