Day 25: Saturday 18th July
We were up and out at about 11am, and we walked(!) to a small shopping centre that we'd never been to before. The receptionists looked at us like we were insane when we said we were going to walk there, but it only took us about 15 minutes, with the help of a dodgy map on Kirsty's phone. We managed to find somewhere to eat a relatively normal breakfast- with no rice in sight. I ordered a club sandwich and a chai latte. Ive never been so happy to see bread before! It was delicious, with a perfect soft-yolked egg inside it.
 |
| Mmmm, bread |
We had a wander through the tiny shopping mall, which just had a few shops and some market stalls. I bought some lovely undies- you don't kneed to know much more about that, apart from the fact they were a right bargain and it made me very happy! From there, we attempted to find a taxi/tuk tuk/bus/ camel to take us to the university swimming pool. We walked a bit then waited a bit then walked some more and finally came to the conclusion that we weren't going to manage it, due to the sheer amount of stand-still traffic. So we walked about 10 minutes along the busy road to the main Central Plaza, where Jess lost her shoe in the road and nearly died before we hopped into a tuk tuk. The tuk tuk driver also appeared to be bored with the traffic, so he drove most of the way there on the other side of the road, swerving into gaps in the traffic when there was an oncoming lorry or car. To be honest, it probably saved us about half an hour and it was also hugely thrilling, knowing you could die any second... I laughed the whole way there, anyhow!
 |
| Happy Kirsty |
Once we had survived the journey and reached our destination, we were surprised to find an empty pool, apart from about 10 other English women! The sun was shining, and only hid behind the odd cloud. Finally, we got the sun and pool that we wanted! Because of the clouds, I didn't wear any sun cream. Of course, I knew that this was probably a bad idea, but at the same time I really wanted/ needed some colour! So after a day of not feeling too hot in the pool and whilst sunbathing, I was looking pretty pink!
 |
| Synchronised divers |
 |
| Not quite.. |
We bought iced Thai red tea from a street vendor and got into a taxi to go in search of some food. The taxi man was an absolute delight, who spoke enough English for us to have a hilarious chat with him about finding women and being free like a 'butterfly'. He kept doing a little butterfly hand action which cracked us up, and even when he had dropped us off, I looked back and he was still doing the butterfly sign to me through the window. What a cheeky guy! We went to our favourite farang bar, Didnes, and ordered yummy western food. Burgers for the girls, steak for me. Afterwards, I whooped Kirsty at pool and we went in search of a night market.
 |
| Steak <3 |
By now, the sky was getting dark and the market was lit by glittery lights and individual stall's lamps. There were loads of stalls, selling jewellery, leather, clothes, flowers, shoes, food and animals. Unfortunately, there were many dogs and small animals in cages who looked petrified, sitting under blazing bright lamps. We wanted to buy them simply to give them a good home! We tore ourselves away from the furry cuties and only purchased some small bits of jewellery. We were half way through he market when the heavens opened and everyone went a little bit crazy! Everyone ran for their mopeds and dived into tuk tuks, so we also made our way to find some kind of transportation. After a while of standing in the rain waiting, we decided to stay, 'cos YOLO! (Or YOTO - You're Only in Thailand Once!) and soon after, the rain stopped. We bought bubble teas for 50p (in the UK they cost an average of about £4) and after looking at every single stall, we made our way back.
Jess felt a little bit sun-stroked so she stayed in whilst Kirsty and I went back out in search of some other ETAs and also our other friends- Daiquiri and Beer. We ended up going to a strip club, which was quite a strange experience! It was like a normal club, but instead of a dance floor, there was a run way and some balconies where nearly naked girls would sway awkwardly to the fast music. We were taken to a table by our waiter and ordered some overpriced drinks. Every now and then, the pimp - yes, the pimp- would come round and check that you were ordering drinks and lining his pockets. Every song was remixed with crazily fast rave style music, which the audience seemed to love! This included middle aged women, young men, old men, and everything in between. The old guys next to us had some of their own strippers, who rubbed their tiny bodies upon the men, old enough to be their great granddads. It was sad to see these young girls, who didn't appear to be enjoying themselves, in such a vulnerable position. For their sake, I hope they were enjoying themselves.
 |
| The awkward sway |
 |
| Hiya |
After this we went to another bar, where the first thing I saw was an older western guy being twerked upon by a younger Thai lady. Turns out, they were a couple, so unlike in the strip club, it was more acceptable! I got talking to said guy, who happened to be about 65 years old and Australian. We had a bit of a deep chat, and the only bit I can really remember is this (because I wrote it down!):
"You only have one life; enjoy it and love it. You only have one heart; be careful who you give it to."
We were going to go to U Bar, where we went a few weeks ago, but it was 3am and they had just closed. It had also started to rain, so what did we do? Sat outside at a little bar/hut called 4AM Bar. We were all given umbrellas, so there we were, sitting in the rain with yet more beer sharing umbrellas and getting wet bums. We got talking to another guy who happened to be from Reading, where I go to uni. He had been pleasant enough until he said something slightly controversial which got all the girls riled up, so unfortunately we had a bit of a bad end to the night by arguing beneath the umbrellas for a while. I was happy to get into bed, but was dreading how I'd feel in the morning. Beer is bad, folks.
Peace,
Olivia
Post a Comment