FRIDAY 8th NOVEMBER, 2013:
Well, I thought I was back home in England when I woke this morning and went out onto the balcony. It's exactly like an English hot summer's day today: 26º with drizzle. I have to say I have never known drizzle in Thailand before; it either chucks it down in bucket-loads or it doesn't... simple as that. Even Aom commented on it.
The grey and drizzly day has put the downers on what appears to be the school's annual sports day. As mentioned, our apartment overlooks a large school and playing field. We've noted that all week the school has been practising very noisily for this event with brass bands and screeching youngsters. But it's a little sad to watch them all on The Day slipping and sliding through the soaking-wet grass. However, as I write, their enthusiasm isn't dented and the noise from the cheers, loudspeakers, cheer-leaders and drums is not short of deafening.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON:
OK, the school's sports day's just finished and the rain has fallen throughout... poor buggers.
And here we go.... Thai lunacy pops up for another viewing. We noted that the grass was so wet that the kids were slipping and sliding and falling whilst competing in their various races. The kids have now gone and the idiot groundsman is back in action. What's he doing? Guess!!
YEP! You got it... he's got his big hosepipe out and he's watering the grass!!
unbelievable!!
SATURDAY 9th:
Time for a dose of reality.
It’s now early November and we have to start viewing our options depending on the outcome of Aom’s application for UK Settlement.
We do not expect an answer from the British Embassy until, at the earliest, the end of November. If a positive decision comes through before the 29th (the date of our booked return flights to UK) then all well-and-good, Khemjira will be with me.
A negative decision leaves only a limited number of options; namely:-
She can appeal. I have no idea how long this process takes. Applications made outside the UK and an application for a visa under the points-based system is refused, she will not have a full right of appeal. So that one is a non-starter.
Apply for a Family Visit Visa. 6 months is norm, but a 12 month visa can be applied for. This entails more form filling and support documentation; a route neither of us are wishing for (been there, done all that, bored with all that).
The problem with the latter is that the British Embassy still holds her passport and she cannot even think of travel until that is returned.
My visa expires on December 3rd and I have to return home. I will need to change Aom’s flight ticket to UK to an open-ticket (valid for 3 months) so if she gets a ++ decision, she can follow along. She is terrified at doing this as the only time she’s done long-haul is with me and the thought od doing this on her own is daunting for her.
If the decision is negative then she is faced with getting online, completing various forms and booking an interview at VFS in Bangkok. This, too, is daunting to her as she has always had me by her side when wading through the bureaucracy.
So, today, I have started the ball rolling by making a decision to leave Pattaya on the 27th November and move back to Bangkok for a few days.
I’ve also started to write a couple of support documents for a Family Visit Visa for her; I have to assume and plan for the worst case scenario.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON:
Down to Na Kluea again for a lounging-session and a swim for a couple of hours under the trees with our feet in the 27ºC surf (you've seen the pictures). Back for a shower around 16:00 then out in the evening downtown for a drink and a bite to eat.
SUNDAY 10th:
For once a typical Sunday. Up not-early and took a long stroll down Beach Road under the palm trees in the sunshine. Stopped off at a coffee bar in Pattaya Tai; an iced tea and a piece of cake for Aom and a large mochaccino for me (no cake).
Strolled back along Sai Song (Second Road), down Soi 8 and took a few ice-cold Singha beers and then up to the Pig and Whistle, a British-owned restaurant/bar with very comfy seating and BBC World News showing permanently on the wide-screen TV's (a little piece of England), for Sunday lunch; roast beef for Aom and roast lamb for me, both with roast spuds and all the trimmings.... great!
LEFT: Brunch on the beach. Very fresh shellfish and a hot corn followed by a dip in that there sea beyond.
RIGHT: Part of Na Kluea beach, north of Pattaya. Our usual dossing place, a small cove is just beyond the rocks in the background.
MONDAY 11th NOVEMBER:
We thought it time we popped over to one of the islands again; the first time since the sinking of one of the ferries last week.
So, down to the Port and it would appear a few lessons have been learnt. The smaller ferry out to Koh Larn was still a bit overcrowded but life-jackets were half-heartedly dished out and the Thai Coastguard were in evidence checking passenger numbers.
