Food for thought

Visions at Jomtien Beach

This 10-days stay in Pattaya was as usual a time for resting, cooling down, and lazying in the sun not only for fun, but also for health reasons I explained some years ago. So the pattern of my days were quite the same : hotel roof-top in the morning, Jomtien Beach  in the afternoon, and the bars at night. But besides the growing sadness to see the time elapsing so quickly and the end of my vacation coming to an end, something new was entering my mind every day :  the thought I should begin to think over what I will do when I will have plenty of time for me.

Economic crashdown allowing, I should retire in about 14 months time, which leaves me about one year to make plans. Not an easy task when from one day to another you may learn of any bad news dashing the huge hope of finally leaving the rat race and leading the life you want after so many years of hard work. Useless to say I am still thinking about it, although it becomes more and more obvious I will not stay in Thailand for the whole year : an ageing mother, family links, and financial constraints, will probably force me to limit the duration of my stays. But every "rooms for rent" sign made my heart leap : at last these signs are not ALWAYS for other people, one day they will interest me too.

There is no need to comment about what everyone can read on the boards : more and more arabic and russian presence, less and less bars, and very few people in Boyztown. However I thought there is still no other place on earth like Pattaya, and I could not imagine ignoring it despite the fact I love to visit the provinces.

I could not find a new favourite bar to hang out the way I used to hang out in Threezone Bar. Diamond Bar was a little too big for me, Samorn's Bar could have done the trick but the boys did not seem to be really concerned. I guess I will have to see the new avatar of Threezone Bar, which I could not visit, having to leave before their opening. Finally I spent some time in CU Bar which has very frisky boys, and I could not escape a drink behind the famous screens : with two boys all over me and two other boys helping themselves with farangs facing my table, quite a nice experience …

I also had the surprise to find a boy I had offed a very long time ago and who is now a part-time waiter at Eros Boys. I could not recognise him straightaway but I had already noticed him ; anyway he was the boy I would have chosen. "Hello, do you remember me, I am P.. from Four Seasons Bar". He wanted to go to my room and then to his place, and then to a room above the bar, which I declined for various reasons. We finally ended in a small room besides the bar – a place appartently designed for this purpose, and it did not take long for me to show him my appreciation. A great face, and the same lean and dark-skinned body I cherish above all. I asked him why he could remember me so well, "because you were one of the very few thai-speaking farangs I ever met" was his answer – another incentive for learning thai I had not thought of. 

European atmosphere

Besides this, I spent most of my time with my boyfriend, who had additionnal health problems. I will never forget the time when he came back from the dental surgery, shivering and suffering as I had never seen before. Fortunately things went better and we were able to made our trip to Bang Sare for another seafood adventure. He decided then to bring me to the Big Buddha mountain and to the neighbouring vineyard (Silver Lake resort) where they try to recreate some européean atmosphere.

Another evening was devoted to the mor-lam concert on Third Road but I was a little disappointed by the artists they had on that night (not a well-known singer but an orchester from Khon Kaen), and also by the less than comfortable conditions – if your friends insist on finding a chair, this will not be for allowing the old farang to sit down, but for having a place to keep the drinks …

All in all we got along well despite the fact I had not invited him to my isaan trip ; to speak the truth he was working when I was preparing my trip and reserving my flights, and so I could not imagine he would be free. He will have now to find a stable job so that he will be able to buy the car he is dreaming of – and which I am financially unable to pay for. But this is another story.