We cannot get the kids to wake up so we make turns to go to the gym. I run a 3 kilometer, but is dead – the heat is just too much! We just make the end of breakfast, which is great with lots of fruit and rice! We spend the morning trying to unlock the safe – which Luc managed to lock and getting info and booking trips for the next two days. Whilst I chill out next to the pool, Winsome sneaks out for a cheap (R 70) massage in the little shop behind the hotel. The kids can be demanding sometimes – so the mothers need their quiet times! At about two we rent a little Tuk Tuk to go one of the most visited and most ornamented Buddhist temples on the island, Wat Chalong. It is unusual, with many people praying and rubbing gold leave off the statues – we still need to figure out what the ritual is all about. On our way back we stop a pearl and jewel shop – or rather a very fancy “warehouse”! Winsome gets some stunning black pearls and Cathie her birthday stone – Opal. Luc is very upset because he also wants his stone – what he plans to do with it, we have no idea, but it ends up in a big tantrum, because he got nothing! Not even his mother got something – we however got Mrs Solomons birthday gift! I am very weary of the male shop assistant who keeps on telling Luc that he is a handsome boy!
After a quick stop at the hotel we go to Pantong town for dinner. The plan is to go to the night market to eat local food. We have no idea of where it is and after walking for a while, and hiding under our umbrellas (local rain shower), we ask a lady at one of the stalls selling curios. She informs us that this market is in another town! But a Tuk Tuk driver directs us to a local restaurant across the street. Where the food apparently is very good and cheap!
We make a quick stop at a DVD vendor, which turns out to be an adventure. He takes us off down an alley into a back room to look at his full collection. Thank goodness for the internet where I read about the procedure of buying DVD’s. We get a great collection – about 15 DVD’s for R 250 – including some of the latest movies not even being released in SA.
We struggle to cross the busy street full of tuk tuks and scooters and eventually he pulls his tuk tuk out in front of the traffic and helps us to get across – really kind! The restaurant is full of locals and looks a bit dodgy – with the food being cooked right there and then! The kids have their doubts, but the mothers are brave! On recommendation of the waitress we end up having the best (and cheapest!) dinner yet! Only Winsome can eat the Som Tum Thai – spicy green papaya salad. We try the sticky rice – absolutely divine! The kids love the Kau Op Sapeloo (not sure if this is right!), which is fried rice with pineapple and chicken. Our main course is Pad King – chicken with ginger.
We have our holiday drink – beer and lemonade – and the kids immediately tell one bottle (which we shared!) is enough for us!!!
We still wanted the durian ice cream, which is a great local ice cream. The waitress sends us off to the French grocery shop in the Jungceloyn Centre. A shop assistant offers to show us durian – which we discover is a type of fruit! So no durian ice cream, but we get Cathie a miniature cake (to celebrate her upcoming birthday) and a cute key ring holder.
We have our hands full with the children and their demands. Luc is comparing everything Katie gets with what he gets and complains bitterly about all the stuff she is getting.
We wait just outside the party street for the hotel transfer. We are amazed by the many Western men walking around with the Thai girls. Some of them are definitely underage! So lots of bright lights, drunken people and men looking for a good time. Combined with the rotten smell on the streets, this part of town is not one of our favourite stops.
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