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Published: February 4th 2020
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Sitting having breakfast on a restaurant over the sea (tide out). My bargain transfer worked!
I was quite sad to leave Best House today, especially as last night one couple was trundling a trolley with many cases of beer on it, saying they’d bought enough for 4 weeks. I vaguely considered cancelling my plans and just staying put for 3 more weeks, but that would have been costly and unadventurous. And I was looking forward to staying in the Old Town. Not that there’s much to it.
So I trundled my bag along the stony road to the travel agent at 8 o’clock, to be super sure my lift would materialise. It is so so quiet in the morning. The guy didn’t looked surprised or furtive, so I was encouraged, and at 8.20 a songthaew rolled along, went down and picked people up for a 4 island tour and then came back for me. He put my big bag in the front of his cab and asked me for a ticket. No ticket, I waved the agreed 200B at him. He looked perplexed and asked the tour office guy, then said OK and took the money. I asked if
he’d drop me off at my guest house rather than have to walk from the pier. I had no idea if this would actually happen. We went over the top and down to the east coast road with all the roadworks, then turned down a dust track I didn’t like the look of. Worried all the boat trip people would get off and he’d kick me out too. I looked on my phone and saw that we were on the lane right next to the sea, just 80m before my place. He had stopped to pick up another passenger. I said I’d get out and walk and he was very against the idea. It was 1km further. He was insistent he’d take me. My fellow passengers were keen to help me off and opened the tailgate. He closed it and trundled off.I saw my place after about 5 seconds and banged on the window. He had misunderstood the name and thought it was a different place, so out I jumped, very pleased that my plan had worked and I’d saved a whole £4. Triumphant, in fact!
By this time it was still only 9am and there was a bit
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View from Chomlay Rooms and restaurant of a discussion among the people around about what exactly I wanted. A bit of google translate and I left my bag and rucksack and walked into town for breakfast.check in is noon. The guests there hadn’t emerged and there was no sign of breakfast happening any time soon! I was a bit taken aback by the surroundings. I expected to be slightly out of town in a local area, and knew from pictures that it’s in the mangroves so the tide goes out quite far. The tide was out, leaving a lot of rubbish tangled up in the roots. Fish eagles circling overhead. No smell at the guest house but very much so just past, on the road into town. Also an unfriendly dog badly in need of a haircut. It was what I expected but times 5 on the local experience front. I could probably have just done with one night and got the boat tomorrow. Super friendly people, smiling and saying hello as I walked past.
I walked into town as far as the pier. It’s basically just one street and near to the pier are more tourist type shops selling clothes etc, and plenty of
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My house is on the left, the white one is the neighbour restaurants. They have cottoned on to western tastes and advertise avocado and sour dough bread, big time! I only saw one travel agent, today close! I needed to get my ferry ticket to Ko Muk, so hoped it would be open tomorrow. On the way back I saw another one, open, and got a ticket for 600B on the first ferry. Pick up on Thursday at 9.30, ferry leaves at 10 and arrives at 11.30. I will need to email Mr Yai at Cashewnut Bungalows to meet me at the pier and give me a lift to his place. Then found my breakfast place, 150B, including a much longed-for fried egg! I didn’t see any atms but google says there are 2 at the roundabout in front of the pier. Google was right. They are at the side of a car park, unattached to any building.
I wandered back to my home stay (best description for it) and my bags were in my room at 11.30. Spotlessly clean with fierce aircon and goldfish swimming all over the tiles in the bathroom. Rather busy in there, if truth be told. Went back into town to the atm, ready for Ko
Mook, which hasn’t got any. Found a place for a beer and croque monsieur for lunch and when I got back I sat in the restaurant and watched the tide come in. There really wasn’t much else to do and it was so peaceful. Took some appallingly bad pics of wildlife, fiddler crabs, a blue kingfisher, a sea eagle and there were lots of mud skippers squirming about. Wondered if the restaurant will be open tonight and if I might be the only one in it.
A trip to 7-11 was in order, to buy moisturiser, as mine had turned out mysteriously to be shower gel. A podgy 12 year old latched on to me inside, he was very earnestly trying to help, so I used google translate and he took me to the right section. I was fervently hoping it didn’t contain skin whitening agent as many of them do, And I found a new experience, red velvet oreos, worth a go. Then I went to the Big Tree Beer Garden, which had been packed at lunchtime. There were 2 adopted stray dogs there, one with 3 legs, the other very good at begging, and I gave her the
corner of one of my samosas. There was an interesting Swedish lady to talk to who had a house here and also the owner. Also said that business is down due to the baht being strong. Then I had one more beer in the Cowboy Bar, run by a retired English guy, and walked home. It’s not far but the road was very dark. Darker than is completely comfortable when alone, but all the scooters which came past had various family groups on.
In my room I saw there was a gap along the curtains and people would probably be walking along by my windows. Travel hack: always take a roll of sellotape. I’m now safely sellotaped in and completely private. it has also been useful in the past when using an adaptor and plug, as they can be too heavy and fall out of the socket. Sellotape the feckers in, job done!
The tide is well and truly in and it is very sloshy. Earplugs......
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