I'm sitting at a internet cafe, the first one I've seen really, in Ban Phe..where we didn't actually mean to be! or really where does anyone mean to be ever!? ok - i'll start at the beginning although as usual with travelling - there really is no beginnings only the present - the complete and essential present...
our pick-up for the TEFL program yesterday, was at KFC in Bangkok, we were the first ones there, but obvious white (farang) backpackers started trickling in adn coming over to join us, about and hour later our pick-up arrived - luckily we got on the first shuttle because apparently the second one waited another two to three hours for theirs! our hotel isn't exactly in ban phe and isn't exactly a hotel but so it goes with thailand! the place we're staying at is inbetween ban phe and rayong which is partly our trouble today as we can't seem to get to a place in between only one or the other town! the hotel is really a type of residency but i haven't seen any thai living there yet...its a big high rise surrounded by very small hut like building all across from the beach - yep right across from the beach which is quite exciting
this morning we got up and walked out to find a few food stalls - where we got "breakfast" - which meant basically nodding at the woman and taking whatever it was she handed us - which ended up being a kind of papaya salad with a slightly spicy peanut sauce and vegetables - very tasty - across the street I lucked out with finding a cup of coffee - breakfast was comsumed on the beach where tables and chairs were aplenty and all costing roughly a dollar or so...after that we hopped onto a Songtheau (a small truck with a covering and benches along each side) which was not headed to Ban Phe as we thought but to the much larger Rayong - once we got there we ended up getting out in China town and had much fun meandering through many stalls and shops - I bought a cell phone for about 25 dollars since there is no internet access or phones really near where we are staying - there are a few other stories to tell from our day in Rayong but they must wait as the time is ticking quickly on this little digital timer next to me...wish us luck in our venture trying to get back to our hotel! by the way - moral of the story - never leave your hotel on the spur of the moment without really knowing how to get back to it!
