Two On Tour

Out of the winter, into the sun

Monday 20 January

Monday drifts by in airports and airplanes as we make our way to Bangkok via Doha. Photo: Istanbul airport.

Tuesday 21 January

A 6-hour flight seems more appealing than a gruelling 12-hour flight. But the downside soon becomes apparent: by the time the cabin crew have served a welcome drink followed by a full meal, only four hours remain to attempt some rest before we arrive in Bangkok. Ugh.

Fortunately, our Airbnb host is happy for us to check in early. We go for the easiest option and hire a driver to whisk us the 100km to Pattaya. The air pollution is miserable, and even by modest motorway standards the new highway south to Pattaya is charmless : straight, hot, busy, and grim. In Pattaya, we’re greeted by our Hungarian host, Gabor, who lives in the same apartment complex. It’s refreshing to be greeted in person by an Airbnb host. The last time it happened was in Chiang Mai, 14 months ago.

The flat exceeds my cautious expectations: it was so cheap that I was concerned that it was going to be a lot less comfortable than it is. The London-themed décor is distinctly unlovely, but we knew that from the listing photos. The sofa is lumpy, and the air con unit occasionally makes groaning noises consummate with its age. But the bed is wide, the kitchen is well-equipped, and the bathroom is vast compared with many we’ve had. For 17 quid a night, we’re not complaining. 

We won’t be going far this week: I need to spend the next few days indoors as much as possible – and certainly during the hot sun of the day – while my scalp continues to heal. We do head to the nearest eatery, a one-woman shopfront operation run by friendly Mrs Aom, a couple of minutes away in a quiet street. Her fried glass noodles with mixed vegetables are just what we need for lunch after the long journey. Suitably filled, we both fall asleep for a couple of hours as our body clocks catch up.

But we need groceries. So it is at dusk that we trudge the 20 minutes along a busy road to our local supermarket of any size. We’ve deliberately avoided downtown Pattaya in favour of Jomtien to position ourselves away from the seedier side of town. But even here, the inside of the supermarket looks like a zombie apocalypse of aging farang men grimly trundling shopping carts of Chang beer through the aisles.

Well, it’s going to be an experience…

K’s too shattered to cook this first evening, so we find another quiet eatery nearby and tuck into a bowl of green curry (me) and fried rice (K). It’s unspeakably delicious. Even if Pattaya fails to rise above its uncouth reputation, we’ll at least eat well this month…

Wednesday 22 January

I get the best night’s sleep I’ve had since my operation, despite still sleeping sitting up. When I wake, it’s still pleasantly cool outside: a good time to take myself for a short morning stroll around the immediate neighbourhood, in two expanding circles. While our flat looks out onto the pool and public area at the centre of the complex, the flats on the other side of the corridor look away from the complex and have a ‘FOMO’ feel. The land the away-facing flats overlook is currently for sale. The view from these flats isn’t a lot to shout about even now, but it will likely shrink to a view of an adjacent condo complex one day soon – like the vast new development going up between our own Diamond Suites and the main road. Like any vast building site, it’s an eyesore, but one that we knew was there when we booked, so no complaints.

Back at the flat, today is a day of catching up. Nothing further to report.

Thursday 23 January

Time to explore beyond our immediate neighbourhood: we both have dental appointments in downtown Pattaya this morning. Mine’s a quick check-up and cleaning, while K needs a consultation for a crown that she’s been putting off since root canal work in HK last year. We’re in and out within an hour and heading to Pattaya’s swish Terminal 21 mall in search of a decent supermarket and lunch. Terminal 21 turns out to be excellent as far as malls go: clean, modern, full of useful, affordable shops rather than designer tat, and brimming with good food. Mine’s a kao soi chicken – hardly a local dish here in Pattaya, but it’s on the menu and I’ve missed it in the 14 months since we were up north in Chiang Mai.

The ride back takes us down the coast road, where middle-aged farangs with shaved heads not unlike mine sit in bars cradling an afternoon bottle of Singha. I can’t wait for my hair to grow back so that I look less like them.

We spend the rest of the day quietly chilling in the flat. The scabs are gradually flaking from my scalp, which is gradually beginning to feel less like an undetachable helmet. And, degree-by-degree, I’m looking less like a gulag prisoner. Still a long way to go, mind…

Friday 24 January

I don’t have a lot to write about at the moment. It’s good to be back in Thailand and adjust to all its chaos and colour, but we’re not straying far from the flat until I feel I can wear a loose hat without worrying about disturbing my implanted hair follicles – a few more days at least.

