The 1993 Adventures of Cowboy Bob & Bonanza Jellybean in Thailand!

Wednesday February 3, Victoria - Canada

We both had a very restless night waking often. Don't know why maybe stage fright or something, Joann is having mixed feelings about abandoning her Dad and Sister even more than her Mom. I was up at about 7:00AM doing the last minute things that are always left to the last minute, especially for procrastinators like me. And the phone was ringing off the bloody wall, it figures just when we're in a hurry somebody wants to buy a sailboat. We were so rushed we didn't even get a chance to say good-bye to George and Gracie. The bald headed Bluebird Taxi driver had his tie on but it didn't quite reach his belt which he couldn't see over his immense round belly. A jolly fellow nice enough to help us up the stairs from the beach house with the bags, very heavy bags. He said "You must have fun carrying in the groceries." all the while looking as though a cardiac arrest was imminent.

The people at Northwest reservations had said on Friday, that because we held open return tickets, they were unrestricted and that changing the departure day was no problem and could be done at the Victoria airport at the time of departure. NOT! Well almost not. Three phone calls to Northwest and forty minutes later, the ticket desk attendant finally had printed us an all new ticket. All the time I'm feeling a tightness in my chest, like the last couple of days cleaning up all the loose ends one has to before heading off on a eight week vacation. Hope it's all accurate. Checked three bags all the way through to Bangkok, you know those hand written baggage checks that lets the baggage go from Victoria to Seattle change planes then on to Tokyo change planes then through some miracle end up on the luggage carousel in Bangkok. That left only six as carry on. Joann thinks this is getting a little out of hand but if we are only going to be at Pine Bungalows then the movement of bags won't that big a problem, he said.

I can feel the stress levels easing up already. The advance seat assignment came true we in fact were place

"...it's sort tastes like ah, hmm, cold spinach linguini dipped in weak soy sauce with wasabi and shaved green onions mixed in. A nice light snack"

Friday February 5, Bangkok - Thailand

arrived airport 1:00AM very tired
much more crowded than in previous years
no sign of any military control
taxi 350bt
Chan GH looks much more run down than it used to.
had to wake up Et, she thought we were coming on Saturday so back in a Tuk-Tuk over to the Viengtai Hotel 1200bt.
woke up at 7:00AM feeling a little like being drugged.
hot shower after a fashion.
breakfast at a local Orchid Guest House prices a little more
checked out glasses at the old same place "Sangtong optical, 191 Chakrapongse rd" ...new lenses for me and Jo 850 and 550, new plastic for big frames 1500 mai penn lai, Jo bought new sun glass frames, lenses not dark enough so get them done back home

Saturday February 6, Bangkok - Thailand

woke up wide awake at 2:30AM, played crib till 4:00AM, slept till 7:30AM, bad breakfast on Khaosan Road, the clientele hasn't changed.
figured we should look for a different GH.
bought bigger gold bracelet for Joann and bigger loops for me 8900+1350 minus trade 3850+450 equals 5050+900 or 5950bt.
back to the Viengtai to check out. ...fire escape locked. ...daddy big bucks tipped the maid and the porter 20bt.
Tuk-Tuk to Chan GH room with a view #34 7x9 it ain't the Viengtai but it ain't bad ...too bad the Chan GH has really gone down hill ...too much business going on and not much GH ...Some's baby is now 2 ½ yr. what a bulldozer ...Dah has a baby girl looks to be about 6-8 mths. happy happy ..."A" is now in college studying communications??? ...contact lenses looks more mature 20 yr. but still not a good communicator ...went by "metered cab" to the old palace with her, I think just to show us a good time, ma and pa have no time any more
feel like were putting in time just waiting for our glasses on Tuesday am.

Sunday February 7, Bangkok - Thailand

I hate tropical colds and I have a doosy you know the sore throat to start off then the plugged sinuses and the sweats lots of sweats
breakfast at the Truly Yours GH scrambled eggs brown toast
short walk down towards the river check out the River GH 80-100bt very clean very nice also the Villa GH very Japanesey looks very secure
lots of people doing the family Sunday thing. ...very friendly.

