Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Ko Chang

Yesterday I traveled all day. First as pillion passenger on a motorbike while being pulled of balance my backpack and net book satchel. Then on a bus, a sorng taa a ferry and again a sorng taa. A sorng taa by the way is a pickup truck with two benches in the rear tray and, if you're lucky, a roof of some description to keep the sun the rain or both of your noggin.

Somewhere along the way I grabbed some lunch and immediately got caught out by the language barrier. I thought I was ordering a chicken dish to go with my rice but ended up getting a combination of beef, chicken and squid. Nothing wrong with that you would think, and there isn't really, except that I never eat seafood of any kind. As it was the dish was heavily spiced and after the first bite the difference in taste between the various bits became academic.

It was almost five in the afternoon when I arrived at my destination. The Nature Beach Resort is a grand name for a collection of huts on the beach but as a hut on the beach is what I was after it'll do nicely. My room has a mattress on the floor, a pedestal fan that blows a hurricane, a western toilet with a bucket of water to flush it and a cold water shower that sprays brackish water but at a good flow.



The weather is monsoonal at the moment and the sea is churning and there are signs up in various places warning about rips. In spite of that plenty of people are in the water and even a number of sun bathers are stretched out on the beach. This last bit seems funny as it's overcast and there is hardly any sun. Seeing them run for cover when the next squall comes through is always good for some entertainment too.

In the evening competing discos where trying to out do each other in the volume stakes. I was worried the racket might continue all night but around ten the rain started to pour down, and pour down seriously this time, and that either drowned out the sound or short circuited their electrics or maybe their customers just went home. It went quiet all the same and I slept until eight the next morning.

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