Enter Hua Hin

We decided to venture south by train to the Gulf of Thailands coastal town of Hua Hin. It is described in our travel book as being the weekend retreat for the Royal family. We walked over to the train depot from our guesthouse to catch a 7:19 am ordinary train to Nam Pla Duk where we change to the Southern Line to take us to Hua Hin. Trains here are older and simple , much like what I would imagine trains in America to be like 50 years ago. Very basic in that they are simple bench seating with forward and rear facing seats. The windows are pulled down for cooling and tree limbs occasionally reach in at 50 mph so you don’t want to hang an arm out for fear of being lashed. We found this out quickly when we passed through a particularly narrow pass and the train car erupted in a shower of leaf confetti. Unsure of what to expect we brought water and muffins to snack on however the train was loaded with food and drinks brought by in baskets by staff. It seems that the array of goods offer would rival any market. The train ride to Nam Pladuk was running a bit behind as we stopped at various small stations, like bus stops, on the way. We needed to make our connection by 9:06 am and we arrived with only minutes to spare to the small station. Upon exiting the train we were greeted by an elder monk who asked in broken english where we were heading. He informed us that we needed the next train and then beckon us to follow him to get some food. Set up behind the small open air station was a table spread out with rice and yellow chicken curry made and served by an kind older lady and who I assume was her daughter. They welcomed us as though we had arrived for an afternoon picnic . She served up the curry in small bowls made of banana leaves and gave us small plastic spoons to enjoy it. We thanked her and made our way to a bench to savor this tasty spicy concoction as the monk smiled. It was spiced just right and could not have been fresher so we scarfed it down in easy bites. The monk then called us over to where we needed to be to board the next train as it made its way into this small junction. The train stopped and the monk climbed aboard with us in his wake. Once inside we noticed that this train south was pretty full so he pointed to two open seats and said “you sitdown” and we abliged like kids in school summoned to the principals office. Now I wouldn’t have chosen these seats myself but who were we to ignore an elder monks instructions. We stowed our belongings in the over head rack and took our seats behind two other monks and noticed the sign that read “reserved for monks, disabled and the elderly”. The train pulled away from the station and journeyed south. After a few stops to take on passengers the train pulled into a tiny village and the elder monk got up and walked over to us. We had arrived at his stop. He extended his hand , we shook amicably and parted ways with salutations. Im not sure how many Westerners pass through this area as we were the only ones on the train but had he not been there we certainly would have been at a loss for what we needed to do next. He was a kind soul at a small crossroads who went out of his way to welcome and guide two travelers. I didn’t catch his name but I will remember his gestures with fondness.

The train carried on picking up and depositing travelers over the next hour and soon we noticed a large group of young Thai boys talking and laughing. Im not sure if they were on the train when we got on or we picked them up along the way but it was around 10 am and they were already two thirds deep into a bottle of Thai whisky. The boys passed the bottle around all the while joking and picking at each other. Soon they began to erupt in singing and clapping as the second bottle was opened. They were obviously thoroughly enjoying there ride and no one seemed to mind their antics. As the train made its progression south so did their faculties and soon Chris pointed out to me that one of the boys had reached his limit and he was being guided to the toilet by two of his buddies. He wobbled left and right bouncing off seats as he went. They disappeared into the toilet for quite some time, probably for him to make an offering to the porcelin gods. His buddies continued on without him and the singing and clapping continued. He emerged from the restroom obviously drunk as he meandered down the aisle, face slack and wet, his hair in disary. Finding his seat he was deposited by his friend and sunk forward in his seat. He was trashed by 11 in the morning and the poor kid had all day to go. We soon pulled into a large station and the group exited the train. A few of the boys milled about and we could see he wasn’t alone in his drunkeness and just as the train began to move on everyone on the left side of the train at once went “EEEWWWWW” and Chris cracked up laughing, “oh man he just threw up!” I leaned over the aisle to check out the scene and there he was hands on knees woozy. Did I mention how hot it was? He’s in for a looonnngggg day!
