Christmas Eve in Lamai, Samui

19:30

"Melly Klistmas Dahling!" the pretty gals with Santa Claus caps on their heads, said. I just took a walk downtown. Walked home after dark, but it did not feel that dangerous. Not yet at least, maybe some hours later.

I had checked weather predictions the other day and just for Christmas Eve it showed clear sun, not half clear skies or overcast and risk for thunderstorm, as it has been for several days.

I had no particular plans. Walk down to Soppköket, to see if they had Christmas table or closed for the holiday - neither. A normal day, they have open from morning to 6PM normally, a small place, but he has lived on it for 7 years now. We talked a bit about practical details about living here. From job conditions to Swedish totally idiotic authorities, whose rulings are basically trying to make all people have it equally bad. One hears that some countries have somewhat more civilized rules about sick leave to Thailand, like Norway and Belgium.

Ah well, sat for a while talking to Mats, the owner, and the steady if small flow of Swedish guys and occassional couple passing by. When I came two guys sat just finishing up a full bottle of vodka, and I hope they had a built-in gyroscope for their evening of further adventures thou it did not look so - at least they did not immediately walk to any motorcycles. Later a middle-aged Swedish couple, an assortment of Swedes, one guy with his teenage sun it seemed. Then one young guy, 25-30, who would try to get a teaching job in English, planned to stay for a year. He admired all the pretty girls here, and I gave him the advice to go for one who ALSO was very smart.......

Down to 31.3°C, from 33.2°C when I went downtown.

Well, had some seafood in green curry, at Soppköket, and a Chang of course, then it started to get somewhat darker, almost 6, so I took the round by my old place, and the restaurant there, and heard "oh you are back, welcome!" from Mimi and the Muslim owner! Seems I am unusual enough so some people remember me after two years. So I talked some, and promised to be soon back. Went a small round, kept the eyes open for an umbrella, none. Also for a cap - sun is hot but the one I have is a bit small, feels like it is flying off all the time, but found none marked "Samui". So some food shopping in my usual Supermart, the owner smiled and said "you came back today?".....

I guess I am easy to recognize with my stick, and also I am never making myself an idiot like getting visibly drunk or screaming at people.

As I cannot use any of the small motorcycles here without balance, my sis has bugged me about checking for a small 3-4-wheelers. Mats talked about two guys iin the village, like a guy from Switzerland, who had lived here for maybe 20 years, handicapped, he had let a guy mount two extra wheels to his motorcycle. Another had fixed some four-wheelers - he came with one leg and now the second started to rot. He also knew some bungalows - from Soppköket not further away than where I stay - he guessed they did not cost more than 8-10000B/m so one of these days I will walk where he said. From my place there is one road to the center, a bit before the center crossing I walk left, and then right to Soppköket. If I instead at the main road walk right on a gravel road - which I have never tried - then 100 m in that direction I would see those bungalows on the right side. I should definitely keep that in mind for another year!

I have never visited Mats on his shrimp party - for 200b you can eat as much as you want. He said he has it every Tuesday evening at 7PM so I should ty if weather is allright. It is NOT small North Sea shrimps.......

Beside Soppköket are several small German restaurants with the same kind of Thai-native food and offerings. Two couples came while I was there so we said Guten Abend and exchenged some politenesses in German. The couple, well, the gals 35-40 the guys 75-85 looking more healthy than I do. Their respective races you can guess.

Ah - I also asked Mats how he lives during his yearly summer visits in Sweden - 1-2 months. It is a Swedish phenomenon it is virtually illegal to live cheap.

There is a special thing in Sweden called "colonies". It started long time ago, when more and more people moved in from the countryside to squeeze into a small smelly dirty apartment with no fresh air and no way to plant your potatoes. So they started to arrange areas near the cities, where they divided the areas in lots of tiny gardens with an even tinier house to get some protection from the rain and have a cup of coffee after working in your "garden". These tiny huts grew more sturdy, and some put in insulation so you could actually get your coffee also in winter. And with prices of normal apartment nowadays taking 25-30% of a normal salary of a full-time worker paying 75% of it in tax, it was only a matter of time when the first person started to live in his colony hut.

I have no idea of details of this phenomenon, more than I know it exists, I do not think more areas are prepared or planned for these "colonies", because it is outside the strictly regulated system of Sweden. I know they have discussed cheap apartments for students who do not ask for all this luxury but - maybe not illegal to think so but strictly frowned upon in Sweden! So it was stopped. They know exactly how to say no even when they have not a clue how to solve the problem.

Thailand is full of Swedes with health problems, who live on he margin of what they are are allowed to according to the Swedish authorities. They want to control and supervise worse than they did in "1984".

Anyway - Mats has such a colony hut.....