Monday February 8, Bangkok - Thailand

the dogs were in good voice at 4:30AM, the harmony was actually very good. ...couldn't get back to sleep so at 6:00AM headed down stairs to read the good old "Bangkok Post" the best world news. ...the whole country is booming ...the stock market is soaring ...Bangkok Ranch duck farm new enterprise. Jesus was robbed of his pp.
picked up our new glasses a day early so off to Khaosan Road to see if we can change ticket ...YES!! check out, gave Jesus our address, Khaosan Road 5:30PM wait for shuttle to southern bus terminal
Khaosan Road is such a zoo but a lot of people now are going to Vietnam now must be some weird fascination with the war years.
manger took us to the term in his car nice couple, talked about the new Bangkok growth, condos on the river sold out for 5,000,000bt ($250,000cdn)
only waited 10 min. for the bus to leave ...not like the 24 seat bus of three years ago but better than a Greyhound back home. seats 3-4 can't see though so mee mai penn ha ...German couple behind us ...boy thing monkey crying ...freeways ...flat tire ...fog no washers

Tuesday February 9, Krabi - Thailand

arrive 9:00AM ...new gate to town ...not much change at first glance
pine office now restaurant for Thai.. people ...Chung's wife is working there ...Som Pong retired to another office PP-Krabi tour has office in Singapore Bangkok Penang ...Bong still the same
Datsun pickup truck to the beach had 5, 2 foot sections of 80cm concrete culvert, then loaded two people in the front and six more in the back and all their baggage. Welcome to Thailand. ...the road is paved all the way to the Muslim village. ...thought it was going to be a horror show maybe end it all on one of the corners but all was well
Mr. Chung was up at the top to meet the truck and very surprised to see us, Lek still cooking up a storm looks great, health OK ...Ahm 2 ½, A stays with mother's sister in Krabi school days, beach on weekends. ...new front man Mr. Jop ...new prep staff O ...Mr. Verra have trouble with boat
David and Joy have been here since April 1992 in one of the two new bungalows ...David looks great as does Joy ...writing every day from 9:00AM till 1:00PM diving has taken second fiddle ...

Wednesday February 10, Krabi - Thailand

Talked to Angelic and Valerie from the north of France at breakfast
swim at before lunch
David Peoples and new wife Irene (German-Swiss) cam back from Ko Phi Phi Leh.
tour of David and Joy's bungalow, and discussions about the places left in the 2nd world to retire ...he has all his capital in liquid form with The Royal Bank of Canada money markets ...police arrive ...monsoon problems ...Verra and Julie politics
girl from old Pine Bungalows now a prostitute in Patong Beach, Phuket ...the bougainvillea and other flowers are incredible
David came for an ice cream with world map of travels and info about Costa Rica
The puppy Coconut, mother Bear, and sister Blackie ...curry squid for dinner

Thursday February 11, Krabi - Thailand

Joann had a very strange head ache
moved the hammock into the shade
the police seem to be making a lot of appearances yesterday and today ...apparently it has to do with Ban Sen the boatman selling gunja and a disgruntled farang that wanted him to supply some heroine and when he didn't the reported him to the local village for selling. He was caught with a kilo awhile back and now they are watching him like a hawk so they can get a bigger fine from some unsuspecting farang.
Our beach front bungalow #1 is 20 meters from the waters edge looking due west towards Ko Yai and Ko Noi islands just this side of the island of Phuket. The restaurant is 20 meters to the left so the trip for the "sodaa" is bearable. Joann just came out of the shower and commented on the wafting aroma of garlic.
It's 6:09PM so I'll bet they're preparing for the onslaught after the sunset in about 35 minutes. Strange thing about the times for sunrise and sunset in the tropics, the point at which it rises and sets moves along the horizon through out the year but the actual time doesn't seem to vary at all. I know that's not really surprising at all but I just never thought about it.

