Last day in Pattaya

Saturday 10th

It was a quiet day for my last day here. After breakfast and dropping off my laudry, I headed for Tukcom, the tech centre. As it happened I was a bit early and so I walked down the road and around the temple there. I haven't been to this temple before despite this being my 3rd trip.

Back at Tukcom, I bought a game for a friend and looked at other options but didn't buy anything.

Back at the hotel I installed the game to make sure it worked (a golf simulation) and tested it out. I then had a brief swim before heading out for a late lunch. I had some Pad Thai at a fairly basic restaurant at the side of the road. I'd eaten there several times last year but when I'd gone there this time they'd been closed.

From there I tried to find the second hand book shop I remembered from previous trips but it seems to have gone, as does the one that was near the hotel. I caught a baht bus to the Central shopping mall but there was nothing there so after taking 2 more buses I got to Festival and bought "the girl with the dragon tattoo".

By the time I got back to my room it was getting on to 6 o'clock so I picked up my laundry and went to Le Katai. There were 3 of our group still there watching the replay of the Masters. We watched a fair bit of that before Bruce and I headed round the corner to the place that Marie and I ate at the other day. The food is fine but more importantly it is airconditioned. We were able to see more of the gold as well.

I've now packed my golf bag and most of my suit case so I just have to chuck in the bathroom gear tomorrow morning and I'll be ready to go.

Monkeying a round

Friday 9th

Today we played the so called Monkey course at Bangpra. Monkeys are quite common on this course and we were warned not to leave anything loose in the cart. There are stories of phones and cameras disappearing into the bush.

We saw the first ones around the first green and while they weren't everywhere, they were on a lot of holes. On the 17th there was a group of them having a swim in the water hazard.

I had a shocker of a round today but I was not the only one. My 21 points was the worst of my scores here and it was only a par on the last hole that kicked me over 20 points. Again my driving wasn't all that bad but chipping let me down and I wasted quite a few shots in sand traps.

The course itself was very good certainly as good or better than any of the others we played, with the exception of the greens, which had been cored. I didn't think I putted too badly nonetheless but others got very frustrated with the greens.

The course is very pretty with lots of water and flowers about.

When we got back to Le Katai, Danny got one of the buses to drive to our hotel with our bags. When I checked my email I found that the wife of a close friend passed away a few days ago. I was able to call him and will be back home in time for the funeral. It puts the bad chips into perspective.

The truth is out there, Scully

Thursday 8th

This morning we finally got to the Sanctuary of Truth. This is a large wooden temple like structure which has been under construction for 28 years or so and is expected to take another 18years to complete. One of the guys went there last year but I didn't know about it till after he gave me a copy of his photos.

Marie and Bruce came as well and we found a Baht bus driver who was happy to take us there for 100B total. He then waited and bought us back for a similar amount.

The entry was 500b and they tried to sell us a pony ride as well, which included a massage for 750 but we declined. We did, however, get the free pony ride from the entrance to the lookout point.  There you can get an overview of the building before climbing down the steps to the lower level. They give you a gard hat to wear since it is technically a construction site. However most of the workers don't wear them so maybe its a liability thing for the tourists.

The building itself is made from wood, intricately carved into scenes of gods, animals and so forth. Obviously a lot of work to create something like this as the wood seemed very hard. The workers were hitting their chisels with mallets to make progress.

The site is on a bluff by the beach with bays both sides. There are some small lagoons behind the building and there was a dolphin show but we didn't want to wait another 40 minutes for it. I did see one dolphin who seemed very lethargic. Maybe just resting up before his performance.

It was quite pleasant to get back to the air-conditioning at the hotel. Our outing took a couple of hours which was about right as we had enough time to enjoy the sight seeing without getting overly bored and hot.

I emrged a few hours later for lunch at Le Katai, having a pasty of all things. There were a couple of the guys around the pool but I decided I didn't really want a swim and that it was more pleasant inside than out. I eventually fell asleep and woke up after 6. After picking up my laundry, I returned to Lekati for Dane's 50th Birthday party.

They had a pig on a spit and it was just melt in your mouth delicious. There was also a smorgasbord with chicken, salad, spring rolls and fruit. There was a big turn out - most of the Collier crew plus a lot of the other golfers he'd met over here plus his family who'd flown over the previous day.

I left about 11 and answered a few emails before heading to bed.

Great play at Great Lakes

Wednesday 7th

Today we played the Great Lakes course at Rayong country club. Danny had put the 4 ladies together today - Myself and Marie, with 2 Thai ladies, Pim and Jenny. Since I was only playing with ladies, I played off the red tees, which is where I should play all the time since that is the basis for my handicap. However when I'm not in a comp and playing with men I usually play off the same tees as them.

