And We Walked Away - First Posted October 16th 2008

This post was originally on my old deleted blog

We were on our way back from watching the Fireballs at the Naga Fireball Festival in Nong Khai (I'll repost soon) when....

Nit was overtaking a pickup when the driver swerved out into Nit’s path.  Nit swerved to avoid contact, one wheel went onto the gravel and Nit started to lose control.  He managed to get the wheel back onto the tarmac, but over corrected and had to swerve again to avoid hitting the pickup.  This time at 140kph he had no chance.  The car careered down the central reservation.  I closed my eyes as I saw a tree approaching.  I heard the smash as the pickup went straight through it.  I felt the car bounce across the ditch at the bottom of the bank and start going up the other side.  More smashes which seemed to do little to slow the pickup.  When it hit the opposite carriageway, it launched into the air, landed on the roof, rolled and ended up upright in a ditch on the opposite side of the road, facing the direction we had come from.

I opened my eyes expecting carnage and blood everywhere.  I looked round.  Everyone seemed OK.  I opened the door and got out, Nit opened his door and did the same, and the two guys in the back, who had had no seatbelt clambered out.  We checked each other.  I and one of the guys had a small cut and Nit complained of a sore shoulder.  By now a car had stopped and called the police and rescue.

The rescue arrived in about 20 minutes, checked us quickly and took us to a hospital in Udon.  We were given a check over, and declared fit.

The guys families arrived and took us to the police station so Nit could fill in a report.  Unfortunately the wrong police station.  We had to drive up to Phen  He was told to reappear at 3pm the next day to make a formal statement and that the insurance company would be there at about 3.30.

We returned to the village.

Mama set about starting a fire under a low table on which she laid grass and leaves.  She then made first Nit and then I lie on it, covering us in a blanket.  Nit explained it was an old Isaan trick to avoid any internal damage following the accident.

We went to bed as the moon set over the village

To Be Continued in "Thanks To Buddha"