Messing about

Tuesday 31st

For the first time in weeks I didn't wake up early. In fact I thought it was still early when I did wake up and was going to try to go back to sleep but decided to check the time - It was 9:20 and I was supposed to be at the bar near the beach at 10. I had a quick shower and no breakfast and headed out. I didn't see the other 2 from the hotel so assumed they must have left and got general instructions from Danny as to its location. I bough a bag on the way - plastic with a zip for towels etc for 100B. Didn't really have the time or inclination to try and barter. Once I got on to the Beach road I called Dane who gave me the signs to look for and was waiting for me.

There was no panic as it was still 15 or 20 minutes before we boarded the buses to go to the boat. They loaded up a heap of slabs for the trip plus some cartons of soft drink and spirits. The boat it self had 3 decks and was a decent size but not the luxury yacht I had envisioned. We headed out from the port past a boat that was clearly partly sunken - a diving wreck for people who can't swim perhaps.

The trip to the island took about 40 minutes and we dropped anchor 2-300m from the beach. The island we visited was next to the larger Kho Laan, which is one of the main tourist islands. The water was fairly clear and a lovely colour and we were soon swimming off the boat. I got some snorkeling gear but the bottom was fairly barren. Just sand with the occasional chicken bone and one old tyre.

Apart from the 4 Aussies and one Guy from San Francisco and an English guy who manages the bar, most of the guests were Norwegian. This tour is run by the Blue Lagoon bar and the owner, Roar, is from there. There were also a number of Thai girlfriends on board. Just my luck that the only other non Thai woman on board was a 30-ish blonde Norwegian in a skimpy bikini and a body to match. Still I wasn't in a beauty contest so I spent most of my time in my not so skimpy bikini anyway.

I started with a few glasses of soft drink but after the swim and as lunch was coming I even had a San Mig light beer. The second can was mixed with lemonade and after that I had weak whisky/cokes. Lunch consisted of Rice, Green curry, another stir fry with mushrooms in it and fried chicken drumsticks, plus fruit. Most of the time was spent chatting with the various people and eating and drinking.

At one stage we could see rain over the mainland but it was still dry and sunny on the boat. I was on the top deck sun baking when a strong wind came up and I looked up to see dark clouds approaching and the water getting dark and choppy. They pulled anchors and went round to the other side of the island to get away from the weather. On the way we passed an actual yellow submarine - so it's not just an imaginary boat in a Beatles song. We still had a short but heavy shower before it cleared. Then the sun came out again and a few people went for another swim. Some of us tried our hand at fishing but only 3 smallish fish were caught (none by me) and these were thrown back.

We got back to shore about 4-30 and went to the bar where we hopped in the Jacuzzi. People started buying rounds of Sambuca shots but after 2 I'd had enough. That stuff tastes like cough medicine anyway. I headed back to the hotel and lay down and fell asleep. It was about 7-30 when I got up and I decided to check the cards from yesterday, discovering 3 of the 8 had errors. I got these checked by a couple of the other guys. TVL had just got in and we headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner. It has a selection of European dishes and I had Beef stroganoff - not too bad but with no mushrooms or sour cream was not really what one would normally expect. They had a 2 for 1 on Funky elephant cocktails, which I took up - a mixture of triple sec, Havana club and blue curacao.

I had a chat to Danny on the way back who assured me the rest of the courses would be better than the one we played yesterday. He is expecting 4 or 5 of his regulars to be joining us tomorrow.

Game of the Century

Monday 30th

Golf is a cruel game. We start each round with such optimism and hope only to have it dashed upon the shores of inconsistency and incompetency.

We started gathering at Le Katai from 8 or so onwards and like a number of the others, I had breakfast there. I had knocked up a results sheet as an Excel file in the early hours and printed it off back at the hotel. We loaded up the minibuses and headed off to Chonburi Century for the first game. It seemed to be a long drive and is in fact the furthermost from Pattaya that we will travel. The Bar owner, who is also organiser for our golf and 3 of his regulars joined us for the day, sharing the buses but playing together after our groups.

The course was unimpressive and certainly not up to the standards of the ones we played last time. In fairness a lot of this was due to the fact that it is the end of the dry season and this has resulted in a lot of grass being brown and patchy. The greens were watered but the fairways weren't. The sand traps were very coarse and gritty and there was only a thin layer of this "sand" in them anyway. The bare fairways did mean you got a lot of run on your shots. Some others who have played it before said that it was a lovely coarse then, so maybe its just the season.

