by Guy Lilburne
The next day was much the same, except we didn’t see so many places; we spent more time sitting and eating on the beach. Amy seemed quite happy, but I wanted to look at properties and I was getting bored. I had the feeling that Amy liked me a bit more than she should have! The morning turned into afternoon and I asked Amy about the place she had mentioned the day before, Bang Saray. She told me it was a little Thai fishing village about 20km further along the Sukhumvit Road from Jomtien. She said that there were a few farang there, but it was quiet. It had a nice beach but no night life to speak of. It sounded great to me and I told her that I wanted to go and see it. After another 30 minutes of me getting impatient we got on the motorbike and headed off towards Sattahip. Bang Saray, sometimes spelt Bang Sare, was about halfway between Sattahip and Pattaya; about 15 to 20 minutes’ drive, depending on the traffic. We turned off the Sukhumvit and into the village of Bang Saray and at first sight I fell in love with the place. The main road went from the Sukhumvit down to the beach. It had a market and all the shops and stalls that I would ever need. It had a Seven Eleven shop of course, a few restaurants and a few small bars. The sun was shining and the village looked beautiful. The Beach Road ran along a totally unspoilt beach - just palm trees, sand and the Gulf of Thailand. It was perfect and I knew straight away that I had found my little piece of paradise. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to live in Bang Saray. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I had a feeling in my heart that felt so strong. It felt so right and the feeling engulfed my entire being. Sometimes you just know when something is right and this all felt so right. There was no decision to make, it had been made already; I loved the place. The only problem now was going to be finding a nice property to live in. They were building some new houses along the Beach Road, and there were some new apartment blocks being built on the Sukhumvit on the outskirts of the village. There were also a few houses for sale or rent scattered around the village, so I had plenty of choice. We looked around at a few but couldn’t find anybody to talk too about buying or renting in the area. It was early evening when we went to eat in the Ruentalay Seafood Restaurant (built on a pier over the sea) before heading back to Jomtien. I told Amy that I really liked Bang Saray and, out of the blue, Amy told me that she really liked me. I just laughed it off, but she was serious and repeated it. The truth was that I just didn’t fancy her at all and she made it into an awkward moment. The awkwardness was broken by an almighty lightning crack and a fierce thunder storm. The rain was torrential and everyone went for cover inside the restaurant. I paid the bill and we waited for the rain to stop, or at least ease off a bit, but it was set for the night. Well it was the rainy season after all! We went back to the motor bike and the helmets that were hanging on the handle bars were full of rain water. We were both already soaked and it wasn’t great weather to ride a bike back 15 km along the busy Sukhumvit Road. I suggested finding a hotel in the village for the night and maybe visiting a couple of the bars to play pool. We could go back to Jomtien in the morning when the weather was better. Amy loved the idea. I had no doubt that she was happy about the idea of sleeping with me, but I booked two separate rooms for the night in The Wilkris Resort. It was perfectly located just off the High Street. The rooms were lovely and it had a nice little swimming pool. We played pool at The Local Bar and had a few drinks, but it was an early night. I lay in bed happy in my heart that I had found the place where I was going to live. Amy had gotten quite drunk and I think that was because of me. I was starting to think that she was a bit crackers! The next morning I met her early for coffee in the resort restaurant. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. It was a Tuesday so they had a big market on the open ground alongside the main High Street. They have this market every Tuesday and Saturday and they have a night market in the grounds of the Temple at the bottom of the village every Wednesday night. I was loving this place more and more by the minute. We checked out of the Wilkris Resort and drove around the village on the motorbike. We stopped for breakfast and coffee at the Mokador coffee shop on the High Street opposite from the Tuesday market. I made my first friend in the village - Jim Dixon. He was the owner of the Mokador. He is a lovely man, very friendly and helpful, originally from Scotland, but he has been settled in Thailand for many years. He was married and had a beautiful daughter. During that first conversation with Jim I told him that I loved the village and that I was looking for somewhere to live. He told me about a house that he knew was for rent at the end of a pier at the bottom end of the village. He said it had fantastic views of the mountains and was over the sea, but it wasn’t cheap. I asked him to give me directions, but he insisted on taking me on his bike because he said it was too easy to miss. Amy didn’t seem very happy and I think it was because suddenly she was not in control. After breakfast Jim took us to show us the house and introduced me to Khun Malee, the old lady who owned the house.
