Mostly Colin & Danika on holiday- 6

Back in the North East of Thailand for a couple of weeks and a rest from traveling. It’s been quite tiring so I am glad to be back at Sasipa’s, but I find putting my feet up isn’t really on the cards.

In my absence the motorbike has been killed. It was overheating a bit, but we only used it for short journeys, so the warning light rarely came on. Unfortunately Sasipa’s daughter lent it to a cousin who took no notice of the warning light and drove it a long way and blew the engine.

It is now in several pieces at their house apparently being fixed, but that was a month ago and apart from zero progress there is apparently zero contrition either.

Somewhat annoyed at their attitude I went to collect the bike from them and I am now in the process of rebuilding the engine in a small potting shed in the corner of Sasipa’s garden.

It’s been 40+ years since I took an engine apart and that was an air cooled one, so it should be fun! I won’t have time to finish it before heading down to Bangkok to meet Danika, so watch this space.

In the meantime, I decided a new motorbike was in order, so Sasipa and I wandered around the motorcycle dealers of Satuek, seeing what was available. She loved the Honda Scoopy club 12 so we headed back to our preferred dealership, where the salesman was a real character (and of course the deal was good!)

Amid the impromptu magic tricks and larking around, I managed to buy the bike and soon Sasipa was proudly riding it home, while I took the car.

A couple of visits to my new friends John and Steve passed by and a lovely evening in Buriram at a restaurant by the river, which we were invited to by Saipa’s son and daugher in law.

Before I knew it, ten days had passed and I was on the Nakornchai air bus back to Bangkok. I normally take the gold class coach, which is excellent, but this time I decided to take the first class coach, which was only about £3 more expensive.

The seats were bigger and there was more space, but disappointingly whereas the gold class has loads of movies with an English language option, these were all in Thai only. As the journey is nearly six hours that was a bit of a shame.

After a night in a cheaper hotel, Mam’s house, where I often stay. I moved to a more upmarket one for Danika’s arrival, although the view wasn’t particularly upmarket even if it was culturally sound. (think Tennessee Williams, Cat on a hot tin roof). As it was about about 38 degrees, I imagine it was extremely hot.

After a short interlude in Bangkok I was off to the airport to meet Danika. I took the S1 bus, which you can catch from just down the road from my usual hotel. As it has been over a year since we were last together, I’m really looking forward to seeing her. The S1 is a good service on the whole, but it stops running too early in the evening so we won’t be able to catch it back into the city. Also in my experience, the timetable is a complete fabrication, it turns up when it wants at varying intervals. You just have to wait and smile as every other numbered bus passes by in a roar and cloud of fumes.

Soon reunited we head back to Bangkok, drop the bags and head out for some food and drinks. Danika has mentioned a Reggae bar that she likes and we wonder if it’s the same one I like as they appear to be very close and I know of no other Reggae bar. The answer soon appears and no it is a different bar. Just past ‘my’ reggae bar there is a small alleyway that goes to the Khoasan road, it twists and turns a couple of times before opening out into a wonderful bar, with a stage, wooden benches and loads of old memorabilia on the walls and ceiling.

The alleyway continues on through the bar out on to the Khoasan road, but you can’t see the road from the bar. The beer is cold, good value and the music excellent.

Next day I introduce Danika to my favourite ‘Thin Lek Nam Tok Moo’ which she loves and then I take her on a trip on a boat along the Klong to Siam and the shopping centres where she wants to buy some gifts.

Then it’s a ride on the BTS skytrain, which Danika hasn’t taken before as she usually takes the metro, to Chatuchak market and some more shopping, before taking the smoke belching number 3 bus back to Banglamphu. We wandered around the myriad of stores and had some ice cream.

Danika was also stopped by some Thai girls and asked some questions about what she thought about Thailand for a survey they were doing.

I chatted with the owner of the ”Birkenstock” stall in my broken Thai about a new pair of sandals, as the previous pair I bought in November are starting to fall to bits. I also chatted to a cheeky Tuk Tuk driver who drove us to the pier to catch the boat. However, despite talking with him in Thai, he still tried to rip us off. I paid him half what he asked, which was still too much, but not excessively so.

Apparently the government is currently introducing a system to try and stop the rip off Tuk Tuk’s and some of the taxi drivers, from overcharging. That is a good thing, because it is practically impossible now to get a Tuk Tuk, if you are a foreigner, without being ripped off. For example a Grab or metered taxi to Chatuchak market from my usual hotel is about 200 Baht. If you try and hail a Tuk Tuk they will insist on about 500 baht.

