Friday September 1 2006
Trip Start
May 01, 2002
1
64
Trip End
May 01, 2009
Cha-am,
Thailand
Friday, September 1, 2006
toy came by and picked up the newspaper for her husband to read. she always takes a few minutes to chat and to wash my porch with the garden hose. bless her soul. she is an angel. pencil called from work to remind me that today was the last banking day for me to get the bank draft for the rent. so i was going to rush off to the bank but i could not find my bank book. i turned the house upside down but to no avail. i even looked in the car. i finally found it in my brief case and packed up the car with my golf gear and drove over and parked in the bank's parking lot.
in the bank there are four male supervisors who just walk around and watch the two female workers do all the work and both of them were very busy when i arrived. on a lark i approached one of the male supervisors at his desk, handed him my bank book and asked for a bank draft. he appeared confused and disoriented and pointed to one of the female workers. so back to the counter i went where i was quickly issued a bank draft in a very professional manner. there was a minor hiccup as there was a typo in the name of my landlord and she had to make the check twice but she got it right the second time. that done I went over to the 7-11 to pay my internet bill. over here you can pay bills at the 7-11. it's called counter service. say "countaar sarveees" with accent and show them the bill. my dsl broadband bill comes to 790 baht per month. that paid i went across the street the the bank where my maid works. it's her day job. i paid her some money i had owed her and then went to lunch at a sidewalk lunch stand. it was almost noon. i ordered a vegetarian rice dish and picked up a can of beer chang from the 7-11 and enjoyed a lovely lunch in the shade. for dessert i had five small rice-coconut cakes. total cost about 50 baht or about $1.30 at current exchange. then i headed back to the car and drove off to the golf club.
the starter sent me to hole number 10 and i teed off at 1pm or shortly thereafter. in the middle of the par-5 12th it started to rain but i kept playing and made it to the bar at the #13 tee where i rested until the rain susbsided. The drainage system here is remarkable. almost as soon as the rain stops the water drains from the fairways and greens and within a few minutes it's almost dry. at #14 i had to wait for my second shot as there were four very very slow players on the green. when they finally finished putting they dawdled over to the next tee. it was a very slow dawdle. i skipped the par-3 15 and went straight to #16 right past the dawdlers who were still dawdling to the #15 green when i was teeing off on #16.
there were more slow players waiting for me on the #6 green but thankfully they had stopped for a beer at the #7 bar as it had started to rain again. it was just a little drizzle so i pushed on to the par-5 #7 and birdied that hole with a great putt (three on, one putt). just as i was sinking my bogie putt on #9 there was lightning and thunder and then the heavens really opened up with monsoon rains. it was the real mccoy this time. i had to drive very slowly on the highway with the windshield wipers running full blast.
back in cha-am, it was still dry. i had traveled faster than the storm which arrived soon afterwards. by then i was safely inside all dry and comfy. a cold beer and a nice warm bath were all i wanted. and a nap of course. i was awakened by the phone. pencil wanted me to meet her at the bus stop. we went straight to dinner as we were both very hungry ("hew maak" in thai). we ate at a sidewalk noodle shop. the first course was a bowl of noodles with bean sprouts and fish sausage. the second course was roast chicken on rice with veggies. did i remember the bank draft? yes, dear. a smile. and a kiss.