The course really is much shorter from the reds, in this case 1300 yards shorter. This didn't necessarily make it easier as the pars 3s were only 85 to 109 yards long so I couldn't take a full swing. I missed one long, one short, one right and hit the last for a birdie.

I finally found some form today also scoring a birdie on the par 4 second and 7 pars. overall I had 38 points, 2 better than my handicap. The Thai girls had 45 and 41 with Marie bringing up the rear with 37, still better than her handicap.

I was playing so well I almost forgot to take any photos but took this pair that show 2 of the par 3s that are effectively side by side although one is the 5th and the other the 12th.

One of the guys had a new video camera and unbeknownst to me, took a shot of one of my drives. This confirmed my suspicions that I have gone back to my old style - pre lesson and that is why I am getting a sore elbow. Finishing with elbows apart like chicken wings. Actually it wasn't too painful today and my knee which gave me lots of trouble just around town yesterday was also not causing any problems today.

I only had a couple of drinks and then came back to my room. I have changed my flight to Thursday extended my stay here 1 night and booked a hotel in Bangkok.

No golf today

Tuesday 6th

Now that I don't have to be back home for pennants on Sunday I am plannign to have a few days in Bangkok. I'd originally planned to stay there before I came to golf but finished up going to Wichian Buri instead. Of course I have to check that I can change my flights first. I called the Qantas number in Bangkok and found out today is a public holiday here. I was transferred to an international call centre but gave up after 10 minutes.

I was wandering down to Le Katai after a late breakfast and dropping my laundry on the way. I heard my name called and turned around to see Kevin, the last of the Collier Park group to arrive waving from his taxi. I dropped my laundry and went back to see him. We both then headed to Le Katai.

Dane, Dave and Jason were there and we had a few drinks and then headed for the Soi Bua Khao Markets. These are under canvas and within a very short time after entering I was dripping with sweat, enough to elicit comments not only from the guys but from one of the stall holders. If you weren't in front of a fan or getting some breeze it was stifling. I wasn't in any state to try stuff on, even if I foiuund something than may have been in my size. I wandered ahead of the guys and when they didn't catch up heade round the corner to the air-conditioned Tukcom building.

Here is where they see the technical stuff. Phones, cameras computers and DVDS, CDS etc. I looked around for a while but didn't buy anything. eventually I took a baht bus back to the hotel, put on the air con and read for a while, possibly having a nap as well.

At 6 i returned to Le Katai and 15 of us got on a baht bus and when to Porn's restaurant. She is a "friend" of one of the guys and her niece is with one of the others. Her place was the other side of the main rad to Bangkok and certainly no place we would have gone to accidentally. Most of us had steak and then she presented everybody with a "lady drink" these turned out to be some 39% proof spirit with some sickly cordial in it. very sweet and quite potent, if you could stomach the sweetness. Most of the glasses didn't get finished. we also had plates of sweets and then apple pie and fresh fruit. All this and some soft drinks for under $7.

They had a fish tank in the corner with one very large white fish in it. When I put my face close to the tank it shook its head opened its mouth as if it was laughing at me. Some of the others come up and it did the same thing to them, to everybody's amusement.

I was happy enough to come back to the hotel once we returned. It is reasonably pleasant out now but it was very hot and humid during the day. Marie and a couple of others played golf and she is quite burnt on her shoulders. I wore the same tank top I wore in the garden back home one day which left me sunburnt for 3 or 4 days. This time I made sure the sun screen reached all the way to the edge of the shirt.

We're in the Navy

Monday 5th

Today was the first official round for the Collier competition, although since I am no longer a member I am not part of it. In fact there are 3 tourists who are not members as well as some others from Le Katai who are playing with the group as well. Only Dane of our foursome was actually competing.

We played at the Royal Navy course at Plutaluang about 40 minutes south of Pattaya. Last year we played the East and West courses and this time we started on the South. Once again my short game let me done with some lovely drives turned into bad scores, although I did start to get more confident on the putting. I had a run of 2 pars on the  from 9 for 11 points. I guess the most "interesting" hole was the 9th. I was sharing a cart with Gerald, another Canadian and after birdie-ing the 7th he'd had a bad score on the 8th. My drive was within 100yards of the hole but Gerald's drive hadn't even rolled all the way down the slope in front of the tee, then he had a miss and was still well behind my drive after his 3rd. When he asked his caddie how far it was to the creek in front of the green I replied " about 3 shots the way you hit them". He then had another miss before passing my drive with his 5th shot.