I started with a good drive but got a phone call from Panu with some problems. I arranged to call him after the game but it did rather throw my concentration. I was driving fairly well nonetheless ( with 2 or 3 exceptions) but my putting was pretty ordinary. I went out in 14, 4 strokes over my handicap and then had a disastrous back nine saved only by parring the last 2 holes. Our best score was only 30 points, 6 over the nominal score for this type of competition. The worst was only 19 with me being in the bottom half of the field of 8. I did pick up the long drive prize at least.

The club house is also rather basic with a very spartan sitting area with plastic tables and chairs and drinks in cans and bottles. The green fees, caddie fees and cart hire were each 200B, less than $10 and to be honest, that was about what they were worth. They had drinks huts every 3 holes so there was a bit spent there and in the "clubhouse" afterwards. A further 200B as a tip still made it a cheap day.

The trip back did not seem nearly as long for some reason but it was hot and humid and I headed for my airconditioned room. I found an email from Pan Orient and responded then rang Panu to get some data to test to find the bugs.

About 6-30 I headed to the Bar and TVL and I went to a restaurant near Mike's for their smorgasbord. We'd been there with Marie last time. At 185B it's great value, with Thai and European hot dishes, soups, a salad bar and desserts and fruit. We also had a couple of iced fruit drinks. From there we went to the new mall which was still under construction last time. There's a supermarket there and I bought some cereal, milk juice and plastic bowls. I really don't need a full English breakfast everyday, even ignoring the cost aspect. Speaking of which, they had actual "made in Australia" Smiths potato chips there at a suitably horrendous price (over $10). Even Doritos were about $5 a bag. I also picked up some sunscreen at Mike's. I had only a bit left in the bottle normally in my golf bag and decided to get one here before I left, but i hadn't got round to it before the first game. Fortunately I was able to borrow some.

I came back to my room and spent some time adding a few extra options to a couple of report and export routines but still didn't have the data to doing any bug testing. I'd only had a couple of files to do the import tests on before I left and some of these issues have come up once a number of days data has been added.

I have watched another film on the TV as well. Boat trip tomorrow.

A phoney insurance claim

Sunday 29th

Still waking up early - yesterday's blog was written about 5 am this morning. Watched some stupid Steven Segal movie, set in Thailand before getting up for breakfast around 9.

Breakfast is not included in the room this time, which is probably good since last time we missed so many with early starts. We would have this time as well by Andy has changed most of the tee times to about 10-30, with the last one, which is a course closer to Pattaya anyway at 9. I has the English breakfast across the road for just over $4. Raced off without paying but the Rev fixed them up before he left.

I headed down to the embroidery place about 11 but it was closed. I called the number but got no answer, so I went to some nearby shops and Mike's mall looking at dresses. I'd mostly brought golf gear with me - ie tops and bottoms but realised a dress would be handy round the pool and on the boat trip. I bought one but decided against a number of others I looked at. One might be enough since we play golf every other day, so it can get washed in time for the next free day.

I then wandered down to the beach for a brief look. The embroidery shop was opened when I called back so I organised the caps and then went back to the hotel. It was quite hot so I headed to the pool as I'd seen a couple of the others there. A few dips, a bit of sun bathing and reading and a couple of drinks and a hamburger later I headed for my room. I seem to have lost my phone or had it stolen. I tired the usual trick of ringing it so it isn't in my room or my bag. I had hoped it would be at the embroidery shop, since I had to rummage through my bag to find the details for the caps but when I called back it wasn't there, nor at the couple of places in the mall that I knew I'd put it down to try on a dress or pay for something. I guess it will be an insurance claim. Have to ring tomorrow to see what is required.

I had a bit of time in my room. where at least it has air can and about 4 headed downstairs and saw TVL. He and Ed had already been to the driving range about 1pm. TVL said that Ed had phoned and not got an answer - surprise. I decided I needed some practice anyway so grab my glove and 4 clubs and caught a motorcycle to the range. They have high nets all around it which is a good thing since I was nearly reaching the end with a 7 iron and my rescue and driver were hitting the net 20 or 30 metres up. It was only 30B for 40 balls, about 1/3 price back home. When I was down to the last 8 I had some chips and then hit those last few off with a wedge. Back to the hotel now and about 6pm.

