From Travellers to Shoppers

We were unable to venture too far in the morning as we had been told we needed to meet with a lady to confirm our transport back to the airport at 12.15 pm. So we decided to go for a massage. Lorraine and Cheryll decided on a foot massage, Keith and I on a Thai one. The ladies stayed downstairs while we were taken to a room upstairs by two young Thai girls who drew the curtains, darkened the room and …………… gave us a massage.

The meeting was nothing more than a sales pitch that we weren’t overly interested in.

The afternoon was spent in Patong Beach looking at the markets and finally we made our first purchase. Once the ice was broken there was no stopping us. Lorraine proved to be the barterer supreme and got the best deals but didn’t buy anything for herself.

The markets are interesting. It is like walking through a gauntlet with people coming at you from all angles. “You want buy this?” “tuk,tuk?” “Gidday mate you said you come to my shop today”. They try everything and anything to get you to buy their wares. Lorraine got told she was “a stingy New Zealander and Aussies were better.” for refusing to buy something. The same guy offered her a job working in his shop!!! It is all a big game that one can enjoy or let it get to you. After three hours of this we had had enough and decided to go back to the hotel.

Keith wasn’t feeling the best so he skipped dinner and stopped drinking after one beer. Scary thought eh? All of us were pretty stuffed so decided on an early night.

From Shoppers to Tourists
Wednesday
After a good night’s sleep it was time to play tourist. We hired a van and driver (Mr Ed) from the hotel and off we went. First stop the Wat Chalong Temple. A magnificent set of buildings especially the temple itself. Next was the Bang Pae Waterfalls. Though small they were worth the visit. At the falls there was also a gibbon rescue centre. This place had about 10 gibbons that had been either rescued from circus’s or were pets that their owners could no longer keep as they become quite aggressive in their teenage years. Our next stop was to be Promthep Point but as we were on our way the heavens open and we had a massive thunder and lightning storm so decide just go back to the Hilton.

The storm disappeared within 10 minutes of us arriving back so we went to town for lunch. After this Keith and I had a beer at a local while Cheryl went shopping and Lorraine had another foot massage. The local was really just a counter with seats on one side and a fridge on the other. Numerous beers later proved Keith had overcome his sickness and back to the person we all know. The girls behind the bar got themselves a meal from a passing vendor so Keith joined in and ate with them. They were most impressed with his ability to handle hot food. The rest of just watched and said no thank you.

With the sun shining and the temperature in the mid 30s it was time for a swim after our walk home. It was so refreshing and needed. We spent nearly an hour in and out of the pool.

Dinner was a BBQ Seafood Dinner. It was really nice with crab, crayfish, cockles, mussels and a number of different types of fish. The was also a full smorgasbord to choose from. Cocktails were ordered and reordered except for me who stuck to wine.