33th first day

Just arrived in Thailand to-day for what should be my 33rd stay in the country I love. Speaking frankly, I come this time with mixed feelings mostly because of my mother’s declining health. I have to spend more and more time assisting her for everyday life and I cannot help thinking that she is probably not too happy seeing me leaving for one month – but then I have a younger brother who will be more than able to stand in for me during my leave.

Mixed feelings also because of the worrying increase of the thai baht towards euro, which makes everything more expensive by at least 50 percent when compared to, say, ten years ago. Fortunately I had transferred a good sum of money four years ego securing an acceptable rate but this nest egg is quickly dwindling away.

My pen rai, as they say, better to seize the moment, and here I was arriving in Suwanaphum after an uneventful flight where I was fortunate enough to have two seats for myself for each leg of the journey. Surprising to see that the first leg to Doha was quite full compared to before, and the second one to Bangkok on a smaller plane than before and not even full … just as if people were as keen to go to Asia as before but dropping Thailand for other countries.

My first day was as usual used to explore the area I use to stay to look for changes, and there were a lot of them, beginning with my hotel of twenty years going up for much needed renovation works and the price increase going along with it. Saphan Kwai is gentrifying a lot with new high rise buildings everywhere, but keeps its charm ; street food is still there, as well as small businesses and local people.

As for gay places, Soi 20 remains the main spot for karaoke bars, which seemed once again very quiet at least during weekdays. I still did not enter one of them, owners do not even bother to invite walkers to enter their place. Adam and Heaven are closed, leaving five places open all within a 50 meters range.

On the contrary, massage shops seem to do quite well ; they are mostly located near the BTS station ; two towards the north and four or five in the back sois on the south. There is also a cluster of them further along Suthisan Winichai which advertise heavily on Twitter keeping in the same time a low profile on-site. I must say I went to one of them – which seem to have the same owner, and was very satisfied with the shop - if not by the boy I chose who did not really deliver as promised by advertised description.

The schedule for this trip includes mostly trips to provinces, mostly for meeting new Facebook contacts and older acquaintances. Pattaya will be one of them, some others will be reached by train, a way of transport I have not used since a long time in Thailand – but for short distance only.