The house was simply perfect, built on the end of a pier over the sea. It was a new build and had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a good size lounge/kitchen area. It had two decent sized balconies; one at the front of the house and one at the side. From every window in the house I was looking out at the Gulf of Thailand and from the front of the house I had views across the bay towards the mountains. Looking out to sea I could see seven islands in the distance and to the right hand side of the bay I could see the skyline of Pattaya and Jomtien. It was fantastic. There were no speedboats pulling banana boats, no jet skis and no tourists - just local fishermen in their little fishing boats catching fish for the local market. It was picture perfect and I loved the place. It wasn’t cheap to rent at 16,000 baht (£320) a month, well not by Thai standards anyway. But I fell in love with the place and agreed to take it there and then. I paid the deposit and signed contracts with Malee for a one year lease, with the option to extend for three years. Even though I had to spend the next six months travelling back and forward between Thailand and the UK, I just couldn’t take the chance of missing out on this house. So there it was. I was now renting a beautiful house on a quiet beach in Thailand. Amy did a lot of talking to Malee. Too much talking for my liking and I didn’t understand a word that she was saying, but I was getting very suspicious about Amy and her motives! I took Amy back to Jomtien and, even though she had volunteered to show me around the area for free, I gave her 2000 baht for her time and trouble. As soon as I handed over the money she asked to borrow another 10,000 baht! She said that her papa was sick in hospital and she was having trouble transferring the money from her bank in Norway. She promised to send me the money as soon as it came through. I laughed and told her that I had heard that one before and I told her that I wouldn’t be lending her any money. My gut instincts about Amy were turning out to be right. She wasn’t to be trusted. I couldn’t wait to get back to my house in Bang Saray. I had a few more days before I had to be back in England, so I checked out of my hotel and headed back to the little house over the beach, to enjoy the next few days before my return to the UK. I bought some essentials for the house like food, toilet paper, cleaning stuff, beer and Brandy. I was all set for my first night in my new house in Thailand. Wow! I was so happy. I had also bought a little 6ft fishing rod. It came with line and reel, hooks and weights, and all for only 250bht. Now I am not a fisherman at all, but now that I was living over the Gulf of Thailand at the end of a pier, I thought that I had better give it a go. I sat on the balcony at the front of my house that first night and watched the sun go down. It dropped into the sea just at the end of the mountain across the bay from my house. It was stunningly beautiful. The orange glow speckled and danced across the water. Sometimes in life you just get an overwhelming feeling of happiness that washes over you. Well that is what I had that first night, and on many more nights to come in my beautiful little house over the sea. The air cooled slightly after the sun had gone down. I could still see the silhouette of the mountains across the bay. The green, red and white lights from the fishing boats bobbed up and down in the
distance further across the bay and I could hear the sound of the rigging rattling against the mast of a boat moored near to my house. A dog was barking somewhere in the distance, but he got bored and stopped. I could hear someone playing a guitar from further along the beach. I sat back in the chair with my feet up and drank a large brandy with ice and dry ginger. I was feeling very pleased with myself. I knew that I had to make several trips back to England over the next six months, but I felt as if I had arrived in Thailand for real now. I chopped up a bit of shrimp and squid to use as fishing bait and cast a line into the sea. I didn’t really care if I caught anything or not. I was relaxed and happy, having a drink and sea fishing from my balcony. I had lots of fish eating what I had put on the hook and I could feel them tugging at the line, but I still couldn’t catch anything - well not at first. There is more to this fishing lark than you would think!
