Hua Hin

We had a good week at school. A few kids got sick in kindergarten and rather than risk infecting other students the school was closed for a few days...yippee!!! I took a long week-end and went to Hua Hin. I figure if it is good enough for the king ( this is where he hangs out apparently) and the Globe and Mail ( there was an article there a few weeks ago)I figure it must be good enough for me.

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I better use my words carefully to paint a picture. Hua Hin is a beach side town where I believe a lot of Europeans and wealthy Thais come for short breaks. There seems to be a boom in real estate beach side condos and every second storefront is pushing some new properties with private swimming pools in your own secluded villa. I would even buy one if the price were reasonable but at a few hundred thousand dollars, I passed.

Frankly, I was quite disappointed with the beach and sea. As I walked down to the ocean there were a million stalls selling beach paraphanelia and when I got to the beach after about 100 yeards all I saw was a sea of umbrellas and chairs. The reason, I found it, is that no-one was going in the water because of the sea urchins and the sand had sharp coral so people came to sit under an umbrella and drink beer and eat. I decided I could do that at my hotel pool( minus the beer). I sat underneath an umbrella and read my learning Thai for idiot book but I am such an idiot I didn't realize the umbrella was just covering my top half and got my first Thai sunburn on my legs.

Friday afternoon I had the pleasure of playing golf on a new course just outside of town. Just my luck that I got a Muslim caddy. It was the second day of Ramadan and she had to take the job because it was her first caddying experience of the week but it was about 36 degrees and she would not drink the water I bought for her. By the second nine I was even carrying my own bag as she was wilting on every hole and spent a lot of time curled up on the grass while I hit the ball. I felt so sorry for her but this is so typical of Thailand. People work such long hours for so little remuneration. The security at my building, for example, seem to work for 24 hours...the same person!The van driver drove me to Hua Hin ( about 3 hours), loaded up with 10 more passengers and off he went without even a ten minute rest.

However, I should have counted my lucky stars for getting such a lethargic caddy the first day. Yesterday I played at the first golf course in Thailand, royal Hua Hin. The course was created in 1924 once the railroad was built and Hua Hin was a stop over place for travellers going south. The course was absolutely fantastic. I saw a sign in the office saying Thai and expats 1,000 bhat. I was wondering who else could possibly play there until I was asked for 1,500. When I asked why she said I was a farang, not expat. I explained I worked in Bangkok and she was quite please to let me play for 1,000 if I had a card. Believe me, I am getting a card printed this week!

Anyway, back to the caddy. She was extremely bossy, not letting me hit the clubs I wanted, telling Thais they had to play with me, holding my stick when I had the wrong angle etc. She wouldn't even let me go home alone and insisted on driving me home on her motorbike. She was 51 and had been divorced for many years...I wonder why?

Actually, I had quite a good time because this was the first time I actually played with Thais. Usually I play with people at school. On the second hole, one of the Thai guys asked me what my handicap was after he saw me hit a bad shot. I think he wanted to bet with me but I said no, not knowing Thai culture. Who knows, I could have lost the farm if they were big betters. However, on the next hole, a par three, he it one out of bounds after I had put mine of the green. I took out a 1000 bhat and offered to bet on this hole. Everyone else in the group seemed to see the humour and laughed uproariously....all he did was grumble. Lucky for me my caddy made me pick up my ball and move to the next group who only had a twosome.

In short, hua Hin had nice golf courses but that was about all. Even if I had my camera, other than the train station which was remarkably small and cute, I don't know what I would have taken pictures of.

This will be a big week for me at school. I have two evenings of parent presentations and a big conference I organized this Friday so I am looking forward to some stimulation. Next week-end I will deserve a break. The boss wants to take the staff to "Pattaya" for a bonding experience. Since it is Yom Kippur I am not sure I will go. Time will tell.