Something New

I woke up with a start and thought, "Is today already Thursday?" I checked my phone and learned it was only Wednesday. I was scheduled to leave Thailand in less than a week and still had several activities on my agenda. Where had the last two weeks gone? It reminded me of my Kilimanjaro summit. I knew I was walking from midnight to 6:00 A.M., but don't remember most of it. Have I been lying on the beach for the past two weeks continuously in a catatonic state? Have I been sitting in the same cafe drinking iced coffee? Or worse, have I been dodging tuk tuks and motorcyclists, attempting to cross the street, for the past two weeks? The doctors can consult my daily written journal after I'm committed to find out these answers.

Time was ticking away, so I consulted my map and a couple of websites. I'd previously hesitated about travelling too far outside of Patong because of the cost of the tuk tuk ride, but really needed a change of scenery. I decided Karon Beach wouldn't be too far away, and found a typical tuk tuk fare of 200 baht online.

I walked down the street until I saw a tuk tuk driver coming out of a convenience store. He smiled and I asked, "Karon Beach? How much?" He replied, "300 baht." I said exasperatedly, "Hmm...no...250?" "Okay, 250," and I hopped in the back. 

The drive from Patong to Karon is scenic, through the lush, verdant hills. I recognized it as the same route I travelled when I visited the Garden (see The Secret Garden post). The driver dropped me off in a central parking area close to the beach. I handed him the 250 baht and said, "Thank you. Have a nice day!" He flashed his smile again and said, "You have a nice day!" People are so happy here.

I walked south down the main road, with the beach on my right and a row of restaurants and shops on my left. I thought I'd find a toilet before settling down for a few hours, and I stumbled upon an elegantly decorated al fresco restaurant called Vitaporn. There are always a couple of hosts out front to greet you as you walk by and ask if you've eaten yet. The host said, "Hallo, Madam!" I said, "Um, toilet only." "Yes, of course," as I was escorted practically into the stall. Upon exiting, I said, "I'll come back to eat."

After about three hours under my umbrella, I was getting hungry, so I walked back to the restaurant. There he was, ready to greet me again. "Welcome back, Madam!" I was seated, looked at the menu, and couldn't believe the affordability of this restaurant. I ordered a papaya salad, chicken pad thai, and a soda water. When my mountain of food arrived, I spent several minutes photographing its beauty and detail. That's one thing about the Thais. They don't spare any detail when it comes to presentation. It's always intricate and perfect. I finished most of my food and was craving a coffee, but remembered I needed to save at least 250 baht for the tuk tuk home. I figured the bill would total around 400 baht, but amazingly it was only 265 baht. That's less than nine USD! Incredible. 

I decided to forgo the coffee anyway in favor of walking around. I walked further down the main road, took some sunset photos from a new vantage point, then stumbled upon a night market. I thought I might return, bringing more cash with me next time.

It was dark and time to head back to Patong, so I attempted to hail a tuk tuk. They were all occupied, so I went to the tuk tuk stand and showed the driver the location card my hotel provided. He said, "500 baht." I said, "It was only 250 to get here!" He realized my naïveté and said, "More traffic now. Takes too long to Patong," and wasn't interested in negotiating. I walked away, slightly panicking about how I would get home. There was no way I could walk through those hills at night and I wasn't even sure  of the route. I furtively checked my cash and had 300 baht in 100 notes and a few 20 notes. I really didn't want to pay much more than 300. I chuckled to myself, "This tuk tuk ride is going to cost more than my entire dinner!"

I walked back and forth down the street, trying to hail a tuk tuk. They were still occupied, as it was dinner time and people were heading out to shop. I found a shopping street with several tuk tuks lined up. I thought, "Maybe it would be cheaper if I said to drop me off at Bang La Road. I usually walk home from there anyway and it's closer to Karon." I discussed it with the first tuk tuk driver, a woman. She said, "400 baht." That was better, but still more than I wanted to pay. I tried to negotiate to no avail, then walked away. She yelled down the entire row of tuk tuks, "Bang La Road!!! 400 baht!!!" which essentially prevented me from trying to negotiate with any other driver. The nerve!

I started getting teary, but then pulled myself together to review my options. I could try to find a cheap room someplace, but I still wasn't sure I had enough to pay for it. I could call the girls at the hotel and ask them for help. Maybe they could negotiate with the tuk tuk driver in Thai, promising that I would pay them when I got back to the hotel. I know it sounds irresponsible that I didn't have enough money, but for safety reasons, I leave my large cash withdrawal from the ATM, along with my ATM card, in the safe at the hotel. It hadn't been a problem for the past two weeks.

I walked a few streets away from where the tuk tuks were in cahoots, and hailed another driver. He said, "400 baht to Patong." He had a friendly demeanor, so I said, "320?" and gave him a sad face. He imitated my sad face and said, "400. Lots of traffic, then I drive back in traffic." Understandable, but I kept trying to negotiate in increments of 20 baht. I finally checked my cash again. I DID have five 20 notes, so I just gave in. "Okay, 400," and I hopped in the back. I peeked in my wallet and realized I had to give him every single note I had. I didn't even have enough for a bottle of water! We arrived at Bang La Road, I gave him the 400 baht, he cheerily accepted it, and I started my 30 minute walk back to the hotel from there.

Several lessons were learned with this incident:

1) Always carry more than enough cash.

2) Tuk tuk drivers will not negotiate at rush hour.

3) "Sad face" doesn't always work.