Chiang Mai – New Beginnings

A little after 1pm, on Sunday 9th November, a songthaew arrived at the Gap 2 Guest House to transport a bunch of prospective English language teachers to the Nugent Waterside, a retreat just outside Hang Dong and situated about 20 kilometres distant from Thailand's second city, Chiang Mai.

On arrival we received the usual pre-course advice and instructions and then shown to our rooms where we would be spending much of the next four weeks. My room was upstairs in a corner position. Upon entering into the room, I immediately felt at home it was simple but comfortable and clean. Four window to three walls gave excellent lighting to the room by day and a combinations of ceiling, wall, table and desk lighting meant that I could choose between a bright working environment or subtle, warm, cosy lighting by night. The furniture included a good sized wardrobe, kingsize bed, desk with leather swivel chair, the essential fridge, air conditioning a flat screen TV with two movie channels and BBC World News amongst its tally of channels. The en-suite was attractively tile with a large shower, loo and washbasin with windows to two aspects. I unpacked my bags and soon my room had the "Peter lives here" look and feel to it.

I returned downstairs and joined my fellow prospective English teachers:

• Alan, a UK/Chinese guy who was born in Holland and the "kid" amongst the group, and I mean kid in the nicest possible way;
  
• Amanda, a Brit who has spent the past 16 years in New Zealand and Australia and someone I gradually warmed to very dearly;
  
• Chris, a Canadian from Vancouver, the youngest of our group in years and one of the eldest in terms of profound wisdom;
  
• Daniella, from Italy and of Anglo-Italian decent;
  
• Despina, from South Africa. Now sometimes I find South Africans very heavy going – not Despina;
  
• Dina, from India, a very warm and lovely lady, who as we found out later, shopping had quite a passion for silver;
  
• Nathan, also from India and a work colleague of Dina, a christian Indian and a really nice guy who has a band back home;
  
• Patrick, South African and partner of Despina, a lovely guy who was formerly a yachtsman as well as a lawyer, but considers his past careers to be considers a monument to excess yet strangely enough he is a Chelsea supporter?
  
• Shaun, a very funny Chinese- American who trains aviation pilots for a living;
  
• Sunny, a Korean living in the U.A.E. with a disposition that matches her name.
  

One more, who I met earlier at the Gap 2 House, staying in Chiang Mai and motor-biking in every day was another Chris. This particular Chris was a New Yorker living in Cambodia. He made his living as a photographer.

Al in all I could not have found a nicer bunch of guys if I'd hand-picked them from a choice of a thousand and it was even nicer that they came from so many locations across the globe. Then of course there are our tutors and mentors, Jacqueline and John, more about them and the Thai students we teach later.

The next four weeks are going to be the hardest I can recall but with a bunch of guys, many of whom I'm sure in the future, will keep in touch with.

 

Phuket, the last few days (for now)

Tuesday 4th November 2008

The evening was spent at the Rosie bar, where the owner was one of Best's friends, we played Connect 4 but that got boring because I kept winning. Then we started to play Jenga, there were six of us playing, three Brits, yes I was joined by a couple of guys from Oxford, Stuart and Daniel, Best and two Thai girls. After a couple of "practice" games, we started to get serious with the loser buying a round of drinks, I lost the first game, then Daniel was next, in fact after six games we managed to have six different losers. It was getting late and I had taken sufficient Bacardi by the time we went home.

Wednesday 5th November 2008

The opening day of the new 007 movie, Quantum of Solace, as usual by now, it was a reclining sofa seat at the rear of the auditorium, some cheesy popcorn, zero cola and a packet of M&M's. I considered it to be good film but preferred the Thai horror movie we watched the previous Saturday.

Thursday 6th November 2008

My last visit to the dentist at Phuket's, Bangkok Hospital took place at 1pm for my crowns to be fitted. It was expected to take around ninety minutes, so Best was going to fill that time getting a bite to eat. It may of occurred to those that know me that I appear to be eating less or missing out on meals, this is to an extent true but I think I'm eating better – less bread more fruit and vegetables, anyway I have taken off two inches from the waist, my face is thinner and I feel much healthier for it.

