In
five hours time it will be 2014 here in Thailand.
I've
moved to the south end of the Island (not the north end as I was thinking...
still don't have the lay of the land).
Pretty
sure the taxi driver ripped me off when he charged me 100 BHT to come here
because there are some big resorts in the area and I'm sure all these patrons
didn't pay 100 BHT a person to come this far. I've read that at night, it's
like extortion as taxis don't want to come this far so they can charge a high
fee, but I came to this end at 10:00 AM
My
room wasn't going to be ready til 1:00 so I dropped my bags, got my water, a
book and my hat and headed out to find a beach. I've had this book on my
bookshelf since my first trip to the Caribbean in 2008 - finally getting around
to reading it and how appropriate that it is titled: "Buddha or
Bust".
My
resort, Lazy Republique is not on the beach, but I only need cross the road and
walk down a short distance and there it is. I have to walk through the grounds
of the Bae Lan Resort to find the water but here in Thailand, resorts don't mark
their territory on the beach. They seem to be open to anyone and everyone.
Actually, there is no beach at Bae Lan beach. It's rock wall where the water
appears to be a good 18"-24" in depth at the entry point. I spend a
couple of hours there reading then decide to head out the main road and see
what else is in the area. This area is definitely not built up like where I
spent the last two days in the Kai Bae beach area. There are a few bigger newer
resorts down on the water and a tiny handful of shops selling massage, the
usual water etc., and a few restaurants. No roadside food stalls.
I walk
about a mile down the road and follow a real mule trodden path that says
"Iscla Beach". This is where you can go zip-trekking if so inclined,
mind you, the people don't appear to be that high up in the tree tops.
Iscla
beach is a nice and very surprising sight to see. I walk
the stretch of beach past the toney "Mercure Resort" which is busy
setting up tables, lights, and linens for tonight's NYE festivities. I decide I
am going to have lunch at the Iscla beach restaurant. Such a lovely setting:
your choice of table & chairs, hammock style chairs or cushions strewn on
wooden platforms. I want to stick to something "normal" given yesterday's
episode. I pay a fortune for a beef burger and fries: 300 BHT which is $9.00 Cdn. It is presented beautifully but there are a few odd things about it that
make me very wary: it's gray in colour and it tastes odd. I know that all beef
in the world doesn't taste the same, it depends on what the cattle feed on, but
it doesn't smell bad at all. I eat it gingerly with each bite thinking "I
really shouldn't eat any more of this just in case". I guess the true test
will come in the next day or two.
Lunch at Iscla Beach.
Finally,
around 3:00 I show up at my resort. There is no one here except for two little
Thai sisters who appear around ages 7-10. They give me the ever present
"Namaste" sign language, and the older girl runs to the desk for a
key and a piece of paper with my name written on it. I nod "yes". She
is all smiles as she prances to my bungalow and I am following quickly behind.
She unlocks the door for me and my luggage is inside the room. I give her 20
BHT for her troubles. She is huge smiles and Namaste all over again.
Bungalow @ Lazy Republique
I sit
out on my deck which has two lounger chairs, read for a while then decide it's time
for my daily afternoon nap.
I love
my room. Definitely the nicest place I've stayed in all of Thailand thus far.
Mind you, it is the most expensive place as well but then again it is NYE and
places seem to charge a surcharge for tonight and tomorrow. The owners of this
place are French but they don't appear to be here. They have left a caretaker and his family in
charge. I see a "shack" at the back of the bungalows where it appears
the caretaker and his family reside. On top of the main building/restaurant is
a nicely furnished roof top deck.
There
are only 4 bungalows in this resort. It's very modern, cement, painted lime
green and dark purple. The bathroom is large and modern. So nice to have a
shower that is separate from the toilet unlike the other places I've stayed
where, when you have a shower, the entire bathroom gets wet, including the
toilet. All toilet paper rolls are covered by a contraption that keeps the
paper from getting wet while you are showering. I've always had to remove the
waste basket out of the bathroom too so it doesn't get wet. In Thailand you do
not flush toilet paper as their septic system is unreliable here. All hotels
have signage instructing to not dispose of anything down the toilet, not even
toilet paper. Kinda hard to remember 100% of the time but try my best to
prevent any over-flowing toilet situation. What really sucks about the all in
one toilet/shower situation is that you're walking on a wet floor for hours on
end every time you need to go into the bathroom for anything. I really hate
that and have no idea why they design them that way. In some cases I think it's
because they are tight on space but even the place I just checked out of had a
very long bathroom where it would've been easy to design a separate shower
stall but they didn't. I'm going to enjoy this bathroom for the next two days.
All
four bungalows here appear to be reserved but I am the only person here sitting
in the lovely yard at teak table and chairs with palm umbrella all lit up. It's
dark as midnight here at 6:30 PM. The front yard of this place is absolutely
lovely, grassy, electrically wired properly, cement pads underneath all the
tables, and oil mosquito lanterns going. Now the caretaker has cranked up the
Diana Krall, perhaps trying to entice in some walkers-by. So far, he doesn't
have any dinner guests but by the sounds of all the chopping in the kitchen and
the set-up taking place perhaps they actually have some reserved tables for
later this evening.
The grounds @ Lazy Republique
I
didn't get to do the elephant ride this morning. Didn't realize that they
actually take reservations for it. Maybe I'll get to do it before I leave the
island. I would really like to take a one day cooking class too so long as I
can learn to make Tom Kha Gai soup. I'll probably look into that when I am staying
at my next place for 6 days.
One
thing we've all heard about is how farang men come to Thailand in search of
Thai "love", or sex or what-have-you. The other night when I was at
Da Riddem Shack, it was very interesting people watching. The Thai women were
dressed like they were headed out to a nightclub in Vancouver. They hang out in
the bars hitting on men who will buy drinks for them. The pairings of some of
the couples I've seen would raise your eyebrows. Such odd matches...some 30-40
year age differences, just some really visually odd pairings.
I
don't have any plans for this evening. Just another normal NYE for me because I
haven't celebrated this night in decades. Don't think I'll venture from my
resort tonight. I've heard the big resorts (there are two within walking
distance from here) are doing big celebrations tonight but that doesn't interest me
at all. Will order a meal here later on this evening and just enjoy the lovely ambiance of the
place. Perhaps others will come along that I can have a conversation with. In
any event, I'm spending this night surrounded by more people than I typically
do so that's an improvement.
Happy
2014 everyone. Wishing you beautiful blessings and a healthy and memorable
2014.
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