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Travelogue
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Thailand
Thailand page 6
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Thailand
- page 5
02/25/05
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Back
in Chiang Rai, a town I've grown to like, I found my way to an especially
nice guesthouse named Baan Bua. My room here is clean and bright and only
costs 250 Baht a night, about $6.50. It doesn't have air conditioning or a
TV, but I don't need them here. Even in mid-afternoon, it's not too hot or
humid. Evenings are comfortably cool. |
Outside
my door is a pretty green courtyard with some tables & chairs
scattered around, accented by flowers and broad-leafed plants. It's a
pleasant, shady place to hang out, tucked far back from the road's noisy
motorbikes and exhaust fumes - an amazingly quiet place considering its
mid-town location.
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The
owner, Brian, is an ex-pat Brit married to a Thai woman. I think she's the legal owner of this
guesthouse because foreigners are
not allowed to own property in Thailand. Brian has been here 11
years and seems genuinely happy. In fact, the guy positively
bubbles with mirth most of the time. I liked him the instant I met
him.
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Yesterday
evening I joined Brian for a beer in the courtyard. With him was another Brit, a
retired taxicab driver
named Graeme (pronounced gram). We got into some lively
discussions on a wide range of subjects, from women to
politics, eventually adjourning to a not-yet-but-soon-to-be-open bar in town
belonging to another expatriated European living here with his Thai
wife, this fellow a tall, blonde Dutchman who looked to be in his
early 30's.
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Already
there when we arrived was yet another Brit with his Thai girl friend, and
also a
jolly German
policeman here on holiday but planning to retire to Thailand in 7 years.
His Thai wife lives with him in Germany now. It was a fun crowd and a happy
evening. Eventually Graeme and I had dinner in town and then more beer at Crazy
Joe's bar, Crazy Joe being a peculiar little man from Brooklyn who
recently lost most of his teeth in a motorcycle accident. His bar girl
kept sidling up to me, but I wasn't interested. By this time it was
pushing midnight, which is way past my usual bed time. This bar was just
around the corner from my guesthouse so I had a short walk home under a
full moon. Last I saw of Graeme he was ordering another beer, the bar girl now seated next to
him. This morning I woke up late and, happily, alone. That bar
girl wasn't much to look at.
What fun to meet all these Chiang Rai ex-pats living here with their Thai women, seemingly happy and
more or less prosperous.
I still don't feel this place is for me long-term, but I can certainly see the
appeal of it.
Continued on Thailand
page 6
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