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.....
2009-12-24
2009-12-20
Next day in the jungle
19:30, 30.6°C in the jungle
I was not sure if it was too late for my dinner, when I woke up from my nap not long ago, I just put the door open out to the "garden", lots of flowers outside the two low houses, with a mud road in the middle mostly for the motor bikes of the guests, but sure - the little cute "blonde" with the slanted eyes, came and wondered if I wanted dinner from the restaurant around the corner. Meanwhile she took the chance to put two liter bottles of water here - they apparently feel a little bit guilty that they have not found a working pump for the 20-liter water bottle yet. And she picked up the empty beer bottles. Got another box of 12 yesterday. 12 beer in a week, hm, not too much. Her mother (I think) said she'd take the motorbike to the big supermarket tomorrow to find a working water pump for me. So I am rather sure I will get one the coming week.
Ah, another restaurant girl came with the food and got the tip. Crispy fried pork with vegetables and rice, extra pork, 50B. 10 extra as tip.
Yesterday raining and I did not even go out. Weather changes very quickly here, so there was also sun a few times. Today I walked up to 7/11 for some necessities as toilet paper and sweetener for the coffee. Like two years ago I decided it was more healthy to take brown sugar, than artificial sweetener of unknown quality - not very much used outside the tourist holes.
Hm, slightly more than medium spicy....... Fine! Cough cough.
Maybe you forgot why I go to Thailand in winter as much as I can. Well - I cannot go out in Sweden if there are risk for slippery roads or stormy!
Like many diabetics my balance deteriorated because the nerves in my feet did not give the brain much information. Less and less. Then one evening I got very sick, could barely get out of my bed for several days, the doctors had no idea what it was. When I started to be able to stand up, by balance was real real bad. My diabetes doc was not available, do not remember why, so to Emergency, but they had not a clue. Still I had the idea I had eaten something strange and got food poisoning, and they also wondered if it was something else with my diabetes. It took my next visit to my diabetes doc weeks later, then he said it was to 95% an infarct in the balance center, so he sent me to the magnetic camera to verify that.
He said that it was quite enough to get a disability pension for me, so it was up to me when I was too tired to work. I still wanted to work...., halftime at least.
Then all hell broke lose. He gave me sick leave for winter to be in a warm climate with no risk to slip and fall, and he had also seen that my health improved after a winter holiday in Thailand. Försäkringskassan, the Governmental Insurance Bureau, laughed like hyenas - they use their own doctors who are not at all specialists utan those who have not succeeded in anything else than harassing ill people.
In the middle of that, my doc could not remain my doc - in the big hospital where he was chef of the diabetes clinic, but not a top chef - well, he is a bit like me, he says what he thinks instead of using the full game of diplomacy, and well - I had to use a real lousy doc for two years. During the time I forced a 100% sick leave from that doc, as it was a necessary way to get a disability pension from the Försäkringskassan. I had to fight for a whole year and at time had no money to live on, lost lots of money on that too. But I found of course it was absolutely impossible for an intelligent reasoning with the insurance people, and it was absolutely impossible to convince the high-ups at my job that much of what I was doing, I could perfectly well do with a laptop sitting in Thailand over winter.
Maybe I had to a certain degree believed in Swedish authorities until that happened, but seeing the total incompetence - the insurance doc refused to talk to my doc - made me stop believing in the competency of most other authorities.
Uh, a sidetrack.... Actually I am not retired, they are supposed to reevaluate me after 3 years - and then starting to clean the streets? After 50 years of diabetes and 25 with steadily deteriorating kidneys and they think I will become healthier....... They probably believe in Santa Claus too.
In the middle of the mess I found my wife in Bangkok......
I was not sure if it was too late for my dinner, when I woke up from my nap not long ago, I just put the door open out to the "garden", lots of flowers outside the two low houses, with a mud road in the middle mostly for the motor bikes of the guests, but sure - the little cute "blonde" with the slanted eyes, came and wondered if I wanted dinner from the restaurant around the corner. Meanwhile she took the chance to put two liter bottles of water here - they apparently feel a little bit guilty that they have not found a working pump for the 20-liter water bottle yet. And she picked up the empty beer bottles. Got another box of 12 yesterday. 12 beer in a week, hm, not too much. Her mother (I think) said she'd take the motorbike to the big supermarket tomorrow to find a working water pump for me. So I am rather sure I will get one the coming week.
Ah, another restaurant girl came with the food and got the tip. Crispy fried pork with vegetables and rice, extra pork, 50B. 10 extra as tip.