Two stops later we arrived in Hua Hin, collected our belongings and exited the train. We were approached by motor taxi drivers and we asked them to take us to Pattana Guesthouse. Each driver placed our back packs in front of them, scooted up in the seat and gestured for us to get on back. We had to wedge our luggage bag between his back and our bellys and hold on to their shoulders as we darted out into traffic. I have no idea where this guesthouse is, nor anything about this city but its not the small sleepy seaside town I thought as we made our way in traffic. Being on the back of a motorcycle with your luggage is disconcerting enough much less riding through traffic and I was silently praying that we didn’t have to go too far! My prayers were answered and we soon found ourselves in the heart of this citys tourist area dubbed HUA HIN AFTERDARK. Now I didn’t know this when we arrived but this quarter of the area was stacked with guesthouses, restaurants, bars, 711s , suit shops, etc etc etc. They dropped us off in front of a place but it wasn’t the Pattana. I took out my guidebook and pointed out the address but he didn’t speak english and Chris’ driver couldn’t see, which made me curious as to how Chris mustve felt riding on the back of this guys motorcycle with no helmet and he “no see good”. Well neither of them could help us out so we got off there, paid and began the search for some place to stay. Being in the narrow alley street with your luggage isnt neccasarily how I pictured it but hey this was where we were and now we walked to a place to check prices. The Relax Guesthouse we found was some run down looking house where the lady had to shue her dogs away to open the gate. We peaked in a room and it was hoootttt! I don’t need AC but it was a small windowless room in what seemed like the attic with pretty much no ventilation. Nope, Im sorry but this was not going to work, and Chris agreed. After spending three days in a hot box we didn’t want to do that again so we left and went back to where the drivers dropped us off. There mustve been a reason they went there. We walked through the glass doors into the small lobby which held 4 tables. The deskman spoke english very well and showed us a third floor room with two beds, private bath and AC. Now this was more like it, all for 5 dollars a night. SOLD! We checked in and put our stuff in the room. We didn’t know where we were,how to get anywhere or where anything was but we were smack dab in the middle of this large seaside city and sooner or later we would know all we needed to know.
Our guesthouse is on Soi Birtabaht next door to a fish spa. The same type of fish spa I mentioned before where the garra rufa fish suckle your legs and eat the dead skin. There is a small stoop in front of the guesthouse with low chairs and a small table and Chris and I have taken up residence there at night to watch the tourists walk the streets. These narrow alleys are lined with bars, shops and stores that are tiny, and compacted in this area. Every fifteen feet one open front bar lies next to another where all the girls that work them beckon you in with “Welcoooome” . After you’ve walked one hundred yards you’ve passed ten bars all with the same greeting. The streets also teem with food stall vendors, goods salesman, and kids hawking flowers. Sitting out in front is like being in the middle of a bizzare amalgamation of Thai culture and Western influence as all the bars play American music and cater to the western traveler. We sit out at night to watch this unfold before us while chatting up the fish spa girls next to us and laugh at the people who stop to test out this technique as they grimace and squirm. Of course they finally convinced us to put our hands in so I being curious tested it out first. I placed my arm in up to the elbow and was swarmed with hundreds of minnow sized sucker fish who latch on and feed. At first the sensation is of mild shock as these fish nip at your skin and its hard not to giggle. It tickles and makes you imagine what it would be like to be poked with hundreds of tooth picks. I could only stand it for about 30 seconds before I had to get my hand out of there and as I pull my arm out the fish drop off. Tukta, the attendant whom we have befriended, talks Chris into trying it. Now Chris is a little ticklish so hes apprehensive about it but he decides to go elbow deep. As soon as he puts his arm in he’s cracking up laughing and Tukta grabs him by the arm and holds him in and hes just laughing and hopping up and squirming but she wont let go and the small crowd that has gathered giggles. Finally she lets him take his hand out and little fish come flying out and I scoop them up to set them back into the pool. We all get a good laugh at this experience and thank the girls for letting us try.