When you tell them it’s only 200 by taxi, they shrug knowingly and drive on secure in the knowledge that the next mug tourist will pay what they ask.

Recovering the car from a temple, where I parked it a few days ago, we are soon heading south. Parking was 10 baht an hour, so good value, although it does add up over several days. The traffic is awful and we see several accidents. There are quite a few roadworks as they are extending the Skytrain I think. Eventually after a couple of hours we hit the open road and whizz along the highway towards our hotel for the night. On the way we stopped for some fruit and Danika introduced me to Pomelo. I’ve never eaten it before or even heard of it, but I love it. The texture is amazing and it tastes a little like grapefruit but nowhere near so sour. It is evil to peel(and I am not exaggerating) so it’s better to buy it ready peeled.

Arriving in Prachuap Khiri Khan, I have booked the same hotel as when I last stayed here, but this time Danika and I go further afield to explore and we discover a beautiful long, wide beach with crystal clear blue seas. There are islands and hills in the distance and several nice looking bars and restaurants along the sea front. I didn’t see any of this before as we stayed near the hotel, which is about 1km away.

There are lots of expats here of a certain age and they fill many of the bars and restaurants that we can see and from overheard snippets of conversation they are not here on holiday. Many appear to be couples as well, unlike Pattaya, which has the appearance of being more single expats than couples.

It is a lovely, peaceful little town and I introduce Danika to another of my favourite dishes, the spicy Lab moo from the north, which she also loves!

Later on we ate Shabu Shabu, a Japanese type of hot pot that is popular in Korea, but the power kept going out so they gave us an old fashioned gas cooker rather than the electric one we started with. There are lots of types of meat and vegetables that you can choose and then cook yourself, plus two different soups as well. It was tasty and made a change from the usual. While eating we could see that across the road lots of people had put chairs out overlooking the beach and sea to enjoy the sunset initially, but then just the pleasant breeze and view.

As an fairly early start is required for tomorrow we head back to the hotel early and I prepare a movie night in my room for a film Danika hasn’t seen before. She loved the film and if I remember what it was called (writing this over a month later) I’ll add it in at the end 🙂

Next morning we head for the Lomprayah Catamaran port in Chumphon, a couple of hours away. We soon pass through a checkpoint and into the coconut growing region. I guess the checkpoint is there partly due to the problems in the far south, but as usual I am waved through with barely a second glance. We made a brief stop at a 7/11, where Danika introduced me to the 7/11 back packer classic of a ham and cheese toastie. It was ok 🙂

Parking up at the terminal I can see that it has grown since my last visit 14 months ago. They have built a second car park and there are various other building projects going on.

After a short wait we get on the Catamaran, which is packed, but we manage to get some seats and then we are soon flying across the waves on the 65km journey to Koh Tao.

We haven’t been here together since Danika was 9 years old, so she is excited to revisit old haunts with me and show me some new places she found as well on her last visit here a couple of years back.

After a small hiccup getting off the Catamaran, which is a bit of a chaotic free for all, due to their poor organisation and luggage storage we are met by our hotel driver, but not before I remember to walk out of the other exit to avoid the totally arbitrary scam of the jetty fee.

Our rooms at Greenery resort are spacious and next door to each other. A big bed, great air con, a desk for work (if I do some) balcony and nice bathroom, plus a safe and daily maid service are all great, but I slightly regret not booking something overlooking the sea as we are in the jungle and don’t have much of a view.

I rented a motorbike and we were soon off exploring and seeing many of the old haunts. It was great to visit Choppers, which has reopened. It was closed when I was last here for refurbishment. Unfortunately I missed Jeff, the owner, by a week as he is back in Australia again, but we were well looked after anyway.

Danika has to work some days, so I drove around by myself enjoying the island and booked a couple of fun dives. Danika nearly went for one of their introduction to diving days, which is almost the same thing. You do the morning session in the pool, but then in the afternoon you are out in the open sea, doing a couple of supervised dives with all the gear on! The only real difference is that she could only go to a depth of 12m as opposed to the 40m depth that I can dive to. I’m certain this wasn’t a thing when I was learning to dive and it seems risky having several unqualified people, even if only at 12m depth. In the end she decided to wait until she could learn with her boyfriend.

