Monthly Archive for February, 2006

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Thailand 2006 – Day Twelve

Published on February 15, 2006 in Thailand and Writing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Wednesday – relativity

When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it’s longer than any hour. That’s relativity. #

And conversely, a day in Milton Keynes can seem like a fortnight, whilst a fortnight in Bangkok can seem to pass in the blinking of an eye. In three day’s time I’m going to be airborne over Asia, headed back to the rather chillier climate of England. It’s time to plan these last few days, and to cram in as much of the things I wanted to do as I can.

Tik left for Kohn Kaen early this morning to return to work – I won’t see her again this trip now, but I’ll see her soon enough I’m sure. Martin and I will spend tomorrow evening at Suan Lum Night Bazaar, where we’ll have drinks and dinner with Ho Yu, who I met on Day One, and Pascale, who I’ve yet to meet. Friday will be mostly cramming in bits of shopping and saying goodbye to people, I suppose. Milo hasn’t quite made it back to Bangkok yet, but hopefully he’ll make it in time to catch up before I go.

Back to today though, and it’s a return to the Irish Exchange in Sathorn for a late breakfast – the same meal I utterly failed to eat on Friday due to illness is wolfed down today, and it’s great to be back in a state where I can truly appreciate this amazingly diverse city. The soda bread isn’t a patch on my Mum’s home-made stuff of course, but it’s still a great lazy way to start the day.

Martin and I head back for a swim at the apartment complex in the afternoon, then in the evening we have beers and steak at Gulliver’s, followed by a trip to the beer garden on Sukhumvit Soi 7.

Usually described as the Bangkok equivalent to the cantina scene in Star Wars, this is an amazing place to come and people-watch. The main bar in the centre is ringed with bar stools which support some of the fattest white men I’ve ever seen in my life, whilst dotted around them as if to provide intentional contrast are the slightest of Thai girls, all on the game. Of course, there are also people everything in between – the wide-eyed young male backpackers, their distinctly unimpressed-looking female friends, and the regular ex-pats – English teachers, retirees, students and everything else. Martin and I fall into the last category, I think – I’m the tourist who strenously denies he’s a tourist, whilst Martin’s a student and entrepeneur.

We’re settling down to the first Chang beers of the evening when Martin gets a tap on the shoulder from Gary – an American student from Martin’s school. We join him and stand chatting next to a busy intersection between bar areas, interrupted from time to time by the advances of an eclectic range of Thai hookers – from the divine to the deterrents.

Although I admit gawping at a few, on the whole we ignore them in favour of chatting about this part of the world. Gary’s spent a lot of time in Vietnam and Cambodia, and it’s interesting to hear about these places which make Thailand seem almost dull. Then it’s off to the Thermae coffee shop on Sukhumvit Soi 15, which Gary insists I have to visit if I haven’t been before. I like the sign on the door – there’s a picture of a camera with a line through it (no photography), a picture of a burger and a coke with a line through it (don’t bring your own food or drink in), and a picture of a woman with a moustache with a line through it – no ladyboys!

Inside it’s much the same as Soi 7’s beer garden, and I recognise a few of the customers from there. Apparently this is where all the working girls come after the bars close, and where those on a budget can pick up some company for a bargain price. It’s seedy as hell though, and whilst the beer’s refreshingly cheap (60 Baht for a Chang), you can only rubberneck at so many girls in one evening before you get bored and wander off to get some sleep.

Thailand 2006 – Day Eleven

Published on February 14, 2006 in Thailand and Writing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Tuesday – Valentine’s Day

So for the second year in a row, I spend Valentine’s Day with my ex-nearly-girlfriend, Lois Ann. Just about. I wake up late – around 1pm, to find a text message on my Thai mobile suggesting we meet at Ari skytrain station at around 2pm. That’s clearly not going to happen, so I rearrange for 3pm and hit the shower. Then, since I have no idea where Ari BTS station is in relation to streets etc, it’s time to hit the skytrain.

I jump on the back of a motorcycle for the short (and cheap – 40B = 58p) ride to Chong Nonsi station, then pay 30B for a ticket to Ari. I have to change at Siam Square, but it’s simple enough, and (thank goodness) the trains are air conditioned. It’s getting hotter each day here, well into the 30s (that’s degrees Celsius – it’s over 80°, at times even 90° Fahrenheit).

I get to Ari without too many problems, and meet Lois Ann and Hannah by Soi 6. We wander up to Starbucks (her choice, not mine!), where she’s still stuck on the decaf. It’s too hot for anything like tea or coffee, so I’m delighted to find that they sell Orangina – haven’t had it in years! I glug down a couple of bottles as we chat about music, writing, and her now eighth year (I think) of life in this amazing city.

