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Published: June 19th 2009
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It's funny how easily you slip back into old friendships; it's not been ages since we've seen Paul, although he moved to Thailand over 8 years ago. He visited us in Brighton last year, but this is the first time we've visited his home and properly met his family...his wife Am and their children Billy (8) and Jasmin (6). We're already in the pool shooting hoops (some more competitively than others!) when they get home; the kids leap from the car and run across the garden shedding clothes as they go, before bombing us at full pelt. Jasmin, a natural waterbaby who would live in the pool given the chance, is an hilarious extrovert who immediately wraps her arms around me and beams her toothfairy-looted grin. Billy does the proper big brother thing while he scopes us out...winding Jasmin up at every opportunity, "Look, she's like The Hulk innit?!" They're lovely looking, and there's more than a touch of the younger brother Smyth about Billy, but we won't hold that against him 😉
That evening Paul treats us to the kind of feast backpackers can only dream of, when he takes us to a fantastic seafood restaurant where you pick
your dinner from big tanks. It's a magical mystery tour for us as he orders in Thai, but when dish after dish fill the table it's clear he knows his stuff. Huge bbq prawns with tamarind dipping sauce, chilli squid, green lip mussels and an incredible crunchy fried catfish dish, jostle for space with bowls of clams, tom yam soup and rice. He is really spoiling us. Later at his local, he orders rounds of G&T's for us, insisting they're on his tab, whilst sipping mineral water himself on doctor's orders. He impressively stays tee-total our whole visit, and throughout the week any alcohol urges are transferred onto us, as random drinks magically appear before us while he chuckles into his soda.
The kids are on the last days of their school holiday, so we babysit a couple of times to give Paul and Am the chance to escape for a few hours here and there. Having a big garden and pool makes keeping children entertained much easier, and when that fails there's always Pokemon...I don't understand it but am thankful for it! One afternoon Paul and Am return with her long awaited new car, which she gazes at
adoringly for a few days before actually starting to drive it! We all go out to celebrate; a lovely evening spent at a local restaurant with mini-golf, messing about with Billy and Jasmin, whilst toasting the new car with Champagne every five minutes. Ritch emerges from the night with a new status in the childrens' eyes: Billy declares him his new best friend, while for Jasmin he will always be Silly Uncle Richard.
Paul is still a nightowl, and late nights are spent in his techno-drome of home cinema, stereo and video games. It all looks familiarly overcomplicated, with countless remotes and miles of cable, and seeing as the set up time of each new gadget often takes hours, I remain convinced that less is more. The house really reminds me of Burdon Lane; the layout of the double lounge through to the kitchen is spookily familiar, and many times over the week I have that feeling of deja-vu...not least whilst eating strong English cheddar and biscuits at 3am watching movies.
Realising we have less than a week left in Thailand, and having yet to set foot on a beach, we decide we need a last couple of
nights of beach hut living. We borrow Paul's car one afternoon and drive all over Phuket, trying to find one undeveloped square metre. It is a beautiful island with some stunning resorts, but nothing that suits our pockets or our barefoot fantasies. So we decide to leave our big packs with Paul, jump on a bus to nearby Krabi province and try our luck there, before returning in a few days to catch our bus back to Bangkok.
It's been so good, if a little surreal, living with Paul this past week. He's been a wicked host and must be so proud of his lovely family. We can't wait to come visit again (if Am will have us!) and I'm looking forward to returning the favour when they visit Brighton next year. Cheers the new car! Cheers Paul! x
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