Thailand - miscellaneous impressions of our first day
The heat.
Omigod, the heat. It hits like a hammer. Hard, hot, unrelenting. I love it.
In keeping with my plan to hop and skip around our stories with complete disregard to chronology, we're now in Jomtien Beach, Thailand.
Hans golfed yesterday (shot 89) and I decided to look up a Rotary meeting. There was one in Pattaya City, about 20 minutes north of here. No big deal. The hotel told me a taxi would take me for about 20 baht (65 cents). The taxis are actually like jeepneys, or pickup trucks with a row of benches down each side of the bed, a roof and sides, and the top half is open to the air with a couple of horizontal bars to keep you from flinging yourself out with too much ease.
"How much to the Marriott Resort and Spa?" I asked
"150 baht," he replied, looking at my white face.
"What?? The hotel said 20 baht." There followed some animated discussion the gist of which was that I was his only passenger, so I had to pay for the whole 10 passenger cab (or 16 Thais).
I declined. He hailed another taxi already full and we negotiated a 40 baht ride, but I got to sit in the cab.
The Rotary meeting was great - very animated and active discussion on their most recent fundraiser, a classical concert with violin and piano, which was very well received. I asked how much money they made.
"Not sure," came the reply. "Things in Thailand are different. We have 3 levels of sponsors: Diamond,Platinum and Gold. They pledge to pay for the food, for example, and get free tickets. However, when we present them with the food bill, they may or may not pay it all."
So I bought a CD and program from the concert to help them out. What the heck,it all goes to Rotary projects.
The gentleman beside me kindly told me that on the way back to Jomtien Beach, I would have to turn right when I exited the Marriott and walk to the streetlights, then cross the street to get a taxi back home. So I did this. Lots of intersting shops so I wasn't going very fast, but I was getting pretty hot in the heat. Finally, after abut 20 minutes or so, I noticed I hadn't come to the streetlight yet. Nor could I see it ahead of me. I cursed myself for not asking how far it was and finally decided to head back to the Marriott for better instructions. Turned out I hadn't walked very far at all when I didn't stop to browse.
In the restaurant I got a coke (good for killng any stray bacteria in your digestive system I'm told) and asked where I could get a taxi to Jomtien. Hah. The waitress had NO English. Her supervisor came and she had a smattering more but her instructions were unclear. She kept pushing her crossed arms at me, as if warding off a vampire.
I smiled. Said I understood, took my coke and left. And turned right again determined to find the blasted streetlights. By the way, it's strange but in Manila also there were hardly any street lights. There are hardly any intersections!
Anyway, I beetled off on the other side of the street since my original guide had told me I needed to cross in order to catch traffic in the other direction. It provided shade but the heat was just as intense. And there they were, the elusive lights.
Since I was already on the correct side of the street to catch returning traffic, I looked around and saw, for the first time, that I was on a one way street. The wrong way. Oh well, I thought. Obviously he meant for me to take the cross street and walk to the next parallel street to catch returning traffic, so on I went. And went. No cross street in sight. No wonder they don't need streetlights. There are hardly any intersections.
The road I was on curved slightly so I was unable to see far ahead, and I was trying hard to see if the next cross street was actually coming up or not. I had a map, but not all streets are marked. Anyway, the streets themselves aren't marked! So what good is the map?
Finally, I stopped a white man and asked if he spoke English. This isn't as odd a question as you'd think since all the caucasians we had heard so far were speaking Slavik sounding languages. Luckily, he spoke English, showed me where I was on the map, sent me back the way I had come and said to cross the &(*&%$ street! Hah.
Back at the intersection, I saw that what I should have done when I first got there is simply crossed the street in the direction in which I was going. That's where two-way traffic started and there were all the taxis, lined up.
The crossed arms the waitress had been pushing into my face was finally clear. *sigh*
The driver quoted 20 baht to go to Jomtien, a price I was happy to pay.
Ten passengers were seated in the back, with 2 men standing on the footboards. We stopped to pick up a lady. There's always room for one more, but she had to stand. I'd done my share of walking and my face was beating in time with my pulse so I was in no shape to offer her my seat. Besides, I was older. Much older, though sometimes it's hard to tell here. Everyone looks so youthful. How do they not get wrinkles? Must be the moist air.
And now, we're approaching Jomtien. I look around for the buzzer that alerts the driver to stop,which he'll do anywhere. The lady next to me shows me where it is and kindly asks where I'm going and she'll buzz for me when it's time. I watch keenly, knowing that when we get to the ocean I'll be close to home and sure enough, there's the water. There's the name of an inn I recognize and since someone else has already buzzed, I decide to also get off and walk the rest of the way. Surely I'm close.
I'm not.
Crap.
And it's so hot.
So I walk and soon, I start to recognize a few places that Hans and I had walked past the night before. In the end, it's only about a 15 minute walk but the heat is energy sapping and the ocean waves look so cool and inviting.
I zone out and walk past my hotel! But only a few yards then catch myself and chuckle, heading back. In a strange twist, just as I pick up my key and enter the elevator, I hear Hans call my name from the lobby. He walked in at the same time, back from a great day golfing.
The pool sizzled as I slipped in.
Omigod, the heat. It hits like a hammer. Hard, hot, unrelenting. I love it.