Yesterday raining and I did not even go out. Weather changes very quickly here, so there was also sun a few times. Today I walked up to 7/11 for some necessities as toilet paper and sweetener for the coffee. Like two years ago I decided it was more healthy to take brown sugar, than artificial sweetener of unknown quality - not very much used outside the tourist holes.
Hm, slightly more than medium spicy....... Fine! Cough cough.
Maybe you forgot why I go to Thailand in winter as much as I can. Well - I cannot go out in Sweden if there are risk for slippery roads or stormy!
Like many diabetics my balance deteriorated because the nerves in my feet did not give the brain much information. Less and less. Then one evening I got very sick, could barely get out of my bed for several days, the doctors had no idea what it was. When I started to be able to stand up, by balance was real real bad. My diabetes doc was not available, do not remember why, so to Emergency, but they had not a clue. Still I had the idea I had eaten something strange and got food poisoning, and they also wondered if it was something else with my diabetes. It took my next visit to my diabetes doc weeks later, then he said it was to 95% an infarct in the balance center, so he sent me to the magnetic camera to verify that.
He said that it was quite enough to get a disability pension for me, so it was up to me when I was too tired to work. I still wanted to work...., halftime at least.
Then all hell broke lose. He gave me sick leave for winter to be in a warm climate with no risk to slip and fall, and he had also seen that my health improved after a winter holiday in Thailand. Försäkringskassan, the Governmental Insurance Bureau, laughed like hyenas - they use their own doctors who are not at all specialists utan those who have not succeeded in anything else than harassing ill people.
In the middle of that, my doc could not remain my doc - in the big hospital where he was chef of the diabetes clinic, but not a top chef - well, he is a bit like me, he says what he thinks instead of using the full game of diplomacy, and well - I had to use a real lousy doc for two years. During the time I forced a 100% sick leave from that doc, as it was a necessary way to get a disability pension from the Försäkringskassan. I had to fight for a whole year and at time had no money to live on, lost lots of money on that too. But I found of course it was absolutely impossible for an intelligent reasoning with the insurance people, and it was absolutely impossible to convince the high-ups at my job that much of what I was doing, I could perfectly well do with a laptop sitting in Thailand over winter.
Maybe I had to a certain degree believed in Swedish authorities until that happened, but seeing the total incompetence - the insurance doc refused to talk to my doc - made me stop believing in the competency of most other authorities.
Uh, a sidetrack.... Actually I am not retired, they are supposed to reevaluate me after 3 years - and then starting to clean the streets? After 50 years of diabetes and 25 with steadily deteriorating kidneys and they think I will become healthier....... They probably believe in Santa Claus too.
In the middle of the mess I found my wife in Bangkok......
2009-12-18
Walk to town. Cold.
Ah well, the pics come in reverse order, I am too lazy to move them one by one.... I just started to move the two first to put at then end. So they start down at the beach and end just outside my guesthouse, Kulatida House. And then two more from the beach, when they cover the view....
Actually my jungle luck.
I decided to walk downtown yesterday.
No formidable act of life-to-death-decision. Not too far after all, now once I have found out I can do it in one go without sitting and resting.
I had decided to walk a bit further, all the way down to the beach, I bought a Chang beer when I approached the town, in one of the usual SuperMarts where it had cost 38 last year, now the regular price of 40, inflation. Continued walking. Hoped to find a bench for my beer but none except where they also wanted to sell me a beer.
I had heard about a new restaurant/bar at the seaside, with view of the sea so I looked for that, found it. Not exactly handicap friendly but I got in the usual way - they had things standing around the entrance where i could hold when negotiating the big step. Wholly unplanned, why not a normal handlebar?
A bit later an ancient guy came, ya know, shaking all his arms and legs uncontrolled, but refusing to give up, so his wife and wheel chair helped him there and - if one is stubborn, one can keep on for rather much longer than expected. He wasn't smiling though - there are limits.
So finally I got my deep-fried plaa muuk (squid)! And wondered why suddenly they started to cover the view out over the sea with heavy "draperies" - some kind of plastic sheet. "Rain" the guy said - I had not experienced any rain since coming to Thailand but of course I have been here before - warm rain is not at all unusual on Samui also this season thou it is not flooding like during the monsoon rains during autumn. And not lasting too long.
Soon the sky opened, you know this noise so you barely hear your own thoughts. I still had a meter between two of the sheet to look down over the black sea, with some people walking along the beach enjoying the heavy rain. Swimming or walking in the rain, wet as wet......