Friday February 12, Krabi - Thailand

It's such an amazing thing to wake up in the morning to the sounds of all of the birds and just lay there knowing that if you want, this will be the most important thing your going to do today and soak it in for as long as your little heart desires.
Today was a power day. Destination, the material stores in Krabi and then on to Joann's dressmaker and my tailor. Over the many years of coming to South East Asia we've managed to accumulate many pieces of material hopefully to be rendered into some type of garment at our leisure on our return home. Procrastination is the key word here. Yes, we still had a large array of material patiently waiting so we decided this would be an opportune time to have them finish their wait and brought them with us. So after the thirty minute ride to town in the back of the open Nissan pickup, bugs in teeth and grim on forehead, we enjoyed a typical Thai breakfast of squid-vegetable and crab-vegetable on rice. Then it was off to Mr. Assi my tailor whom I started using in 1988 when he made my now infamous "Pigs at the Boo Boo Bank" shirt. Thread bare but still a favorite. As usual Joann was the first in the door with no sign of recognition to a friendly "Sawadee ka" but the faces lit up as the familiar Mr. Bob came into sight. He swept aside the suit he was working on and wrote up my orders. We were even lucky enough to sneak in a couple of the dreaded "female" articles of clothing. Inconspicuous stuff like some blouses that faintly passed as small men's shirts. Wouldn't be to cool for word to get around town that he was making women's clothes. He drew the line when the first dress appeared, even though Joann had that "Oh please" expression on her face. He does do a very good job and charges less money than the dressmaker, mai penn lai. A pickup date of February 20th was settled on and we headed over to Pissamai the dressmaker. No lack of recognition here, from Pissamai or her staff yim yai all around. She's a short business women and whether she knew it or not she had us as a captive audience because we weren't about to go around town to get a better price or risk the trial of a new unknown. So bargain as we tried we finally relented to the 1993 price increases knowing that it was still a hell of a lot cheaper than if Joann was to have it done in Canada. 16 various skirts and dresses for a total of $185.00cdn is still a good deal.
Baguette and Camembert
Back to Pine at 4:40PM, the plan was to wash the dirt off with a quick cool dip but Joy intercepted us to say that David had shot a large Red Snapper (about 3 kilos) and would we like to share it with him? Would we? What time? 7:30PM will be fine. Tom Yom the head and BBQ the rest sounds delightful. And it was. Good conversation with David and Joy nattering about feeding the dogs at the table.

Saturday February 13, Krabi - Thailand

On my early long walk down the beach with the two sister dogs I kept thinking of what it would be like to live in Thailand. I think the biggest fear, no fear is the wrong word maybe hang-up is the monetary uncertainty. That is to say would the amount of money we have be enough?
Joann cut my hair, half inch all over
met some Aussies, discussed zoos
jack fish cumin
David is coming out of his self imposed shell

Sunday February 14, Krabi - Thailand

Mr. Jop greeted all the ladies with a "Happy Valentines Day." Joann didn't show up until around 9:30AM with card in hand. She never forgets (Simba) and is so upset if others do. That's why the trip to the Post Office took a little longer than she had said. "For.... Someone Special. Time flies, sun rises and shadow falls. Let time go by, love is forever... over all." was the inscription on the outside. Joann had added "Roses are red, Violets are blue, I've got a Toblerone for you." and she did.
Spent the day doing nothing much, a little floating on the air mattresses working on the tan slowly.

Monday February 15, Krabi - Thailand

early bus to town, much checking to make sure no one is escaping without paying, also first on list first to go.
hot sweaty day, hammock, diet coke, tapes, post office, headache.
Mr. Bob's in the kitchen, Mr. Bob style pla moouk, Joy's version of coconut cream mmm!!! Mr. Chung says he'll do Humoouk tomorrow yum yum.
most amazing sunset yet, photos of Lin and her three month old baby, she helps in the kitchen, hubby is the yard man.