In keeping with my plan to hop and skip around our stories with complete disregard to chronology, we're now in Jomtien Beach, Thailand.
Hans golfed yesterday (shot 89) and I decided to look up a Rotary meeting. There was one in Pattaya City, about 20 minutes north of here. No big deal. The hotel told me a taxi would take me for about 20 baht (65 cents). The taxis are actually like jeepneys, or pickup trucks with a row of benches down each side of the bed, a roof and sides, and the top half is open to the air with a couple of horizontal bars to keep you from flinging yourself out with too much ease.
"How much to the Marriott Resort and Spa?" I asked
"150 baht," he replied, looking at my white face.
"What?? The hotel said 20 baht." There followed some animated discussion the gist of which was that I was his only passenger, so I had to pay for the whole 10 passenger cab (or 16 Thais).
I declined. He hailed another taxi already full and we negotiated a 40 baht ride, but I got to sit in the cab.
The Rotary meeting was great - very animated and active discussion on their most recent fundraiser, a classical concert with violin and piano, which was very well received. I asked how much money they made.
"Not sure," came the reply. "Things in Thailand are different. We have 3 levels of sponsors: Diamond,Platinum and Gold. They pledge to pay for the food, for example, and get free tickets. However, when we present them with the food bill, they may or may not pay it all."
So I bought a CD and program from the concert to help them out. What the heck,it all goes to Rotary projects.
The gentleman beside me kindly told me that on the way back to Jomtien Beach, I would have to turn right when I exited the Marriott and walk to the streetlights, then cross the street to get a taxi back home. So I did this. Lots of intersting shops so I wasn't going very fast, but I was getting pretty hot in the heat. Finally, after abut 20 minutes or so, I noticed I hadn't come to the streetlight yet. Nor could I see it ahead of me. I cursed myself for not asking how far it was and finally decided to head back to the Marriott for better instructions. Turned out I hadn't walked very far at all when I didn't stop to browse.
In the restaurant I got a coke (good for killng any stray bacteria in your digestive system I'm told) and asked where I could get a taxi to Jomtien. Hah. The waitress had NO English. Her supervisor came and she had a smattering more but her instructions were unclear. She kept pushing her crossed arms at me, as if warding off a vampire.
I smiled. Said I understood, took my coke and left. And turned right again determined to find the blasted streetlights. By the way, it's strange but in Manila also there were hardly any street lights. There are hardly any intersections!
Anyway, I beetled off on the other side of the street since my original guide had told me I needed to cross in order to catch traffic in the other direction. It provided shade but the heat was just as intense. And there they were, the elusive lights.
Since I was already on the correct side of the street to catch returning traffic, I looked around and saw, for the first time, that I was on a one way street. The wrong way. Oh well, I thought. Obviously he meant for me to take the cross street and walk to the next parallel street to catch returning traffic, so on I went. And went. No cross street in sight. No wonder they don't need streetlights. There are hardly any intersections.
The road I was on curved slightly so I was unable to see far ahead, and I was trying hard to see if the next cross street was actually coming up or not. I had a map, but not all streets are marked. Anyway, the streets themselves aren't marked! So what good is the map?
Finally, I stopped a white man and asked if he spoke English. This isn't as odd a question as you'd think since all the caucasians we had heard so far were speaking Slavik sounding languages. Luckily, he spoke English, showed me where I was on the map, sent me back the way I had come and said to cross the &(*&%$ street! Hah.
Back at the intersection, I saw that what I should have done when I first got there is simply crossed the street in the direction in which I was going. That's where two-way traffic started and there were all the taxis, lined up.
The crossed arms the waitress had been pushing into my face was finally clear. *sigh*
The driver quoted 20 baht to go to Jomtien, a price I was happy to pay.
Ten passengers were seated in the back, with 2 men standing on the footboards. We stopped to pick up a lady. There's always room for one more, but she had to stand. I'd done my share of walking and my face was beating in time with my pulse so I was in no shape to offer her my seat. Besides, I was older. Much older, though sometimes it's hard to tell here. Everyone looks so youthful. How do they not get wrinkles? Must be the moist air.
And now, we're approaching Jomtien. I look around for the buzzer that alerts the driver to stop,which he'll do anywhere. The lady next to me shows me where it is and kindly asks where I'm going and she'll buzz for me when it's time. I watch keenly, knowing that when we get to the ocean I'll be close to home and sure enough, there's the water. There's the name of an inn I recognize and since someone else has already buzzed, I decide to also get off and walk the rest of the way. Surely I'm close.
I'm not.
Crap.
And it's so hot.
So I walk and soon, I start to recognize a few places that Hans and I had walked past the night before. In the end, it's only about a 15 minute walk but the heat is energy sapping and the ocean waves look so cool and inviting.
I zone out and walk past my hotel! But only a few yards then catch myself and chuckle, heading back. In a strange twist, just as I pick up my key and enter the elevator, I hear Hans call my name from the lobby. He walked in at the same time, back from a great day golfing.
The pool sizzled as I slipped in.
Comments
If you are still in Pattaya and if you stay on Jomtien Beach, I would recommend you to have dinner at Jomtien Boathouse. It's a great restaurant by the beach at Jomtien Soi 8. They also have Elvis show on Thrusdays and Fridays.