Beached

With the weekend upon us, and Oi working, Andy and I decided to clear off to the coast.  We took a bus to Pattya (2hrs) on the Friday morning, and then headed for Jomtien.  Andy had lived in both Pattya City and Jontien and was a great guide to have. We hadn't taken on board the fact that this was the peak weekend for Thai holidays  and the place was packed.  The place we were hoping to stay at only had one room which I took, and Andy was able to snaffle the last room at guest house right opposite.  Actually he prob got the best of that deal in terms of facilities.  My basic room was one of the cleanest I have ever seen even if the furniture was a bit tired.  Lunch was long overdue and my knowledgeable guide marched me to a small cafe in an adjacent street.  At first glance it was rather too English but then he pointed out the wording on the inside cover of the menu.  This cafe did indeed cater for the Brits, but in doing so never added MSG to anything, I was sold. A toddle round the streets and a few of the bars re introduced Andy to some old friends.  I then went for a dip in the clear turquoise sea and watched the sun begin to set over the warm horizon.  Pinch me someone, I thought, this is Jan 4th!

Its worth reminding all that being so close to the equator the sun sets quite early as daylight tends to be around 12 hrs all the year round at such latitudes. It was certainly dusk by 7pm, and the streets were beginning to jump with the nightscene.  It was quite obvious that this area attracted a lot of 50 & 60+ single white men who all seemed to have a native younger model in tow smiling happily at the income they were going to get from that encounter.  Some of the ladyboys were obviously so, but many were not to my untrained eye.  It amazed me when Andy pointed them out. I wonder how many others were in for a suprise that night too!

After a good few drinks, one of Andy's friends guided us to a great place for dinner where you could watch all the buzz of the non beach end of Jomtien, including the ubiquitous night market.

After a decent breakfast, the next day, we made tracks back to Pattaya and the quayside to take a boat to the island of Koh Larn.  We were greeted by bike taxis who were keen to find us accomodation at the place where they got the most commission.  It seemed like a good idea.  They quoted 1000Baht a night and the brochure said it was a Resort Hotel.  Sounded promising, since we had paid 700 the night before, but I didnt really expect a full on Resort.  I wasnt disappointed.  We arrived at the ramshackle collection of buildings and the owner guided us to the room she had saying there wasnt any hot water.  This didnt completely scare me as tepid water is quite common in Thailand.  However the abject squalor of it all did.  Beds and pillows, no obvious quilts available in a dark room seemingly void of windows. The ensuite resembled a cowshed.  The shower was a hosepipe on the wall.  There was a hand basin in one corner, and in the middle, void of seat and all plumbing, a toilet pedestal.  Given that Andy and I wanted separate rooms, this was one big No!  We went back to the motorbikes and asked them to take us somewhere else.  They conferred with a 3rd who said the rooms at the other resort were 2500 Baht.  We agreed with each other that for one night we could share a room provided there were separate beds, and so we went to Xanadu. Perfect.  http://www.xanadubeachresortpattaya.com/

Andy hired a motorbike, I jumped on the back and off we went to explore every byway on this small island. The day tired us out and we were glad to have an early night, especially as the entertainment was a dire karaoke show  - Orientals singing 'I did it my way'  etc badly.

Sunday morning was for the beach, and we decided that rather than make our way back to the quayside  on motorbike taxis for the fast boat back to Pattaya, we would use the day trippers boat straight from our beach which would be a slower journey but would also take us round more of the island.

We then went back to Jomtien for late lunch and the rest of the afternoon, to say au revoir to friends. Night was falling when we took our leave, promising to return.  By 10.30pm we were tucked up in our beds in Bangkok refreshed and ready to face to next week.