20/3/25
We’d set the alarm for 5:45 am and duly woke up and kickstarted some coffee. We packed everything onto the bikes. Got dressed. Put our shoes on. On the last trip with our final bits and pieces we had a sudden change of heart: This hotel was a dream spot for us.
Cheap, a swimming pool, no boat to load bikes in and out of when we wanted to leave and local shops selling everything we desired for good prices.
So at 8am, when reception opened, we confirmed another night. It was effortless and the staff were very friendly. There was a night porter and a security guard on site. The bikes were safe. Frankie had found a ‘soy milk’ shop on apple maps. Not everything showed on google despite our assumption it would. This part of the world is not fully uploaded yet. There are hotels, shops and restaurants that are invisible to the digital eye.
It wasn’t so much of a shop as a cart. It sold fresh soy milk and tofu ‘salad’. Also some fried dough sticks which we snapped up. We sat at a bench to dip our dough in the tofu salad. It was sweet milk, full of chunks of soft tofu and tapioca pieces. All around us, simultaneously chaotic and calm, the Thai way of life was happening.
Still, the aim of the day was to do absolutely nothing. We sat by the pool for a few hours taking the occasional dip. Reading our books. The other guests appeared to be mostly German. A younger couple played dubstep/dance music by the pool. Sometimes the bird sounds would be in time with the beat. Richard was still struggling to stop himself drinking. He told tales of the sex workers in the bars in Hua Hin, and how buying them a drink just meant giving them money. They always had a ‘lady drink’. And then he spoke of Pattaya and Bangkok too.
In the early afternoon we finished off the takeaway we had left over. We didn’t order any more and instead paired the leftovers with some 7-eleven rice (25p a pack) and some cucumbers. We then returned to the pool and frittered away the rest of the sunlight.
We had an early night. Still finding it impossibly hard to find something interesting to watch. We went between Young Sheldon and Manifest. We managed to finish off all the fresh, and heavy, food we’d accumulated. Mango, sapodilla and banana.
Surly They Won't Make It 