Thursday – the penultimate lunch

I wake up around 12pm, which seems a waste since I have only one more full day remaining after today, but how much fun can you have before lunchtime anyway? Martin’s in class until this afternoon, so I head out to McDonalds for lunch (yeah, I know). A tuk-tuk driver is lurking outside and greets me with outstretched arms and a beaming smile.

“Hello, my friend! You want a ride? I take you on tour of Bangkok!”

“No thanks, I’ve seen it!”

“You not want tuk-tuk?”

“I want Big Mac.”

“I have tuk-tuk here!”

“Yes, but they have Big Macs in there.”

Deflated, he allows me to pass into McDonalds, where the heavily made-up assistant sells me a Big Mac, fries & coke for about a pound, promising to serve me within 60 seconds (she manages it in half the time). I look around as I chomp on my taste of the West, there are no Thais here aside from the staff. It’s all farangs and Japanese. I do feel a pang of guilt, this isn’t what visiting Asia is supposed to be about, but hey. I like Big Macs.

Later on I get some writing done, catch up with friends on Messenger and email, and generally slob about. Martin gets back from class late in the afternoon, and we go for a refreshing swim in the pool for a good couple of hours. We talk about how swiftly time’s gone by since I arrived – it really doesn’t feel like more than a couple of days. I feel as if I’ve just about settled in, and it’s going to be time to pack my case tomorrow. It’s a shame, but on the other hand I do feel a lot more relaxed than I did two weeks ago, so I guess this holiday has at least served one of its purposes – I had been driving myself to distraction with stress in the UK. Nice to forget it all for a while.

We get dinner from the café by the pool – Martin has chicken & spaghetti whilst I have a mixed sausage platter with fries. Then off to Suan Lum to meet Ho Yu again, the girl from the trip to Hu’u on Day One, and some more of Martin’s gemology friends – Pascal is Belgian, and David is American. It’s Pascal’s birthday, so we sink a few beers but it’s difficult to know what to talk about with a group of gemologists when you don’t know the first thing (or have the remotest interest) about gemstones.

At an appropriate lull, I take a wander around the stalls of the night bazzaar, Martin joins me as my haggling consultant. I hate haggling, and would much rather buy Martin beer with a cut of the savings to do it for me!

First up I find a nice Diesel belt for the Levis I bought last week – the 523s are a little baggier than I’d realised in the shop. Starting price 400 Baht, final price 160 Baht. Then a funky hat for Sian’s collection – starting price 600 Baht, final price 300 Baht. Finally some Diesel trainers for me – starting price 1,200 Baht, final price 700 Baht. Cheers Martin! Total cost, less than 1,000 Baht, or around £15 for a haul that would have cost at least four or five times that in the UK.

Martin buys a few bits and pieces too, and then it’s time to retire to the bar. Martin gets a soft drink after all that – he’s back in class tomorrow morning. I get a pint of Guinness, purchased from the most stunning Thai girl I think I’ve ever seen – pretty, slim, and dressed as a pint of Guinness! Who could ask for anything more? She likes my shoes, and asks how much I paid. She laughs and shakes her head at me when I tell her. They saw you coming, she says. I tell her the same shoes would have cost at least £40 or £50 in the UK, but she just laughs and says “yes, but they don’t cost 700 Baht here”.

I don’t mind, of course – I’ve saved maybe 80%, which is fine. But it’s funny how I can think them so cheap whilst she thinks them so expensive. Eventually she wanders off to serve other customers, much to my disappointment, and I’m left having to talk to Martin instead, who although better at English (usually) isn’t quite as easy on the eye. Sorry mate.

We natter about price fixing, markets, and the girl in the Guinness dress, and then it’s time to head back. Back at the apartment, we slouch on the balcony for a while gazing at the midnight skyline and wondering what various old schoolfriends are up to now. Then it’s time for Martin to sleep, so I make a start on my next book (Michael Crichton’s State of Fear) and then sleep.