November 7, 1984

           Loy Kratong. Day 30. Man andI drove out to Kamala Beach this morning. She showed me the Pansea resort. It seems to fascinate a lot of people but I wouldn’t have the place. She stayed there once with her mother. At 1200 Baht for a cheap room (around $48), I looked it over. Another old folks home. It could handily pass for a Club Med and proves again, if you’re willing to spend enough money you can travel to an exotic foreign country and never see the place. I mean, a golf course, in Thailand?
           There is a shortcut from Surim back to Patong. Don’t wonder around a beach area with little posts in the ground—it is a graveyard. This shortcut has a sign, “This road approved for car in good condition only”. Take their word for it. The 5 km takes ove an hour and twice the Honda powered out. It’s not the nerve tonic to go skidding backwards with the brakes locked. We had to walk the bike up a few spots and there were terrible washouts.

           I dropped Man at work and had a two-hour nap in her room. Was I zonked. No luck at all, [for] this put me into the midst of a storm and it took another hour and a borrowed poncho to reach Kata. The Loy Kratong is the full moon of the 12th lunar month, the New Year. The festival here was on the school grounds and it was something to see.
           The idea is at midnight, you set a little float out in the water with three incense sticks and a candle. They got sack races and duck-catching and fireworks. You can watch try dancing, or you can taxi dance with the cheerleaders. (Not for me, I'm used to the cheerleaders being tall and skinny.) Great food and live bands. And a disco with a stereo smaller than my portable, my God! It was a sellout crowd, in the jungle as long you can hear the drums you're in business. Yes, they have a beauty contest. Five girls, and they arrive in trucks or litters. They sit in a model of the floats, that is, inside the flower petals. It's a must-see. On the big stage they lineup and you buy these reefs and put it around the neck of your favorite. They really drag it out and it is grueling for the girls in the heat. After an hour it was only the farangs (“big nose” = white man) buying them and then mostly for girl #2. She had that buxom newlywed look about her and demonstrates again that a lot of men have a considerably different idea beautiful women than I. It was #3 all the way for me, a rare and delicate creature. Quiet and ultra-orbits of the sore throat and feminine, not a hint of the barmaid stuff that seems to appeal to my companions.

           By ten it was late for me so back home. I met Manee and her friend walking and gave them a ride. Wise move, the storm got here and I was trapped at their their place till past one then, I gave up and drove in the rain anyway. Rumor has it every year, like the PNE, it rains. [A fair back home aka “Pacific National Exhibition”.]
           During a let up we went to the beach and launched Manee’s little boat. We had the whole beach alone. It was a three second adventure, the first wave swamped it, yet it was quite emotional. [They take New Years or “Loy Kratong” far more seriously.]
           It's hot season and the tourists are arriving. It is possible to talk English now and again. We got us some cheeseheads. Two RCMP studying “drugs”. Talk about cushy, you know somebody’s old man is a higher up in the forest. I haven't seen them but folks say they’re Canadian bilingual which means French and two-and-a-half-words of English. All they really done at the taxpayer's expense is remind us that we forgot our Preparation H.

           A chap with a JVC video recorder. Hello! Hello! Here's the lowdown. He got it in Singapore for $1200 US, and the co-requisite accessories for $300. It works great and has a four-hour tape. The catch here is it only has a 45 minute battery. So the 5 battery packs needed to fill a tape means no overall weight or space savings. It was an impressive unit however. I want one.
           Two German girls, including the one that over-dresses, like to read so they've taken the habit of sitting at my table, the quietest [to have lunch at]. Gag--they also smoke. They chat occasionally but I don't understand a word. I picked up some Thai and can get a belly laugh with my ability to repeat the words in the string right after a sentence. (I only do it with friends since I don't know what's been said.) And more disturbing ports from India coming in.

           I tried more Thai food. Pickled crocodile eggs. No. Seriously, only hard-boiled eggs in a pork stew. The Thai bungalow is giving me a real bargain price, repeat customer and all [from last year]. I made a deal. Don't clean room everyday etc.
           30 days gone already. That seems about right, the days have been full of things to do. I still haven't met someone who's lived here long term. A really don't want to go back but I need that “marketable skill” [I had returned to college earlier this year.]