But this isn’t a bad thing: there’s a lot to be said for quietly chilling in our new home. The sofa is uncomfortably lumpy, but otherwise we have no complaints – especially at the price we’re paying. If I build in some time every day to read, and to study Spanish and Thai, I can say I’ve had a productive day. I take on a job for AsiaEdit for the first time since October. It turns out to be a tough one and I’d really rather not, but I feel I should keep that bridge open.

Saturday 25 January

By the time I finish the job for AsiaEdit, it’s already mid-afternoon. I spend the rest of the afternoon making my own version of a new compilation reviewed in this month’s Uncut – ‘Sensitive: Indie Pop 1980-89’. Uncut describes it as a “genre-and-era-defining collection from when fringes were long and indie guitars jangled”. But I have my own ideas about what defines a genre and an era. One of the joys of Spotify is the freedom to improve on a commercially-released compilation album: out go some unfamiliar, unpromising minor cuts; in come genuine genre-and-era-defining classics from McCarthy, the Woodentops, and Another Sunny Day, among others.

At dusk, we venture down to the Jomtien waterfront for the first time. My main observation: every white face appears to be Russian. This is a new experience. Until now, I’ve only heard about the Russian presence in Thailand. It wasn’t at all evident in Chiang Mai in 2023, but here it’s all-encompassing. There are plenty of Russian families with kids, and most are no doubt here on holiday rather than waiting out the war here.

The night market that we passed on the way to the beach has decent food options and I’m due my first beer since my operation, so we head back inland to eat there. The menu is in Thai, Russian and English – in that order. Back at the flat, I fall asleep before we can even watch one episode of our latest Netflix series: a Thai revenge thriller called ‘Girl from Nowhere’.

Sunday 26 January

We have a leaking pipe in the bathroom. Gabor, our Hungarian Airbnb host, pops over with a handyman. While the handyman does what he can, I stand on the balcony chatting with Gabor. My simple question, ‘What do you like about living in Pattaya?’ elicits a response that takes in what appears to be his entire adult life, from working in 1980s Iraq before the fall of the Berlin Wall, to his fortunate timing in withdrawing all his money (with considerable profits) from the Hungarian stock market just days before the Asian financial crisis of 1998 sent global stock markets tumbling. It’s a long, rambling response, but I like Gabor. He seems to accept that he made some key decisions in his 20s, 30s and 40s that with hindsight turned out to be rather spectacularly fortunate. That enabled him to retire to Thailand at the age of 50 and plant some serious distance between himself and the government of Viktor Orban, which he clearly detests for “destroying” the Hungarian economy. (He also appears to be gay, which presumably would be challenging in Orban’s Hungary.)

The handyman is unable to buy the parts he needs to fix the leaking pipe today, but that leaky pipe has facilitated a good chat!

The rest of the day is quiet: lunch at one of the tiny restaurants on the soi connecting us to the main road, and an amble at dusk to the supermarket for groceries. The restaurant bill reminds me to go back and study my numbers in Thai, which I spend the afternoon working on.

Monday 27 January

Right now, I have more time entirely to myself than at any time since we started travelling 16 months ago. I have very little work coming in at the moment, which is absolutely fine. During the daytime, I can’t go out for more than a few minutes at a time because my scalp is still recovering, and it’s a bit too soon to wear even a loose hat. So, I’m at home. A lot. I’m finding plenty of time to study both Spanish and Thai, read every day, and swipe a few items from my to-do list – whether it’s booking our day out in Milford Sound at the end of March or fine-tuning our finances.

Tuesday 28 January

We head out soon after five to walk into the centre of Pattaya, taking the back streets as far as possible. Apart from a trip to the dentist last week, it’s our first time heading into Pattaya itself. We emerge on the praya at dusk. A couple of people are still churning up the water with jet skis, but they’re far enough away to not be a nuisance. A few others are still lingering on the beach, but most are strolling on the praya. Unlike farang-dominated Jomtien, here the human tide is a vibrant mix of East Asians, South Asians, Arabs, and farangs. We dart into the shiny, ultra-modern, air-conditioned Central mall, which is superbly decked out for Lunar New Year. After grabbing a few things we need, we head back down the praya and find a good Indian restaurant. We end up paying more than anticipated (10% service charge and 10% VAT), but – hey – it’s Lunar New Year’s Eve. What the heck.

