6 Week Gap Year

30th November (Thursday)
This is another fairly uneventful day, and to be honest I just laze about a bit, read a book on code breaking I bought a while ago and never started. Bumped into Jim (Passepartout) who reminded me I wanted to buy some special items and said he knew the best place where the product was genuine and guaranteed. He then offered to take to me lunch where he and his friends and locals go . We had mixed meat and rice noodle soup with a Pepsi each and was quite tasty but didn’t like the cow tongue floating around the soup. I was outraged at the price of 102Baht (£1.50) Jim reveals that he is starting his own travel and tour company which he hopes will begin in December. His customers to begin with will be members of Royal Lighthouse Villas holiday club. I wish him well and will post more details soon as Jim gives me them. So I can now offer tour guides and travel advice in Bali and Phuket. Perhaps I should be working a sideline of travel and tourism in these gorgeous holiday and travel destinations.
Went to the Boat Lagoon Hotel, http://www.phuketboatlagoon.com/hotelresort/resort.php
better late than never, and had a swim in their pool. Quite odd really as I never anticipated swimming in an infinity pool with the infinity not being the never ending vista of the Indian Ocean, but the marina workyard. The effect is strangely, not the same. That said the pool is huge and very warm and surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and palm trees giving much needed shade to protect you from most of the sun. The sky began to darken ominously at about 4pm so I packed up my little pool bag and made a brisk retreat to the villa/apartment/house. 2 minutes after I was inside a massive thunderstorm began and we had torrential rain for about three quarters of an hour. Decided at 7 to go back to Patong and Manuel’s bar and try his barbecue. Picked up taxi by the Boat Lagoon Hotel and took the half trip. Patong is still like the Spanish costas, or Ibiza, or Ayai Napa. Full of tourists, mostly Aussies and some Brits, Germans, Danes and a few French. But it is just so depressing. As you pass bars they call you in, the local girls all greet you “Sawadee Kah” hello. “You drink here, good bar, nice girls” Or the suit shops offer you the obligatory made to measure suit for next to no money and ready before you ordered it! Or the money changers, best rate in town. And so on.
Walk down to Manuel’s bar and he recognises me from last night and gets the name right! One small problem. No barbecue as the rain washed it out. I’m hungry though, but it’s no problem. One of his bar girls runs to the locals ‘café’ and returns with a menu. Hardly much English on it but Flat rice noodle thick meat soup seems quite appealing. I only know what it is cause Manual and the girls translate for me. It is really delicious and very filling and had huge chunks of chicken and noodles in it. Not bad value either, 60Baht (less than £1). Talking to Manuel an Aussie who has given up and the rat race of Brisbane and been living in Phuket for a couple of years find out some of the girls working in his bar don’t actually work for him. The finish their normal jobs around 8, 9 or 10 and then go to the bars where they hang around and work for nothing but the drinks the customers or bar owners buy them. Now we’re getting to it. The bar owners don’t mind because the girls obviously attract the men, the girls obviously are looking for their one way ticket outta here man, to a life of milk and honey in Oz or England, with preferably an old bloke who will snuff it in as few years as possible and leave them with the inheritance. Or if they inconsiderately, last longer than decently acceptable at least they are comfortable and can send money home to family. Often parents and a child. Oooh, how cynical! Actually according to Manuel and a number of other people I talked to that is cynical and mostly the wrong idea. The Thai woman have a strong sense of duty to the family and their ’man’ whether he be Thai or “Farang” foreigner. They see it as their privilege, not job, to be there for him, to do all they can to ease his way in life within the home and ensure he is happy. His happiness is their happiness. I would love to make a comment here but self preservation within a western environment forestalls me! You all know what I want to say but our politically correct times and the free of the bra brigade make us all hostages to minority and inferior thinking. However times are changing. Any way having said all that the girls, Sai, Pearl and Da and another 2 I can’t remember were all good fun even though only Da and another could speak a little English. (btw if you ever visit the bar do not challenge Pearl to Connect 4. You will lose. You have been warned.) Also another handy hint. Keep off the Bangla road area as the girls will make you buy them drinks all night will promise you the “world” and “shortchange” you. That advice from Manuel’s regulars. Somewhere around midnight or 1am I think, I got a tuk-tuk back to base. Seem to remember it being very uncomfortable and taking about a long time as compared to a taxi. But the wind in my hair was cool! Oh no, just remembered, got to pack again in the morning.