Our 3 months in UK, France seem to have disappeared in a flash but will never be forgotten. It was a joy to catch up with family and friends after such a long time.
For the last part of our travels we stayed in a sweet little one bedroom AirBnB cottage near Leighton Buzzard in the grounds of Mead Open Farm,
which, as the name suggests, is a farm but with a vast array of children’s activities –
including both big indoor and outdoor play areas,
‘rock’ climbing
a high rope course
plus, of course, the animals!
A fun day out for the children and a chance for them to learn a bit about life away from supermarkets and cities!
A fine walk in the Surrey woodlands (already beginning to look a bit autumnal) with my eldest daughter, Sammy,
was preceded by one of Roger and Lesley’s legendary barbecues. A perfect summer’s day which started at a gentle pace
with even time for a bit of serious discussion
but then soon descended when the music started and the alcohol flowed at even greater speed
into the more normal state of our hosts’ hospitality
which even included some overly energetic ‘Dad’ dancing!
All in all, a fantastic afternoon (and evening, by the time we finished!) and a great opportunity for Nokky to experience some of the excesses of middle England!
A final lunch with my daughter on yet another beautiful day
and it was time to put a few bits and pieces back into storage
before heading off to the airport and back to The Land of Smiles .
Whilst the UK has been dripping in the humid high 30s, the weather on the Costa Blanca has been perfect. Day after day of cloudless skies with pleasant breezes to keep the thermometer around 30-32c.
Hot enough to discourage much serious daytime activity other than a mandatory visit to the local market
but not excessive enough to warrant any doom laden global warming media predictions as in the UK!
My sister’s grandchildren, Victoria and George visited us for a few days.
It was great to see them again after such a long time. Lots of time was spent swimming,
terrifyingly looping the loop
being thrown around on a giant pendulum
and getting soaked ‘shooting the rapids’. All highly entertaining.
We did find time, though, for some more sedate activities walking in one of the many national parks in the area
and taking a look at the nautical extravagances of the well heeled in Denia marina.
Their time with us was all too short.
A few days on our own was followed by the arrival of my son, Jon, his wife and their two lovely daughters (my grandchildren).
10 year old , ever smiling, Mia is a delight;
quiet, unassuming, polite and helpful (at least when she was with us!) whilst her 5 year old sister, Elodie
is much more outgoing – bubbly, inquisitive, challenging and totally gorgeous. I am blessed to have 2 such lovely young girls in the family. It seemed very quiet after they left us!
All good thins come to an end, though as we embarked on the long drive back to the UK, stopping at a friend’s house on the banks of the Dordogne in France and then onwards for a couple of night’s with my sister
– to do some more weeding before heading for Calais and the channel tunnel.
A busy 2 weeks awaits us before we depart to Thailand but more of that later.
In between catching up with family and friends plus sightseeing, I have started the onerous task of disposing of a few artefacts, memorabilia, heirlooms and other bits and pieces that, when I was last in the UK, I thought were important to keep. Mmmmm! Not an easy thing to do – and a task that will certainly not be finished on this trip but was lightened when I came across a few newspaper cuttings from my travels probably around 40 years ago
A telex from way back in 1985 also intrigued me
but I can’t recall what happened to this ‘enquiry’ or, indeed, if the goats ever got to Oman!
I’ve always been fascinated by old canals, partly, I must admit, because of the many hostelries along their way but largely as I have always been in awe of the engineering skills that enabled them to be built all those years ago. The Grand Union Canal – a 137 mile long stretch of waterway (with 166 locks) between London and Birmingham was built more than 200 years ago and passes very close to where we are staying which on a couple of (quite rare) warm-ish days, gave us ample opportunity for some pleasant walks along the towpath
and surrounding woodland
There was even a chance for Nokky to try her hand at lock keeping!
My son, Ollie, is a very accomplished golfer – as was his grandfather, Sadly, though, I was the generation in between that missed out on all such skills. Nevertheless, both Nokky and I do like a good ‘hack around’ so it was a pleasure when Ollie invited us to play at his local club on another pleasantly warm, sunny day.