However, I stuffed my 2nd into the water, dropped out, hit the bank with the next shot and dropped back in before chipping onto the green and 3 putting for a 9, the same as Gerald. The other two had likewise hit into the creek and had 7 or 8.

Then things got a bit unsettling. The caddies first directed us to the East course but we wanted to play the North, since we hadn't played it before and it has the signature lighthouse hole. We were so far ahead of the next group that Gerald rightly suggested we'd better send a caddie back to tell them where we were going so that we all played the same holes. Dane and Jason meanwhile had already hit off and weren't happy to have to wait. Things settled down after a bit and we did play the Lighthouse. I overshot and had to drop and play a second ball, Gerald and Dane (in red) gave up after a couple in the water but Jason (in Yellow) manage to hit the island an putt in from off the green for a birdie.

In the end my back 9 wasn't too bad with 16 points - 2 over my handicap. My 18 hole score was still dismal - 27 points, 9 over my handicap.

I had no problems with me knee today but my elbow was very sore at the end and for the last few holes, every shot was painful.

Ditto

Sunday 4th

It is Easter this weekend and the second year in a row that I have been in Thailand for the holiday.

The weather here has been hot and humid since I arrived, with temps in the mid to high 30s.

This morning the 5 of us who are staying at the Areca headed up to the Pattaya Sports Club. Dane had been given applications forms and photos by half a dozen of us so he could join us up before we arrived. However I was the only one who had actually read the form and realised that a 1" x 1" photo was required not the usual passport size. Consequently only Dane, who was their in person for a replacement photo and myself were actually enrolled. The other 4 were heading there to get their photos taken and make their application today. We grabbed a Baht bus and the process, once we arrived was fairly quick and easy.

After that we went to Lotus where I got some more coat hangers and Marie a power converter. We didn't get inspired by the clothes. We'd left the boys to make their own way but they were still in the coffee shop when we came down. We joined then for a drink and then Marie and I headed off to the Festival shopping centre. Lots of nice shops but again no sales for me but Marie bought some gym gear. WE visited Grand Plaza after that and then headed back to the hotel. We actually went passed it and had lunch at a cafe around the corner.

After that we went back to the hotel and joined the boys at the back pool. I had a few swims, read a bit and had a short nap. Tough job but somebody's got to do it.

About 6 I headed to the embroidery shop and picked up the caps and took them to Le Katai. The same 4 were there and just as we were heading off for dinner an hour later, the bus with some of the others pulled up so I gave out theirs as well. I then caught up with the Areca group for dinner at KIss followed by a walk through Mikes mall and a coffee before retiring.

A lazy day

Saturday 3rd

Once again I was awake around 5 and again I did some work for Houston. If I can't sleep I might as well be getting paid for being awake.

I headed for breakfast just before 7, which turned out to be a bit early as they were still setting up. Since the pre-cooked eggs and the omelette chef were not ready, I had some Asian food instead, realising it was the first of that fare since I arrived 4 days ago. It was very nice although a little out of the ordinary for me for breakfast.

The hotel has 2 pools. Once is in the courtyard between the reception area and the restaurant in the front building and the other is between the 2nd and 3rd buildings. My room is in the second building, on the 4th floor.

After breakfast, I headed for Lotus/Tesco. However I got on the Baht bus on the wrong street and it only got about half way there before it turned onto a cross road. I walked up to the next road to catch another bus toget there. Fortunately, they are open from 6 am so I was able to go right in. I tried on one dress but it wasn't a good fit but bought some sunscreen and coat hangers. I then checked out the big jewellery store across the road but didn't buy anything, but looked at some dangly Topaz earrings. I walked a bit further and saw a hairdresser was open  so I got my haircut there. - B400 or about $12. After that I caught the baht bus back to the grand plaza shopping centre opposite the beach. It was still closed as it wasn't 11 am yet. I walked back along the beach to Mike's mall which was also closed but one of the stalls out side was open and I bought a couple of light dresses for about the price of a haircut, each. It is quite humid here so even though I have polo shirts and skorts for golf, it is cooler wearing dresses otherwise.

I gave up waiting for the malls to open and headed back to the hotel where I went for a swim, read my book and had a nap by the pool. I went out for a late lunch and then spent some time chatting with Bruce, who was at the other pool. About 3 I headed for Le Katai, but none of our crew was there so I had a foot massage nearby. Dane and Jason were back when I'd finished and Bruce and the Rev turned up later. I had another couple of beers before heading out for dinner with Bruce. We went to the smorgasbord place I've been to a couple of times on previous trips. I'd got all the details for the caps so we headed to the embroidery shop, catching them just as they were about to leave. However they stayed to take our order, so I don't need to go there in the morning.