Tuesday February 16, Krabi - Thailand

Up at 7:00AM, read the Bangkok Post in the new hammock which turned out not too bad. I am to cook "Eggs Benjamin" for David this morning at 8:30AM so can relax for an hour or so. doesn't seem to be much of a stir from the restaurant yet anyway. They might be running a little late. Heard crazy Mike and the other German contingent still going strong at 1:00AM.
Anyway, while I was finding out about the latest in the Thai rice and prawn markets, a small long tail boat that was passing rather closer to shore than usual started to turn in towards the beach. Not just any part of the beach but our part, Pine Bungalows part. As the three Thai occupants landed my imagination go the best of me, fantasizing all sorts of scenarios as to why they were here. Everything from murderers to robbers, maybe having seen our riches or something. Maybe villagers come to further harass Mr. Chung for not having lent them the money they requested just before bungalow number 20 was set fire to in the middle of the night three weeks ago. Some one at the time had commented to the occupant "How unlucky that you bungalow burned." Her reply was "I think I am very lucky, I woke up." Where was I? Oh yes, the Thai boat people. Of course nothing was amiss at all, these were, just as any sane person would have expected, three fishermen come to sell their night's catch; four, 2 kilo Barracuda and two, 15 kilo Basking Sharks. I thought "Mmm, sweet and sour or maybe BBQ shark for dinner tonight."

Wednesday February 17, Krabi - Thailand

Deep Space Seventeen

Thursday February 18, Krabi - Thailand

still working very hard on a slow non skin cancer tan, decided to push the exposure not unlike pushing film. Floated on the lie-low for 45 minutes each side. A nice pink tinge on the front must be a different ASA maybe 400, the back seemed to be OK for the time being. Joann kept asking the time cause she did want her ASA 1000 breasts to end up crispy. Me neither cause then they might be too tender to touch let alone fondle. The wind was westerly, not too strong, maybe about 15 knots (I wonder where the term knot came from). It managed to move all the warm surface water for the whole bay onto our beach. Must have been 30 Deg. I even asked Rick if he concurred which he did. Soup no, clear broth yes.
After a leisurely delightful afternoon of reading and lounging, a cold, well good ol' Luke Warm water actually shower felt wonderful. The sunset was made to order for Rick's last night at Pine Bungalows. He does lighting in the London theater so it was very apropos to have all the salmon and lavender shades mixed with the azure blues and with wisps. He said that it could never be reproduced with all the right gels and if anyone was to manage to recreate it no one would believe it anyway.
Rick had borrowed a mask from DL for his trip to Ko Khai and said for him to drop in for a Mekong or ice-cream or a Singha, so we pulled two tables together
fried Barracuda for me, ginger shark for Joann.
roses from Haad Yai.
kindling from the local village via the Pine driver 500bt.

Friday February 19, Krabi - Thailand

tried for a double exposure, the pink had faded And I did love that crinkly skin feeling so much that I did it all again

