Surin, Thailand 3

Had a pretty uneventful day yesterday, had breakfast at one of the little beach front restaurants, watched the die hard fanatics running up and down the beach before the sun hit the beach... So very tranquil at that time in the morning, just sat and soaked everything in, the cicadas in the trees; the massage ladies bustling around, preparing all the beds for the day ahead; the sweepers, clearing the flora debris from the streets; the dogs strolling through, waiting for scraps ( there are as many cats and dogs here as there are chickens and roosters in Hawaii!!! ) , the smell of fermenting fruit in the alleyways, coffee brewing, all add to the mix.

We had to start planning the next leg of our trip, so spent the better half of the morning, planning were we are heading to next and transportation etc. we also booked our tickets out of SA. They don't like it when you enter on a one way ticket, without a ticket leaving the country! Dd most of this laying around the pool, swimming to cool down. Went for a long walk around the area... what amazes us is the continual clash of the third and first worlds. Walking down the street, and this goes for 99% of every street we've seen, you will might find, a derelict building , a brand new hotel, a restaurant, massage palour, open ground, with rubbish , a tailor , a few open air restaurants that may or may not be attached to a home of sorts, and so it goes...

After more swimming I tried the massage parlour next to the hotel. You walk underground, and as you get to the bottom of the stairs, there are statues and lots of interesting paraphanailia , you are greeted and have your feet washed in cool water, before doning a pair of slippers and escorted to your room. The bed are very wide...they have to be because they climb onto the bed with you, to manipulate your body..lol a much more in depth massage, he tried invain to remove the knots in my shoulders. Anyway, another yoga session, and then he invited me to drink some ginger tea...he told me it would settle my tummy!!! Lol...how did he know that without touching my tummy??? Needless to say the tea worked wonders and I bought some the next day!

Back to our little spot at the beach for dinner, they have started saying , "See you tomorrow! " haha have found a new favourite dish, vegetable glass noodles .... Right up there with my cashew nut chicken!!! After dinner, in fact after every meal you are served watermelon and pineapple pieces...so refreshing. The Thai people are a very quiet people, so soft spoken, and try very hard to speak English.
As I said, a pretty uneventful day! We have booked our trip the Phi Phi Islands for Friday , so stay posted ! Will have lots to say and plenty photos!

Surin Beach, Thailand 2

After a lazy day on the beach, watching a "lady" procure a date....wasn't going to happen, poor thing was completely out of her mind on something.... Anyways, apart from that, reading, swimming in bath water temperature ocean, fruit slushies for lunch...I could get seriously addicted to those:) , we decided to make our way into Patong. Taxi won out, and a good thing too!!! On the way into Pataong, we saw two tourists that had come off a scooter, badly grazed, sitting on the edge of the road:( These drivers here are maniacs on the roads!!! There is NO safe distance between vehicles.....you just need to close your eyes until the car stops!

Got there as the sunset over a spectacular horizon, cruise ship in the background, parasailers dotting the sky, lots of beach goers littering the beach ...this is party central for the younger crowd! How to describe Patong.... An invasion of your senses, leaves you feeling winded, bewildered and in total awe of everything going on around you! Vegas meets tourist Mecca, meets the Rand Easter Show.... Bright lights flash bars, clubs are open....restaurants every other store, mixing first world, high class juxtaposed to a traditional Thai fish market, selling, crabs, lobster, shrimp and fish.... You are accosted at very step, an invite to their restaurant, to show you a dress, give you a massage..it is never ending! There are as many massage/spas as there are restaurants and clothing stores...entire streets as walkways to food courts, with really bad singers.... Men dressed as ladies ...scary!!! Some of them are beautiful!!! Their voices undeniably give them away.... And the fact that they check your husband up and down!!! lol so funny!!!
The crush of humanity is daunting as you make your way through the crowds...and this is off season....couldn't imagine being here in peak season!
The accosting continues to buy gimmicky toys, that spiral, and twirl and light up, the prices start at 500 Baht and as you walk away drop to 200.... And that's how it goes...a cacophony of sounds, from shrieking birds, little lemurs( I think that's what they were) , music pumping, and  throw in all the multi cultural people from around the world...overwhelming... The smell of the fish markets, to barbequed meats, to the jasmine the thai ladies were, smells I had no idea where they were coming from and not so pleasant either... It keeps you reeling, and wondering what's next. Yes, there were some very scary shows we were invited to, along with the rest of humanity....boards shoved in your face to read...saw one or two lines...enough to warrant a decade of nightmares.... :(
The fish spas are plentiful and of course I had to try one! Your feet are washed and dried and placed in a tank of water with a hundred or so two inch little fish, that latch themselves onto your submerged legs and feet.... Now I am not a ticklish person, in fact I loved being tickled...but that felt like pins and needles all over...incredibly ticklish until you get used to it, fascinating to watch...until I discovered something very disturbing...a BIG fish, a shark fish...in my tank, yes, the one I had my feet in...needless to say, my tootsies were no longer feeling as safe as they were a few minutes ago....so out came my feet...and horror or horrors...some of the fish were still attached to my legs and feet!!!! Arghhhhh! So after I had managed to splash half the tank of water out after extraditing  them off of me...I managed a clean getaway, with toes and feet and legs in one piece!!! Lol :)

