Well, there's a bit to cover about the last two days.
I got to Thailand late Saturday night, the plane was delayed in Tokyo so we arrived about a half hour later than expected. Fortunately I had prepaid for my hotel room when I booked online so it wasn't going to get cancelled. However, the hotel was full and when I checked in they gave me the key card and said the room was the biggest in the hotel and I shouldn't expect that room again if I stayed in future.
Turns out it wasn't a suite but a disabled room, and pretty spartan. The place has been renovated recently and smells of freshly assembled IKEA furnishings. If you've ever put a desk or bookcase from there together you'll know what I mean.
The next morning I had a shower, to cater for wheelchairs there was no separate shower stall, just an open plan bathroom and drain, which was blocked, causing a flooded bathroom. I had to dam the doorway with towels to stop water getting out into the main room.
I complained that morning and asked for another room, which was arranged for later in the day when I got back from my trip with Three and her friends.
So at first we arranged to meet at 11, then the daytrip was cancelled so I started to think about something else to do, but before I could decide on anything I got another message saying it was back on for 12.
Three turned up with her boyfriend and his best friend. We drove out to Hua Hin, the royal beach resort i.e. when the king wants to go to the beach he has a palace there. As a result it's a military town as well, to protect the king there are soldiers stationed all around.
On the way we stopped at a temple with a giant statue of a famous old monk, I think he was famous for living longer than anyone thought reasonable (or possible). Then afterward we went to an army base to get fuel. Turns out that Three's boyfriend knows an officer who gave him some of his fuel quota as we were on the way to visit him and his family. They siphoned fuel the old fashioned way and the guy doing it got a mouthfull of petrol. It took 4 or 5 trips back to the drum to fill the 4x4 tank.
We saw the guy and his family and then they took us out to a hotel on the beach to look around. Turns out the Thai army have built a hotel on a piece of land they own and anyone can stay there, soldiers get a 50% discount though. It's a money making thing, I guess they don't get funded enough.
Afterward we stopped at a beachside restaurant for dinner. Out on the harbour were some warships, apparently they are only there if the royals are in residence so I guess the king, or at least a princess must have been staying close by.
Got home around 9:30 or 10 and the guys said they wanted to take me out the next evening. I said that was very nice of them, sure why not. Famous last words.
The new room was ready as promised, a nice moderately sized standard room with separate shower etc. Very content.
Monday I slept as much as I could, I only got 6 or 7 hours in total over friday and saturday night. Then I met Brooke for lunch, she's another classmate from Deakin and a friend of Three's. We had a nice lunch and she suggested I go to see the Jim Thompson house. He was an American who founded a silk company and exported to the US and the world, apparently he's responsible for making Thai silk famous in the west. It was all very interesting, but by this time I wasn't feeling too good, and by the time the tour was over I really just wanted to get back and sleep. I was having some stomach trouble, which I always seem to get when I fly overseas, I theorise the changing air pressure does something weird to me.
I got back to the hotel at close to 5 pm, and my room wasn't yet cleaned, though the door was wide open and the cleaners were up the hallway with the cart. I waited for 10 minutes or so, but then got sick of it and shut the door with the do not disturb sign out. I put in earplugs and got some sleep. Woke up feeling a bit better, but after going for a walk to do some shopping for bathroom stuff (mini travel sized shaving cream etc.) and getting a strawberry milk and a pastry from the 7/11, I started to feel dodgy again.
Back to the hotel to eat the pastry and try to relax. I took a shower and used the internet (to play this stupid Facebook game Tony Flowers got me hooked on). Before long it was 10pm and the guys were here to take me out.
In the car they ask some things like "Three says you don't like to go out at night, is that true?"
So I answer as best I can, "I don't like nightclubs" etc.
Then they ask if I ever heard of a 'coyote club', so I say "you mean like in the movie 'Coyote Ugly'?"
Yes apparently. So they took me to a place called The Pent, a private hostess club. We went in met Nadia, whose job seems to be making sure clients are happy, and then looked around. There were two rooms, the first was like a lounge bar with a stage and live music, the second was not fired up yet, but seemed to be a table top dancing area, there were lots of empty table areas and 30 or 40 girls sitting around the back and no other customers.
The guys asked me where I wanted to sit (which room), so we went back to the lounge. By now I am feeling a little uncomfortable. Then they start saying that we can ask girls to come and sit with us, any girl you see that you like the look of you can ask over and they'll sit and talk. I tried to stall and said maybe later. Tey ordered some food and due to my stomach I didn't eat much. By now I'm being a complete wet blanket, I'm not feeling comfortable, I feel a little sick anyway and then as time drags on I start to shiver as I get really cold. The girls in the place are wearing tiny flimsy dresses etc and don't seem to be bothered, so it was probably just me.
Admittedly the young ladies all seemed to be extremely attractive, not that I looked at anyone for more than a brief glance in passing for fear that someone would assume I wanted to invite her over. The guys talked to Nadia and she seemed to be getting a little frustrated, in an attempt to break the ice she snuck up and kissed me on the cheek which caught me by surprise, but I just didn't know how to react. Eventually the guys stopped trying to get me to pick a girl (they wouldn't choose someone unless I did) and asked if I was getting bored. I said not bored (the band was very good) but uncomfortable. So they said we should probably go.
Originally it was supposed to be a 10 till 2am thing, but we were out by 11:30 so we were there for maybe an hour and fifteen minutes.
When i got back to the hotel I looked the place up on the internet and found some details, apparently it costs 300 Baht for each 15 minutes you are with a girl, and the membership is based on whiskey, you buy 10 bottles of whiskey to get membership and then the girls help you drink it. So I guess to keep your membership you have to keep buying whiskey.
Now I don't want to come off as a moral crusader, it's apparently all talking and flirting and hanging out with some nice looking girls who get paid to be friendly, but not 'that' friendly.
However, I don't like bars and nightclubs at the best of times, going to a place like this just made me really uncomfortable. It takes a long time for me to feel comfortable enough to talk to someone, and this wasn't ever going to work.
I think the guys assumed that I was spinning a line of BS to the girls (I mean Three and Brooke) when I said I didn't like clubs etc. But unfortunately it's just the simple truth. I felt kind of bad for them, they just wanted to show me a fun time. Although when they said that they usually end up sitting alone talking to each other at this place I found it highly improbable.
So we left, Nadia came outside to say goodbye which I'm sure she does for all her clients and while we waited for the car they teased me about her a bit. Asked me if I wanted her to guide me around Bangkok the next day, which, even if it were a genuine offer, would be extremely boring for her and kind of weird for me. So I chose not to take that offer seriously.
So, that's it so far. I know there's a lot of space devoted to the slightly more than an hour this evening, but it was an experience worth repeating and it only just happened, I came back to the hotel and started writing, so now I should get some sleep.
bye