Saturday February 20, Krabi - Thailand

"Krabi Krabi 10 minutes!" We left ten minutes late and some people have bus connections at 9:30AM to Phuket or maybe Surat Thani, so Mat will have to speed now to make up the time. Hang on there Bobbalouie! The steering is about a half a turn slack. It's not to bad when your going in a straight line, but the slightest turn and it's all over the road. Transportation is a little like Russian Roulette.
The timing of our itinerary was critical if we were to make the departure time of 11:30AM back to the Pine Bungalows. Joann stopped for breakfast at the Pine office while I headed off to see Mr. Som Pong about the video. Next stop was the optical shop to see if they could fix Joann's sunglasses. One of the arms had broken off right at the hinge so the plan was (a)...buy anew set of frames that had compatible hinges and use the temples. (b)...buy a new set of frames that had the same shape lenses. (c)...buy a new set of frames that the old lenses could be reshaped to fit. Well when I walked into the place the owner's response to my "Sawadee Krup!" was about as friendly as if he'd been accosted by every ugly tourist in South East Asia. I tried to explain plan "A", but each time he just pulled the frames away and said "No good." After several unsuccessful attempts to make him understand what I wanted to do which I thought was a pretty simple short term solution. I just said that he should "...eat shit and die!" and walked out. I didn't really say that but I'm sure my less than cheery exit didn't have a positive effect on his obvious negative opinion of Farangs. Such is the evolution of society. Mai penn lai! Joann had now finished breaky so we went to get on with the tasks at hand, next was the post office/telecommunications office. With the final minutes of the tape to Florence complete I packaged it in the 5bt size pseudo Australian cardboard shipping box and posted it airmail 160bt. After a little reassuring that things would be okay back home and that she wouldn't feel shitty or depressed, we went upstairs to call her dad. Ran into Bow (as in bow wow) who was obviously still working at the Telephone Co. His back was to us, reading the newspaper in the tradition that is the same to all telephone employees all over the world. I chanced it and said "Bow!" to which he reeled around maybe feeling guilty for reading the newspaper unlike us at home would, screwed up his face and searched his memory banks for any recognition which must have been confused with the recent loss of hair on my part. But it only took 10 seconds and he had it. Truly amazing and such a coincidence, well maybe not. How many telephone employees can there be in Krabi anyway.
other glass shop ...pens.
tailor
bank
market, mush, green curry
market again with Mr. Jop
motor cycle with Mr. Jop.
another red snapper with David sans electricity

Sunday February 21, Krabi - Thailand

chicken island, 12 boats, thai tourists, not too many fish, mars bar
AouPranang, Dusit Thani, rock climbing
Ya-Ya, Mr.. Gouw
the man at Railai village
Bow and bro, gems, land and house,
green curry with David and Joy
the politics of goats and dogs and Muslims

Monday February 22, Krabi - Thailand

phone home
the sound of choppers, kings palace in Krabi

Tuesday February 23, Krabi - Thailand

discovered flea bites on my balls, 15
chips and prawns for lunch, flip flops, fruit salad for dinner

Wednesday February 24, Krabi - Thailand

clouds coming and going making the day cool with the sea breeze
David shot a barracuda right in front of the bungalows
the exactness of a ceaser salad is discussed at length
Chung talks about the old times, his business dealing with Mr. Gift
dinner curry squid and prawn with fried veggies in oyster sauce and steamed rice
David and Joy came over with a plate of something and put in the ice cream freezer. Joy put down David's beer stein and the cooler of ice, put three cubes in the mug, poured a small Singha then disappeared into the kitchen.
I mentioned that I hadn't seen Coconut all day and David that yes he too had been wondering about Coconut's whereabouts since the last time he had seen her was at 4:00AM especially because Blackie had come back from somewhere with a terrible limp. After some discussion the, worst was suspected, the Muslims must have lured Coconut away and killed him. Maybe Blackie had been injured trying to protect the pup who knows, we'll probably never know. It's such a shame, life is so cheap here in South East Asia.
Joy came out of the kitchen with a plate with four slices of brown toast. David retrieved the small plate from the f4reezer which turned out to contain some lime sections, two patties of butter and low and behold smoked barracuda. Yikes what a treat

Thursday February 25, Krabi - Thailand

the return of Coconut
Joann backgammon champ with Mr. Chung

Friday February 26, Krabi - Thailand

truck too full, we had to stay, let them off the hook
black tip shark
lunch here or in Krabi "tous chez"
trip to Krabi was very dangerous, Mat falling asleep
dressmaker not ready, some shopping, ride back is better with Keow and A riding in the front.
David's persona seems to be "evolving"
tales of Vietnam

Saturday February 27, Krabi - Thailand

spent the day doing nothing but backgammon and lounging
talking to Mr. Chung about old people versus previous customers
Canadian, Lou from Hamilton

Sunday February 28, Krabi - Thailand

Guess Lou didn't like the "old people"
private tour with Mr. Pong of the new Andaman Holiday Resort, 2000-3200bt , next to the port facility ???
"Bob your friend is here" who??? I hear Arlene in the back ground, my God what can go wrong, Joann thinks that for sure her mother will die and we'll have to head home in the next few days. Luckily it's Glen Dunks and a friend named Arlene. good reunion