Sarai came and sat next to me. She was the dog that belonged to Malee, the old lady who owned the house. Sarai was a golden Labrador that was crossed with something that obviously wasn’t a Labrador. She had a nice face and she was a calm quiet dog who only ever barked if a stranger came to the gate, which was the access to the pier from the soi that ran along the beach. I put all my cards on the table with Sarai that first night. I told her that I didn’t like dogs and I certainly wouldn’t be feeding her, so she was wasting her time sitting and lying at my feet and looking at me with big brown doggie eyes. The problem was that I told her all this in English and she was a Thai dog, so maybe she didn’t understand. Maybe she did, but just wanted a friend. Anyway she stayed with me until I went inside the house at about 1:00am.
I had been fishing for three or four hours before one of the fish who had been enjoying all the free food that I kept sending down on the end of the hook actually got hooked! I tugged on the rod and the fish tugged back. I tugged again and the fish tugged again. My heart started beating so fast. I had actually caught my first fish. Well I hadn’t actually caught it yet. It was still down there but it was well and truly on the hook. I jumped to my feet and knocked my drink over. Sarai opened her eyes, looked up and then settled down to sleep again. Maybe she had seen it all before, but I was excited. I was already imagining how big the fish must be. I knew that I had my camera in the kitchen drawer, but I had to land it first. I might be feeding off this fish for days! I jumped off my balcony wall onto the pier walkway, pulling and reeling in my catch. I could see it flashing silver in the water below me. I pulled it up and it lay on the pier floor, flipping like mad, trying to find its way back to the water. I’d love to be able to tell you that it was 35lbs and about 2ft long, but it wasn’t. It was in fact about 4 inches long and weighed not much; but it was hooked ……and so was I!
I caught another four fish before I went to bed. I also found myself talking to Sarai and stroking her with my foot, but I kept telling her that I didn’t like dogs and she wouldn’t be getting any food from me. I thought it was just a good idea to start as I meant to go on. I went to bed happy. It felt like today had been the first day of the rest of my life and I loved the feeling.
Chapter 13 - Paradise Found!
I awoke at 5:30am in the morning. I had only had four hours sleep, but I felt great and refreshed. I got up and showered and sat on the pier watching the sun come up behind my house. I saw a group of monks walk past the gate at the end of the pier. They were collecting food and giving out blessings. I went to have a closer look and, when I looked down the soi, I was amazed at how many people were up at this time, sitting outside their houses waiting to give food to the monks. I got on my motorbike and went to the market where the monks were heading before returning to the temple to eat. The market was already busy and it was just after 6:00am. I bought some bottled water and some rice and curry in plastic bags for the approaching monks. Everyone in the market was holding food waiting to give it to the monks and a couple of men followed behind the monks in a pick-up truck to take the food off the monks and pile it on the back of the truck to take it back to the temple. I saw the local Thai people take off their shoes before giving the food and receiving blessings, so I did the same. Everyone nodded and smiled and I could hear them talking about ‘The Farang’. Village life starts early in the morning and I was delighted to be part of it. I stayed around the market after feeding the monks and had a walk around the village. I returned to the market and drank hot sweet coffee. It was thick and rich and I liked it. It was only 10 baht. Over the next couple of days this became my routine and the stall where I bought my coffee each morning provided a little chair for me to sit. I was honoured. I bought some chewy dog treats for Sarai, but each time I gave one to her I told her not to expect anymore. I think she knew where we stood with each other!
I went back to the fishing shop where I had bought the fishing rod the previous day. I decided that now I was a real fisherman I would need some more fishing gear. I didn’t really know what I needed, everything looked great to me; lots of little plastic and metal fish with hooks sticking out of them, plastic feathers and floats in lots of colours, hooks and weights in all sorts of shapes and sizes, reels and lines, nets, tackle boxes…..they had everything I would ever need and a lot of stuff that I wouldn’t. I bought it all anyway….and another rod!
