17 days since Vancouver. It's our last night in Koh Tao. I could call it 'turtle island' which is the english translation. Not that I've seen a tonne of turtles, but it is more western than Thai from my experience thus far.
***
After 2 nights in Bankok we caught a minibus to the south. But while there in Bankok we hadn't been pressured (by ourselves or others) to learn Thai. thus the idea to veer away from tourist-busy places was born.
The minibus took us to our destination of Cha-am. A taxi driver, a tuk-tuk driver and a lame attempt at bartering made it more expensive than necessary.
It didn't matter.
We got off the bus clutching our packs but glad to have Bankok in the rear-view mirror. We heard the familiar, 'need traxi?' but bypassed it with obvious ignorance.
Doing the only thing we thought to, we asked where the beach was with a point of a hand laughably similar to Arnie.
There are no difficult reads in Cha-am so we found the beach by following a long straight road east. But from there where do we find the best place to sleep?
Rainbow hostel in Bankok was cheap at 250 tbt per night but it was small, warm, and grungy. Chaam had several streets off the beach but no tourists or travelers to refer to for reference.
This is where it became apparent that english (ang-grit) speakers were valuable and not the norm.
***
'Nam koo.at yai' says Dave for a breakfast beverage.
'Two nam?' asks the elder lady with a smile.
'Chai! Sorng nam koo.at yai' says I. We take a few minutes to order the food but that's because we haven't decided on how much we want to spend and whether it should be rice, noodles, spicey or not spicy.
It's not often we get spicy food even after we ask for it. I believe it's a matter of foreigners asking for it and not understanding the level of spice. Dave has enjoyed middle-east level of spice with respect for years. We know how to respectfully request it now.
'Red-curry with rice. Pet mahk-mahk' he says. It's met with a questionable look but taken note of.
'Red-curry pet noi' says I.
Questionable look becomes understanding as the proprietor sees we understand what we ask. This bridges over mutual respect as from this point she starts joking and smiling with more frequency.
The order is put through to the young girls who don't speak english. It's our first order in thai with a request for spicy food that is known to the thais. Ordered any other way would result in a meal suited for farang who doesn't know the food.
our orders come in due time and it's an adventure unto itself to
eat our first spicy meal.
Along our trip English-speakers are not uncommon. It's a great canyon of difference between knowing common faring questions and being able to hold a conversation in English. It did not take long for us to recognize this.
***
Cha-am had very few travelers. I'm sure any other year it had awesome tourism, but when we arrived asking for prices it was mostly for 700-900 per night. Based on inernet information we kept searching and found two places offering for 300/tbht per night.
'Come see the rooms' she said. We took our sandals off at the open entrance and followed her up the concrete stairs.
The rooms in Bankok were 250Thbt per night and included a single-sized bed and a small bathroom which doubled as a shower. Previous experience taught us cost-to-space demands so at 300 per night we expected small sweaty rooms.
An amazing surprise to walk into rooms that included A/C, a queen-sized bed, and a bathroom twice the size of Bankokhostel for only fifty baht more.
Lack of Thai language aside, this was a no-brainer. Our math advised a 30-1 ratio so an expected night's stay was budgeted at $10 per night.
$1.67 more per night to get those additional amenities was an absolute dream.
Learning after that purchase included the trust of your room safety to the proprietors. It's not easy to hear horror stories and then trust your world to strangers.
But that's why you have friends and also why you ask questions. Trial and error is not science. It's an ongoing experiment that will only stop when you do.