The guys should be gathering for dinner and drinks shortly and hopefully the caps will be ready soon. I gave them the number for the bar to leave a message since my mobile number is now useless.

I met up with a couple of the guys and Ed tried my number again. This time it was answered and I worked out it was the girl at the swim suit shop between the embroidery and the Mall who had it. I went down and picked it uop and gave her a reward. I checked the caps and they were about half done, so I went back to the bar. Danny the owner shouted us all around and some of the guys ordered food. I held off and about 7-30 the call came that thje caps were ready. Back down to pick them up and then back to the Bar. Its about 1.3 km each time. By then I was hungry and decide on the well known Cornish Past-Thai for dinner.

I gave out the hats to everyone and they came out quite well. All but one of the guys had Navy, with the exception being bottle green. I got 2 - one aqua and one pink. The Navy one I got last time has really faded badly with the sweat and the sun. This time we had also our names put on the back for an extra 50B. Still was only about $15 each.

Some of the guys have headed out to the bars but it is late enough for me so I've come back to my room.

Let the games begin

Saturday 28th

I checked our path from Friday on Google Earth and It looks like we would have walked 15 or 16km that day.

We decided to give the Chatachuk markets a miss this morning, since we'd done enough shopping and they have more or less the same sorts of stalls that we had seen in many of the street markets or even MBK. This turned out to be a good decision as it meant we weren't rushed with our packing and getting organised to go. It was also quite hot and humid and even a short trip down the road was uncomfortable. Our original plan was to leave about 12-30 on the basis of going to the market but we were ready an hour before that. TVL wanted to change some money so I tried to tell the guy at the taxi stand we wanted to change our time. He didn't get it and wanted to charge us 1500B when we'd already agreed on 1200. Eventually, I gave up and even his parting shot as we left was only down to 1300.

Fortunately the original guy was back by the time we'd checked out and called the taxi for us. We left just on 11-45 and it took us 15 minutes to get back to the tollway, although we didn't get on it till further along. I'm not sure whether this was the first chance or whether he only did it when we said we'd pay the tolls. They totalled about $4 or $5. The trip didn't seem to long although it was probably around 90 minutes to 2 hours. I guess travelling with someone distracts you more than when you are on your own.

When we arrived at the hotel 3 of our group were in the dining area, but left soon after saying we'd meet up at the bar across the road for dinner. We checked in and I found my poolside room, which cost me extra was not in fact "pool side" (as in on the ground floor by the pool like last time) but "pool view" on the 2nd floor overlooking it with a small balcony. The rooms are adequate, as expected from the last trip here, not quite as nice as the Honey but still better than in Wichian Buri. They all provide the essentials of a bed, a fridge, an air conditioner and an en suite. Here we are back to the one tap instant heater for the shower with no separate shower area or bath. (At least it is still hot at full pressure)

I didn't have enough money to prepay the room so I handed over 5000B and once I'd unpacked headed down the street. I stopped at the embroidery shop to get info and options for our souvenir caps then withdrew another 20,000B. I figured, I needed 7000 for the hotel and about the same for the golf as well as spending money. Last time we had to pay up front for the golf. However, this time we just pay as we go so I now have a rather large amount of cash that I'm carrying.

Back at the hotel, I met up with Ed , who had organised the tour, and then went to my room. The hotel now has free wireless Internet in the room and in the foyer, where they also have a couple of PCs for guest use. I can download emails OK, but can't seem to send them from Thunderbird, and had to use the web browser interface. This has happened before with connections from the hotels and has to do with the way they set up the SMTP server. It's quite annoying since you can't just hit reply to an email.

This morning there was an email from Conan, the 7 ft actor/Mensa guy I met up with in Bangkok last year. We had missed each other in Bangkok since he was busy moving to Pattaya, so I may catch up with him here. He said it was getting quite unpleasant living in Bangkok because of the political situation, although it's not something you notice as a tourist.