I’m happy to say that we didn’t disgrace ourselves and had a lovely day.
Close to the village of Ivinghoe we stumbled across a ‘pick your own’ fruit farm
and for days thereafter, gorged ourselves on these most delicious of summer fruits. Hopefully the raspberries will be ready by the time we get back to the UK. So another visit will have to be scheduled.
My very good friend Luis, who has a big Jaguar car dealership in Sussex and who has helped me with transportation during our time in Europe, once a year (Covid permitting, of course) takes a stand at the Goodwood ‘Festival of Speed’ to sell his wares. This event coincided with the first stage of our journey south towards France and Spain so it was a good opportunity to drop by and witness what it was all about first hand whilst enjoying the conviviality of his company.
The 4 day jamboree is astounding – full of extremely fast and very expensive (and mostly impractical) cars. I was told that the one above was for sale with a price tag of around £1 million!!!
And there’s even a bit of racing on what was once the very famous Goodwood race track.
All in all, a very silly, noisy but fascinating half day was spent in the company of not only my good friend and his family but also thousands upon thousands of spectators enjoying not only the fine weather but also their fascination with the internal combustion engine. Recession? What recession?
Our brief skirmish with the petrol heads was followed by a leisurely drive to Brighton to catch up with another old friend followed by an equally leisurely crossing to France on the Newhaven – Dieppe ferry.
Some 5 hours after landing we arrived in Bressuire, south of the Loire river where my sister has lived happily for many a year. And it wasn’t long before we were put to work in her much loved garden
Sister Diana can just be seen in the background with fork in hand!
A very pleasant two nights later and we were on our way south again. A fairly stressful drive (credit cards not working at toll stations, going round in circles in cities with incomprehensible one way systems etc) got a lot better as we approached the Pyrenees
where all we had to concern ourselves with were a few inquisitive cows!
A trouble free journey through northern Spain followed and we finally arrived at our Benitachell house some 3 years after our last visit – thanks to Mr Covid!
Arriving in Blighty was a bit of a shock to the system! The customs and immigration process at Heathrow was stress free, our transport was well organised so everything was tickety boo. But then there was the weather. Exactly one month before midsummer’s day and it was cold. Very cold. Poor Nokky! Luckily, though, she had brought a few extra layers
but these really weren’t enough to shield her from 11c and a biting northerly wind. So, armed with some winter woolies I had stored for such a situation, we set out to explore the countryside around our rented accommodation.
Although, I don’t think I will ever love Milton Keynes where we are staying, I have to say that, in addition to the plentiful shops, bars and restaurants, there are some lovely country walks very close to the city centre
and it’s only a 30 minute non stop train journey to London. So, after lovely ‘catch ups’ with Robyn and Oliver, it was off to the capital for a bit of sightseeing and a social with friends.
Living on the other side of the world, I was only vaguely aware of the 4 day holiday celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Thus we were totally unprepared for the sights and sounds plus the sheer volume of flag waving crowds that awaited us, all clearly enjoying not only the days events but also – finally- the warmer weather. Having booked a hotel for the night near Charing Cross, we were right in the thick of it
although we were unsure if the celebrations and parades had already finished or were yet to start. We did,however, get a good view of the fly past of the Red Arrows
whilst at the same time Nokky was able to see some of the iconic sights of the nation’s capital.
In typical UK style, the warmer weather didn’t last so it was back to emergency clothing for Nokky when we went to see Sam, Robbo and my Grandson, Max a few days later!
Flaming June, indeed!
Although Nokky enjoys some western food, her real love is for the epicurean delights of not merely Thai food but more specifically, the local food of the Isan province of her birth. Tracking down the ingredients of such local specialities plus the relevant equipment here in the UK is a bit of a challenge but thanks in part to the internet, we have been quite successful.
So, contentment reigns!
Closely connected with the great love of cooking her local dishes is the joy of foraging in the hedgerows and river banks for edible greenery. This adds a totally new dimension to our country walks
as, apart from everything else, we must never forget the carrier bag!