Suitably filled, we continue down the street-lit praya. It’s nine o’clock now and it’s regularly punctuated by working girls waiting for customers. But somehow the atmosphere feels more cosmopolitan than seedy. This only continues when we leave the praya to continue along Walking Street: a mish-mash of open-front bars with live music, and closed-front venues where groups of girls in skimpy outfits stand outside, beckoning punters in. But tonight almost everyone is just enjoying being part of the slow-moving human tide flowing up and down Walking Street. I even spot a few families with children. What on earth do those kids make of it all?

Back at the flat, I receive a text: Ian’s been offered a job. I’m so relieved. Not as relieved as he is, no doubt, but relieved nevertheless. I’d begun to worry about the effect that being without work was having on his well-being. A very positive end to the day.

Wednesday 29 January

This past week has been an education in what it’s like to be truly time-rich. I’m enjoying every moment of it. Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. I don’t even need to think about checking my PolyU email account. The day drifts pleasantly by, reading the news, studying Spanish and Thai, and watching a couple of travel-related YouTube videos. At dusk, we head out for groceries. I call mum and exchange a couple of chatty voice messages with Ashley, then it’s dinner, followed by Thai revenge drama ‘Girl from Nowhere’ on Netflix.

Thus the day passes, doing pretty much exactly as I want. I don’t even dip into Anne Applebaum’s ‘Autocracy, Inc.’, my current book. I have no idea how I failed to schedule that in. And this is exactly my point: it’s so easy to fill a day.

It’s been two weeks since my hair transplant. My head is growing steadily less numb, and my hair is now a short buzzcut and not a skinhead. The scabs have almost completely fallen off, so today I start on the Finasteride medication. I’ll be on it for at least six months.

Thursday 30 January

We spend today at Pattaya International Hospital having our annual medical check-ups. Right from the start, it’s a very different experience to our check-ups this time last year in Penang. Everyone is kind and well-intentioned, but everything is a bit haphazard and chaotic. Despite the hospital name, most staff speak little or no English. This is not a complaint, but it was unexpected. We somehow get by, but communication is frequently challenging. The fact that the only washbasin in the men’s bathroom is out of order – I eventually locate a working one in the disabled bathroom – seems to typify our experience.

Still, on the plus side, we’re both able to go over our results with the doctor – who speaks good English – by late afternoon. (K has to go back for another consultation tomorrow after some other results come through.) We’re both in good shape, better than last year overall, and getting (most of) the results the same day puts our minds at rest. On the other hand, the package isn’t as comprehensive as last year’s. We’d rather pay more for a more comprehensive and more professionally executed package. At least we’ve learned from today’s experience that last year’s check-up in Penang was really top class care.

No photos from the check-up, but this one was at nearby Terminal 21 mall while killing time waiting for our appointment to go over the check-up results with the doctor.

Friday 31 January

I wake up to read that Marianne Faithfull has died and immediately change my planned Friday song to accommodate this sad news. I spend the early morning coming up with something to say about ‘Sliding Through Life on Charm’, her superb autobiographical 2002 collaboration with Jarvis Cocker.

We have to return to Pattaya International Hospital late morning for the final part of K’s check-up. We grab some lunch at a nearby beach cafe – it’s not quite on the beach, but the description fits. An elderly North American customer – possibly with some mental health issues – gets abusive when the cafe won’t take her order for toast (it’s not on the menu – why should they?) After embarrassingly threatening to call the police, she flounces out. There’s an awkward few moments before everyone – customers and staff – goes back to what they were doing.

We wander on to Central mall a few blocks away for a few essentials that aren’t available at our local supermarket, then get a Grab back to the flat to chill the rest of the day.

Saturday 1 February

I’m really very happy here in Pattaya and don’t feel a great need to do very much. We both effortlessly while the day away at home, mostly on life admin. Following our health check-ups, I update my spreadsheet and can confirm that my cholesterol and uric acid levels are significantly lower than last year (although it takes a bit of messing around to convert the measurement units). Less good is that my glucose level remains elevated and solidly in the pre-diabetic stage. I’m going to need to work on this.

