Big Adventure 22

Last week at basketball, while warming up there were several guys chatting, in Thai of course, when suddenly they all stopped talking and the best English speaker amoung them asked me how old I was. They all agreed that I am old, and of course it was my chance to confirm that they are 29, 22, 27 etc. The old guy amoung them is 36. There response to learning my age was “You strong man”. A bit confused, I thanked them anyway.

This week at basketball, while standing around chatting, in Thai of course, one of the guys told me “ You handsome man”. A bit confused, I thanked him anyway.

Tonight at basketball, while greeting one of the guys upon arriving, he said“ You look good”. A bit confused, I thanked him and said so did he.

While there’s not much new here (if we assume that none of the guys I play basketball with are coming on to me, and that is exactly what I am assuming – they are just being friendly) there are a few things happening worthy of note.

The first thing, and this will sound more sudden to some of you than it does to us, is that I will no longer be employed as of the end of February. There have been growing differences of opinion between me and my employers about numerous issues here, and while no one issue has been by itself unbearable, the number and relevant severity of these issues has continued to grow. Some of you – okay, anyone who read it – may have noticed what I thought of Kris’ reaction to Dong drinking on the job. Well, that was only one of many instances where I felt a lack of management skill – and a lack of support for this office and my efforts here. My firm recognizes the importance of getting a retainer signed, and they recognize the importance of getting the bill out. They are however a bit fuzzy on the in between bits.

They are sending Dong back down here later this week, for a few more days of drinking, and maybe a bit of work.

At the end of the day I really don’t feel a burning desire to put up with much bull s**t, and these guys are falling so far short of perfect that I can’t even see perfect from here.

To be absolutely clear to any family or others that might think otherwise, we are still staying here – in fact that decision was made first. We are still coming home for a visit in April – and still returning here in May. Jacquie is still considering the opportunities here for decorating / property management / vacation rental management business(es), and I have several clients and other contacts who want me to move to the next island over (just off of our beach) to practice where my non-competition clause doesn’t apply. I think my preference right now would be for me to work with Jacquie at something different – and consider this to be my long planned retirement at 50, one month early. I am truly enjoying the prospect, which I guess is a sign that it might be time. That Computer Programming degree might finally happen, and I already have some interest from clients in doing some web design work. And then there’s laying on the beach. Oh, and you might see me writing more.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone.!! Year of the Pig.

In a completely unrelated story, a new assistant finally started here this week. Her name (well, nickname) is Koi. She seems very sweet, but is clearly the next in line of the young girls of limited qualifications who are willing to work for nothing. Her first day she got me to show her how to send an email. A week and a half in she asked how to print something. And she won’t drive the truck. Since Ja won’t either, the brand new truck will just sit here getting older I guess.

We have now sorted out the travel arrangements for our trip to Nova Scotia. We are going there on April 21st and are coming back here on May 14th. There had been two reasons for us to plan a much shorter trip – or separate only partly overlapping trips –my limited vacation time and our dog sitting issues. Now I have unlimited vacation time, as does Jacquie. And Mike and Yen have given us a commitment to care for Sami, and he seems to like them at least as much as he likes us. So we have expanded our trip home, and we are both looking forward to it – both to see all (most) of you and to see some spring.

It is a bit of a sad day. The tiny bar directly across the road from our driveway was dismantled yesterday, and is now just a small pile of wood on a concrete floor, two bamboo stools and the hand painted name sign. My whole time here I kept planning to go there for a beer – soon. Well, soon never seemed to come. Even when I thought of it, the timing seemed wrong. Either there was no one there but the girl behind the bar watching television, or there was her and one or two other girls sitting at one of the two tables. I just thought it would be nice to patronize the bar the closest to me here. Clearly they could have used the business. Now they are gone, and I will never get the chance. It was called the “Lovely Bar”. It was a lovely bar.

