Deciding I was in need of some sun and the sea to cure my plague, Saturday morning I took off to Koh Larn, which is about 7 km off the coast near Pattaya. A 2 hour bus ride to Pattaya followed by a 45 minute ferry ride landed me on an island with white sand beaches and all the fresh seafood I could eat!! I had booked a room at the Sea Beach Gueshouse, near the pier, which ultimately turned out to be a mistake as it was next door to two bars which played music all night long. Nice place though – friendly staff and comfy room. 
I spent all of Saturday afternoon touring around to a couple of the beaches, having fresh grilled squid for lunch, and even doing a bit of rockhounding at Nual Beach. Totally strange rocks on the beach – sediments of some sort I think, according to the only geological map of Thailand I can find. But definitely highly hydrothermally altered by some secondary process. Some of it was heavy as hell, with a white, blocky mineral I suspect to be barite. But all the rocks were shot through with botryoidal hematite and goethite. The monks at the wat on the island actually use this material to make amulets as it’s black and shiny and hard. They either polish it down or leave it raw with the botryoidal habit showing. Of course I had to buy one of these when I stopped at the wat! Stops bullets from penetrating your body apparently.
Christmas Day supper consisted of sea bass and fried rice with shrimp, plus a Leo of course. Dinner right on the ocean – perfect way to spend Christmas!
Sunday afternoon I took the ferry back to the mainland and walked 6 km from the pier to the bus station, along the main beach road in Pattaya. What a place. The main strip consists of go-go bars advertising naked girls, Russian restaurants, the regular array of souvenir stands (some selling an amazing array of weapons including mace and tasers!), Burger Kings, a Hard Rock Café, and Starbucks. The other main phenomenon to observe on the main beach strip is the large white guy with a young Thai woman on his arm. After spending 6 weeks in Phuket, this should no longer surprise me, but it still disturbs me.
6 km of walking in the sun required a pizza lunch, followed by a stop at Fairtex Pattaya to see if they had hand wraps. It was as I went to pay for the hand wraps and shorts that I discovered that my Visa was missing. Shit. The last time I had used it was to get money out of the ATM at the gym. Realizing there was nothing to do about it, I walked the rest of the way to the bus station (sans handwraps and shorts). A short bus ride back to Bangkok and I was almost home! It was when I caught a taxi that the fun started.
I made the mistake of taking a non-meter taxi. But he was offering only 50 baht more than what the regular taxi would have been, and it saved me walking out to the taxi stand, so why not. I told him where I wanted to go, and he agreed. It wasn’t until we got to Rangsit that I realized that he thought I wanted to go to the Rangsit Stadium and didn’t have a clue where Baan Muay Thai was. I finally convinced him to get on the right road headed towards the gym, with him fighting and bitching the entire way. From what I can gather, he was utterly convinced I wanted to go to Rangsit Stadium and that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I tried to explain that I lived at Baan Muay Thai so I know that it existed! Past the freeway turn-off, I pointed across the road to the gym and the stadium (the stadium is still under construction, but the sign is up). He still didn’t believe me and was going to do a U-turn and take me back to Rangsit Stadium, 5 km away! That’s about when I lost patience. I told him to pull over, I’d walk from there (divided 6-lane road, but I figured that was a safer bet than staying in the taxi with this guy!). He argued, saying no, he was going to U-turn and take me back the other way. Yup, patience really got tested at that point! I actually threatened to call the police if he didn’t pull over and let me out. He finally did, after 5 minutes of arguing. I bet he still thinks I’m crazy, possibly wandering around the klong! But I made it safely to my room, happy to be out of the car. And that’s when the fun with the Royal Bank started!
Never forget your Visa in an ATM in a foreign country. The cell phone service on my own cell phone is spotty, and the reception isn’t great. It took me 5 tries with RBC to explain to them, with very small, slowly spoken words, that I needed my card cancelled and to have a new one sent to me. It was trying to give a Thai address that was the crux of the frustration. However, it’s done, and RBC has promised that I will have a brand new Visa within 6 working days, couriered to me at the Museum. Shit, that’s faster than receiving a new card in Canada!!
All in all, a bit of a schizophrenic weekend! So it’s nice to be back. And plague-free!! The horrid sinus infection/cold I had has disappeared, which I’m very grateful for. It’ll make working and thinking and training a lot easier!
Back to training and work tomorrow morning. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!
No comments:
Post a Comment