Hannah is wide-awake today, and the centre of attention, as usual. It’s funny how having a baby with you makes complete strangers assume that they’re entitled to approach you and talk to, tickle and generally manhandle your child!

We part a couple of hours later, and I wonder whether it’ll be another year before we meet again. Lois Ann wants Hannah to be “home” in Canada within a few years, so that she can get a Canadian education, as opposed to schooling in Thailand or Japan. I wonder where they’ll be in a year, and in ten years.

Later on, dodging the ubiquitous Valentine’s florists, I make myself scarce so that Martin and Tik can enjoy a romantic dinner for two, and end up boozing and chatting to fellow westerners in the tourist bars of Sukhumvit. I meet a man from Bolton who’s intent on impressing me with the thriftiness of his life out here, but I’m not really interested in a competition as to who has the cheapest gas bill…

I move on, and treat myself to a traditional massage. Sadly the one-size-fits-all pyjamas don’t quite fit me – presumably they’re designed for the rather more slimline Thais. No problem, says the masseuse, and brings in some pyjama trousers which would easily accomodate any of the elephants I saw at Sriracha last week. Crestfallen, I don the “fat bloke pants”, but it’s still good to relax and be pampered.

A few more beers, regular glances at my watch to make sure I don’t go back to the apartment before Martin and Tik have had a chance to make the most of their evening alone(!), and then sleep.

Thailand 2006 – Day Ten

Published on February 13, 2006 in Thailand and Writing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Monday – Back to Bangkok

With weary head, I’m roused far too early for a holiday once again, and it’s time for a swift breakfast, followed by the long trip back to Bangkok. The minivan is at least air-conditioned, and this time I have the luxury of the whole back row to myself. I contentedly lie down and snooze for the whole journey, the only setback being that my trainers are still utterly soaked with seawater, so I have to wear Martin’s sandals all day. Sandals and jeans may be a lesser sin than sandals and socks, but I’m still all too aware that I look faintly (if not more) ridiculous.

A couple of rest stops provide the opportunity for drinks and cigarettes, but I skip lunch again. I’m certainly feeling healthier though – I don’t know whether it was badly-prepared food or a virus, but I’ve been feeling too rough to fully appreciate things since about Friday. Fortunately the journey passes fairly smoothly (apart from the bumps in the roads, which launch me clean off the back seat more than once), and we’re back in Bangkok in time for dinner. We order Food by Phone again, and I get a hot & spicy pizza in a “cure or kill” effort at rehabilitation. It’s delicious, and I manage to eat the vast majority of it, which is encouraging.

Tets (Lois’s boyfriend and Hannah’s father) is supposed to be playing a gig at O’Reilly’s bar in Sathorn tonight, but just as I’m preparing to head pubwards, I get a text message from Lois saying that the gig’s off. I’m already in the mood for a beer though, so despite there being no gig (and despite Martin and Tik deciding they’ll stay home), I head out to central Bangkok in a taxi anyway, thinking I’ll just drop in for a couple of beers somewhere and relax a little.

I get to Gulliver’s, and only then realise why the gig’s off – today is Macha Bucha – a Buddhist holiday on which no alcohol is sold. Great. I traipse the sois of Sukhumvit, earnestly searching for a single bar serving beer, but none are to be found. After a good hour or so of fruitless searching, I slurp down a Coke in Gulliver’s, and head back to the apartment for a beer from the fridge, then sleep.

Thailand 2006 – Day Nine

Published on February 12, 2006 in Thailand and Writing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Sunday – sleep, sand, sea and snorkelling

Morning comes, but my body is still steadfastly refusing to move. I sleep through breakfast, and then Tik and A are going off to see a waterfall, but I think my response is along the lines of “Seen Niagara, seen Powerscourt. How good can it be?”

So after a satisfyingly horizontal morning, I finally pluck up the strength to try some lunch. I’m getting a little annoyed with the food here – there’s no menu, and we seem to get a poor mixture of dishes every meal. There’s always a ridiculously spicy soup that nobody can eat, a dish of unidentifyable meat/veg/gunk in unpalatable sauce, rice, and one dish that everbody likes. So we all eat the only nice food first, then try to force down the meat/veg/gunk by drowning it in rice, then ignore the soup. Still, I cast my mind back to some of the horrific food I’ve eaten elsewhere, and decide that it could quite easily be worse.

Next up, snorkelling. We’re taken by songthaew to the quays, and then it’s on with the lifejackets as a speedboat takes us out to one of the tiny islands off the coast. The water’s even clearer than yesterday, and the beach much smoother, so we have an amazing time. I remember writing about this last year:

It’s the least intuitive thing in the world to bung a piece of plastic in your mouth, immerse your face in the ocean, and take a deep breath inwards #

It’s still true. But it’s so worth it. The underwater sights are a thousand times more exciting than last year, as I find myself inches away from hundreds of different forms of subaquatic life – from schools of tiny bright turquoise fish, to some kind of undulating ray, to the turquoise fishes’ big brothers, to the curious worm-like creatures that crawl along the sea bed (Martin christens these “sea-sausages”), and they’re all so vividly visible in this shallow water, illuminated by the overhead sun in the clear sky. I think my only regret about this whole trip (apart from contracting this cursed stomach bug) is not bringing an underwater camera.

