Leaving Pattaya was not a joyous occasion. Oh, I was ready to get out of there, for sure, but we had to take a car from the hotel at 5am, waking up at 4. I was seaching the web to find a good car service to take us back to Bangkok airport and one of the many things I ran across was a debate raging on a gay travel website on whether a "gay car service" meant that the owners were gay, or that they provided a "hot, gay driver." I thought *I* was a persnickety traveler! Anyway, some gay folk grumblingly recommended a "normal" car service that was clean, had new cars, and was totally reliable. I rang them up, made a reservation, and was happy to see the car and driver ready at 5am at our hotel. We took off for the Bangkok airport, got there in plenty of time, had a boring lunch, and went on a 1 hour flight to the Trang airport. Getting off the plane, we used both the front and rear exits of the 737, which reminded me of the old days of flying in California with PSA, Air Cal, and Hughes Airwest. If I sound like an old person, it's because I am one.
Trang's airport is in the middle of a field somewhere and a full 45 kilometers from the beach and our resort. Since there is only one flight a day into Trang, I made a guess that our hotel van would be waiting for us and sure enough they were. We passed by a whole lot of nothing until we got the the beach. Then it was a five minute drive along the shore until we arrived at the resort. Ah, just what I wanted. A beautiful view, a quiet resort, and a place where I could take in some sun, read, write, and just finally relax. Our room is nice, with hardwood floors and a large new bathroom. Actually, the whole resort is new, built in 2003. As soon as we get in and unpack, Megan wants to go into town. Hmm. This means another hour drive right back over the same dusty landscape. Why? Whos knows, but my dreams of tropical laziness were shattered. We hire a van that takes us downtown where is the predictable nothing. We have something to eat for lunch, walk around, look at vegetables, and catch the van back to the resort. I shower off the grime of the little excursion and read, waiting for dinner. We walk down to the beach to take in the sunset, which was very nice. Dinner was at one of the resort's three restaurants. They have an Italian place, an Asian place, and a little-bit-of-everything place. That night we went to the Italian place. The food was exceptional. We met the manager of the resort, who is a young Swiss guy. Aha, Swiss. That explains why everything runs so well here and the little details are attended to.
We head down to the beach bar and take in the sounds of the house band. I asked the manager (Lucas) if they had a name, and he said no, they are just "house band." The band consists of two Thai lady singers and a Thai man keyboardist. They play such classics as "Hit me baby one more time", "Sex Bomb", and the entire catalog of "The Carpenters." I suggested a few names for the band, but they didn't go over very well. "Trang-a-lang-a-ding-dong", "Trangquility", "Last Trang to Bangkok", and "Beach Party." After thinking it over, maybe having no name is the way to go.
So what's this all about, this trip to Trang? I wanted some "down time", plain and simple, without giving up some amenities. Trang and the surrounding islands and barely developed, with our resort being the only hotel/resort type of thing built to date. There are backpacker bungalows, huts, and other assorted demi-shelters available for a few dollars a night, but they don't come with super-fresh towels and a clean, big, private shower. I wanted to relax, take in some sun, read, write, have a few drinks, and unwind for a week. Unfortunately, that wasn't really very appealing to Megan once she tried it. I suppose it seemed OK to her while we were planning it, but the actual idea of spending a week doing nothing didn't sit well with her fidgety traveler profile. We decided to try and few things out.
The Spa at the hotel was less than stellar. It was expensive for Thailand and not nearly as good as the Spa in Penang, which was half the price. It was the first time that I had a massage and did not feel better afterward. We signed up for a tour of some underground caves. They were, of course, quite cool, and the tour guides gleefully pointed out any stelagtite that looked like a part of the human reproductive anatomy. Joy.
The resort is almost empty, with only 10 of the 144 guestrooms occupied. If it feels like there are six people getting us a glass of water, there probably are. The staff do not speak English well. They speak just enough English so that you can't be sure if they understand you or not, but they sure do smile and say "yes" a lot. It seems to me that when the resort is so slow, this might be a good time for the Swiss manager to teach his staff some more English. We have another dinner, this one not so nice, and try to make a reservation to go on an all-day tour of the small islands. As it turns out, they say that the big shared resort boat is not going out, but that we can privately hire the small speedboat to go out at four times the cost. OK, sure, I want to see those islands! Well, what happened is that Megan got seasick and we had to rest up at the second island (there was nothing, and I mean NOTHING to see at the first island). After a couple of hours, we headed back home, leaving three islands I really wanted to see behind. Strangely, the resort's big boat was on the water that day, going to the same islands we has planned to see. That was the last problem with the resort, along with the outrageous laundry charges and the lost pair of socks.
Sorry that this is so boring. I really didn't want to do much in Trang! We go online and read about the delicious Trang Dim Sum. It seems like most of the people of Trang are Chinese, although they are fully absorbed into Thai culture and only speak Thai now. The special Dim Sum and Trang roast pork sound great, and we ask our driver about it. He says, yes, it is delicious, but not available at this hour. He offers to have a friend drop some off at our resort the next morning. Great! We pay him the appropriate amount and the next morning we get a Dim Sum delivery. People, come to Trang for the beaches, not for the special Trang Dim Sum or roast pork.
We did find a nice restaurant off the resort and near the Pak Meng Pier (where people leave for Island excursions). I think the name of the place was "Yom Yor." They served seafood and Thai food and it was all very very good. Every night we had a big dinner with a couple of large Singha beers and dessert for around 500 baht, which is about $13. Not only was the food better than the resort cooking, but the price was about 1/4 or even less.
I will have to come back to Trang to see it before it gets overrun. This, of course, will happen, like it happens everywhere. Chiang Mai is a crowded, polluted mess now - SO different than it was in 1994. I'd like to come back to Trang and stay at a little island bungalow and really get the rest and relaxation I enjoy so much. There is one place, called the Emerard Cove, which is (I think) on Koh Mook, where you have to swim through a 90 meter long tunnel at low tide to get to this amazing beach at the other side. I really wanted to see that place, and the other travelers just raved about it. I will have to come back here for that. Some day!
Leaving Trang, we will stop in Bangkok airport for a couple of hours to switch planes. For now, it's the minibus to the Trang airport. Trang may have taken a pair of my socks, but I've still got some of her sand in my shoes.