The portion of plaa muuk was not as big as at my usual restaurant 2 years back (there I showed which plaa muuk I wanted and then they murdered it and fried it) - I passed it a few days ago and it looked rebuilt and new name, but now - when it was not pouring anymore, just normal rain, I left and walked towards home. Still a bit raining so I settled for a moment in a bar, where two other bearded guys like me sat - someone commented on three Santas in one bar..... They were Americans, one of them owned half the bar. So - talked a little and I went off - wanted to come home before total dark, and the rain had stopped.
Survived, came home and then it started to pour again. Most of the night. Besides I had got a backache again from the walk. Did not sleep too well, up at 7.
Shit, kicked down the open suitcase to the floor AGAIN - did it also once n Bangkok but there I had reason - here I have a double bed.
Opened the door out, some sun, but cold, just 28,9°C so I stopped the fan, was freezing when sitting here in my shorts.
I had a mug of pig broth when waking up, but now I need my morning coffee!
And now two ladies, one big and one small, tell me I have been here almost one week, time for cleaning. I didn't konw.
Actually my jungle luck.
I decided to walk downtown yesterday.
No formidable act of life-to-death-decision. Not too far after all, now once I have found out I can do it in one go without sitting and resting.
I had decided to walk a bit further, all the way down to the beach, I bought a Chang beer when I approached the town, in one of the usual SuperMarts where it had cost 38 last year, now the regular price of 40, inflation. Continued walking. Hoped to find a bench for my beer but none except where they also wanted to sell me a beer.
I had heard about a new restaurant/bar at the seaside, with view of the sea so I looked for that, found it. Not exactly handicap friendly but I got in the usual way - they had things standing around the entrance where i could hold when negotiating the big step. Wholly unplanned, why not a normal handlebar?
A bit later an ancient guy came, ya know, shaking all his arms and legs uncontrolled, but refusing to give up, so his wife and wheel chair helped him there and - if one is stubborn, one can keep on for rather much longer than expected. He wasn't smiling though - there are limits.
So finally I got my deep-fried plaa muuk (squid)! And wondered why suddenly they started to cover the view out over the sea with heavy "draperies" - some kind of plastic sheet. "Rain" the guy said - I had not experienced any rain since coming to Thailand but of course I have been here before - warm rain is not at all unusual on Samui also this season thou it is not flooding like during the monsoon rains during autumn. And not lasting too long.
Soon the sky opened, you know this noise so you barely hear your own thoughts. I still had a meter between two of the sheet to look down over the black sea, with some people walking along the beach enjoying the heavy rain. Swimming or walking in the rain, wet as wet......
The portion of plaa muuk was not as big as at my usual restaurant 2 years back (there I showed which plaa muuk I wanted and then they murdered it and fried it) - I passed it a few days ago and it looked rebuilt and new name, but now - when it was not pouring anymore, just normal rain, I left and walked towards home. Still a bit raining so I settled for a moment in a bar, where two other bearded guys like me sat - someone commented on three Santas in one bar..... They were Americans, one of them owned half the bar. So - talked a little and I went off - wanted to come home before total dark, and the rain had stopped.
Survived, came home and then it started to pour again. Most of the night. Besides I had got a backache again from the walk. Did not sleep too well, up at 7.
Shit, kicked down the open suitcase to the floor AGAIN - did it also once n Bangkok but there I had reason - here I have a double bed.
Opened the door out, some sun, but cold, just 28,9°C so I stopped the fan, was freezing when sitting here in my shorts.
I had a mug of pig broth when waking up, but now I need my morning coffee!
And now two ladies, one big and one small, tell me I have been here almost one week, time for cleaning. I didn't konw.
2009-12-15
Another holidayday.
Dec. 15,
just home from the exercise of today, up the 100 m or whatever, to the crossing and 7/11. Planned on filling another 300B on the phone as with the new 50 ISMS it was almost empty, and also getting something to have on the German bread - it is a nice change to noodles sometimes, and is getting a bit dry without anything, I found out. Especially after being out of the packet for an hour in this weather.
I had also planned to try to find the alcohol shop I heard about - should be around the Finn apartments and they were supposed to be cheap and transport it home for you - the nice fat lady here of course knew, she was anyway passing on her way to her 7th job, so I gave her 1000B - a bottle of my favourite Chang beer in the shop is 40B, and a box of 12 should be around 500B, 100:- Swedish.