Now where were we? – oh yes, Best was going to get something to eat, however his mobile phone rang, so he pulled into a parking space in the road to continue his phone conversation. Now in many places here, on an even day parking is permitted on one side of the road and on odd days, the other. It was an even day, Best parked up on the odd side just as the police came along. The result of this minor transgression resulted in a 500 baht fine, though this was negotiated down to 300 baht for immediate payment. My treatment was completed around 2:20 pm, I called Best to tell him I was ready and got a sharp reply to wait ten minutes for him, at 2:45 pm the blue/grey Toyota pulled up, I got in and asked how the meal was. I was told everything that had happened, no meal had been consumed, only a visit to the police station to pay the parking fine as we headed to the Black Canyon Coffee Shop. It was planned to go somewhere that afternoon, I wanted to go to the see the waterfall, Best had previously been thinking we should go to the export jewellery factory to get myself something to remember Phuket by. It was now getting late, okay I said but I'm not buying anything, well maybe a silver ring as a keepsake.

Inside was enormous, our personal assistant there tried to offer various items of trinkets to which I politely declined, stating I was only interested in silver. The Men's silver counter was tucked away in a side room, it was sparsely filled and I could see nothing there of the least interest to me. It was then I was coerced into taking a look at the white gold rings. I need say no more, as I sit here tapping away on my Toshiba wearing a shiny and matt finish ring on my thumb.

We went bowling in the evening, now after 6pm the main lighting is dimmed, disco lights come on and the music gets loud, six games were played and I got thrashed 5-1.

Friday 7th November 2008

My last full day in Phuket. Best was around all day apart from some time to do an airport run in the afternoon. At precisely 6pm, my new ring was delivered (oh yes, I never said before but it was especially made for me). It arrived in its box which in turn was in an attracive fabric wallet, complete with a certificate and guarantee. Best took it out of its box and placed it on my thumb.

This evening, we were both smartly dressed, he was wearing white jeans and a white designer t-shirt, I had on pale grey casual trousers and a pink long sleeved poplin shirt. This evening we were going to dine at White Box, an exclusive restaurant on the beach. At 7:30 pm we sat down on the white leather chairs at the white corner table on the second level looking directly onto a rocky beach to the sea around the bay in Patong. I ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio, wine being a something of a luxury here in Thailand. It was a wonderful meal, which was served at a relaxing pace. The portions were generous, the presentation beautiful and the service impeccable. After our three courses we moved upstairs to the bar, where we sat on a sofa, overlooking the bay, drinking Sparkling Chardonnay out of champagne flutes containing maraschino cherries which we eventually followed with espresso coffee for me and hot tea for Best. After more than three hours, we returned to Mio, which had already closed, so we went up to my room and started playing and exchanging music on our laptops.

Saturday 8th November 2008

It was time to depart Au Patong in Phuket for the journey north to Chiang Mai. I didn't want to go and if I had let my heart rule would have stayed. My head though is a little bit stronger – though not by very much. As we drove to the airport, Best detoured into Phuket town to show me the newly built condominium he was buying and hoped to move into in about a week. I told him I want to see photographs of it as soon as he is settled in. We arrived at the airport just one hour before my flight was due to depart, checked in and made my farewells with Best before going through to departures and boarding the plane. I don't mind admitting how upset I was to leave and made a promise to return soon.

And so to Chiang Mai.

Phuket, 8 days in the middle

Wednesday 29th October 2008

All morning long, the rain poured down in near continuous gushes finally easing by early afternoon, just a little before 2pm, Best pulled up in his Toyota Vios directly outside the Connect Guest House where I was sat waiting. I got into the vehicle, buckled up and off we drove. Today we were going to get the car's rear view camera repaired and visit Bangkok Hospital in Phuket town, where so many Thai people I've met have said I should get the rest of my dental work done.

First we pulled into the little back street garage we first visited a couple of days before. This time the garage owner brought out a rear bumper encased in its wrapping, this was to be an add-on part to protect the camera and exhaust from any future shunt. The wrapping was then discarded revealing itself as off-white plastic, not a good choice I thought for a nice blue-grey coloured car, however, after a trial fitting the new bumper was whisked away to be sprayed the same colour as the car, thank goodness I thought. It would be ready on Saturday. Next we went to a garage specialising in in-car entertainment, including would you believe, satellite equipment for television reception, It was here the new camera was installed, while Best flicked through brochures of speaker systems. Finally when the new camara was installed and working we drove off, this time to the offices of the insurance company so that Best could claim his money back for the repairs.