Chris has brought with him small stuffed parrot that he takes pictures of in front of landmarks or something interesting. He has his picture taken in London in front of Big Ben , Buckingham Palace, and so forth. So far he has pictures at the Kwai river for sunset, in a tree at the Erawan falls and other shots in Khanchanaburi. Chris hadnt named him yet so we were waiting for the right name to come around. Chris has taken to introducing the parrot to people as his friend, “Have you met my friend yet? He’s very cool” and then he takes the parrot out and people get a kick out of this little guy. The other day we found out what the Thai word for friend is and weve adopted this name for the parrot. Now im not exactly sure what the word really is but weve americanized it and have decided on Poo-Ling. Im sure the real word isnt pooling but it sounds funny to us! The other night as we sat out on the stoop chatting Chris introduced Poo-Ling to the spa girls. They immediately latched on to him and have taken him as a mascot taking pictures and kidnapping him from time to time. One night at around 1 am we see walking down the street something that I never expected. Being guided down this alley of bars shops and food stalls walks over a 2 year old elephant! That’s right, an elephant with his guides selling sugar cane to feed to the hungry guy. Now I havent seen many elephants in my life up close but this one was about 6 feet tall at the head. We bought some sugar cane sticks and asked permission to photo Poo-Ling with the elephant. I am holding the sugar cane, Chris has Poo-Ling and Noi is camera ready. The elephant smelled out the sugar and immediately shot out his trunk and snagged most of the sugar cane from my hands while Chris placed Poo-Ling on the elephant for his picture. The guys were really nice about letting us take pictures feeding the elephant sugar cane and petting him. The have long brisly hairs on their head with tiny little red ribbons tied in. There eyes are clear and black and their skin is dense and rough. The are massive animals and gentle in nature and I can definitely see why the are so revered in Thailand. That was such an unexpected surprise and Chris informs me that the further south we go the more of them we will see and Im really looking forward to more meetings with these amazing animals.
I started wearing small bracelets on my left arm to represent the places Ive been recently. I started when I moved to Naples and bought two there, one in the bahamas and my very close friend Krystal bought me a shell bracelet. I want to get one from all the countries I visit this trip and I want them to be something that I wouldn’t be able to find anywhere. The other night sitting on the stoop the spa girls were knitting beanie hats and scarves. Yes this is thailand where its hot and humid year round so I had to ask why. They were making them for friends they said and it helped pass the time. Me'em, the girl knitting the scarf said she was working on the scarf for five days and it really was a very dense crafty scarf made of small light grey baby blue and white and quite nice. I asked her if she would make me a bracelet and she said maybe tomorrow when she finished the scarf. I told her we were probably leaving the next day. After a few minutes she got up and went inside and I didn’t see her for hours. Later that night when they started to close up the shop she came back out and walked over to me with a bracelet she had sat making for me. Its small and fit me perfectly! I asked her how much and she said its for you. I was blown away by how sweet a gesture that was and thanked her profusely. That is what the Thai people are like. They have tremendous generosity and it shows in everyday life. She didn’t have to make it for me. She didn’t need to stop what she was doing to give me something but she did and there arent words to express my gratitude.
We stayed one more night there, and visited with the girls and talked with Bua a Thai massuse who dropped by with her daughter to visit her friends. She used to work there but had opened up a few shops in Bangkok. The unrest over the last few months had caused her businesses to close but she was still light hearted and joyous. She was married to an American Naval Officer stationed in Iraq. We spoke not of the war but of family. She said he calls everyday to make sure she is safe and that if she doesnt hear from him she worries. Her husband has served for 32 years and is set to retire in three and they will move to Portland. I asked her why she wasn't living in America now and she informed me that she couldn't get a visa for her kids. She has tried multiple times but has not been approved. Bua is 38 with three kids ages 19,17 and 10. The two older kids as well as she work all day everyday to take care of themselves while her American husband is in Iraq serving the American people in an effort to make the world safe for freedom to flourish. I dont know how the American Immigration system works, especially in light of the new Arizona laws, but I as an American, would certainly welcome her family to our borders with open arms.