Sure, 5 minutes later a guy with motorbike came with the box and the rest of the money, had cost 460B, So - very satisfying! Even if I do not have water I have beer yippeeee! If you are thirsty..... The guy even refused a tip.
I took a few quick photos here, first a few from the inside, first my storage incl. water and beer.
Then a few pics out from my entrance. Towards the entry of the garden and to the air-con roo
ms on the other side, outsid
e very sim
ilar to mine.
I walked up to 7/11 as I had planned and well - the three cute massage girls sat at the usual place, so I said a friendly hello again. Talked a little and - well, I had my short-sleeve t-shirt and she laughed, pointed and said something like "maw!" - and showed very explicitly that one of my too big breasts were looking out the edge! Easy to fix.
just home from the exercise of today, up the 100 m or whatever, to the crossing and 7/11. Planned on filling another 300B on the phone as with the new 50 ISMS it was almost empty, and also getting something to have on the German bread - it is a nice change to noodles sometimes, and is getting a bit dry without anything, I found out. Especially after being out of the packet for an hour in this weather.
I had also planned to try to find the alcohol shop I heard about - should be around the Finn apartments and they were supposed to be cheap and transport it home for you - the nice fat lady here of course knew, she was anyway passing on her way to her 7th job, so I gave her 1000B - a bottle of my favourite Chang beer in the shop is 40B, and a box of 12 should be around 500B, 100:- Swedish.
Sure, 5 minutes later a guy with motorbike came with the box and the rest of the money, had cost 460B, So - very satisfying! Even if I do not have water I have beer yippeeee! If you are thirsty..... The guy even refused a tip.I took a few quick photos here, first a few from the inside, first my storage incl. water and beer.
Then a few pics out from my entrance. Towards the entry of the garden and to the air-con roo
ms on the other side, outsid
e very sim
ilar to mine.I walked up to 7/11 as I had planned and well - the three cute massage girls sat at the usual place, so I said a friendly hello again. Talked a little and - well, I had my short-sleeve t-shirt and she laughed, pointed and said something like "maw!" - and showed very explicitly that one of my too big breasts were looking out the edge! Easy to fix.
2009-12-14
December 14, 2009
Dec. 14 2009, 17:15
The first walk to town and back, sigh. I was not sure how far it was but not too far I thought, within Pig Walking Distance. It had seemed short when I arrived in the minibus from the airport. The main problem being that the pavements are un-walkable. Well, some meters are, most are not, and often the edges are too high for me to climb, so one has to walk in the street, where you got more cars/motorbikes than space. Never mind, nothing to do about it. Should not do it regularly when it is dark and the farang drivers less sober thou.
Passed a small Swedish restaurant, offering something very Swedish today, forgot what, something new every day. Some fat Swedish guys there, we said hello. Next shop a mobile phone shop, where they could sell me time for the mobile, they had not a clue about international SMS or internet that I want to know more of, sigh. On that Thai phone card I have, I can buy international SMS cheaper and also use for internet, but how the heck do I put money THERE after I have charged the phone with ordinary phone card money for talking??? When I arrived in Thailand they got a phone service center in the airport, så they fixed it there, but now? Must be possible to call some service to get it done, but honestly I hate calling strange people talking strange languages and dialects or broken Thai-English......
I slept VERY well for almost 4 hours after writing above, wakin up now with a bit of a headache after my long walk in 33°C. As always nowadays, it takes an hour for my eyes to properly wake up and see clearly. Putting up the size on the screen, the small SMS almost hopeless.....
Hm, stomach itchy. Or rather - where I had my hernia operation at the navel a month ago, on Nov. 12, suppose it is a good sign it is mending.
Yui had called her best friend in Bangkok, Pui, a tall Chinese gal, and she fixed 50 international SMS for me, per month, someone said it was half the price compared to if I just do it on the normal phone account. Internet - who the heck knows? Then I remembered another girl..... (strange - only girls here?) So after some food, cold Chang, talk, at Soppköket, another little Swedish restaurant in the same block where I lived before, I walked around the block to see my old place, passed the girl in the associated hotel, that I talked to many times 2 years ago, and SHE was doing internet via her mobile the same way and phone company that nobody knows how.... I remembered she mentioned it at that that time, so the next time I need a refill of that, I go to her, So that fixed too, Thai style.
Midnight, the temperature is down to 29.8°C.
