Tuk tuks

We have a heavy breakfast in the morning that we hope will keep us full until dinner. Soon after breakfast we head to the swimming pool where we spend a couple of hours.

Femme wants a massage and so we head to the spa to explore options. Soothing music plays inside and we are greeted by a cold drink that is delicious. Of course the prices are steep. The travel book suggests there are cheaper options outside, but we'll have to travel some distance to get there, which doesn't seem attractive to femme or our friends. We make an appointment for the next day and head to the game room for a game of table tennis.

In the evening, we take a tuk tuk to Patong beach. Tuk tuks are like India's rickshaws. We have heard that tuk tuk drivers charge extra for tourists, so we try to haggle but with no success.

Patong beach is a busy place. Every step of the way, someone is trying to sell us something. Several men try to get us to rent jet skis. The street next to the beach is full of shops and restaurants and upto its seams with tourists. Shops sell cheap imitations of everything and anything. My friend buys a Ray Ban imitation for $3, a good bargain from the original $10. On the way back to the hotel, we notice that the lens has a small crack.

I notice that a high percentage of the tourists are from Europe. There are very few Americans.

I wander off in search of a good place to eat and meet the owner of a French restaurant that has been open for exactly three days. The prices seem steep and the restaurant itself is empty. The owner has lived in Thailand for 10 years and now calls it home.

We finally select a place and sit out in the open. Service again is slow and I get the feeling that the waiter is irritated with us. I can't figure out why. The food though is passable, perhaps the best we have had so far.

We take the tuk tuk back to the hotel and call it a night