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| Tranquil beaches await in Cha Am |
The morning of our departure for Cha Am, Teddy was holding a
sign that said “Primo” when the Monkey Man exited Wendy House looking for our
ride. It took him a minute to realize that “Primo” really meant “Monkey Man.”
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| Modest wear for the whole family |
The van was parked around the corner. 36/2 Soi Kasemsan 1,
Rama 1 Road, Palumwan, was much too narrow for traffic to go around the behemoth
vehicle. We made our quick hellos to Teddy and all loaded in for the ride to
Cha Am. Teddy had been in Bangkok for business the night before, so it was
perfect that he could pick us up. Right off the bat, he described his long-standing
friendship to the board of the Cambodia Academy and especially Hans, it’s
founder who died about a year ago. He knew that Monkey Man was new on the board
and he radiated a concern of a parent that he personally needed to meet anyone
who was associated to his old friend Hans.
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| Hans Eide |
We left Bangkok via its Port by taking Big Road 4, toward Singapore.
Cha Am lies within the State of Phetchaburi, not to be confused with the city
of Phetchaburi. The city is our half-way point and a stop where you have Amazon
coffee, fill up with natural gas and pee. Teddy’s van runs on natural gas, as
do many, many of the large vehicles Thailand. The ride had been smooth sailing
and Teddy was able to make good time in spite of the flooding. Teddy also forgot
to tell us about the flooding when we began this morning.
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| Downtown Phetchaburi - Jeep contains Safety Officers |
Thailand had been hit by the remnants of Typhoon Damrey, early
in November. In response to the high-water table at the
The
Kaeng Krachan Dam in
Phetchaburi, those in charge opened the flood gates-so to speak. Big Road 4: 6
lanes winding thru the city of Phetchaburi thru the lowest lying sections of
town. This road is the main artery from Indonesia to Thailand and beyond. There
was a swift current of water running over 4 like a babbling brook. Homes and businesses
where mostly underwater, though we saw a few that were sandbagged. Teddy estimated
that depth of the water to be between 3-4 feet. Teddy wasn’t as concerned as
we, as he indicated that this happened every time they open the floodgates and that
usually happened a couple of times a year.
Our arrival at PJ Park – the subdivision where Prima and
Primo reside- brought out all the neighbors to see who had arrived. The park is
a bright, inviting Soi, 2 blocks from the beach. Each condo is identical, yet
all are painted in a riot of color. It’s an old enough of a community, where throughout
the years, owners have placed their own unique flairs to personal property. Each
has a carport and upstairs balcony porch (where lots of laundry is done). The
condo is 2BR/2BA. Ours has air. Yay!
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| All 4 bikes on the carport at PJ Park |
First order of business: Lunchy!
Then onward to the beach to rent bikes for Monkey
Man and myself. Primo and Prima have no car/motorcycle – it’s beach bikes
everywhere. For the next 3 days’, we will bike all over town, like a native. The
rental process was not cut and dry as each bike had to be tested and retested
before a decision was to be made. Is it better to have brakes or tread on the
tires? Somewhere in a perfect world, there should be both, but this is
Thailand.
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| All types of bikes for rent at Cha Am Beach |
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