Eventually we arrived at Bangkok Hospital, the reception was luxuriously filled with sofas and rather grand wing chairs. I completed the registration papers and was escorted up the escalator to the dental department. There was no dentist available to see me right away, so an appointment was made for Friday at 1 o'clock.

That evening Best was working and decided to have a quiet night so I took a meal at Connect before returning to my room and messing around on the computer.

Thursday 30th October 2008

I awoke once again to the sound of rain, outside, the streets were awash. I dithered about for as long as possible before going downstairs to breakfast. All I had on my agenda today was the dentist at 1pm and studying. I was not expecting to see Best as his clients from the previous night had booked him to chauffeur them around for the next two evenings.

The rain had eased to a half-hearted drizzle by the time I had left for the dentist. My appointment for 1pm turned out to be quite optimistic as I sat around for over 30 minutes until they were ready for me. Finally at 2pm I exited with a lovely new bridge and a gaping hole in my bank account.

The afternoon was spent getting to grips with my English Grammar for Teachers book, going through all the different conditions for adjectives, then adverbs. Late afternoon, the hotel phone rang, "who the hell would be ringing me on that" I thought, it was Connect's reception to tell me I had a free ticket to the Thai buffet evening at 8pm.

After getting ready and taking a leisurely stroll, I sat myself down at a table in the Connect restaurant and bar, ordered a gin and tonic and whiled away the few minutes remaining before the buffet commenced. The buffet was indeed a good one, with several different Thai dishes from which to choose, I filled my plate and enjoyed the meal. Later that evening, I went to the Boat Bar to see the show and bumped into Best who was busily taking his clients on a tour of the Paradise complex.

Later that night, I went back to my room, fell asleep and had the strangest dream. I was on my way to Chiang Mai, I had booked Best to take me to Phuket airport and as a friend he came with me to the Thai Airways check-in desk. At the desk I explained that my trip to Chiang Mai was so I could attend an English language teaching course upon which, I was given a puzzle of hundreds upon hundreds of tiny coloured metallic triangles, that I had to make into a pillow for good luck. Well I had no idea where to start, so I asked Best for his help, soon the little triangles were transformed into a squishy little pillow and I had to keep it with me to ensure the luck was retained. Then an official from the airline decided that there was a danger of me losing this luck unless Best, who put together the pillow, travelled with me to Bangkok, where I would be changing planes and in-fact airports. The official promised to get Best back to Phuket after at no cost to either of us and so Best travelled with me to Bangkok, guarding the pillow with me. Upon arrival at Don Mueang airport, we went to the transfer desk, at which point another official told Best that he must get on the transfer bus with me to Suvarnabhum airport and from where my connecting flight would take me to Chiang Mai. The official promised that at Suvarnabhum, Best would be able to return home. All this for good luck I thought. We took the bus and eventually arrived at Suvarnabhum airport, I had the pillow in my hand and started to say farewell to Best when I awoke. One week on and this dream is still vivid in my mind – strange.

Friday 31st October 2008 – Halloween

Went downstairs at 11:30 and was joined by Best, I had my usual American breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and sauté potatoes, with toast, orange juice and coffee, Best had a Thai Breakfast of some beef mince and vegetables with rice, topped with a fried egg, orange juice and tea. I told him all about my strange dream in the night and wondered if it meant anything. Then it was off to Bangkok Hospital in Phuket town to visit the dentist. I know I needed some fillings and also wanted a removable bridge for my back teeth, however two dentists there decided that the filled teeth would not be strong enough for any denture and to preserve them, three teeth should be crowned. An appointment was made for Sunday morning, to get my crowns started, the back teeth would have to wait a while.

Next we called into the Central shopping centre where we went to the Black Canyon Coffee shop and ordered at thirst quenching drink each, mine being an Iced Fruit Tea, which I have become quite partial to and Best had an Iced Green Tea. Whilst enjoying our drinks, Best was going through his wallet, it had seen better days and when I got my wallet out to compare, he was taken by the fact it had a noteclip. I decided he needed a new wallet complete with noteclip and it would be my "friendship" gift to him.