On the up side, a new bar has opened two doors up from there. The “Burger Bar”. It’s been open for a week and I have seen NO ONE there yet. I think the absolute fastest way to financial ruin here would be to open a bar. And yet people keep doing so. Again, I’m a bit confused.

Mike and Yen have “adopted” a small beach dog, very cute, “Julie” (she only seems to respond to her name when one of them says it – she also seems to respond when one of them says house or car or plate). They had her spayed at a shelter in Chaweng (two beaches over) but she appeared to get an infection and so today we took them and Julie back to that shelter to see the vet.

Wow. An absolutely horrific – and beautiful – sight. I explained to them that while I am extremely glad I got to see it, if they ever need a drive back there again I’ll be waiting in the truck for them. The numerous dogs who had been hit by cars and suffered what I assume are broken hips, now using the front half of their bodies to pull (drag) their back half along. Moments after entering the compound two of such dogs had dragged themselves over to me to get their heads scratched and lick my hand, while Jacquie stood nearby bawling. These people are saints. None of us have any idea how they can do this (run this shelter) and remain sane. There were probably 30 + dogs there, plus a number of cats. They ranged from perfectly healthy to broken hips, etc. to the completely blind dog that was apparently born that way.

This will stay with us for awhile. An extra hug for Sami tonight.

We often chuckle about all of the trucks we see carrying 10 to 15+ Thais. Well in an extremely chilling newspaper story yesterday, a pickup truck was hit head on by an 18 wheeler. Ten are dead, another 3 seriously injured, all on the pickup truck. All the same family. Now it’s not so funny.

Wow, this has taken a negative turn. Time for some happy thoughts.

Our most recent Visa (the right to stay here, not the credit card) was for 3 months and was acquired in Singapore 3 months ago in November. My contract with this firm requires them to arrange for my Visa and work permit, but things have broken down just a bit since I’m now done a week later. So instead of the planned trip to Bangkok to renew both of those things, we are now on our own to pursue a new Visa.

So on Wednesday the 21st we leave for Malaysia on a “Visa run”. This is not the basic “cross the border and get another 30 days” run – this one is a stay over at a city with a Thai embassy and get a) at least 60 days, or b) hopefully for us, since I have already had two 90 day Visas and I have a valid work permit, a 180 day double entry Visa. Double entry will of course let us come into the Kingdom again after our trip to Canada.

The great thing about Thailand – and by great I mean exciting and frustrating all at the same time – is that we won’t know which of those things we’ll end up getting, or anything in between, until it happens.

I am sitting on a mini bus beside Jacquie, flying down the road passing every thing we see. Tooting the horn to warn others to move or die. We are in the third row. It is good, in the mini buses, to not see too much. I am watching and re-watching a Charlie Chaplin movie (as I write these words it is for the second time already, and we are only 30 minutes into our drive – from the ferry pier in Donsak to Hat Yai, to a hotel at the border for the night, then Malaysia for much of tomorrow shopping while our visa (both the credit card and the right to stay in the country) are being processed, then Hat Yai for another 6 hours tomorrow night, then an overnight drive back to Donsak for the first ferry home Friday morning).

I picked Jacquie up at the “Sisters of Samui” lunch at a restaurant near our home, then drove the motorbike to Nathon to catch the ferry. We are guardedly optimistic that we will see the motorbike again, when we return Friday morning. Kris, my soon to be ex-boss, wants the truck left there so Dong the Drunk can get pissed and drive around in it Thursday night when he arrives. And Friday at work. Mike and Yen are staying at our place with Sami, and their new (to them) dog Julie. They have been warned about Dong’s visit.

When you are in a mini bus with eleven people, and one person has some gas issues, then all eleven people end up having issues. It is always anonymous. While I will admit to past transgressions, tonight it’s not me. Painful.

Wednesday night, and we are out of the mini bus and all tucked in at the “Fleebag Plaza Hotel” in god knows where near (I hope) the Malaysian border. I say I hope because I want there to be some reason for being here besides payola to Herbert, the guy who runs this “tour”. Jacquie says the reason the crap supper was so expensive downstairs is that Herbert gets half.