Monday March 1, Krabi - Thailand

woke early to the sounds of much laughter Ingrid, Joseph and Udo partied till the truck left at 6:00AM. I thought it was very inconsiderate to Mr. Jop but in the morning I found out that good old Mr. Jop had stayed up till 3:00AM
decided to wake Joann to go to Krabi, too much to do for one person
talked about all the scary things that could be dangerous here at Pine Bungalows, Arlene went to bed a little nervous Glen said we shouldn't be so hard an her, she takes it to heart. Funny after being Borneo thing would bother her. Loves animals to a fault.
Irene has an infected navel.

Tuesday March 2, Krabi - Thailand

On the way into Krabi to get bread and cheese Mat was dozing behind the wheel again so I slapped his knee "Wake up you can sleep later" he wasn't too bad after that. I drove back.
David came over to the restaurant to see Mr. Chung about borrowing a chair... and later to me for an old shoe to train Coconut with shock dee
...monkeys climbing trees for coconuts.

Wednesday March 3, Krabi - Thailand

...we have a confirmed six for the tour tomorrow
...wild discussions with Glen while floating out on the lie-lows about sexuality of gays etc. now that he's out of the closet with us.
...stopped to talk to Lara and Mark at the outside table, AIDS paranoia, writing a letter for Pla Sit

Thursday March 4, Krabi - Thailand

...Up at 6:00AM David and Irene seemed as if they wanted to go.
..."Bob's Tours" headed off at 9:10AM, driver Phra Chet no English. Mr. Bob as tour guide, Pa Jo as assistant, Glen-Glen and Arlene from New York, Marc (Aussie), Laura (South African), Nana (Denmark)
...feeling very good, calm and no light headedness, able to have dinner and stayed up till 9:00PM

Friday March 5, Krabi - Thailand

...5:53AM still have atrial fib, that's fourteen and half hours, but feeling very good even have to check the pulse sometimes to see if I'm actually in AF. The thoughts go through the mind. will this be the time that it doesn't convert if that day ever comes, etc.
...in to Krabi
...glen's pajamas
...Mr. Som Pong made good deal for Glen for train and mini bus
...Joann's dressmaker "Piss-me-off" only had four of the five skirts ready and none of the three dresses so Joann had to go over to my tailor and plead her case. He took them and said he would have someone phone to Pine Bungalows with a price and a date.
...I drove home

Saturday March 6, Krabi - Thailand

...letter from Dad and Vye, left home on the February 24th
...chicken island with Glen and Arlene

Sunday March 7, Krabi - Thailand

...Mr. Chung went to Trang to have surgery on a sebaceous cyst and see his family for a funeral anniversary of his father ...and search for sticky rice and mangos and king prawns for us to feel like Kings
...the last supper

Monday March 8, Krabi - Thailand

...big rain around noon for two hours, I drove with 13 and baggage in the Nissan to Krabi at 1:00PM a few spits of rain but nothing ever materialized. Big truck on it's side on the outskirts of Krabi.
...Joann's skirts were ready but piss-me-off wasn't there.
...over to the tailor, pajamas looked great, back to say goodbyes to Glen
...look for some more material for ss-shirts and Thai fisherman's pants, Joann's got me in a black rut
...quiet evening without Glen, Arlene is no loss.
...try to talk David p into going home.

Tuesday March 9, Krabi - Thailand

...Mr. Chung went back to Trang to have his arm checked out, David and Irene went to get her stomach looked at by a real doctor. They arrived back later than expected about 2:30PM. Irene had had surgery to have the thing drained.