From the quiet of the Buckinghamshire countryside back to the hustle and bustle of London for more sightseeing on a beautiful early summer’s day
and a chance to meet up with friends who I have known for more than 50 years. Scary thought or what?
I just wish I had either worn darker clothes or learnt how to photoshop my figure into a more elegant shape!
Less than 2 weeks to go on the first leg of our trip. We’ve done a lot already but still so much to do and see! What fun!
Although the rainy season doesn’t officially start until mid May, it arrived a couple of weeks early this year – and with a vengeance
accompanied by some very sleep disturbing storms and a significant drop in temperature. Today, it’s predicted to only reach 26c. It’s extraordinary how, having got used to daily highs in the upper 30s, 26 feels quite chilly. In UK, such a dizzy height would prompt media headlines about Basking Britain etc. It’s a funny old world!
After nearly 3 days of almost continuous downpours there is large scale flooding and what used to be the tiniest of streams directly behind the perimeter wall of our house has turned into quite a raging torrent
which brought the opening lines of Robert Browning’s ‘Home Thoughts from Abroad’ to mind; ‘Oh, to be in England now that April’s there- or in our case- May! And on that note:-
There are 26 countries in the European Schengen area. There are (currently, at least!) 4 countries in the UK. It took 4 days for Nokky to get her Schengen visa. It took 7 weeks to get the UK equivalent! Am I missing something? It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the incompetence of a certain UK government department and, in particular, the Minister in charge, could it? Anyway, we now have both visas so our trip planning has started in earnest – not only the logistics of the trip itself but also making sure that everything here in Thailand runs smoothly in our absence. The latter is not such an onerous task as our good friend and manager, Ton, is well capable of looking after most things in our restaurant/bar while we are away. One thing he hasn’t yet learnt, though, is how to make a Bolognese sauce. In comparison with our pizzas, we only sell a few spag bols so, whilst the heavens opened yesterday, I busied myself making what I hope will be enough to satisfy customer demand whilst we are away.
As we plan to be in Europe for 3 months, there’s a lot to be thought of and arranged. Most important, of course, is to make sure Nokky has enough of her Thai favourites
until- hopefully- we can find a Thai food shop! Then there are flight tickets to be bought (already sorted; we arrive in the UK on 24th May), transport and accommodation to be arranged etc and also there’s quite a complicated jigsaw to be completed to ensure that we can meet all our family and friends plus fit in some sightseeing for Nokky. So, much to be done before we depart but all good, exciting stuff after such a long time away.
Somewhat unbelievably it is 4 years since our bar opened here in Hua Hin (not yet 2 years since we added the restaurant). So, certainly cause for celebration, especially in these dark economic times which have seen so many business casualties.
And what a night it turned out to be!
It was very late (or, more accurately, ‘early’) when the last guest departed having been splendidly entertained by our usual DJ
who had to endure some not so splendid karaoke singing.
It was a time to renew old friendships
and even have some semi serious discussions
albeit fairly early on in the proceedings! All in all, a memorable night.
And finally: A week or so ago I was asked to resurrect my long forgotten bicycle assembly skills and put together an electric scooter which had been supplied in bits. I got there in the end, not helped by the somewhat bizarre ‘english’ building instructions. I managed to just about navigate myself from A – E but was completely stumped (and amused) by the final step!
So, lots more to be done before we depart but we’re getting there and thoroughly looking forward to our European adventure.
Before the rainy season really gets started it just gets hotter and hotter. 35c is quite a normal daytime temperature right now – especially when it’s sunny- which is not exactly conducive to doing a lot during the daytime hours. However, a couple of days ago, an opportunity arose to feel quite a strong (and welcome) breeze coming from the sea whilst at the same time to enjoy the kite festival held each year on Cha Am beach, about 25km north of Hua Hin. There was a most wonderful and innovative display of all manner of colourful flying objects,
my personal favourite being this ‘stingray’
which meandered gently – and almost mesmerically – across the sky the entire time we were there.