Shortly before dusk, we set out to walk to Cape Bali Hai Lighthouse. But it’s further than we thought, and the roads aren’t pedestrian friendly. Instead, we head uphill to Wat Phra Yai, which adds a splash of colour and culture to the day (wats are thin on the ground in Pattaya). We head back down towards the shore, which we never quite reach because this section of coast is entirely given over to the private beaches of vast hotel complexes. By now we’re a bit hot, so we get a Grab to whisk us back to our local sports bar, Fraser’s, where we watch Forest hammer Brighton seven nil. The staff and the food are excellent. We’ll go back.

Sunday 2 February

Another blissfully quiet day spent reading, listening to music (Sade’s 1985 album ‘Promise’ in particular), studying Spanish, and watching Match of the Day. Throw in a few admin things and a stroll to the supermarket, and that’s about it today. No complaints at all.

Monday 3 February

We put out some early feelers to Dev and Carla as to whether they plan to stay on in our HK flat after the one-year no-get-out clause expires at the beginning of April. We’re waiting to hear back from them.

In the late afternoon, we successfully wander down to Cape Bali Hai Lighthouse, the dividing point between Pattaya and Jomtien. If I’m honest, it’s rather underwhelming. There is, however ,a popular cafe overlooking the small rocky promontory, where dozens of East Asian tourists are taking photos of each other against a backdrop of, well, open sea. I don’t really get it. Maybe it’s a mandatory snapshot if you’re on Instagram. We climb some steps up to a viewpoint marked on Google Maps, but stray dogs begin to appear. Some bark at a Russian family walking ahead of us and we decide to play safe and return the same way we came rather than run the gauntlet through the dogs. (We later spot the same Russian family back down by the sea – it seems they haven’t had their faces mauled off.)

Downtown Pattaya is noisy and chaotic, even on this Monday night after the busiest week for tourism of the year. So, we jump in a Grab back to our own neighbourhood, where we find a quiet outdoor restaurant in a backstreet and order some local food and enjoy a couple of small beers.

Tuesday 4 February

We put in our first applications to Trusted Housesitters, with a little help from the new DeepSeek chatbot. We’re looking for a sit in the UK in August, and we’re not too fussy: without a track record, getting our first sit may be a challenge. Trying to hit just the right note, I spend the best part of an hour on each of our first two applications – even with a leg up from AI. I’m confident that both sound persuasive. Let’s see how many applications we have to make before someone takes a punt on us.

We venture only as far as the supermarket today before spending the evening watching current Indian film and Cannes Grand Prix winner ‘All We Imagine As Light’ – a poignant meditation on the need for love, belonging and connection in contemporary Mumbai. It’s also beautifully shot. I think it’s stunning. 9/10.

Wednesday 5 February

For only the second time in two weeks in Pattaya, we hit the tourist trail. Today’s destination is the Sanctuary Of Truth, an enormous wooden Buddhist temple carved entirely by hand at the far north end of town. And I’m so glad we did. The sheer size of the structure is impressive considering that it’s built entirely of wood. But it’s the grace and astonishing detail of the carving that really makes this place special. Our tour guide Bhyo speaks good English and is well-intentioned, but we struggle to keep up with her as every place our eyes settle on deserves our extended attention. At the end of our rather breathless tour, Bhyo leaves our very multinational group to wander at leisure, which we do until we’re politely shepherded back to the front gate just before sunset.

Our Grab ride back inches its way through the vibrant but sleazy backstreets of Pattaya, where the pick-up bars are filling up with middle-aged (and then some) farangs. We’ll be back in these streets tomorrow night on foot to join a pub quiz.

Thursday 6 February

We spend the day looking forward to a promised pub quiz tonight at a sports bar in central Pattaya. When we arrive, there’s no quiz: it seems the quizmaster is away until late March. Hey ho. We stay anyway for some pub grub and a couple of drinks.

Earlier in the day, I finally find time to start transferring the notes I wrote in Turkey last summer to this blog. Our time in Turkey is probably the part of our travels so far that I’ve undervalued. My familiarity with the geography, the language, and the culture probably caused me to be quick to find fault with the Turks – something I was happy to do very often. But reading back through my notes and looking again at the photos, I feel quite wistful about those months now. The best part – housesitting for Ashley in Bodrum – was really rather special.

Friday 7 February

A busy day. We kick Friday off by catching up with Mike and Meco in Taipei. Meco’s on leave today and is keen to chat. Mike’s temporary post at Taiwan National University came to an end in December; he’s about to start developing a YouTube channel focusing on animation. It’s nearly two years since we visited them in Taipei. Mauren and Monty are growing up fast but still remember us.