I don’t know what kind of press the insurgency here in the deep south of Thailand is getting back home, if any, but marshal law has existed here for several years. The terrorists spread terror, by regular (daily) random shootings and almost as regular bombings. Lots of teachers being killed and schools being burned. Food vender by his cart shot dead. Garbage collector shot dead. Cop shot dead. Tourist shot dead. Okay, now I’m paying attention.

So at the quick toilet stop earlier tonight we were advised – no, we were told – that all curtains on the buses from that point onward must be closed. I have not been able to find out if we are potential targets – good reason to keep the curtains closed – or potential shooters, making us police / army targets – good reason to keep the curtains closed. Anyway, we passed through about fifteen checkpoints, with blockades across the highway, rolls of razor wire, and lots of soldiers.

Tomorrow we must be in the minibus at 6:10 am sharp, for the drive to Malaysia. It’s after midnight now, so I must sleep.

In Samui we have many “street dogs” and “beach dogs”. Here, wherever “here” is, they have many many “street goats” and a few “street cows” but not a dog to be seen. At 6 am they are still sleeping on the road as we leave for the short drive to the border. A boat ride across a river and we are in Malaysia, then a taxi to Kota Bharu (now we know where all of the Datsun’s have gone) and the Thai Embassy. Same rules as everywhere – apply one day and get your visa the next. The magic of Herbert’s tour is that we give him our passport and paperwork and he applies at 9 am, pays a bribe and gets our visa by 3 pm the same day.

We are back. The trip was just as hellish as we expected, but no more so. And Herbert delivered what he promised – we both now have 6 month double entry visas. We are good till August.

The ferry to Samui only runs from 6 am to 7 pm, we can’t make the last one today so the target is the first one tomorrow. There is NOTHING in Donsak but the ferry pier, so we will go part way to Hat Yai, then kill six hours shopping, etc. till 1:30 am then head to the ferry.

Thank god – by driving 130 kph and passing everything in sight we have made it to Hat Yai in time to spend an extra 30 minutes wandering aimlessly. Luckily, nine of us found a really cool pub with an excellent band and spent about 5 hours drinking. I ordered one SangSom and got one – bottle. It comes on a cart with a bucket of ice and a bunch of cokes and our own waitress standing at the cart full time mixing drinks. One of our new Ukrainian friends (three web page designers) tried it and liked it so much she ordered a second bottle.

We stumbled out to the minibus just in time, then sped some more so as to be one hour early for the ferry. The drive was more exciting after two bottles of rum. More like a roller coaster ride.

Friday was a long long day. It was kind of funny – meeting Dong in the parking lot at 8;30 Friday morning, me with a staggering hangover and him staggering to the truck to head for court after downing one last beer. The clients apparently didn’t mind their lawyer being drunk – he arrived back with them after lunch and they were all drinking in the truck, and so on for the rest of the day. By the time he hopped on the back of the motorbike at 9:30 pm for Ja to drive him to the airport – drinking one last Heineken – he seemed quite loaded. By that point I was just really really sleepy.

Now that we have our visa we know we can stay at least until August, so we spoke with our landlord (actually, Jeet the daughter) about extending our lease here past the current expiry in mid April. Yes, we sort of can. Turns out that her German boyfriend has convinced the family to turn the front half of the house into a restaurant, and so renovations will start in May and mom and pop will move into the apartment behind to live – our apartment. We think It’s craziness, and not just from the self serving, it sucks that we’ll have to move perspective (although it does). We’ll have till end of June / July if we need it to find another place. We’ve started looking around, and anything comparable costs much more. So, pay more or get a worse (away from the beach) location. There is a nice place just up the beach for exactly twice as much. Otherwise a very attractive option.

This bites. But I guess we’ll live in the moment and enjoy living right here right now.

Two work days left.