Exodus
I hopped a minibus from Khao Sok south to Tonsai Beach for a brief stop over and then on further south to Trang. In Trang I also stayed a couple nights and wandered around the Sunday Night Market in front of the train station and ended up sitting with a jeweler from Holland. His success story was fascinating and inspiring to me. We talked about gems and his early beginnings 18 years ago with his Thai wife and a small used bookshop. He had bought a mass of used books from a guy who knew a guy for a fair price but also left a small corner wall open for his wife and him to make and display earrings and necklaces. As time went on the jewelry was making more money than the books and as the books were purchased and left the building, it wasn’t worth it to buy more books. They chose to reorganize the shop making more room for more jewelry by opening up a whole wall that proved to be a limited risk opportunity that profited and the little shop prospered. He didn’t start with a lot of money but what he did have, he and his wife owned. They continued to design jewelry pieces that sold and there came a time when they decided to sell the remaining books off to a competitor and got back almost the same amount of money he spent on the lot in the first place. The shop was converted into a jewelry shop virtually over night and they began working diligently with the silversmith and collecting stones at gem fairs eventually filling the walls and display tables with high-end pieces as well as affordably attractive and creative jewelry. With the silversmith added to the creative collective, girls were hired as sales reps behind the counter while he, his wife and the silversmith stayed after the goal. The shop became very successful and so, with his ear to the ground, he heard of some rental shops available down by the train station where the powers that be were considering a night market near the train station across the street from where he was considering opening a bigger shop, much bigger. The night market now supports maybe 100 portably tented merchants and 50 food carts.
When I first arrived I walked into 1952 Café and the Sri Trang Hotel for a very late breakfast. Their slogan is, ‘You’ll call it home’. Since 1952 is located at 22-26 Sathani Rd. Tab Tiang Muang, Trang, Thailand 92000. www.sritranghotel.com. (ph. # +66075218122) The woman speaks great English and serves up freshly ground coffee, espresso, whatever you want. Her menu is Thai and western basics. Her beer selection crosses the globe from Thailand to Belgian Monks; it was a shocking treat. While I sat there and ate, travelers, expiates, western teachers and their visiting friends walked in and filled the tables in the afternoon glow for lunch and a REAL cup of fresh ground coffee. This is where I first met the jeweler sitting by himself reading a book and having a beer.
After I got situated in a 300 Baht hotel around the corner passed the jewelry shop I took a motorbike taxi to Robinsons Mall for some Apple products that needed replacement due to my rough and tumble lifestyle. Robinsons was one of the teacher’s first recommendations for what I needed replaced. After setting everything up and making sure it worked I wandered down to the busy night market for some cart food and a look around. Satisfied, I headed back towards the hotel only to find the jeweler in front of his shop having a beer and happily watching the stream of people come and go from his shop and the night market activity. He had restructured this building and added an awning for his needs and people were buying. Apparently a lot of famous Thai rockers/musicians/performers come to this shop and the locals look on and respect the jewelry for more than one reason. If famous people buy there, well then the locals will too, as it goes. His beautiful wife came out as I sat down and asked if there was anything I wanted such as a beer. Of course I did and while to beauties worked the floor, we sat for a few hours and had a great chat. The night ended early due to Marshall Law and the curfew.
Tanks are rolling down some streets in Bangkok and home made bombs are going off and being found unexploded in Hat Yai. I was heading to Hat Yai but the jeweler shook his head with an exagerated frown twisting back and forth with his head. It was time to leave Thailand and go travel in earnest. This way I’m not suspect of working illegally considering I’ve spent 6 months out of the last 9 in Thailand. The jeweler and I agreed that I should go to KK’s Travel, one of the oldest and most efficient travel agencies on the block in Trang. It’s right next door to Since 1952 Café. The woman there didn’t remember me but I had asked for the same trip from Trang to Satun and on to Tammalang Pier to Langkawi, Malaysia.
When I got to the pier I realized I had over stayed my welcome by a day and that costs 500 Baht. But I did it with a smile and a laugh and the immigration officer assured me with a smile and putting my money in his pocket that it would go to the government and that I’d be allowed in for at least a month on my return. This is good news because I’ll be back this way more than once and not for work but for language school. That is if I don’t end up in Europe on a boat out of Amsterdam.
The ferry takes a couple hours and then 30 Ringgit to get to the beaches on the other side of the island. Langkawi is big. It’s a duty free island but do not be deceived by its title, it’s not cheap. All in all, Malaysia is not cheap in comparison to many of the other places in South East Asia.
I spoke broke Bhasa Indonesian with my Malaysian taxi driver and he laughed at me but understood that I didn’t speak Bhasa Malay. Many of the words cross-over but not all together the same. ‘Same, Same, but different’. I asked for a cheap place to stay near the beach and he took me to a quaint little place hidden a block away from the beach and the main street on Cenang Beach. Gecko Guesthouse, 70 Ringgit/night, air-con that I don’t use, a bathroom and a covered porch. There are 40 Ringgit rooms with a fan as well but the bathroom is at the end of the building and it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. The restaurant is good with a foreign woman managing or owning the place. She eventually cracked smiles and was enjoyable. The food was good and the staff was very helpful. I also found good street food and a small street bar, ‘Small and Spicy’, right next to 7/11 that serves the strongest drinks for 10 Ringgit that I’ve seen in Malaysia. I’m more of a beer drinker but every now and again a mint mojito fits. Yes I just got here but I have been here numerous times before as well. Westerners and locals alike seem to magnetically come to this bar and it is so small that you can have a group conversation with out yelling over the excellent music.
The rains have come. Torrential rains. It’s the beginning of the rainy season and that also means mosquitos and worse yet, Malaria season if you’re not careful. By morning the streets had rivers running through them, across them, whatever is down hill. I spent the day reading a book called ‘Taboo’ by a husband and wife team that go by the name of Casey Hill. It was a fun forensic read that takes place in Dublin with northern California under tones, Marin County to be exact. It’s an engaging 400-page fiction novel that I finished that day. I recommend it for a rainy day, it goes with Dublin. With the on set of rain I decided to keep moving. Cameron Highlands was my next target.
www.davidcdagley.com
