Hua Hin

On the weekend I went to Hua Hin which takes just over 3 hours to get to by bus. I had a good time although the sun wasn’t really shining for the first day I was able to relax and most importantly got away from the frantic environment in Bangkok.

To get there I planned on taking the 7pm bus which leaves from the Southern Bus Terminal. To get there on time I decided to leave my apartment at 6 and that would give me a full hour to get there. What I didn’t realize however was that very few taxis would take me there and absolutely no Tuk Tuk’s. Either they didn’t know where it was (although I had a map to show them it wasn’t a very good one), or they didn’t want to drive that far. The result was me in a panic trying desperately to get a ride from someone. In the end a motorcycle taxi dropped by and after consulting with passers-by who knew English, I hopped on the back strapped on my helmet and went for one crazy ride. The motorcycles really don’t obey the normal laws of the road such as stay in a lane and don’t use the shoulder, and only one vehicle to a lane. Although it was a little nerve racking cutting between cars to move to the front of the line at red lights I managed to get to the bus station on time because of this ability of motorcycles to pass through the traffic jams. I arrived five minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave.

The bus ride was uneventful as was most of the weekend. I did a lot of reading, spent some time at the beach even though it wasn’t very sunny, and at night I met some fellow farangs who were studying at an American university in Hua Hin.

That’s pretty much it. Currently even though it might be a little early to apply for a new job I will be sending in an application for DFID as a Private Sector Development Advisor. I think I meet a lot if not all of the requirements and there is no mention on how many years experience is needed so I’ll be giving it a shot. It would be nice to get it but if not I’m sure other opportunities will come up.

One more thing actually before I post this that I thought I should write about which just dawned on me is the immense disparity between people. For instance currently I am working on a Factsheet which describes a PPP that provides drinking water to people in Dhalko, Nepal. Those who use the service have to pay a small fee and travel perhaps a few blocks (not too far compared to some communities in Africa) to receive their drinking water. I on the other hand have to get out of my desk take about five steps to the right and presto, free ice cold drinking water. Just thought I would mention this. Food for thought I guess. Hard to really grasp the convenience we all have in developed countries.

Andrew