We have to head back to the hospital for K to collect the results of the final test of her health screening. She’s fine. I decide to forego requesting an HgA1C blood test to check for diabetes: it just doesn’t work out with our schedule today, and I really only want it for a complete set of results. I know I don’t yet suffer from diabetes. I’ll just keep focusing on diet and exercise.

Next, it’s lunch with Mike W, who’s also currently tucked away here in Pattaya. Mike’s with suffering with a bad foot. From how he describes it, he may simply have a case of plantar fasilitis. Given that Mike’s hardly renowned for paying attention to his health, I suspect something more serious. But I’m no expert, so I’m hardly going to offer my opinion. While we sip soft drinks and eat a plate of pad kra pao each, Mike limits himself to downing pints on an empty stomach…

We leave Mike as he’s starting his third pint to walk to nearby Central Pattaya mall for a few groceries and a coffee.

Saturday 8 February

It’s three and a half weeks since my hair transplant: time to take a cautious dip in the pool here at Diamond Suites. We both take an early-morning dip while most of the pool is still in the shade. It’s good to be back in the water. I’ve missed having a pool. My left arm gives me a bit of gip, but I manage pretty much OK. Nothing too strenuous yet: I want to wait until a full month after my hair transplant before putting any unnecessary stress on my scalp, so just a bit of gentle breaststroke for now.

In the evening, we wander back to our local sports bar, Fraser’s, where we watch Orient take an unlikely lead against Man City in the FA Cup, with a spectacular 50-yard lob by Spurs loanee Jamie Donley. Man City go on to win 2-1, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted…

Sunday 9 February

On my second day of swimming since my hair transplant, I squeeze in both a morning and a late afternoon dip. By late evening, my arm and leg muscles are beginning to protest, but this just underscores how much I need this sort of exercise. I’ll make the most of it while I can. Otherwise a very quiet day. I finish transferring all my phone notes on our travels in Turkey last year to this blog. I’ve been steadily working my way through miscellaneous life admin task like this in the last few days. Still a few to go, but I’m crossing them off one by one.

Monday 10 February

It’s already Thursday. I don’t think I can remember anything about Monday! But it was all good: a morning swim, and a quiet day spent on life admin and studying Spanish.

Tuesday 11 February

We make a day trip to Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens, half an hour’s ride by car from Pattaya. It’s a bizarre, incongruous mash-up of tropical plants, a formal French-style garden, Bhuddist paraphenalia, and a dinosaur theme park. Oh, and it has a line of old red British phone boxes. It is, of course, completely hatstand, but a lot of fun.

Wednesday 12 February

I’ve started a substantial editing job for only the second time in the three weeks since we arrived in Thailand. I was just getting used to having all day to myself every day. That’s going to change these next three days.

We also book flights from Malaga to Madeira early next January, and a month of accommodation in Estepona on the Costa del Sol. New adventures are beginning to take shape!

We spend the evening watching ‘Conclave’, with a superb performance by Ralph Fiennes.

Thursday 13 February

A full day of work today. K loses a tooth – the one she was planning to replace with an implant – and heads to the dentist (appointment within 4 hours!) leaving me to tap away on a keyboard. In the evening, we wander down to our local sports bar, Fraser’s, for their quiz night. American quizmaster Dutch dishes the trivia to seven teams, some regulars and some tourists like us. Thanks to K correctly answering a bonus question that the first vegetables to be grown in space were potatoes – a little nugget she retrieved by recalling Matt Damon in The Martian – we manage to finish next-to-last and not last. A pretty good quiz night overall.

Friday 14 February

I finish the editing job I’ve been doing these past three days for a PolyU PhD student. It’s been tough work and I’m looking forward to having some time to myself again. I’d rather gotten used to being time-rich. But after three days of working, I have an ever-lengthening to-do list. A year and a half after leaving full-time work, I still have no idea how I ever had time to hold down a full-time job.

Saturday 15 February

It’s good to have time for myself again. We’re busy with housesitting applications at the moment. I’m trying to put in two applications a day. We’ve had some promising leads so far, but we’re still waiting for someone to take a punt on us.

In the late afternoon, we take a long sunset stroll down to Jomtien beach and head south along the coast. It’s only the second time we’ve been to Jomtien beach despite being here nearly a month now, and the first time we’ve walked for any distance along it. It’s really very pleasant – far more so than Pattaya’s main beach. Trees sprout out of the sand, offering shade, and the vibe is very relaxed. We stop for an ice-cream as we approach the centre of Jomtien, watching a group of 30-odd people doing one of those ‘follow-the-leader’ fitness-through-dance routines, seemingly oblivious to the racket they’re making. The leader of a smaller group nearby struggles to be heard over the thumping dance music as he counts his group one-through-ten in Thai.