Sort of hungry. Water and bread! Bought a pack of freshly baked German farmer bread down in the shop, remembered it was ok, have nothing to put on but - ah well... And put half a cube of pig broth in the hot water. Survivable. After all I filled the belly with food at Soppköket and I seldom have both lunch and dinner.
So, life on a Paradise Island is not too bad, and it challenges me to exercise more, for sure! I "could" walk to town with no greater problem, the main problem is the dangerous road down there, but I doubt there is any back street one could walk. Should next time extend the trip down to the beach - they have apparently opened a new restaurant/bar with view over the sea, that I should try. Such places are most active after dark though - shit that I have no balance for a little motorbike, otherwise that is the usual way to go here and rather cheap to rent. I might even afford to have a jeep here, but there is not quite any place on the roads for that.....
The first walk to town and back, sigh. I was not sure how far it was but not too far I thought, within Pig Walking Distance. It had seemed short when I arrived in the minibus from the airport. The main problem being that the pavements are un-walkable. Well, some meters are, most are not, and often the edges are too high for me to climb, so one has to walk in the street, where you got more cars/motorbikes than space. Never mind, nothing to do about it. Should not do it regularly when it is dark and the farang drivers less sober thou.
Passed a small Swedish restaurant, offering something very Swedish today, forgot what, something new every day. Some fat Swedish guys there, we said hello. Next shop a mobile phone shop, where they could sell me time for the mobile, they had not a clue about international SMS or internet that I want to know more of, sigh. On that Thai phone card I have, I can buy international SMS cheaper and also use for internet, but how the heck do I put money THERE after I have charged the phone with ordinary phone card money for talking??? When I arrived in Thailand they got a phone service center in the airport, så they fixed it there, but now? Must be possible to call some service to get it done, but honestly I hate calling strange people talking strange languages and dialects or broken Thai-English......
I slept VERY well for almost 4 hours after writing above, wakin up now with a bit of a headache after my long walk in 33°C. As always nowadays, it takes an hour for my eyes to properly wake up and see clearly. Putting up the size on the screen, the small SMS almost hopeless.....
Hm, stomach itchy. Or rather - where I had my hernia operation at the navel a month ago, on Nov. 12, suppose it is a good sign it is mending.
Yui had called her best friend in Bangkok, Pui, a tall Chinese gal, and she fixed 50 international SMS for me, per month, someone said it was half the price compared to if I just do it on the normal phone account. Internet - who the heck knows? Then I remembered another girl..... (strange - only girls here?) So after some food, cold Chang, talk, at Soppköket, another little Swedish restaurant in the same block where I lived before, I walked around the block to see my old place, passed the girl in the associated hotel, that I talked to many times 2 years ago, and SHE was doing internet via her mobile the same way and phone company that nobody knows how.... I remembered she mentioned it at that that time, so the next time I need a refill of that, I go to her, So that fixed too, Thai style.
Midnight, the temperature is down to 29.8°C.
Sort of hungry. Water and bread! Bought a pack of freshly baked German farmer bread down in the shop, remembered it was ok, have nothing to put on but - ah well... And put half a cube of pig broth in the hot water. Survivable. After all I filled the belly with food at Soppköket and I seldom have both lunch and dinner.
So, life on a Paradise Island is not too bad, and it challenges me to exercise more, for sure! I "could" walk to town with no greater problem, the main problem is the dangerous road down there, but I doubt there is any back street one could walk. Should next time extend the trip down to the beach - they have apparently opened a new restaurant/bar with view over the sea, that I should try. Such places are most active after dark though - shit that I have no balance for a little motorbike, otherwise that is the usual way to go here and rather cheap to rent. I might even afford to have a jeep here, but there is not quite any place on the roads for that.....
2009-12-13
Going to Thailand again!
Dec. 13
Should add the latest, then send it to the blog. Written offline so far.
First pic is where you come in to this area of low houses. Second pic is the entries to the rooms, mine is O4 if you wonder....
Small things good and bad all the time. I got the internet working with the Nokia phone, 460kbps, which is soso, rather cheap. Bought 3000 minutes when I came, more than 2000 left, to be used within a month. Also bought 50 international SMS, gone long time ago of course. So the question is: how to refill??? After some research I THINK I can call a service
number to AIS and do it that way - was messy, first Thai, then I heard something about pressing 2 then 1 and it seems I was on English and not Japanese. I have the feeling that they said I should put in my phone number and they would call back. Ah well, think they can transfer money there from the general phone pot that you buy in 7/11 but only 100B there now, have to fill in a few more before I try to call again.The fat lady carried in a 20-liter - I think - plastic bottle of drinking water, much cheaper than buying it liter by liter in the shop, but how to get the water up??? Well, the little blonded slant-eyed cute helper - her daughter? - thou minimal English - came with a pump, she succeeded in getting up some water, I did not, so today she came, tested and said she would fix a better pump. I CAN pour up water sort of, but not the elegant way and just in a big cup, not the bottles suitable for the fridge.......