We met some fellow South Africans at dinner :) unmistakable accent...  We walked, and popped in at various shops, before heading back to our quiet sanctuary in Surin....

Surin Beach, Thailand 1

Well, after a very rough 24 hours of travelling, including, crossing over 7 time zones, 3 separate flights and over 17  hours of flying time... We were fortunate enough to be given the four middle seats on the plane, so we were able to stretch out and sleep abit during the flight. We flew Korean Air , and boy did they take good care of us! They were continually feeding us and bring drinks and the air hostess were beautiful!!! beautifully dressed, not a hair out of place... I was a wee bit jealous! Lol

 We have arrived in the beautiful, tropical Thailand! We arrived just before midnight, and had already booked a place right by the airport, managed to sleep intermittently ...our bodies are pretty messed up right now! Lol it is ridiculously hot here! Loving it! 30ish degrees at 11 pm !!! 42 c with the humidex!

Currency here is Baht and is just under 30:1 to the Canadian dollar... Makes for a very inexpensive stay..for the most part! So we negotiated ( you need to do a lot of that here!) a taxi to Surin Beach, where we will be for the next few days. Our hotel is old, but charming, with every bit of Thailand flare...bamboo , palm trees, surround the pool area...wicker chairs, fans and tiles...all open concept throughout the lobby to the pool area.. We are about 300 m from the beach , cross the road, a walk through a park and you arrive on a thriving touristy beach front! Was not expecting that! It is beautiful though... The water is turquoise, crystal clear and as warm as bath water! Rock faces on both sides form an enclosure ,but by no means small.

We found ourselves a couple of umbrellas and 2 lounge beds and we were set for the day! :) :) :) in and out of the water, relaxing, reading, people watching... An Asian bride and groom , complete with white silk suit and full wedding dress, balancing on rocks for photos... They were back later on with different outfits and more photos... Priceless. A few older, unfortunate men, that had bought their Thai girlfriend for the week, flouncing around...yucky!!! :( what a shame...

Had cashew nut chicken at a little beach front restaurant and tried lemon pork...hmmm liked the chicken, but not the pork! You order cold drinks, they arrive iced cold and are warm by the time you can finish them..yup, it's that hot. Again swam, watched as all the merchants walk along the beach, selling their wares, everything from Buddhas, carved elephants, to bracelets, and clothing and Rolex watches! Lol

Apart from the spectacular beach and ocean, the creme del a creme....a Thai massage on the beach!!! :) :) :) unbelievable strength those little ladies have, they pulled and prodded, felt like I had had an involuntary yoga class when they were done! They use their elbows, bodies and feet...at one point she was standing on my upper legs, pulling my arms backwards..lol crazy stuff!! 300 baht( 10 dollars) yes, I will be back for more, mark my words! I felt like an new person again!

As the evening drew near, we started to head back, but not before stopping off at The Beach Club for happy hour Mia Tia's ...continued our wonderings along the walkway, past all the beachfront, open air restaurants and on the opposite side the shops, popped in and out , poking about. It overwhelms your senses, the heat, the heady smell of insense burning from the shrines that are scattered everywhere, the bbqing meat, the birds singings, the music, the thai voices, the vibrant colours surrounding you leaves you feeling you are truly in an exotic, third world country...

 Our return route took us through the locals hangout,  and one of the most interesting spots ...decided to try the sidewalk meat , and had the most delicious chicken kebabs and pineapple slushies, made from crushed pineapples... Absolutely Devine! We will be back :) ended the evening with a horrid headache:( went to bed early in the lovely air conditioning! :)  which of course meant we were up at the crack of dawn...no chickens or roosters involved though..lol

So by 6:30 am we were exercising on the beach, long walk, followed by swim in the ocean, came back to the hotel, did some lengths in the pool all before breakfast! And Douglas thinks we are going to keep this up...hehehe...I'm thinking it was a once off thing :) Anyways we have decided to stay another night here. We are contemplating renting a scooter for the afternoon/versus a taxi and taking a trip to Patong for the afternoon/evening. We have found out that the diving and elephant trekking are best done from up north, so we will be doing that next week.

Photos