Nearly Time to Head West.

I mentioned last time that the rubber plant (or at least that’s what I think it is) in my office was growing ever bigger. To make the point, early last week it got fed up with trying to emulate the Jack and the Beanstalk story and fell over.

Luckily, no harm was done although it was a timely reminder that I will have to do something about it before it starts poking through the roof!

Most westerners’ idea of Thai food is based on what is served up in Thai restaurants in Europe and the Americas which, in turn, is usually a reflection of what has been experienced on holidays in Thailand. As most of the tourist hot spots are in the southern part of the country it follows that most foreigners’ idea of Thai food is based on southern, coconut based Thai food offerings.

Coconut is rarely, if ever, used in the regional cooking of other areas here. Big differences in the country’s culinary offerings are no more pronounced than in Isan in the north east. The inhabitants of this largest and mostly agricultural based province are surrounded by a plentiful supply of ‘delicacies’ as they would call them although I have serious doubts!

The Bushtucker trials have got nothing on some of the things that the locals of this province eat,

much of which is doused with a ‘stinking fish sauce’ which really does live up to it’s name!

I know that many scientists are predicting that we will have to get used to eating insects in the future, if that involves extracting ant eggs from a nest then I think I’ll pass!

It’s nearly the end of this year’s pool competition. At one point, we had a very good chance of winning this league but faltered towards the end of the season when I suspect the convivial atmosphere of our matches more often than not overcame our desire to win.

We did have some fun evenings, though!

A propos of absolutely nothing, last week a fire broke out in one of the many small hotels in Hua Hin which caused quite a significant amount of damage.

It was reported that the fire had been started by pigeons although absolutely no evidence was offered to support this claim!

I have always maintained that the local government here has lagged well behind the likes of Phuket, Pattaya, Krabi, Samui and Chiang Mai when It comes to promoting tourism. On the other hand, if the amount of property development going on in Hua Hin and the surrounding area is anything to go by then, from an investment standpoint, this place is booming.

There is land for sale everywhere and often by farmers who find the diminishing returns to be made from growing and selling fruit and vegetables are far outweighed by turning a land asset into hard cash. And as there seem to be very few restrictions as to what you can build and where, I fear that the landscape in this beautiful part of Thailand could well be blighted forever if the many developments are allowed to continue unchecked.

Once bought, some developers merely section off the land for individual purchasers to do their own building – or even do nothing, just hoping to sell for a profit later.

Others with a bit more money to spend/invest, clear the bought area, often raising it to prevent any flooding, install an infrastructure of sorts (water, electricity and perhaps even fibre optics), carve up the area into manageable plots and offer them for sale to individuals to design and build their dream home.

New developments of every sort abound

fuelled in part by the published expectation that the dualling of the train track and the long awaited introduction of international flights to the local airport will bring big commercial gains to the area. Thailand polticians are well known for their ability to ‘talk the talk’. Whether this really does evolve into ‘walking the walk’ is anyone’s guess. I have my doubts!

In a little more than 4 days time, Nokky and I will be setting out on our European trip. So it was important to celebrate this event in our bar/restaurant.

Or maybe this was just an excuse to try and generate some much needed income during this low season time. Either way, we had a super evening with many a sore head the following day!

So, now time to get the suitcases out!

R.