The road from Khuraburi to Khao Sok passes through the town of Takua Pa, where we indulge in delicious roti with savory and sweet accompaniments. But first, one more warm shower. Continue reading »
From the Greenview, we head East, from the shores of the Andaman Sea to those of the Gulf of Thailand. Along the way we’ll visit a huge park on a man-made lake, smaller markets and towns, and other attractions less visited by Western tourists. Will we be sufficiently amused to go nearly a whole week without snorkeling? Continue reading »
I thought I might be running late when I dropped into the dining room at 7:32, but apparently I was the first to show. I ordered the rice porridge with pork meatballs (“boiled rice” on the menu, “joke” in casual Thai) and doctored it with the available vinegar, ground dry chillies, and white pepper. When I later mentioned to Kasma and Michael that I wished I had brought a smaller bag for the lake trip, they lent me a bag. As they removed a couple of kilos of shrimp paste I realized that there would be a certain fragrance. I treated the inside of the bag with Rick Steves’ Quick Fresh spray (not entirely effectively) and set it out to dry. Continue reading »
“No hot water.” I eyed the earnest young man from the hotel staff incredulously and repeated “No hot water today.” He gave me the wai — the partial bow with hands pressed together — and departed. Not wanting anyone to lose face, I let him go, my resort fantasy in ruins. As I typed out some notes Friday morning, the room appeared to be swaying. I didn’t have anything to drink Thursday night, so I thought it might have been the residual effect of our somewhat rough ocean voyages the past few days, like the odd feeling you have after returning from an ocean cruise. Maybe a cold shower would help? Continue reading »
Monday, January 17, 2005 — Ranong
Over breakfast at the Palm Court, we were disappointed to learn that our snorkel trip to Koh Surin had been delayed, not least because we immediately had to re-pack for a very different trip to Khao Sok. But we were pleased to learn that we were moving on, and that there was reason to hope that the park service would have Surin’s beaches cleaned up to its satisfaction well before we would be leaving Thailand. For those keeping notes, we had a somewhat traditional breakfast of rice porridge with a wide variety of “stuff” on the side. I ordered combination B, which came with three plates of strong-flavored dishes that could be eaten with or added into the porridge. These were Chinese sausage chunks stir-fried with vegetables, salted fish (not my favorite) stir-fried with vegetables, and thin pieces of fish (or was it chicken?) sauteed in a slightly sweet yellow sauce. The portions seemed immense for breakfast, but we would need the energy! Continue reading »