We all met up at La Katai. the bar across the street for dinner. The first 6 of us arrived more or less together around 6-30 or so and the last 2 somewhat later, since they'd been playing golf. There are 8 of us here now with another one arriving later this week. The bar has changed quite a bit since 2 years ago. They have taken over the next door property as well and are renovating the old place, getting more table area and putting in an internet cafe as well. The guys seemed to know everyone there since most of them came on last year's club trip as well, and some had been back here again since on "private" trips. We finally met Dane's girlfriend, Kiky, who seems quite nice. He seemed quite smitten with her when he came back last time. She also had the Rev's washing from November. He'd left too early in the morning to collect it so she'd picked it up from the hotel and kept it for him.

Andy, one of the bar owners and the local organiser for our golf was there and is changing our tee times to later in the morning. Nobody really wants to get up at 6 on holidays.

Dane was getting us organised for a boat trip on Tuesday. This is 1500B for men but only 500B for women and includes all food and drink. I guess they don't think we can drink as much as the guys. Apparently, you can expect everyone to be quite drunk by the end of the trip. I got the decisions made for our caps which I'll get done tomorrow.

So, we are are here, things are getting organised and it's time to relax and have a fun.

Wat, again?

Friday 27th

We decided to revisit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Royal Palace today. We left the hotel about 10-30 and stopped at Robinson's where I bought a belt. I must have lost weight since I bought the new pants as they were a bit loose. I found one with pictures of golfers on it and decided to get it even though it was a bit pricier than the plain ones.

We took the underground to the end of the line. We then walked to the palace through Chinatown. The first area seemed to have a lot of hard ware shops but as we walked further the goods in the shops changed. At one stage we must have passed 20 or 30 shoe shops one after the other.

We walked tough a park just before getting there and had trouble finding an exit. When we did we were 90 degrees off where we thought we were. We eventually arrived at the palace wall via the Ministry of Defence. A number of people informed us it wasn't open but we continued anyway and surprise it was open. Makes us think it probably was on Wednesday as well.

The temple and palace are very impressive and there are some photos in my 2006 blog as well.

It was about 1-30 by the time we finished and after a drink in the shop, we headed towards the ferry terminal, where we had lunch. While we were eating, we saw some barges heading down river. These sit much lower in the water than the ones heading up river the other day. From there we took a ferry further up river and then walked back towards Dusit Park, to see the Teak Palace. It was by this time after 3 and we went straight to the palace skipping the other exhibits closer to the entrance. We were in one of the last tour groups and again the building is impressive - 3 stories, 76 rooms, build entirely of wood and held together with wooden pegs and completed in only 19 months. There is a model of the building on display there and that took 18 months to build!

We headed over to look at some of the throne rooms, but they had already closed so we couldn't go inside but could at least photograph the outside. The second of these was the same building we'd seen from the other side the other day, near the statue of the king on the horse, we we passed on our way back to the street out of the area.

We walked to the marble temple which was a little way down that street and then went to catch a bus. We were walking passed the actual Royal residence area and walked most of the way before we even saw a bus stop. By then the traffic was so bad we decided just to keep walking and eventually walked all the way to the Skytrain station.

By the time we got back to the hotel station, we'd been away 7 hours, most of the time spent walking. WE probably did more than 10 km exclusing walking around the various places we visited. TVL needed a coffee and then we went to the hotel taking this shot of the setting sun reflected from a sky scraper.

We were soon out again for dinner. This we had at a restaurant only a 100m or so up the road. After that we walked through Soi Cowboy - a bar area - and then back to the hotel.

It wasn't much after 8pm at that time but we'd had enough and headed back to our rooms.

till we dropped

Thursday 26th

At breakfast, neither of the guys was wearing long pants, so it was obvious they weren't interesting in going to the Wat. We were a bit worn out from Wednesday's travels.

TVL and I decided to go to the Gems Gallery and The Rev said he'd come too as long as he didn't have to do much walking. The hotel didn't have any idea what I wanted so I jumped on the net and found the web page and tried to call them to send a car to pick us up. It was then I realised that my sim card came without any minutes so I went to the 7-11 for a recharge. It then turned out the number I was trying wasn't working so I had to get back on the web for the other number, which did.