Nearer the ground, no opportunity was lost in trying to get the visitors to part with their money
and, of course, there were the usual opportunities for the Thais (and their canine friends) to indulge in the national pastime of eating!
Meanwhile, out at sea, the kite surfers were being much more energetic!
What a splendid way to while away a few hours!
And talking of ‘Up,Up and Away’, finally we have received Nokky’s UK visa – only 7 weeks after applying!!
(apologies to Nokky who really didn’t want this passport photo shown. Does anyone have a flattering passport pic?)
At first, the UK Home Office blamed Covid for the delay but now, I guess it’s Ukraine. Anyway, the next step is to apply for her Schengen visa so she can travel to France and Spain. Historically, this has been a simpler and quicker process but nevertheless involves filling in endless forms, signing countless documents, all in all adding up to more than 100 pieces of paper, similar to the bundle of bumph we had to submit to get her UK equivalent.
Who knows what the authorities do with all this information? If we are to travel on an annual basis I must search for an easier/quicker/simpler and cheaper way of doing all this!
In addition to submitting this bundle of paperwork, Nokky had to present herself personally to the Spanish embassy people in Bangkok to be fingerprinted and to answer any questions about the documents submitted. All seemingly quite draconian but in reality quite easy as we were in and out of the ‘interview’ within 30 minutes. So, now we just wait until (hopefully) her passport arrives with the Schenghen visa stamp and then we can really get cracking with our trip planning.
Before driving back to Hua Hin, we had, of course, to do some travel shopping! So, off we went, courtesy of the quickest – and scariest- method of transport in Bangkok, 2 motorcycle taxis.
How these vehicles squeeze through some of the gaps in the traffic without damaging anyone or anything is totally beyond me. Anyway, we safely arrived at this extraordinary place – albeit with my heart in my mouth! –
in which are located literally thousands – and I do mean thousands- of retailers selling all manner of factory seconds, over runs and discontinued lines of (mainly) female clothing
and all at incredibly low prices. For example, the ‘100’ price tag over the ladies tops rack is about £2.30!
Frankly, I found it all a bit overpowering as even outside, there was no let up in witnessing the sheer volume of clothing sold here.
All in all, a most interesting day and, assuming we are successfuly with Nokky’s Schengen visa, a successful one as well.
The Thais love a party but more often than not in a very informal way. They don’t often celebrate the more ‘official’ occasions eg birthdays, anniversaries etc but rarely miss a trick when there is a chance to have a bit of fun and perhaps even make a bit of money in the process. So it was on 7th March when my birthday was celebrated in our restaurant/bar
and where, later in the evening, I was presented with the most fantastic Liverpool FC cake
made by one of the guests and which, I have to say, I was most reluctant to share!
On the occasions that Thais do mark their birthdays and when there is no ulterior commercial motive, such celebrations are often not only very muted but also very, very different from how we, in the west, celebrate such an occasion. Whereas in the west, such days are all about the birthday boy or girl, in Thailand – and especially in the country regions -almost the opposite is the case. It’s all about the parents who are thanked by the person whose anniversary it is for taking care of them until they were able to look after themselves. This is done in a simple and symbolic ceremony of feet washing of the mother and father and the giving of a token amount of money as way of saying ‘Thank You’.
As I said, very, very different and actually, quite humbling to witness.
Courtesy of Mr Covid and the Variants, we have, sadly, had few guests staying with us recently. So it was a delight when Nokky’s niece called and asked if she could take a break from Uni in Bangkok and come and stay with us for a few days with 3 mates. And what a super young bunch they were!
Courteous, respectful, polite and with very big appetites!
Even after so many year’s experience in this country, I am constantly encountering examples of the difference in cultures between East and West. The most recent was when we were invited to a select dinner to celebrate the birthday of a friend of mine. Said friend lives on the direct route between where we live and the party rendezvous. So , to me, it was quite natural that I offered to pick him up en route. WRONG! Apparently, this would be a clear indication that he couldn’t afford his own transport and thus endanger the conviviality of the entire evening!
