My Dentist put the finishing touches on my tooth with one last appointment set to remove the sutures.
Well all this tourism stuff caught up to me and I surcummed to Pattaya fever. I got sick of being a good boy and decided to treat myself to a few beers. I started the evening at the Pattaya Beer Garden listening to the Classic video performances of Bruce Springsteen, CC Revival, Pink Floyd, etc...after 5 beers I stopped at the Wonderful bar and met Mr Bean. He is an English Guy that looks like Mr Bean (Rowan Ackinson...
the famous comedian know for Mr Bean movies, Red Dwarf, Black Adder,etc) .We hit it off and were discussing the local music scene...lots of Thai bands playing Fargang (foreign) music badly. He pointed out a greatband on Soi (Lane) 8 that was worth seeing. Now I am reading the book about Danny Gatton ( the most famous unknown guitar player
in the world). I found, while reading the book that I have a lot of his guitar and rockabilly music that I downloaded from the internet. I wanted to hear some good guitar so arrived at the bar at Soi 8 whilean English girl was singing with the band. When the song ended ,
she came out and sat at the bar. I went over and introduced myself. She was celebrating her 21st birthday today and asked to sing with the band. She was with an older guy from Britain that brought her to Thailand to celebrate her birthday. They had been friends for over
6-7 years....so that meant he was dating her when she was 15? Anyway, he was a nice guy and we chatted a bit before I left to get my movie camera. I wanted to film the music and the full band was starting shortly. That was just a warm up.I was looking for Mr Bean to invite him along, after I got my camera, when I passed a Hookah Bar
with lots of Thai people sitting around outside smoking the Hookah.
This is something I had not seen in Thailand so joined them. They
passed me the Hookah and against my better judgement...well no
judgement at that point...I tried the Mint flavored one then went to
the Apple. These were all employees of the local hotel that just got
off work at 10pm and come there to unwind. Something that I could
identify with from my younger days. I bought a beer and joined
them for about a half hour. One adopted me as his new father.
I bid goodbye to my new son and returned to the Soi 8 music.
It was in full swing and so was I . I got POO (yes that is her name..my friend Leif married a Vietnamese name Phuc)...one of the bar hostesses to play pool with me. The music was good but the lead singer wasn't so I returned to the hotel and called it a night...or morning.
The next day I went to the bus station...a little bar/restaurant called the TRAPEZE and caught a Mini Bus to Chanthaburi. I was told it was about a hour and a half. The driver passed everything on the road. Everything. There were no seat belts, except for the driver and front passenger who refused to wear them. I pictured myself going through
the windshield at 100 mph. It was closer to three hours when I arrived I had no clue of what to do or see in Chanthaburi except to see the waterfalls. Well that was way out of town and my time was short as I wanted toreturn before dark . I saw a map at the station, where I was dropped, that had historical sites marked on it. I tried to pick one that would
be close to others so maybe I could walk around. The taxi told me it would be 250 Baht. I thought he was taking advantage of me just arriving but I had little choice. I agreed to go, thinking I could find someone cheaper when I arrive to bring me back. He drove and
drove and drove. Now I was way out of town...could have seen a hundred waterfalls by now... and in the middle of the jungle.
I started to relax and take photos...it was proving to be a very scenic ride.
We arrived at an old Fort built by the French when they enslaved the Siamese people to work in their rubber plantations and make a lot of people name Michelin rich. I also saw part of the prison
they put those in that didn't work hard enough for them. Later the driver took me to one of the most outstanding beaches
I have ever seen and to the river for some pictures. I had him drive me back to the bus station where he charged me another 250 Baht for the return trip. It had been worth it. I caught the 3 pm Mini Bus back to Pattaya arriving around 6 pm with one sore butt from all that riding around in the Mini Van and the Taxi. The taxi was actually a Baht bus
where you sit in the back of a small truck and bounce around like a
sack of beans.
I had dinner at Shenanigans Irish Pub...ate Thai food and washed it
down with a Guinness .
Sunday I slept late,played Texas Holdem, then met Doug. We went to Dicey Reilly's new Irish Pub then back to the room and just sat on the balcony overlooking the sea and chatted about life until late. It was nice.
Today I'm doing laundry, joining the Coffee Club and visiting Chon Buri. A town that is much closer than Chantheburi. Starting to get bored here. Maybe I will get back to my book.
I had coffee at the Coffee Club and the best Eggs Benedict
since the last time I had mine! I took my morning walk out by the pier
and ended up getting on the boat for Koh Larn...a beach resort/island.
I only visited the town a bit then came back but it was a nice trip and took up most of the afternoon. The Monks
that returned with us don't pay for transportation and got to ride with the captain in the steering room. It was better than bouncing around in the back of a truck. Played Texas Holdem on the internet and went to bed early.
Picked up the laundry to pack and off to the market. Well itlooks like the market is only open certain days. I road and road down the road until I was almost in I don't know where when I decided...being the only one left on the bus...to get off, cross the road and return. When I got off, it turned out that I was at a tourist attraction way out of the city...the floating market.
So I decided to make that due and became a tourist.
It turned out nice but by the time I returned, it was time to see the dentist for the last time. All went well and Doug and Denise stopped by the dentist to meet me for lunch. We went to a really nice , out of the way Thai place in a garden for a very leisurely lunch.
We then walked to the beach area to visit a new 7 STAR resort. I am not into resorts or hotels or tourist places but this was an architectural wonder.
We then stopped for coffee at a special coffee shop where the ice cubes were espresso. We parted with plans for a night cap later.
Doug stopped by just as I finished packing. I was booking a room for my return to get my crown tooth installed when Doug mentioned that he knew the man who owned the hotel I was changing to. I was changing because it was cheaper but no pool. If there is a problem,
he will see the owner this week and try and correct it. I'm done in Pattaya and already emailed two SERVAS people in Chiang Mai and one in Myanmar for advice and a possible back up place to stay. See you in Chiang Mai.
This is my acquaintance in Vietnam...now has a web site...you
will recognize his photos if you have been to my home:
http://www.elephantguide.com/longthanh/galleries/index.htm
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