Saturday 3 November 2007

Trip 4 - Day 86

November 3rd

I wake up quite late and get a phone call from A in the afternoon. She says that she can come back today, but has to go out early tomorrow to ‘do Buddha’ for an ‘Auntie’ that’s moving house.

She wants to be back in Sri Racha before 07:00 in the morning, so to be honest it makes little sense in returning and I say that she might as well stay over and return as soon as she’s finished in the morning.

I stay in again and just have a couple of bottles of Chang that I had in the fridge.

Expenditure :

Chicken & Rice – 25 baht
Phone topup – 100 baht
Bread / Coke @ 7/11 – 58 baht

Friday 2 November 2007

Trip 4 - Day 85

November 2nd

I’m woken by my telephone ringing. It’s A calling and I’m pleased to hear her voice. We chat for about 15 minutes and she reminds me that “Is number 2, so you have to pay rent today.” I’m told that somebody will arrive later to collect it.

I then get a text from Kev complaining about the state of the Thai roads and what they’re doing to his back, but I suspect he’s really quite pleased to be back.

In the evening, I think about wandering along to Noi’s bar, but decide that I’ll simply have an early night with no alcohol for a change as I’d only had just over four hours sleep last night.


Expenditure :

Rent – 6000 baht

Thursday 1 November 2007

Trip 4 - Day 84

November 1st

I wake up at 10:30 and write up the past few days Trip Report offline. Lunch / Tea is sausage sandwiches and a cup of tea which makes a change and then I have a long hot shower before getting myself ready for the FLB Bar Crawl, and I am a little apprehensive as to what will happen if Soi 3 is on the agenda again tonight.

I arrive at the FLB in time for the voting and when Hammer gets to our table, the voting is finely balanced with two locations having seven votes apiece. I joke that I shouldn’t vote as it could get me into trouble, but I think this is exactly what the other BM’s want to see, so all five votes from our table go to Soi 3,4,5 (Oh dear!)

SSA40001

To be fair, this is a good crawl with a number of bar complexes and several bars having some real ‘lookers’, however I just ‘forgot’ to take many pictures.

SSA40002

SSA40003

Prices are not as cheap as other locations around town, but for the holidaymaker it is unlikely to make a big difference.

Be wary of the prices for LD’s though at some of the bars as pricing can be higher than Walking Street in many instances.

As expected, the crawl did finish at the complex containing Lucky Bar on Soi 3, however Nok was ‘not work tonight’, so I was able to avoid any ‘problem’.


Expenditure :

Scooter Taxis – 140 baht
Bar Crawl – 800 baht

Wednesday 31 October 2007

Trip 4 - Day 83

October 31st

I’ve had a call from Hammer saying that as it’s Halloween, he will not be taking today off and so I have a ‘free’ night, however I do not intend doing anything ‘silly’ with the time this week.

Today the scooter is being returned to Kev’s place in readiness for Joy arriving back from Udon tomorrow, so I make a trip to Big C to get a number of supplies in including washing up liquid and fabric conditioner as well as a selection of vegetables so that I can cook for myself for the next few days. On the way back, I also stop off to buy some English sausages as it’s something that’s easy and quick to cook for a lunchtime ‘snack’. They don’t have any packs of bacon ‘trimmings’ in stock today, but I shall enquire again later in the week.

A final trip over to Kev’s in the afternoon, where I leave the scooter parked up and as I prepare to leave, I see the landlady who asks how I’m getting home. When I tell her that I’ll be walking, she says that she can get a taxi to take me. She makes a call and then informs me that it’s the husband of the cleaner. She also says that the fare will be 200 baht which is a bit steep, but I guess she used to dealing with ‘rich’ farang rather than the likes of me.

