Time to move on after two months here and I will miss my second home at the Florist Resort. It's been lovely to be in a great room right next to a lovely pool, albeit that for most of the time I only dangled my feet in! It did take a while to warm up... I've met some really nice people and the staff as usual are great.
But no amazing adventures since the last blog, just the day to day stuff. A hairy ride in a songthaew to Fisherman's village for Sunday lunch, hanging on to the back with three other people. I felt a bit like a royal footman hanging on the back of a royal coach going at quite a trot. But it was an extra hot day and trying to hang on with sweaty (sorry, glowing) palms was a real challenge. I am just glad there were no emergency stops or I would have been a gonner! My early evening why why is now taken in the Sport's Bar as the Firestation is finally closed and awaiting the new owners, the end of an era. And on my morning walks, I collected more and more people each day to say hello to. There was always a cheery "Sawadeeka" from the huge Chinese shopkeeper, the shopkeeper brushing down her road each morning, the rubbish man sorting through the bins to find the water bottles to recycle, the taxi drivers in their hut waiting for fares and the various bar girls with sleepy eyes brushing down their bits of pavement. The man who owns the lovely small garden centre watering his lawns every morning and the young guy who I call "care in the community" - a youngish guy who seems to spend all day walking up and down the main road just smiling at everyone. I don't know who looks after him but he always has a bright hello and a beaming smile for everyone. Then there's the young couple by the temple with the new baby and the batty old couple by the temple feeding the dogs each morning, the stallholder who encouraged me everyday by telling me "walking is good", the western guy who lived in the village out for his morning constitutional, and the French cafe owner among many others. There was also the one armed man, sounds a bit like an episode of the Fugitive. Seems he was curious and stopped me a couple of days ago to ask where he had seen me before. He is out in Samui eight months of the year and back in France for four. I will miss my village walks and the dogs, chickens and colourful mobile garden centre.
And people often generously stopping and offering me a lift on their motorbikes seeing me walking in the heat. And no snakes on my walks for a while but I did miss a bit of drama on my last morning there, as I was out walking a snake appeared in the kitchens... Perhaps it wanted to say bye. But most of all I think I will miss Darling, the curly black dog. I saved some chicken from my dinner a couple of nights ago and gave it to him so he will remember me next time! And on a sad doggie note, Botpec, the hotel dog has gone to doggie nirvana. He was getting on a bit and had not been well, but still very sad, I will miss him too.
It was also a very busy Valentine's Day here. The usual romance stuff, although in Thailand it's widened it's net and known as "Love Day" and flowers are given to everyone.
I got a nice rose off Toy, the housekeeping girl who did my room last time, and then every room got a couple of roses from the hotel, well it is called The Florist after all. As well as Valentine's it was also the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations and the firecrackers started before dawn and went on intermittently all day. But more importantly on 14 February, Thai Buddhists celebrate Makha Bucha Day. In order to encourage Thai's to be good Buddhists on this day and to keep the precepts, the Thai government imposed a ban on the sale of alcohol back in 2009 on all Buddhist holidays. Offenders face six months in prison and/or 10,000 Baht fine. This includes all retail outlets and pubs and bars. This also goes for the Full Moon Party and that was delayed one day until Saturday night. The only exception under the law are properly registered hotels that mainly have a foreign clientele. However, they sometimes self-impose a ban on alcohol. Interestingly more places kept to the ban than did for the election, but the Florist was exempt due to we heathen foreign visitors! So my why why with my dinner on the beach was safe.
So it's aurevoir and kapunka to Samui as I head for pastures new... See you next time.
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Location:Batu Feringgi,Malaysia