Wednesday March 10, Krabi - Thailand

...free range chicken at 7:30AM
...vegemite and four brown toast for Marc
...had planned to go to the local village to take some videos of the school kids but no electricity to charge the batteries.
...cut my hair for the third time down to the No.1 hair trimmer maybe shave it next, woo scary movies eh?
...swim time, actually float time wonderful turbulent black skies maybe a rain if we're lucky
...bathed Coconut
...the boat trip to Ko Phi Lea was not a profitable venture today. Ban Sen had to be towed back, the propeller came off. 600bt tow and 1000bt to fix. Mr. Chung not so happy with the lack of business. This time last year 100% full this year less than 50%. Why??

Thursday March 11, Krabi - Thailand

...went to the local village to video Mr. Blop at the school, Mr. Bob at the blackboard. testing exercises in the field under the shade of a palm tree
...went to the local store, then walked through the squatters row
...checked out the weather station
...said goodbyes to Lara and Mark
...played backgammon with Mr. Chung in the afternoon, he's so good. it's very quiet now, David and Joy should be back with the infamous Durian from the big Hat.
...took the Honda (no license plate) to the near by Baan to the Thursday market, video bought black sticky rice for Joann and black crab for dinner 20bt 1 kilo, key no fit, over to Auo Nang , big change
...young English speaking boy was asking where he could wash his hands in the kitchen. on my way to take the dirty dishes out to the wash area I said I would show him. He said his name was Zeb and that he was from Victoria, small world
...decided to rent a car for a day to do some more intimate exploring of some of the back roads tomorrow, asked Mr. Chung the best place to rent the car (Suzuki mini 4x4) he said Oh you want to go to Trang, maybe I can go with you...

Friday March 12, Krabi - Thailand

...had breakfast with the Canucks ...cone shell ...crepes ...Angus, Jan, Zebula and Marrin
...David asked if he could talk to me about a small emergency, 20,000bt for David Peoples
...Joy brought over some mango and stinking rice mmm.
...relaxing day not doing to much of anything
...talked to Riener, Volkswagen 95,000Km
...the Canucks are not Joann's style as Mr. Chung would say
...talked to Carlo the German fellow who has struck our nosey nerve. He's been trying to find a thai girl to go to Ko Lanta with him, Mr. Chung has a very thai philosophy about it. ...talked to Mr. Chung about the differences in wood products for building houses and boats, Hans said his was teak but Mr. Chung says maybe not.
...tasted our first Durian courtesy of David and Joy ...creamy, not too stinky ...interesting ...250bt softball size

Saturday March 13, Krabi - Thailand

...had a trying breakfast with the Canucks, again.
...I'm bored, so I think I'll go to town to keep our appointment with the tailor.
...Angus just happened to have a list
...I drove, tailor successful ...flight from Surat to Bangkok 1810bt so think we'll VIP bus it ...forgot that the Post Office is closed on Saturday afternoon ...the price of gold is the same here as Bangkok Carlo is hanging out at Mr. Som Pong's place looking for a liaison no doubt Mr. Som Pong gave me a Buddha that he got from the Tiger Cave Temple complete with a little prayer for it or me I'll have to ask him ...didn't rain in town, and just missed it on the way back ...

Sunday March 14, Krabi - Thailand

...starting to get tired of Pine Bungalows, maybe tired is the wrong word, just restless ...so have moved our date to return to Bangkok up to the evening of Friday the 19th and fly out of Thailand on Thursday the 25th

Monday March 15, 1993

...rented car to go to Trang ...no license ...driving thai style ...breakfast ...pass Lek's house ...communists ...zoo ...Julie, catholic school ...Irene's room nice ...crazy to come back to Pine Bungalows so soon ...asthma medicine ...elevator ...waiting room ...lunch at Chinese restaurant ...price of gold down ...market good fun ...king prawns 120bt/kg ...tobacco seller ...black rice ...everybody happy with pork prawns ok but good price cause farm ...

Tuesday March 16, 1993

...took car back ...Bow let us phone Northwest Airlines for free (200bt for 10 min.), only flight on Mar 23 that means we have to leave on the 19th yikes!! ...bus to Bangkok VIP 24 seat row 6 B-C ...truck back to Pine Bungalows raining, not too good for Joann's cold
...dinner with David and Joy, and David and Irene