I left early Monday am to check out Hua Hin, on the opposite (Western) side of the Gulf of Thailand. To get there, you have to go north to Bangkok (3 1/2 hours, 200 B ($6 US) for an air con minivan), then transfer to a minivan or bus going south down the opposite coast for 3 hours (180 B, $5.40 US.)

Hua Hin is the home of the King's summer palace, but I don't know how they define summer here. It's freakin' hot every day of the year. They say Hua Hin is cooler as the winds blow across the water and get stopped at the mountains there so there is more rain.

I must say it was gorgeous. I stayed in a great hotel that someone had suggested - tv, refrigerator, air con, satin sheets, pillowcases, and quilt, fresh frangipani blossoms sprinkled on the bed and in the bathroom, one block across the street from a lovely, somewhat deserted beach. All for 590 B/night, less than $18 US. The night market was within tuk tuk distance, as was a western style shopping center, complete with a Hagen Daz.


The downside? More falangs than Thai and the tuk tuk drivers take advantage of it. The always quote a price double the going rate to see if you'll bite. But when you look aghast and say "Waa! 100 B to the Night Market??"  they come down to reality. Hey, if they can get away with it...

Hua Hin is noted for it's great golf courses and also, the movie The Killing Fields was filmed here - yes, I know it's about Cambodia, but they probably couldn't get any filming rights in Cambodia.

I hired a tuk tuk to take me to yet another monkey temple, but this one was replete with monkeys. Several flights of stairs to the top and I'm praying to God that I don't step in monkey poop and slide all the way back down. They simply do not move but keep watching you with those nasty little eyes. I don't care how cute you think they are, they creep me out.

I also went to see a brand-new, one day old elephant at the elephant sanctuary. It was all over the news, first baby born there in 3 years. Cute as can be, standing already but still nursing.

I had an interview with an English Language school, WEIC. She is opening a branch in the next town and needs a teacher for just Saturday and Sunday. $16k B ($480) a month but a house and electricity provided. To be honest, this is the offer I'm considering.

I was called to another interview in Bangkok for AYC, which subcontracts teachers to government schools and businesses all over Thailand. 32,500 B /month, has some positions up north but none in Chiang Mai which would be my ultimate destination.

I was 6 1/2 hours on the road on the way home, I literally ran from one minibus to jump on the next at Victory Monument in Bangkok, hadn't eaten all day, but it's good, on the way over on Monday the driver stopped 1/2 through the trip for a bathroom/snack break. Except this driver never stopped! I had to pee so bad, it was 3 pm and I hadn't had anything but a bottle of water which had now taken residence in my bladder, and no vehicles in Thailand have shocks; it's a rule, I think.


Note to self - always go to the bathroom before travel, just in case.

I noticed a surprising phenomenon - absolutely everyone who gets on the minivan takes one look at me and sits in the back. Are they afraid of falangs? Do I look that bad? The bus driver doesn't even have to count the passengers, he knows that if the seat next to the falang is occupied, the bus must be full.