Walking past a massage place on the beach, I was slightly surprised to be greeted with a ‘hello Colin’. When we were last here Sasipa got chatting to the owner, while I had a massage and they are Facebook and Line friends. She obviously sees photo’s posted of us/me from time to time on there and knew I was coming to Koh Tao and recognised me as I walked past. A small world!

We could not find the rocks, near Jansom bay, where we took somes picture of us back in 2006 as the area is much more built up and the hidden trail through the rocks to the bay is, I think, no more. It’s all private resorts and beaches now. So we couldn’t recreate the photo with a 2024 version, but here are the original versions from 2006.

We did find a lovely spot on Tanote bay, which we went to a lot. The road is very hilly and twists and turns as you cross from one side of the island to the other, but it’s worth it. There were two loungers under a tree that were always free when we arrived and a little bar next to it, where you could buy coconuts or other ice cold drinks. On the way there Danika always stopped for fruit from a roadside seller and we took it with us. Either pomelo, mango, dragonfruit or watermelon.

We walked along the main Sairee beach as well and rode all over the island, often stopping at spots remembered from the past. A meal at Cafe del Sol was a must, with me going for the beef Carpaccio again. Danika had a Caesar salad and we both had bruschetta to start with, which was very garlicky. Vampires beware! We also ate at a restaurant on the beach that had fabulous chicken skewers and watched a couple of live bands. Took advantage of a few ‘happy hours’ that often seemed to stretch on until late at night and watched the Koh Tao pub crawl lunatics with amusement.

Danika took me to a sandwich shop that she remembered, which was very close to the house we rented in 2005 when Deyna came for Christmas. The sandwiches were not cheap, but they were huge and tasted amazing. I ordered an ice tea, but it was far too sweet for me. I asked the owner if she could add some lemon juice or something to cut the sweetness a bit, when she peered down at my drink and said ‘the colour is wrong, I think I forget to put any lime or lemon in it at all’!

She made me another one which was much better. It was nice for Danika as it was the same lady she knew from last time, who used to be a dive master, before opening the shop.

A visit to old haunts wouldn’t be complete without a round of mini golf, I managed to do the 18 holes it in 71 which was 1 under par. Danika at one point hit her ball completely out of the golf course and over the road. Luckily it was returned by an old Thai lady, but she still managed a respectable 7 over in the end. The bowling alley we couldn’t revisit as it is now sadly a gym. It was a lot of fun in the past as the skittles had actual human’s putting them up and counting how many you had hit and holding up the appropriate number of fingers, while dodging the speeding bowling balls flying down the lanes.

My day of diving involved an extremely early start and it was only just getting light when I arrived at Phoenix divers. There is quite a mix of people and skill levels and I am with 5 others. My buddy was Axel and Eric was the DM. I was excited to be diving Chumphon Pinnacle again, which is one of the furthest dive sites from the island and also the deepest. This means a better chance of sharks and in particular whale sharks. Unfortunately the visibility was awful, with the instructors and dive masters pronouncing it the worst they had ever seen. Our first dive was cut short at 35 minutes as it was very difficult to navigate and the current was quite strong. I’m glad now that Danika didn’t decide to do her introductory course today. The second dive was a shipwreck called HTMS Sattakut. Originally an American navy vessel built in 1944 and used in Iwo Jima amongst other campaigns. It was given to the Thai navy in 1946, who used it until 2007, before removing the engines and other hazardous parts and sinking it off Koh Tao to create an artificial reef in 2011. It didn’t sink quite as planned and a salvage team went down a couple of months later to sink it as originally intended! As my main time on Koh Tao predates 2011, I hadn’t dived this site before. Unfortunately the visibility was not a great deal better, although I did manage a ‘swim through’ in a small part of the wreck, where I saw a huge grouper lurking in the corner of the captain’s cabin.

Danika and I also did several outfit check videos as well. Which involves leaning the phone on the floor at angle pointing up at you and taking a video while posing. 🙂

We bought crackers and a vast lump of cheddar. The 7/11’s are expensive here, in fact most things are quite expensive here now. The local supermarket, where I used to buy the booze for the bar, I ran for a while for my ex brother in law in 2007, was still good value though.

We also think we found the original pancake guy from 2006 that Deyna and Danika used to love going to. The years haven’t been too kind, but he still managed to whip up my favourite, egg and chilli pancake. Sadly his eyes have deteriorated, so when we showed him an old picture of him and Danika from 18 years ago, he could not see it properly.