This boat dropped us off at Taewan but we didn’t fancy staying there so after a 10 minute walk we got a motorbike-taxi to Samae which is over the mountain to t’other side of the island.
To be honest, although the beach here was beautiful white coral sand and crystal-clear water, I wasn’t happy here. Way too many deckchairs crammed in everywhere and it felt like I was in Little Russia; there were thousands of them. They drink like fishes from mid morning and constantly puff away at disgusting little pencil-thin fags that stink.
Aom aboard the ferry with her now compulsory life-vest.
At 15:00 we decided we’d had enough and, in any case, it was uncomfortably hot with hardly any breeze. So, motorbike-taxi back to the ferry and this time, on the larger ferry (twin of the one that sank), lifejackets were given to each passenger personally and told to wear it. Also, a few disgruntled Russian passengers were turned away as the ferry had reached licenced capacity… amazing. I wonder how long this will last before apathy and greed sets back in?
Anyway, here's a couple of shots of Samae and a 3 minute movie of a motorbike-taxi journey to one of Koh Larn's beaches:-
ABOVE: Views of Samae from the hilltop. The 'Star-Trekky' looking building in the background has its roof completely covered in photo-cells. The movie's below.
TUESDAY 12th:
The escape from the clutches of Pattaya reached a climax today when we decided to get away for a few days.
It's Khemjira's Birthday on Saturday so I asked her where she'd like to go. Ko Wai or Ko Chang was her response. These are part of the Ko Chang Archipelago; a number of coral islands in south-east Thailand [see next page (24)]. A quick online session revealed the last available bungalow on Ko Wai, so that was snapped up straight away.
A trip down to a local travel bureau got the travel arrangements sorted out. This involves a taxi/minibus pick up from our apartment and a 4-hour drive to Trat port. This follwed by booking a place on the Panan Speed-boat ferry to the island. This takes 45 minutes at around 35knots but is very weather-dependent; so we'll have to hope for clement weather.
Tuesday evening we dined out at a local eatery preceded by a couple of beers. Clearly, Aom's dinner was not sufficient as she bought and tucked into some disgusting insect-food..... yuk!!
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TOP LEFT: This is Aom's evening snack; a mixture of grasshopper type things, grubs and God knows what else :-(
TOP RIGHT: A close-up of the dodgy dish.
BOTTOM LEFT: Yuk!
BOTTOM RIGHT: Even the guy on the TV behind is shocked at what she's eating. I'll leave you to it dear lady!
WEDNESDAY 13th: Quiet day. Spent the afternoon down in the cove. Got intoduced to a new colourful friend [photo].
A visit from a new colourful friend. "Who's a pretty boy then?"
Back to the apartment around 4:30pm and started to get things organised for tomorrow whn we leave for Trat.
Not much food in the fridge so we ate out locally. This was a good move as a massive thunderstorm swept in a wreaked havoc for an hour or so. Some very close lightning strikes.
THURSDAY 14th:
Up at crack of dawn (06:00 here) and out waiting for the minibus. Typical Thai, it was 40 minutes late, but we arrived at Trat around noon.
Bit of confusion as we were at the wrong ferry terminal. All other passengers were going to Koh Chang, the big island; we, were off to Koh Wai. Anyway, a chat to the minibus driver who agreed to take us the 10kms to Krom Luang Pier and the Penan Speedboat ferry terminal. This entailed a 4 hour wait until our boat left for Koh Wai. This was used up having a small meal in a nearby eatery and sitting down on the quayside writing this crap.
There we were waiting the last hour to board the high-speed ferry in the baking sunshine and gradually the skies over the mainland started to darken. Then the occasional rumble of thunder built up to a feasome electrical storm during which the heavens opened in bucket-loads right on 4pm when we were due to leave on a semi-open boat. The skipper did wait until the worst of the rain went away but the first 10 minutes on board this 35knot boat was saturating... but great fun. Eventually, the sun re-appeared as we wound our way through the gaps between the dozens of islands (some tiny and uninhabited) until we arrived at Ko Wai pier. We were the only two to disembark here; no idea which island they were going to.
Anyway, the rest on Koh Wai is on the next page....
