Three blocks south I found a little place that has computers, sheets, includes breakfast, phone, bedside light, and still only 2 minutes walk from the beach for 900 baht. Just goes to show what you can find if you have a little time to look around. A weary traveler fresh in town, toting a backpack and craving a cold beer is not the best state to be shopping for a good deal on a place. This is...what...the third time it's happened? Oh well, I said I was not going to plan things out carefully this time.
I woke up before 7:00 AM this morning with an aching back, so I went out looking for coffee. Stumbling around in my flip flops about 3 km on a circuitous route for about an hour hunting for some coffee put me about 1.5 km south of the hotel in a residential area, still rather north of the center of town, but I eventually ran across the market. This is the most intense one I've seen so far with all manner of meats being butchered and just about anything else you want. I wound my way slowly through it, experiencing sensory overload before my coffee. I came out the opposite side on the west and was relieved to find a little coffee shop with delicious fresh coffee, two eggs, sausage, ham, toast & strawberry jam. I tanked up on the coffee and, feeling strong, hit the market again.
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| This little place had a nice breakfast for 50 baht and good coffee. That's more like it. It's just a few paces south of the west entrance to the market. |
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| Just everybody, buying everything. |
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| People knit in Thailand. I tried to tell her I knitted my first scarf. |
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| Some areas were really packed, yet scooters were still winding their way through past the shoppers. They were delivering stuff, just amazing they are allowed to ride them in here. |
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| Scooters were threading their way through here too. |
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| I've seen the shells of these things on the beach sometimes. I think they're called horseshoe crabs. |
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| I smelled the most wonderful fragrant smell, turned around and saw this old guy slicing and arranging his fruit. Could it have been quince I smelled? |
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| Chopping and cleaning fish, but you can get your Transformer toys here too. |
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| These were really nice little packages of small fish, each container about 4 inches in diameter |
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| This lady was doing some delicate work on what looked like a doily. She was a moto taxi driver, and apparently a grandmother. I gave her 40 baht to take me back to check out of the hotel on the back of her scooter. |
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| Brand spankin' new army truck parked in the shade, still smells like fresh paint. Got a trooper sacked out in the back there, it's about 10:00 AM |
All checked in to the new hotel now, room number 007 at the Immueang Hotel, 12/9 Naebkeharst Rd. I took the key downstairs and goofed around with the ladies there, acting like a secret agent and shooting with the key. They just shook their heads. Lighten up ladies. Directly across from the hotel is a short street, can see the beach from here. At the corner is a little stand, and lots of tables and chairs behind it there. Some people I met while eating there told me that stand has been there for 33 years. The food was good and cheap. Had a beer and got sleepy, went back to the hotel to take a little nap. Hotel is fine, everything I need.
I've decided I'm tired of Hua Hin. Though I did meet some nice folks there, it's really only so long I can hang out with new friends and make a nuisance of myself. I felt I'd spent enough time there to get a feel for what it's like. I suppose I'd enjoy living in Hua Hin if I could get out of the noise of town, like in a condo or rented apartment in the foothills or such, and find some sort of activity to keep me busy. I went to the so-called "maze" last night, a criss-crossing of alleys and narrow streets in the vicinity of the Hilton, consisting of mostly bars and massage parlors. It took about 30 minutes, walking amongst the tourists, and was not very interesting. Then I saw a McDonald's and yielded to the urge for a burger, fries and coke--it tasted pretty good. Caught a moto back to the hotel for 40 baht and went to sleep early. Packed it all up about 9:30 AM or so and caught a van back to Bangkok.
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| I've grown weary of these 12 passenger vans. They're cheap, but this is what you see if you're my height. |
