Beaches, Brawls, and Bells
Trip Start
Oct 24, 2005
1
17
147
Trip End
Ongoing
Hua Hin,
Thailand
Friday, January 6, 2006
I know I've said it before, but as I've added a few "CELTA-ites" to the list, I wanted to reiterate: If you don't want our email updates, let me know -- I promise we won't take you off the guest list. That said, it's time to get on w/the tale of our latest adventures....
As you may remember, when you last heard from us, we were in Phitsanlouk, about six hours North of Bangkok. We then returned home for our last few days in our delightful place in Bangkok (including Christmas, which we spent watching the newest Harry Potter movie (finally!) and enjoying some tasty Indian food). With a fair amount of ground to cover in the following month or so, we decided to send some of our possessions up to our friend, Beaner, in Hanoi. For some reason, there are no boats from Thailand to Vietnam, so we had to pay to ship the 20 kilos via air (3,150 Baht = $78 or so). Then we packed up and took a two-hour train to Ayutthaya, one of the former capitols of Thailand.
Ayutthaya is a nice town, which is actually and island, as it is bound by three rivers. As it is the former capitol, it is filled w/ruins from that time period, which we biked around to see (after we spent most of the day packing up yet another box to mail to Vietnam -- our packs were simply too heavy to afford us any enjoyable travel). We didn't spend a whole lot of time in Ayutthaya, as we wanted to get to the beach for New Year's, but we had a nice time there visiting the ruins and walking around.
Beautiful & Delectable Pancakes at Orchids
We had a hard time choosing our beach destination: it being close to New Year's, we were worried that places would be booked solid (which they tended to be). We debated between returning to Ko Samet, an island close to Bangkok we had visited before school started, and Hua Hun, a city also close to Bangkok -- very popular w/Thais. We couldn't confirm a reservation anywhere on Ko Samet, so we opted for Hua Hin and its surrounding national parks (we later learned from some "CELTA-ites" who did go to Ko Samet that it was booked solid -- they had to pay 400-500 Baht ($10-$12.50) for a tent on the beach). That decided, we spent most of the day in transit, arriving at our guesthouse in Hua Hin around 4:30. I had called ahead and was able to somehow book a room -- it was a guesthouse recommended in our guidebook (All Nations), and was touted as being run by a very friendly and helpful Thai-Canadian couple.
After grabbing a quick snack, we walked down to the beach... and were pretty disappointed. It wasn't very scenic, and there wasn't enough space, so everyone was essentially on top of one another. Alas. We considered our other options, but were hopeful that the parks would be better, and therefore decided to stick it out. That night, we had the worst Indian food either of us had ever eaten (well, we didn't really end up eating it...) -- essentially Spaghetti-o tomato sauce dumped on paneer -- not good. We wandered around w/empty bellies and growing dissatisfaction in our choice....
Khao Sam Roi Yot - Bang Pu
The next day, we rented a motorbike and drove out to Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park -- about an hour's ride from the city. Finally, some satisfaction! There were no crowds at the park, and it was gorgeous: towering limestone cliffs, craggy hills, and beautiful beaches (virtually deserted!). We enjoyed ourselves quite a bit, but the day was too short, and we headed home. We arrived at the guesthouse exhausted, and started for the stairs w/daydreams of naps swimming in our heads. However, we were stopped short by the owners of the guesthouse, who demanded we pay for that day immediately (very unusual behavior). I paid, and was told we could have the room through the 1st (checking out on the 2nd). The rest of the night passed relatively uneventfully, and our tummies' poor Indian experience from the day before was avenged w/some decent Indian fare.
New Year's Eve:
Given the rude demeanor of our hosts, we spent a portion of the next morning looking for a new guesthouse, but had no luck -- the town was booked for the holiday -- so we decided we were stuck. We went back to the guesthouse and packed up for a day at the Hua Hin beach. Again, we were shocked by how crowded the place was, as well at how much the beach shrunk w/the noon high tide. We found a relatively open spot and spent the day lazing about. We returned to the guesthouse (wine for the celebration in hand) about 5:30 and once again, the owners chased us down. I started to reach for my wallet, expecting to be asked for money again.
Khao Sam Roi Yot - Bang Pu Beach
However, instead of asking for money, this time she told us we had to check out! She said we hadn't told her that morning if we wanted to stay or not, so she had given someone else our room!!! I tried to explain to her that we didn't know we had to tell her we wanted to stay, only if we were going to leave, but she refused to listen. I then tried to explain that it was New Year's Eve at 5:30 and the town was booked solid -- how could she kick us out w/nowhere to go? She said she didn't care, we needed to check out. Finally, defeated, I retreated to our room and began packing. Unsure of what to do, I decided to run around town and see if I could possibly find a room anywhere. After trying 30 or 40 places, I finally found an unspectacular room for 950 Baht (just under $25). I ran back to the guesthouse to collect Konrad and the bags, and then we headed downstairs. I chose to take the key to the desk, rather than have her force us to retrieve it, but I didn't return it in the most diplomatic of ways, choosing to simply toss it on the counter as we were walking out. Suddenly, I heard a scuffle behind me. I turned around to discover that the proprietor had grabbed the strap of one of Konrad's bags and would not let go, demanding that we pay a half day's rent -- so she was kicking us out on New Year's Eve at 5:30 and expected us to pay for part of the day! Our arguing escalated quickly, as this was an outrageous demand on her part, and several people in the bar and out on the street turned to look at the scene.
Khao Sam Roi Yot - Bang Pu Beach from Above
We again tried to explain the situation to her, and tried to illustrate how wrong it was for her to demand we pay. She didn't listen to us at all, threatened to call the police, and then called in some "muscle" to persuade us. I continued arguing w/her, pointing out that: 1) we would have paid the entire 450 Baht (about $11) if she hadn't kicked us out, & 2) she was losing more business arguing w/us by driving customers away than our 225 Baht (just under $6) would generate. She said she didn't care -- she would rather close her doors until we paid her. After a half-hour of this absurdity, Konrad decided to pay her -- I couldn't make the same concession, purely on principle. He offered her 100 Baht, which she refused. Finally, he pulled out 220 Baht (he didn't have 5 Baht change = about 20 cents), and she refused to let him go w/o the extra 5 Baht! Trying to put some distance between ourselves and that injustice, we walked to our new hotel. The staff there was great, and invited us to their party. Refusing to let her behavior ruin our NYE, we went to a bar to watch soccer, found some good Vietnamese food, and went back to the hotel for the party. We ended up having a great time, meeting lots of Scandinavians (the owner of the hotel was Scandinavian), and getting tons of free drinks due to incessant bell-ringing (Konrad had told me earlier in the evening that if someone rings the bell at the bar, they are buying everyone a round). So our holiday was salvaged.... I hope y'all had a much better (less eventful?) NYE than we did.
We intended to flee Hua Hin and all its bad karma the next day, but Konrad wasn't feeling all that hot, so we stayed for another day before returning to Bangkok on the 2nd. Since then, we've been hanging out here: visiting CELTA-ites before we leave for good, and enjoying the company of Joe Song and Becky from back home. Tomorrow we head for the Cambodian border, in search of the ruins of Angkor Wat.....
-KOP