I was looking for some drop earrings to match my Topaz jewellery I bought last trip but they really didn't have anything for me. I saw the perfect style in 14k gold so they do make what I want. Apart from the colour it was 2 or 4 the price. In the end I only bought something from the souvenir shop but the boys made up for it by buying stuff for relatives. The older woman who was our guide was really beaming by the end. The Rev headed back to the hotel and TVL and I went to MBK shopping mall. We had lunch there and as I got my wallet out I realised I still had the Rev's key which I'd put there for sake keeping. Apparently he'd realised before he left the Gems place but couldn't get our attention as we left in the mini bus.

MBK is huge. Its like a galleria with a flea market, department stores, cinema complex attached covering 6 floors and is probably 500 m long. I was particularly interested in some long pants for golf but also on the look out for other clothes. I found the place I bought my light blue top last trip straight away and tried on the Thai style blazers. I wasn't convinced so decided against a purchase. I also found some tops similar to that one later but they were 3 times the price so again no sale. We did buy some DVDs mostly from our lists and TVL found a camera bag. He really knows how to shop - he does seem to know how to buy one thing and picked out 15 DVDs. Yesterday it was 6 golf shirts.

I decided to go back to the golf arcade again and found a pair of Aqua slacks on the first floor. While they were taking them up we went to the next floor and I organised another pair there, this time in black. TVL decided to get some shorts - 3 pairs, which got him a free polo shirt. I looked at the shorts as well and bought 2 which got me a free shirt as well. These were the same Addidas coolaclime as we'd bought the day before. Since I was in the neighbourhood I then got my hair cut at the same place I'd been to last trip and in 2006. WE headed back to the hotel to see the Rev sitting in the foyer. At first he joked he been there all day but he'd got a spare key and had a nap, and a long bath while we were shopping.

We headed to Sukhumvit for dinner and in the end He went to an Indian while we went to a Thai restaurant across the street. We could wave to eat other. By the time we got back it was quite late and I finished up falling asleep with the TV on. This woke me some time early in the morning but I couldn't find the remote and was too tired to get up and look for it so I dozed while hearing the news from BBC for several hours.

Friday

The Rev left for Pattaya this morning, saying he'd done enough site seeing already since he'd been here a couple of times earlier and had aranged a game for Saturday. WE are about to head over to the palace and temple again.

Wat we saw and wat we didn't

Wednesday 25th

I woke up early this morning, even without noisy neighbours as an excuse, and watched a movie that started at 6am. "Peggy Sue got married" with Kathleen Turner playing a teenager and Nicholas Cage her boyfriend. He had a lot of hair, so it was an old movie.

About 8, after my shower, I knocked on the guys doors and we agreed to meet half an hour later at the cafe for breakfast. I bought some internet time which I can use wirelessly from my room. It was a bit more than the palce I'd found the night before but the convenience is worth a bit extra.

We decide to got to the place and emerald Buddha temple ( Wat Racha phradit) today and by the time breakfast was over it was after 9-30. I figured by the time we got anywhere it'd be after 10 and things would be open. The plan was to take the underground to Silom, then change to the sky train to the river. From there we'd take the ferry to the palace.

I said I'd show them the golf building in Patpong, which is a Soi off Silom, while we were there. We emerged 2 hours later having bought between us, 8 shirts, 63 pairs of socks 2 pairs of shoes, a golf club, some tees, a putting target, a map of Bangkok and some cutlery.

The later were some long handled spoons I wanted in perth but couldn't find for getting My metamucil out of its jar when it gets low. Also I have no spoons in the room so I had to get some any way. TVL was inspired to but some as well. My share of the golf purchase were 2 of the shirts - Addidas coolclime polo shirt in light and dark blue. There was a nice one in black, white and gold - state colours but not in my size. I also bough a pair of Footjoy golf shoes for about $90.

We then got back on plan and caught the sky train to the river. There we were informed by a helpful boat owner that the next ferry was nearly an hour away but he'd be happy to take us on the private boat for 200b each. Since I know the ferry cost is 18b, I declined and surprise, the next boat arrived only 10 minutes later. In addition to the usual sights of temples, boats and so forth on the river there was this tiny boat pulling 4 huge barges behind it. A bit like a mini pulling 4 jumbo jets.

Once we alighted and headed for the Palace, another helpful gentleman told us it wasn't open. We thanked him and walked on to one of the gates where the guard informed us that it really wasn't open because it was a Buddhist holy day. Apparently not all helpful people are trying to rip you off after all.

