I’m going to address one of life’s big questions today: how many croissants for breakfast is too many?
I didn’t have a great sleep last night. I felt like I was waking a lot, although I’m pleased to report that MBW says she slept well.
We started the day – as usual – with breakfast at the buffet although – in a change from routine – I decided against the omelette, bacon, dumplings and assorted stir fried foods on offer.
Just the continental breakfast for me today.
After breakfast we went out in search of our missing washing. Just a short walk down the road, and it was there waiting for us to collect (… which wasn’t what we were expecting, but for about AUD$6 you can hardly complain).
Back to our hotel room to get changed for the pool, and there was a knock at the door.
“Cleaning”.
Normally the cleaning lady comes while we are at the pool, but she was early today (or we were later than usual after collecting our washing) so we sat out on our little patio and waited while she made up our room.
I’ve mentioned the heat and humidity a few times on this trip. I’m not complaining (even though it can get pretty oppressive), but the biggest frustration is coming out of the 22 degree airconditioned comfort of our room into the outside 33 degrees and 90% humidity, to have your glasses immediately fog up.
First world problems.
Into our swimmers and down to the pool and we spent a lovely few hours watching the world go by, interspersed with dips in the pool.
It was very overcast all day with a threat of rain, but then you also know the story of the boy who called “wolf”. They have to get it right eventually, but will it be today?
I mentioned the other day about how you can’t drink the water. As I’ve said, that extends to brushing your teeth and any other potentially high risk activities … like eating lettuce.
While there is nothing inherently dangerous about eating lettuce, the real risk is if they have l washed the lettuce in tap water. And that is a risk that I’m not willing to take.
Except I think I may have had some lettuce at the buffet last night, because I was getting the distinct feeling that I had a case of Bali Belly on the way … well at least the Thai equivalent of Bali Belly.
Same symptoms, different country, and an equal amount of unpleasantness.
MBW tells me that I am starting to get brown. We apply liberal amounts of sunscreen before going to the pool, wear a hat, and try to stay in the shade, but spending hours in the pool is undoubtedly going to wash the sunscreen off eventually.
I’m not too concerned about getting some colour, although it has both advantages and disadvantages.
In the “minus” column, I have a skin check a couple of weeks after we get back, and Dr R is certainly going to notice I’ve been in the sun while I’m parading around in my undies … and I’m sure we will have words about that.
But in the “plus” column, I may be able to make a native title claim. Winner!
Back to our room and into our regular shorts, T-shirts and inappropriate footwear, and we went out for a walk.
MBW wanted to get a massage which was OK with me, but I was still feeling a bit blah, so I was going to sit this one out.
It’s a bit risky having a Thai massage (which can be quite intense) while your tummy is gurgling … just in case something comes out. You know what I mean.
We found the massage place we were looking for and MBW went in for an oil massage for the grand sum of 500 baht (about AUD$21) while I waited in the husband parking area and checked emails.
Back again to the cool sanctuary of our room, and I made myself a coffee … which is the universal solution to most problems.
In my world, anyway.
I don’t know where the time went but before we knew it, it was time for cocktails again.
Cocktails are always at the pool bar unless it’s raining …
…but they obviously didn’t get that memo.
It wasn’t raining heavily, and my Mojito took away any residual disappointment.
I’m concerned that my daily Mojito could become habit forming. When I am next pulled over at home for a RBT and asked when I had my last drink, I can no longer honestly answer “1984”.
MBW was keen to do a Thai cooking class. There is one nearby here that gets very good reviews, and they pick you up, drop you back, and you get to eat what you’ve cooked.
Which could be a good thing, but also might not be a good thing. It all depends on various factors.
The class is 1500 baht each (about AUD$65 each, when you consider 100 baht is a bit over AUD$4.00). But she only takes cash, and we don’t have that much cash spare.
But we do have a Suncorp Visa Debit card, and there is an ATM just around the corner from our resort. Withdrawing money from an ATM in Thailand is surprisingly similar to withdrawing cash in the mother-land, except you have to make triple sure that you have your facts straight because typing in “3000” as the withdrawal amount is a little daunting.
And while we told most of our banking institutions that we were about to go overseas, we didn’t mention it to Suncorp.
And we don’t want to set off any alarms at Suncorp HQ.
So we got our cash, confirmed our booking for cooking, and headed straight for dinner. It was close enough.
Another truly spectacular sunset, and I think I upset our waiter by telling him I wasn’t ordering dessert tonight because I had to draw a line somewhere.
And that’s about it.
Back to our room for coffee, then showers and bed.
And to answer the big question of the day, the answer is 4. Or maybe 5. Possibly 6.
Croissants for breakfast, that is.
Don’t judge me. I also had some fruit.
Ciao
#Thailand2024