We left the coffee shop and proceeded to the department store, the men's accessory department was filled with counters selling all brands of leather wallets. Eventually, he found one with Ralph Lauren wallet with a tastefully patterned outer skin and the all important noteclip but it was brown and Best wanted black. The store assistant however was very helpful and she went through her stock of still packaged wallets behind the counted, after a few minutes searching, she came up trumps and held in her hand, the wallet Best had so desired in his favoured black. With that, I knew I had to buy it and so Best got a brand new wallet and I got a great big thank-you.

That evening Best had to work again, I went out at about 11 o'clock to find all the bars painstakingly and gruesomely decorated for Halloween. I walked passed a body of a young man, lying dead in the road outside the bar My Way, his hair matted with blood, his half naked body bruised and bloody. Next door at the Boat bar, I ordered a Bacardi and Coke, I had decided that my strange dream the previous night could have been partly attributed to the five glasses of Gin and Tonic beforehand. At 11:40, the show commenced, Halloween themed it lasted for an hour ending with four numbers from the Rocky Horror Show. It was quite spectacular. That night despite the horrors of Halloween, I slept peacefully.

Saturday 2nd November 2008

Moving day, Yes this is day I checked out of Connect for the more quietly located Sun & Sea room rent, above the Mio coffee shop. A few minutes before midday, I paid my bill, made my goodbyes and wandered off only with my laptop bag to Mio. My suitcase would be collected later when Best returned from the airport where he had taken his quite demanding clients of the past few days. In the evening Best drove us around the bay to the Panya restaurant, which stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the bay all the way round to The Rawia Pier. The food was very good but Best went a little over the top with the ordering, we had two starters and four mains plus rice. I was defeated and even Best who seems to have an oversized appetite couldn't finish it all. Later we relaxed on a reclining sofa at the SF Cinema Complex, where I was treated to a Thai horror move, the title of which roughly translates (I am told) into, Coming Soon Soul. I have to say, it was the best film I had seen so far, there were a few times we both jumped in our seats, Wes Craven "eat your heart out". In my humble opinion, it even surpassed James Bond - Quantum of Solace, which we were to see a few days later.

Sunday 2nd November 2008

It was an early start today, downstairs at 8:30 for some breakfast, then straight into the Bestmobile for the drive to Bangkok Hospital where I would be whiling away the hours between 09:30 and 12:15 in the dentist chair having three teeth prepared for crowns. Needless to say when I came out, my mouth was feeling rather numb and food was the last thing on my mind as Best sat scoffing in the Black Canyon Coffee House. At least though it was over until Thursday when I would have the permanent crowns fitted. That evening was a quiet one, I was able eat by then and we had a few drinks at Mio before retiring.

Monday 3rd November 2008

Today I was to be shown around Phuket Island, this would mean a whistle-stop tour of the some of the beaches followed by a hearty lunch, a visit to the Big Buddha of Phuket and a sunset. First, Best needed to go to his apartment, I volunteered myself along for the ride and I also wanted to have a look at his home. It was a simple studio, with kitchen and bathroom, made homely by his personal touches together with the obligatory the 36 inch Sony LCD TV and home cinema system. Joined by Best's friend, Taem, Who I'd first met a week previously we finally set off on my sight-seeing trip. Off we drove calling by Karon Bay, then along to Kata and Nai Harn before lunch in the sunshine besides Rawai pier. After lunch, it was surprising that anyone could move, I was stuffed and had eaten the least of the three of us.

Back in the car we drove northwards towards Phuket town before starting to ascend a mountain road forming a corridor through rainforest towards the Big Buddha of Phuket. When we arrived it was quite a magnificent sight, 45 metres high and dressed in slabs of white marble, the statue was nearly completed with just the Lotus seat upon which the Buddha sat, to be completed.

There was a lot for us to see and do there but it was a poignant moment for me when in the temple I made my prayer to Buddha, this was followed by walking in a circle around the effigy and placing a coin in each of the 37 metal pots placed there. After we wrote our names on one of the marble slabs that would be used to finish the Lotus seat. For this I donated 300 baht towards the monument's completion. The experience of being there was poignant.

About half way back down the mountain, we stopped at a bar, though we were inland, there were magnificent sea views and took some refreshment before heading to the cape, Laem Prom Thep for the sunset. It had been good weather with only a smattering of cloud, watching the sunset was awesome.

I arrived in Phuket disappointed after Bangkok and considered departing sooner than planned, now I only have five nights and four days left here, I could easily stay much longer.....