Today it is raining, but our time on Koh Tao is sadly at an end and we are on our way back to the mainland. Luckily the rain eases up as we arrive. It’s a long walk along the jetty from the Catamaran to dry land and if it’s raining you get soaked.

Soon we are heading for Hua Hin which is about 300km away. We are staying in the centre and after eventually finding a parking space we check in to our hotel. After the Greenery on Tao, this is run down and poorly equipped. Despite this we both slept really well.

I’ve never been a fan of Hua Hin, last time I was here I didn’t like it much and prior to that it has only ever been an unwelcome stop on the long bus journey up from the south as I head to Bangkok.

It has gone up a bit in my estimation from this visit. There are some interesting streets and plenty going on. The usual array of bars and restaurants are here as well as massage shops and calls of ‘welcome’ as you walk by.

We found a way on to the beach, which was pretty and we had a short walk along it as the firecrackers were going off everywhere to celebrate Chinese new year.

Following a pizza at a local Italian restaurant, which was rather average unfortunately. We wandered around and went for a massage. Danika said she felt that the masseuse was trying to break her neck!

In the morning we went into one of the restaurants that juts out into the sea for some breakfast. It’s a lovely spot and Danika had a smoothie. I ordered a coffee, but they must have misunderstood my Thai as it arrived cold and sweet, but I am certain I ordered hot and no sugar, Tant pis!

On the road again towards Pattaya, we stopped for more pomelo and I also bought some of the famously sour green papaya slices that come with a little bag of chilli and sugar dip. It’s one of Sasipa’s favourites and has grown on me over the months. I think Danika liked it too.

Bangkok was a lot easier to get through this time and we were soon checking into the Quba, my home from home in Pattaya.

Danika loves the hotel, her room and the pool and gym, so that’s great. I don’t think that she is such a fan of Pattaya though and I must admit it was manically busy. I much prefer it in november, december & january. The new relaxed visa rules for China and a couple of other countries have boosted the visitor numbers too high I think. The traffic is at a standstill a lot of the time and the pavements are overcrowded.

I still managed to take her to some of my favourite places, including the noodle stall, night markets and various other places including Wonderful One bar. We had another Lab Moo, but it was full of fat rather than meat and it put us both off a bit. We went to the night bazaar and Danika bought me some new sunglasses as they seem to snap on a regular basis. We also ate at Tree Town, but Danika’s chicken and rice was not great. The seller also tried to short change me, but I noticed immediately. Mango sticky rice featured heavily in Danika’s daily diet and we regularly bought it from a street vendor just around the corner from us. If you went early you could hardly see the seller, so high were the mango’s piled.

Sasipa arrived after a couple of days having taken the overnight bus from Buriram and her and Danika hit it off very well together, despite the language barrier. We went to Jomtien beach for the day, swam in the sea and ate lots of different dishes, from papaya salad to sun dried pork, at little table overlooking the sea. We also had a stroll along the infamous soi 6 early one evening, but it was already in full swing.

The two weeks have flown by and soon we were heading back to Bangkok. Sasipa and I checked into our hotel and Danika stored her rucksack in our room as she will be leaving for the airport later on in the evening. I’ve stayed here several times before and I booked this stay a few weeks ago. The lady at reception said that they had had a price rise since my booking so it was going to be more expensive. I pointed out that she can’t really expect to put the price up after I’ve booked, but that I would, of course, pay the new rate next time I reserved. She instantly realised my point and agreed with a smile.

We had a nice day wandering around and at another visit to the Siam centre, there was a Korean strawberry festival and they were giving away free strawberries which were tasty. We braved another Tuk Tuk ride and as Sasipa was with us the price was slightly better. Then sadly it was time for Danika to head to the airport. She booked a Grab taxi and just like that she was gone… 🙁

It wasn’t quite the end of the story though, because while my Grab app charges straight to my card, Danika’s didn’t on this occasion. So when she arrived at the airport she was expected to pay the driver and didn’t have enough Thai currency left to do so. Luckily my foresight to open a Thai bank account back in November, which has paid dividends many times over, came to the rescue yet again. Danika was able to send me a photo of the driver’s QR code, which I scanned and then paid with my banking app. It is such an excellent system. That sorted, Danika truly was off and on her way back to Seoul. Missing her already!

In a day or so Sasipa and I will be flying to Vietnam for a week. Not only her first trip abroad, but her first time on an aeroplane too, but that’s a story for another time.

PS. The film was Edge of Tomorrow (live die repeat)