From Jomtien waterfront, we head back inland and loop around to Fraser’s sports bar for the early Saturday match. We feel quite at home there now, so it’s a shame this is our last visit.

Sunday 16 February

Plenty of time today to bury myself in George Orwell’s ‘Burmese Days’, and study a good hour of Spanish. A quiet day, punctuated only by an early-evening walk deeper into our immediate neighbourhood than I’d ventured before: quiet streets, some lined with enormous villas behind high walls, an occasional tired-looking dog, and an overwhelming sense of calm. It’s a world away from the chaotic highway we’re used to following down to our local supermarket. Very different too to the neighbourhood across the highway that spreads down to the sea, which is understandably mostly hotels and condo complexes. I didn’t take a photo. Darn.

Monday 17 February

A sense of winding down our time in Pattaya is now rapidly stealing in. Our thoughts are turning to Ko Samui, where we’ll arrive on Thursday.

Today is notable for a two long conversations with friends I haven’t seen for far too long. In the morning, I speak to Adam Balcombe in Hong Kong for half an hour to seek his advice on funding the Interactive Brokers account that I’m currently setting up in Hong Kong. Then in the afternoon, I spend an hour on a video call with Tim Pile in Chiang Mai to catch up properly. It’s a shame we won’t see Tim on this occasion, but Thailand’s a big place and we have much to explore. I’ve no doubt we’ll see Tim again in Thailand; just not on this trip. Shortly before sunset, we make our final trip to our local Foodmart for a few essentials. For our last two days in Pattaya, we’ll mostly be eating out.

Oh, and we’re accepted for a two-night housesitting assignment in Hayward’s Heath over bank Holiday weekend in August. We take it.

Tuesday 18 February

We have just a couple of days remaining in Pattaya. We want one more activity day, so after lunch we take a Grab to Pattaya Underwater World. Our Grab driver speaks English and is keen to chat as dark rain clouds loom ahead (they finally break while we’re in the aquarium). By the time we arrive, we’ve struck a deal for ‘Jenny Ka’ to drive us to the airport on Thursday for our flight to Ko Samui.

Pattaya Underwater World is pretty much what we’d expect from an aquarium: three tunnel walkways weave through the main aquarium, where we’re surrounded by some impressively large fish and rays, while the smaller, more colourful fish are in several smaller tanks where they won’t be eaten by the bigger ones. The other visitors appear to be almost exclusively Indians, mainland Chinese, and Russians. There’s a bit too much taking photos rather than living for the moment for my liking. But it’s not especially busy, and we’ve nowhere else to be, so we don’t mind waiting patiently as others try to get that perfect shot with a basking shark or mighty stingray. There’s also a sideline of various lizards, spiders, snakes and toads, most of which sadly look like they could do with more space.

We certainly don’t need a full afternoon to see the aquarium, so we return home for couple of hours before heading out to Jomtien beach road to locate the Wombat and Kiwi Bar, which has caught our eye for its name. It’s a good 45-minute walk, but the sun’s going down and the evening is cool and comfortable. The Wombat and Kiwi Bar is fine – nothing special, but absolutely fine. For the first time since we’ve been in Pattaya, hawkers dart in and out of the open-front bar. But they’re not pushy and are quick to move on as soon as we politely decline whatever they’re offering. We agree that, of all the countries we’ve visited so far, Thailand remains the most promising one to settle in: it’s the only place we’ve been that seems to offer the possibility of developing new social networks while also being relaxed and affordable.

Wednesday 19 February

I wake up to learn that Rick Buckler has passed away at the age of 69. Rest easy, sir.

Our final day in Pattaya is quiet and relaxing, like most of the other previous 29. Once the sun’s falling, we head out to top up our phones and top up my medications for my scalp. For our final evening meal in Pattaya, we amble three minutes down the lane to a local restaurant that we’ve been to every week. And that’s it. Pattaya’s been well worth our time. Neither of us would especially want to live here (it’s a bit too big for our liking). But we’ve learned a lot about what works for us in Thailand and what doesn’t. On to Ko Samui now to explore somewhere on a smaller scale.