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Published: January 22nd 2020
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So after a terrible night’s sleep, counting the hours until the first dentist opened and making plans B, C and D, possibly involving superglue, I was all packed up and in the foyer of Central 2 10 minutes before 9am. It was unanticipatedly raining when I left the hotel, so I opened my bag in reception and put my poncho on over my rucksack and shoulder bag. I looked RIDICULOUS and felt it, so stopped at 7-11 and bought a cheapo umbrella. 2 minutes later the rain stopped.
Dead on 9 I tried the intercom and got a guy on the other end. Couldn’t make out what he was saying so asked if I could come up and talk face to face, he said to try 10-15 minutes later as nobody was there. But you are there, I thought, but did as told and when at the intercom for the second time a Malaysian guy in dentists scrubs asked if I was after him. So we went up together to the 20th floor and luckily he had no patients and was not at all phased when I said what I needed to be done and that I needed to be
at the airport at 12. Basically, I was very needy! No problem, I filled in a new patient form and his treatment room had the wowest view in the world of Fort Canning. It was seriously amazing. He have me the most painless injection in the history of dentistry and apart from the fact that he was very slow it was all very successful. Cost £85/150SGD and after all the stress I felt a bit dazed for a while, as well as having a half frozen mouth, and it took until the airport until I could relax and start to enjoy myself. Great that you can just walk in somewhere and get treated straight away, no fuss!
I took the mrt to terminal 3 and then the shuttle bus to terminal 4. Why, oh why is there a bus and nothing direct? It seems ridiculous. My flight was on time and after worrying that someone, somewhere would ask to see evidence of a flight out of Thailand within 30 days when for the first time I only had a ferry ticket nobody at either end could care less. AirAsia check in was done using the automated machines, as was
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The Year of the Rat is coming, although they look more like mice immigration. The plane was about a 3rd full so we nearly all had an entire row each. I filled in the immigration form, put 28 days as my length of stay and Langkawi as me next destination and was stamped in without a second look. Job done!
Minivan tickets to Ao Nang are the same price as 4 years ago, 150B. I changed some money (and the rate ended up being the same as in the town) and queued up for a SIM card. 700B (less than £18) for 30 days and unlimited data, which looked like a good deal rather than paying for a data passport with 3, and I could use an old phone to take to the beach. I handed my phone over. The girl was multitasking bigtime, she had about 5 on the go at a time, getting people to unlock their phones, putting in a SIM, fiddling about. It was a sight to see. Sadly my battery was flat so she plugged it in, kept trying it but in the end did what she could and said I just needed to turn on mobile data when it finally sprung to life, which it did
when I was in the minibus. It works perfectly although it seems very slow to open apps.
There were some Chinese tourists on the minivan who did not have a clue what they were doing. We went via the pier for Railay, which the driver thought they wanted, but they refused to get out there, nor did anyone else, so that was a waste of time. Finally got to J Hotel, 4th year in a row, room at the back this time. They said I could change the next day to one at the front but I’d unpacked and couldn’t be bothered. It’s much quieter and luckily the rooftop bar next door seems to be defunct.
I went down to the massage huts on the beach and along the front it has been swankified up since last year, with a whole new resort and pool. This turned out to be a very good thing. Half the massage huts have gone, leaving only the concrete bases, including number 15, and my buddy Théoo has gone back to her village in Isaan. I was disappointed not to see her. I’m assuming that soon all the huts will go to make room
for development. I’ll have a massage tomorrow (I was accosted by a guy who works with her and find out. It looks weird now, it was such a bustling hub down there. The kayak place has gone too. The new resort is one of the Centara chain, also to be found on the next beach round. This one has a lot of sun beds, posh ones with cushions and not so posh nylon ones. I asked if they were for rent and the security guy said yes. The cheaper section is right on the beachfront with plenty of trees for shade.
So today I went to Lion&Shark for breakfast. It’s still a hostel at the back but now they have one female dorm and one mixed. I just love it there, such a cool place to hang out and great food, if a little pricey. Proper brown toast, scrambled egg with tomato, mushroom and cheese and a cup of tea, 210B/£5.26. Beach mats I remember borrowing last year. Then I went to the new resort to suss out the situation. If you want one of the posh beds it’s 500B and includes use of the pool. The cheapskate section
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Sunset from Ao Nang beach. Always spectacular. is just 200, still double what you pay further down but the sea is cleaner and you can use their loo. As I was early (9.30) I could get on the end under a tree and had shade all day. It was GREAT. A huge improvement. I risked sitting in the posh bar for an iced coffee but it was be expensive and the little places making fruit shakes etc are right next door, and the Fisherman Bar right after. There are lots of security guys and I felt my stuff was super safe when I went in the sea. The little old deaf guy cooking corn sets up next to the resort too, now not allowed to sell on the beach but at least he now doesn’t have to cart all that heavy stuff up and down. So all things considered, what’s not to love about it, samesame tomorow.
A beach beer and chat to a retired Swiss couple, then out to eat at the Halal seafood place up the steps by the ice cream and pancake stalls. It is not obvious. No loo, be prepared for that. The name is Jalai, I think. Bracing myself, I walked
down and along the front, but it is much the same as last year except for another of The Coffee Club chain, expensive and very western. I bought some mango and sticky rice to have for lunch tomorrow and hope it is ok after a night in the fridge.
I’m glad it hasn’t changed as much here as I thought it might, and the ones I’ve seen are an improvement.
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