I spent the next couple of days exploring the village and local area and making new friends. I was always back on my balcony to watch the sun go down and then do a bit of fishing, with Sarai sitting at my side to keep me company before I went to bed.
The flight back to England was long and tedious as always. I hated the long haul flights, but going back to England the flight always felt longer than the flights coming back to Thailand. I never felt as happy being back in the UK as I felt when I was in Thailand, but I had things to do. First of all I had to sort out a visa. There are many, many farang who live in Thailand for years without the proper visa, but that means that they can only stay for 30 days before they have to leave the country and then re-enter. This is commonly called a visa run and usually they will do a visa run to Cambodia, Laos, or Myanmar, depending on which part of Thailand they are staying in. Many companies provide a visa run package, including transport, meals and hotels if required. Well I would hate having to do that every thirty days so I decided to get a proper visa. First of all I needed a visitor’s visa which would allow me to stay in Thailand for 6 months. I got a multiple entry visitor’s visa, which allowed me three entries into Thailand for 60 days at a time. This was perfect for me because I still had business to finish off in England. I took a train up to Hull, to go to the Royal Thai Consulate which is located there. The Indian lady who served me was delightful and I was in and out within ten minutes and I had my visitor’s visa. Another step towards my new life in Thailand was completed. I had already sold my house and car and I had decided not to keep anything, so I gave away everything I owned. Everything - books, photos, furniture, electrical goods - absolutely everything was given away to family and friends and some charities. I kept one suitcase with some clothes suitable to wear in Thailand. I was ready to go!
I couldn’t wait to be back in my house on the sea in Thailand. No matter how good I told people it was, I doubted that they could imagine how perfect it was. I even had potted palm trees on my balcony. Fantastic!
Anyway, with visa in hand it wasn’t long before I was back at Bangkok airport queuing up to get through immigration. The visa stamped in my passport looked impressive. Well I thought that it did and I had looked at it many times. The immigration officer must have been impressed too, because he stamped it and waved me through. I collected my suitcase and stepped out into the hot, humid and sticky Bangkok air. I love Thailand! I took a taxi back to Bang Saray and pulled my case behind me along the pier. I was home. I was happy. Sarai came running up to meet me, her tail wagging. I was amazed that she had not forgotten me. She waited on the front balcony as I took my suitcase into the house, I never let Sarai into the house and now she didn’t try to come in
. I gave her a chewy dog treat. It was the last one. I’d get some more the next day. I was tired after the long flight and settled on the balcony with a brandy, just relaxing. I had decided that, besides buying some more treats for the dog, that I was going to buy new furniture for the house. The house itself was lovely, but the furniture that came with it was old fashioned and tired. Malee had seen me arriving back home and came to say hello. As usual she was dressed in the long white cotton nightie that she habitually wore for most of the day. I think the nightie was nearly as old as she was because it was worn so thin you could see through it! I asked her about replacing the furniture and she said it was no problem. I could just take it with me when I eventually left the house. I was shocked and a bit angry when Malee told me that Amy had turned up at the house while I had been in England. She had turned up at the house drunk and told Malee that I had said it was Ok for her to stay in the house, even when I wasn’t there. Malee could see my anger rising. She just laughed and told me that she had not believed her and didn’t let her in. She also told me that Amy had said that I was going to send her money and that she would be living there with me when I returned from England. Scary stuff! I told Malee not to ever let her into my house under any circumstances. Malee just laughed again and shrugged her shoulders and shuffled off along the pier. I never did hear from Amy again. Thank goodness! The next morning was Tuesday - Market Day. I decided to go to the market to buy Sarai some dog treats before I went into Pattaya to buy some new furniture. I bought the dog treats and then decided to buy her a bone as a bit of a special treat. Now, I was getting better at speaking Thai, but my Thai was not good enough to say ‘I want a big marrow bone for the dog’. So I did what most farangs do and broke it down into simple English.