There was an email telling me I won't be needed for pennants so I may stay a few extra days now. I was only leaving Saturday to be back in time.

Its only 9 now but I'm ready to call it a day.

More long drives

Friday 2nd

I was awake about 5 this morning so I decided to do a small job for the guys in Houston. One of the calculations was not including a particular correction, that was present in the otehrs, and they needed it for a current job.

After that I had breakfast and then took my clubs to Le Katai. This is about 500m from my hotel so rather than carry the bag, I wheeled it there in the travel bag, which I then bought back to the hotel. It was bad enough wheeling it.

I then got my dirty clothes and found a laundry that would have them ready by the end of the day. I am running out of clean stuff.

A couple of the guys were at Le Katai when I went back at 9 to catch the mini bus to golf, including Dane who was very happy to get his wedges.

Today I played my first round of golf in Thailand for a year. We played Emerald which was one the the courses we played last year, which I thought was reasonable but not great. I still have that opinion this year, nothing wrong with it but not extra special either. The course was designed by Nick Faldo and one of the characteristic features would be the mounds that are present on virtually every hole.

I was the only one from the Collier group to play, with the rest of the group of 10 being part of the Le Katai golf group. We played in groups of 3,3 and 4. I played with Steve, an English guy, who shared a cart with me and Thomas, a French Canadian, who walked. We got round in under 4 hours which was more than acceptable. The greens fees with a cart and caddy were about A$40 and with transport, drinks, tips etc it was about $60 all up.

I started very well, just missing a par putt on the first then getting birdie then par on the next 2 before the wheels fell off. I drove really well but my chipping and putting were not very good. This was nowhere more starkly illustrated than the 340 yard, par 4, 11 th hole. My drive was on the fairway no more than 20 yards from the green and I still finished with a 7 - 3 chips and 3 putts.

I did finish well, putting in from off the green for a birdie on the 18th. I missed only 1 fairway and 1 green on the back 9, but still only had 12 points.  With only 11 on the front 9, it was a fairly dismal score, 13 over my handicap.

We spent about 1/2 hour at the bar after the game, waiting for everyone to finish  their rounds, shower etc. I even had a beer it was that hot. I think it was probably her last year when I had the previous beer.

Once we got back to Pattaya I went back to the hotel, showered and changed into the halter dress I'd bought in Houston. It was much more comfortable with the heat and humidity. I have one otehr similar dress so I'll try and get some more here.

I headed to the embroidery shop, took photos of patterns and got prices for our souvenir caps. I have organised these the last 2 times I came but surprisingly (!) no-one bothered the year I missed it. I was told they that wanted to get some but couldn't find the shop.

I had fish and chips for dinner, at Le Katai, since they was the Friday special and the guys at golf had recommended it. I had a number of soft drinks but no alcohol. Various members of the Collier group turned up as the evening progressed. TB and Marie had flown in from Laos that afternoon and arrived later in the evening.  I got some preferences for caps and headed for bed about 10.

A long drive

Thursday 1st April

I had another reasonable night's sleep although again I had a few hours awake in the middle of the night. This despite the mattress being rock hard. Fortunately this was my second and last night.

I had mostly packed so after breakfast, I had only to clean my teeth and pack my wet pack. We were off to the office shortly after 8. I finished a few things from last night and was working on anew report when it was time for the show and tell meeting. This went fairly well I hope and at the end some of the younger techs were keen to learn about the graphics options.

I spent the rest of the morning finishing of the new reports and adding extra info to some existing ones. They then wanted me to change the order of the wells on the daily report to group them by licence. This changed the way the data was scanned but was not too difficult. I put up the new version ofn the server and after a few more bugs fixes we agreed it was done.

I left for Pattaya about 1/4 to 4. Again they had organised a minibus as their drivers were all occupied. While it was even more comfortable than the one up, the disadvantage was the driver hardly got above 100kph and sometimes was driving even slower. My driver from last year woudl have been doing at least 120 all the way.

Consequently it took 6 hours to get to Pattaya. I read a bit for the first part and was able to lie across the seats an get a bit of a rest. We stopped at a service station after turning off the main road to Bangkok and onto the one to the airport, where I got a drink and some chocolate bars. It was dark by then and when we headed off I discovered that the left most seat reclined almost flat. I fell asleep after that and woke up when we were nearly to Pattaya, so I must have had 2 or 3 hours.

We found the hotel easily enough and I left without unpacking to change some money. I still had about 2500 baht but had to put a 100baht deposit on the key. I then headed for Le Katai where 5 or so of our group were ensconced. I caught up with them and had a few iced teas.