The guard then drew all over my map showing temples that were open, hailed a tuk-tuk driver and negotiated a 40B trip to 3 of these and what turned out to be a jewellery store and a native craft/souvenir store as one of the stops. As none of us are exactly slender, it was a tight squeeze. We visited the Standing Buddha and its associated temple (Wat Indra wihan).

Next we passed a statue of one of the kings and a horse and one of the palaces, then passed the zoo to those shops where the driver gets a coupon for bringing us.

We didn't buy any jewellery, although I did look for some earrings to match my Topaz set, but the guys bought some souvenirs. We then got taken to another coupon place - a silk tailor shop where he begged us to go in even if we didn't want to buy anything.

Next it was to the temple of the golden mount (Phu Khoa Thong). I hadn't been here before so it was worth the trip. It is on what is possibly the highest hill in Bangkok so it was a bit of a climb but you can see the whole city from up there. It has a golden spire at the top as well.

By then it was after 2 and we were all hungry so I got him to takes us to Banglamphoo, where we had a late lunch. I had green curry and 2 cocktails - a Daiquiri and a Blue Hawaii. We then tried to get a ride to the river taxi pier where we planned to ride to Pan Tip Plaza. After being quoted 200B to go back basically to the Golden Mount by one Tuk Tuk and a taxi driver, another said he'd do it for 100. This is the real price when you don't get taken to these tourist traps where they get coupons. In the end we got taken all the way to Pan Tip for 200. This tuk-tuk was much newer and nippier than the first one. We wandered around a bit but in the end only bought some cards for the guy's cameras. We then walked to the Skytrain - a bit further than I remember and then back to the hotel.

After an hours rest, the Rev and I went to the massage place and had Thai massages while TVL went to Robinson's department store. We then had dinner at the outdoor restaurant I ate at with Conan previously.

I realised I have spent more today than in the entire 12 days previously.

I have just had an email asking me to go to the States again for 2 -3 weeks so Looks like there will be another blog to follow this one.

Let's get this holiday started.

Tuesday 24th

This morning I packed everything but my trainers which I would change into later before heading to breakfast. On the way to work, I finally saw the farmers pulling up those potatoes I've been watching grow since last June. Work was mainly about finishing off and fixing bugs. I finished the monthly report listings and Panu started testing. We discovered that you can not after all read hidden rows and columns in a spreadsheet so I added hide and close routines at either end of the import routine. Then we found you can hide/unhide if the sheet is protected so added unprotect/protect as well. Also fixed a few lookup screens and so forth.

Spencer wasn't back from Bangkok so about 1-30 I rang him. He said not to wait for him but to leave when I was ready. I started backing up to the web but it was going to take over an hour so I burnt a CD instead. We left about 2-30 and when I got to the hotel I realised that for the only time this week I'd left my key in the room. It took a few minutes to locate it but by 3 pm we were on the road. There was abit of light rain but nothing like the storm Spencer reported driving through coming the other way.

It was under 3 hours to the turn off from the motorway with a delay when we were all pulled over on the elevated tollway so a cavalcade of official vehicles could pass. Not sure if it was the King or some otehr member of the royal family. It was failrly sunny as we neared Bangkok and so I was able to capture some reasonable photos of the fantastic artwork you see on the tourist buses.

As it was nearing 6, the traffic once we left was fairly heavy but eventually we got to the hotel. This is a few hundred meters further up the Soi from the Key hotel where I stayed last trip. It is actually quite reasonable, certainly a bit better than in Wichian Buri and is quite reasonable at 1000B per night. It even has a pool. Several of the other golf guys have stayed here in the last few years. Reviews on the Internet were mixed with some loving it and others not, so there was a bit of concern. It has carpet on the floor, Several movie channels on the TV and a bathroom that has the toilet roll holder inside, a bath and both hot and cold taps.

I unpacked and bought some soft drinks etc from the 7-11 which is practically next door and then wandered down to and then across Sukhumvit to a Mexican restaurant where I had some Nachos for tea. I then had a foot massage on the way back. I went to the Reflex place I'd used on the last trip.

I went back to my room and watched some TV. I was thinking of staying up till the Rev and TVL arrived from Perth, which would have been around midnight but I was too tired and went to sleep instead.