Three hours passes annoyingly swiftly, as is always the case, and it’s time to go. I put my shoes and shirt back on, collect our towels and stuff my posessions into Martin’s holdall, then Martin and I are waylaid by a woman telling us her boat hasn’t come to pick her up, and could we call her hotel when we reach the mainland? Martin and I are just trying to find something to write the hotel’s name on when her boat appears – a relief all round, nobody wants to miss their boat. So it’s with heavy heart that I notice our boat has left without us! It’s not far out, fifteen or twenty feet maybe, and we can still make it. So we slip out of our shoes and start to wade out, and then remember how quickly the water gets deep. I’m trying to keep the holdall above the water level, chiefly because it contains my cigarettes and lighter – I’ve given up on the already sopping wet towel and shoes in my other hand. As the water reaches neck-height I make it to within a few feet of the boat, which has at least had the grace to stop its engine by now. Perhaps we could have waited on the shore for them to notice us missing, but I prefer the dramatic approach. I swim the remaining few feet and drag myself up – not as easy as it sounds when you’re still holding a bag in one hand, and a beach towel, lifejacket, snorkel and a pair of trainers in the other. Safely on the boat, smirking faces all round, it’s back to the resort.

I’m utterly lethargic once again when we get back to the room, and not only sleep through dinner, but prefer to stay in the room rather than hit the town again in the evening. It’s a full-moon party on the beach tonight, but I had a good night on the beach last night, and can’t cope with the idea of another one. I finally finish the book I’ve been reading – the superb Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

Martin returns at 1am or so, laden with goodies from 7-11. We munch Pringles and sip more tea on the veranda, and I’m quite relieved to hear that the “Full Moon Party” was no different to last night on the beach. Although almost worn out from sleeping, I somehow bravely summon the strength to sleep all over again, and hit the sack.

Thailand 2006 – Day Eight

Published on February 11, 2006 in Thailand and Writing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Saturday – Koh Chang

There is a knock on the bedroom door. I groan in mental and physical pain. It’s around 6.30am, and it’s time to leave for Koh Chang. My case of Bangkok belly has not subsided in the least, and I glumly stomp downstairs where we get a taxi to the minivan pickup point. Into the van, and off to the island!

Unfortunately it’s a six-hour journey, and I’m finding it quite impossible to sleep in an upright seat – especially on these country roads. I thought Irish roads were bad! We do take a couple of welcome rest/food/cigarette breaks, and one of these gives me the opportunity to have my first Big Mac Meal of the holiday. I super-size it, and still only pay 109 Baht (£1.59). I can’t finish it though, my lack of appetite a sorry symptom of my continuing malady.

Time goes by reasonably quickly, to be fair, and before long we’re on the ferry to the island. It’s therapautic to watch the waves bounce alongside us as we speed across the water, but the Koh Chang roads are even choppier once we arrive. One bumpy ride later though, we’re finally at the resort of Ramayana. We’re immediately served lunch (I even manage to eat some of it), before we even check in, and our bags are taken to our rooms. I’m sharing with Martin, and Tik’s sharing with A. The room’s nice enough – twin single beds, thank goodness, a nice veranda with a view of the pool and gardens, TV, minibar and an en-suite shower room. I flop on the bed whilst the others explore the pool, still feeling rather lethargic.

Later on we’re taken by songthaew to a private beach for our resort, and take a swim in the sea. The water’s clear and the temperature’s ideal, but the beach itself is rocky all the way out – we have to be really careful swimming not to catch our feet on the rocks at the bottom. Hardly anyone’s fault, but still a bit of a pain. Later we hire a couple of canoes and have great fun racing each other around the bay – I admire Martin’s technique of lying back whilst Tik does all the rowing, unaware that he’s lazing behind her instead of rowing. Once our arms are well and truly worn out, it’s back to the beach for some sunbathing and beers, then as the amateurish band start to play we’re gratefully taken back to the resort for dinner.

After the meal (still no real appetite), we head out to the town and go to one of the beach bars for drinks and some more (much better) live music. There are fire dancers here too – five Thais with flaming sticks and bolas which they twirl around to the music, brilliantly illuminating the moonlit beach. We sit and chat over a few beers, then head back before it gets too late – tomorrow will be another busy day.

Tea and biscuits on the veranda with Martin once we get back, and then sleep.