Dane had my Pattaya Sports club card for me. Apparently he'd been asked to join up half a dozen of our group but I was the only one who's read the application and provided the right sized phot, which was much smaller than a normal passport.

I headed back to my hotel about 11 and showed the card, which reduced my rate by 10% and will save me 1400 for the 900 it cost me. I then unpacked and had a shower.

This hotel (Areca Lodge) is much nicer than the Opey where we started the previous times. It actually has a bath for a start so the floor doesn't get completely wet when you shower like the OPey and indeed like the Pyramid in Wichian Buri. The room seems bigger as well and I have a view over the back pool. There's another one in the front building.

I'm organised for golf tomorrow so I should get some sleep.

A long night's journey into day

Tuesday 30th

The flight from SF to Hong Kong was not too bad. It was after 3 am Houston time when we boarded so by the time we had a meal it was well past bed time and I fell asleep easily. I had about 4 1/2 hours before I woke up. I watched the latest Twilight film and then tried to get some more sleep with some success.

Once in HK I headed for the Cathay lounge, going up the escalator and down again several times before I finally found it.

I nearly missed my flight to Bangkok. I was doing some work and looked at the time, realised I had about 20 minutes and packed up. I had not realised how far it was to the departure gate and that I'd have to take a train to get there. I was still on the escalator when one train left so that added a few more minutes to my time. When I got to the other end a girl was asking if anyone was for Bangkok and radioed ahead to say I was on my way. I was the last on the plane and they said my bags had been unloaded put they would try to put them back on. The flight itself was ok and too short for a movie but I watched an episode of top gear.

Both my bags were on the plane but it took a while before they came out. Then I was through the exit doors and looking for my driver. He was where I expected after last time holding up a sign with an approximation of my name. Fortunate, since they'd changed the driver again (for the 3rd time) and I didn't see the email with the new name and number till I got to the office. Rather than a staff driver in a 4 cab ute, I was in a 9 seater mini bus, the only passenger. I asked to stop at a 7-11 and got a sim card and some minutes. We then headed North and I was able to read for a bit and even got a nap in before waking with about 1/2 hour to go. I tried to ring Jim on his mobile and the office without success. However the driver took me to the office anyway. Jim it turned out was in Bangkok abut arrived later in the day. I talked with Pon and Amuwat, neither of whom I remembered from the last trip. There has been quite a few changes in personal in the last year including the loss of one of the field managers and a group of locals. The company has put in a middle management level of locals which is helping to get things sorted out.

However there were a number of people that I did know from previous trips and they greeted me with what seemed genuine affection.

There have been some obvious changes, since  my last visit, which was just under 12 months ago. The 2 buildings at the office have now been joined together with the gap now containing another couple of offices. There are a number of new storage sheds as well. The office I used, which seemed to have been empty while I was away now has 2 people in it. The one across the hall has 3 desks instead of one.

At the hotel, the canteen has been glassed in and air conditioned. I also see that the pink house near the office is now occupied. It was mostly built when I came on my first trip nearly 2 years ago but worked stopped due to lack of funds, I was told. The River is low but not as low as last year and the potato field are ready to be planted.

I left the office about 6, just as the sun was setting. I had a steak for dinner and watched the news. I was trying to read the Sunday paper and fell asleep so headed for bed. I tried to ring Ed, one of the golfers, who was supposed to be  here already but got no answer. I fell asleep before 8 and then got a call back from Ed which woke me up. He has booked me for Friday's game.

I slept through to 7:30 although I did have an hour awake around 4 am.


Wednesday 31st

I'd asked the driver to pick me up at 8 and it was about that by the time I finished my shower and got dressed. I had a quick breakfast and put out my washing.

The office that I used the last few times now has 2 people in it and generally there are more people in the office now. I was set up in the old operations room which will become a radio room later.

I was able to get the changes for the gas production made as well as extra fields that were to be imported from the new well sheets. I also wrote a new report and updated a couple fo others. At the end of the day I updated the live system and converted the data. I heade back to the hotel about 6.

I had another steak, followed by icecream and was starting on the blog when the phone rang. They were having a problem and wanted to go back to the old version. They sent a driver to take me back to the office. I couldn't find a recent version on either my PC or their server but it turned out to be a simple fix anyway, so I updated the server again and they seemed to be happy.

I tried to connect to the net at the hotel and briefly had google on screen before losing the connection. Ironically, I can send and receive emails at the office, upload via FTP but can't access web pages. I think its an issue with the DNS server but won't worry about it.

Unfortunately I missed the laundry pick up this morning and don't want to risk delaying my departure tomorrow because its not back, so I'll just have to get it done when I get to Pattaya.