I get home and prepare a meal for myself and then head over to Noi’s bar for a few beers. When I get there, it seems that most of the guys are going to The Rockhouse as it’s Mulphy’s birthday and he’s having a bit of a ‘bash’. I decline the offer to join them as I will be out on the FLB Bar Crawl the next night. We talk about how quiet the town has been in the past week or so and the consensus is that tonight will be quite strange as there are so many parties taking place and not enough farangs to really go around. There are parties taking place at TQ2, Buffalo, Cherry Bar, Baby Dolls, Secrets and The Rockhouse that we know of and no doubt many others as well.

Once all the guys leave, there are just two customers left in the Bar along with around a dozen ladies. It’s a tempting thought, but I manage to keep the brain in the head in charge tonight and once the brain in my pants starts to take control, I call checkbin and wander home. I buy a few beers at the corner shop, but once I get indoors, I decide that a cup of tea is a much better idea really and so the beer is there for another night.

Expenditure :

Big C – 358 baht
Sausages – 90 baht
Taxi – 200 baht
Noi’s Bar – 340 baht
Beer & Ice – 110 baht

Tuesday 30 October 2007

Trip 4 - Day 82

October 30th

I’m awoken at 05:00 by A and I wish that every day could start like this, however in the afterglow, there’s a shout from the next room. Phil has woken up and the moment is killed. A asks me if I can do the laundry today as Phil is running low on shorts and I say that I will sort it out, so by 07:00, I’ve got the first of three loads of laundry on the go. As it’s a bit overcast when I finish, I move the drying rail under the eaves of the porch before leaving the house.

First task on the agenda today is to get a haircut. I head down to the place I’ve used the last couple of times, but the lady there is busy, so I just use the next place along on the Soi. The cost is a little higher at 70 baht instead of 50 baht, but it’s okay.

Another day at Kev’s place getting updates sorted out as my access is going to be restricted shortly as Kev is due to arrive back in Pattaya in just a couple of days.

Once again, I return home at just after 17:00 and when A arrives home at 17:45, she’s brought food with her, so we all have an early meal. A then gets a call asking if she can work tonight, but she declines the offer, however there are boats to be loaded with sugar for the next three nights, so she accepts this work. 6000 baht for three nights work is money that cannot really be turned down when it’s offered.

As it’s Tuesday, it’s Curry Night at Noi’s bar, so I make the short walk and go to see who is about. It’s a very quiet night though and I just have a chat and a few beers with a couple of the regular ex-pats for an hour and a half before heading home to bed at 21:30.


Expenditure :

Haircut – 70 baht
Noi’s Bar – 220 baht

Monday 29 October 2007

Trip 4 - Day 81

October 29th

I wake up and A has her legs entwined around me even though she’s still fast asleep. I try not to move in order to savour the moment as long as possible, however the time is short lived as there is a shout from the next room and Phil has woken up. A just wakes instantly and gets out of bed to sort him out. The time is 06:00 and there’s no time for any further intimacy as A needs to leave at just after 06:30.

Before leaving she asks for money for Mama (nothing was paid last week and with the extended absence of A, she wasn’t around to ask) and as I give her the 500 baht note, she also asks if I can buy the ‘stuff’ for Buddha today. She wants me to get four bottles of ‘red soda’; four flower garlands; two apples and a kilo of oranges.

The day is spent at Kev’s posting content to a couple of websites, however it does seem that getting an income from Adsense is going to take some time to get established. I will need to build several more sites and look to generate a small income from each of them, but the timescales are more long term, so a job is needed to fund the shorter term.

At 17:00, I return home and stop off at the fruit stall on Soi Khao Noi where I buy all the bits for Buddha. I then get some fried chicken for myself and top up on drink supplies.

A returns home and I help her with sorting out all the offerings when we realise that there are no straws for the ’red soda’, so I head off to the corner store and make good on ‘my’ mistake.

A then goes out to get food for the night and once we’ve eaten and got Phil settled down, we finally manage to get some ‘private’ time before getting another early night.

Expenditure :

Buddha ‘stuff’ – 125 baht
Fried Chicken – 35 baht
Beer / Coke / Water / Ice – 152 baht
Straws – 10 baht
Evening Food – 130 baht