Slept appr 5 hours, up already at 9AM, maybe too hot - the fan was standing in a static position not directed at me, maybe I put it wrong when going to bed. So soon naptime, will try to go downwards at 5 or so to see how far it is.
Dec 11
Agree, nothing written here, it has been a mess, sort of expected mess but now finally I have found peace.
I just sent off answers of assorted mails, ought to make a summary here.
Anyway, for a change and as my friend Micke has talked about all year, he has planned to spend more time in Pattaya, also I feel he got more Swedish friends there, also a reason, maybe also a greater chance to get a job. He is like me, disability pensioner, very different, in a way better in a way worse. Externally rather big and strong and knows things of use here, like different kinds of industrial installations - so he tries to find something there with sensible pay. He fixed a one-year visa, no idea how long he is gonna stay. He has to go home in the middle to visit his doctor, then back again probably.
A few days ago I met him in Bangkok where he went to say welcome to me - and I also got a chance to meet his new gf, they like each other so who knows.
But he found no good place there for me, and I started to think of Samui again, he knew a good place there that I never saw, Yui called down there and they had a room free on the ground floor so - well, I came there tonight! It feels very good, like the old place a few blocks away, actually did a few years ago. Before they built noisy bars/discos outside and a stone wall against the flooding but troublesome for me to get over. Just a big stone to step on, nothing to hold in. There they also seemed to lose interest for those rooms as they built a hotel nearby with much more expensive rooms, sigh. 2 years ago still some people living there but not like before, with people sitting at the tables outside in the evening, talking, drinking.
The minibus from the airport, I was the last passenger the driver had problems to get rid of me, he called this place three times on my phone before finding it. He almost passed my old one, looked rather different. Should take a walk down there one day. The fat friendly lady caretaker waited of us at the main road (hot very "main" admittedly) and then she took my backpack on her back and dragged my black suitcase in on a little gravel road and to the place, Kulatida House, and the door to my room was open and waiting among the flowers..... She was a bit worried about my not very stable walking but what the heck, I came here to stabilize it somewhat! She asked if I needed anything, so she took the motorcycle and went to the farmacy to get a little bottle of "blue alcohol" and cotton as my big toe was bleeding a little - must have kicked someone but as I do not feel anything anymore with my feet - like any guy with lepra, losing pieces of himself because he does not feel damage anymore.
Yui called here yesterday and they sort of expected her to come later to keep order of me, so I had to make them disappointed.
Different parta of Thailand are so very different. Bangkkok big big city - even though I seldom go to the center, keep to my tiny corner where anyway most stuff is to be found. Samui is to a high degree a Wild East, everything a mix, the road from the airport - ha, remember when I went to Penang 2 years ago to renew the visa, also that a tropical island,I don't know exactly the relation of sizes, but there it was a highway of 5-6 lanes at the airport, at Samui, a small jungle path where it is hard to pass motorcyklists..... Especially when people try to do it from both directions at the same time. Ah well, it mostly works.
Along the little road you find everything, small shops, hospitals for humans and animals, a catholic church, restaurants, cheap and expensive hotels. Somewhere midway on the way to Lamai the road goes up a little and you got a nice view over the sea - and they were actually improving the road there, with asphalt machines taking up almost all the road huh.
Mo Dec 7
Next morning. Tried a little bit more to connect, seems I got the Bluetooth pairing ok by putting in the same PIN code in both laptop and phone, still no connect internet. Very irritating, paid 600B in the airport for one month.......
Amp & bf have had no success in getting jobs as nurses here, even German-speaking ones, very low status job here and low pay. So they go back to Germany soon.
Sun. Dec. 6
Going out in a few minutes, down to Popiang as always...... Will meet Amp and her new German boyfriend - both newly examined nurses in Germany, now looking for jobs here in Bangkok. I have known Amp for many years, a Thai girl of course.
No success in getting the Mobile phone to work as internet server, sigh. Yui got it working last summer with this laptop but her Nokia phone, should have brought her but......
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