I don’t think I have ‘gone native’ yet although, after a while here, there is a tendency to take everything for granted and treat what might seem strange to the westerner as normal. So I very nearly missed the big difference relating to the Thai armed forces. As Thailand is governed by a military junta, there is a big military presence here and especially in the province of Prachuap Kiri Khan of which Hua Hin sits at the northern end. Close to the provincial capital, there is a Thai air force base.
Nothing special about that except inside the base there is the most spectacular beach
which is completely open to the public and full of restaurants,beach shops
and even a goat farm!
Apart from a few smartly dressed guards at the two entrances to this base, there appears to be no military activity here at all. So being posted to Thaland’s Wing 5 air base would be a real treat for the lucky ones.
Closer to Hua Hin, there is an army base which includes a golf course that anyone can play on and in Hua Hin itself there is even a public driving range run by the military. All very strange. All very different!
It is said that, after the Vietnam war, the Thai government were so concerned about the prospect of losing shedloads of US$ income from the USA military who visited Thailand’s tourist hot spots for a bit of ‘relaxation’ that, when the Americans pulled out of Vietnam, Thailand’s sex industry was unofficially and quietly promoted as a way of recouping some of the dollars lost. This inevitably gave rise to Thailand’s image as being a country where more or less anything goes. Somewhat surprisingly, though, nothing could be further from the truth. For sure there are areas dedicated mainly to hedonistic pursuits (eg Pattaya, Phuket and some parts of Bangkok)
but these are the exceptions rather than the rule. The vast majority of Thais are conservative and surprisingly puritanical. Thus you will rarely see, for example, any public hand holding between two Thais and certainly any other outward show of affection (eg kissing and hugging) is definitely frowned upon! On our recent visit to Nokky’s home town, our arrival after an absence of more than 1 year was greeted merely with a nod from both father and mother as though we had just been away for the day! Similarly, when we departed, there were no fond farewells, so common in the west. Just another nod and we were off! It’s very, very different!
The Thai New Year (Songkran) is almost upon us so outdoor markets are popping up everywhere, dominated, inevitably, by food stalls.
Apart from on the continent of Africa where road traffic deaths are depressingly high, Thailand has the second highest mortality rate on the roads in the world after Venezuela. Every year, more than 30 people in every 100,000 are killed on the roads whereas in the UK the figure is 10 times less than this! Sadly, I’m not surprised as the standard of driving in Thailand is generally appalling! I am told there are some laws in place to minimise the accident rate but most drivers ignore these and certainly the police don’t appear to enforce them. As a result, drivers career on the roads exactly as they please and for as long as they please. Driving up north to visit Nokky’s family seeing such incidents is a common sight
We passed this carnage just seconds after it happened
I would be amazed if there were no fatalities
In the cities, it’s not much safer either, largely due to the motorcyclists, many of whom are delivery drivers hell bent on earning their commissions by driving as fast (and as recklessly) as they can. It can be truly frightening at times and especially at night time when many of the rear lights of said vehicles don’t work.
On the way to the Isaan province, we stopped off for a night in Bangkok where Nokky had her planned UK visa interview. It’s been almost a year since we last visited the nation’s capital and it was so good to see life gradually returning to this once vibrant and colourful city.
The enticing smell of street food once again pervades
and the soon to be buried underground electricity and telecoms cables continue to defy logic!
The largely agricultural province of Isaan is, though, a totally different world where time seems to stand still. Rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see,
old men busy themselves with making things
whilst the women of the village do what women all over the world do best!
But things are slowly changing.
This man, whose family who have grown rice and tended cattle on this land for generations
has decided to give up farming and move into real estate development. So, as a first step, the diggers and earth movers have moved in
in preparation for the construction workers to build yet another apartment block or row of dull and lifeless looking offices. Progress? Debatable but certainly good for Nokky’s brother and his team who are doing all this initial work!
Another couple of days here and then the 9-10 hour drive back to Hua Hin. Deep joy!
As I have said before – and known to those who have visited Thailand – it is estimated there are approaching 1 million stray soi (street) dogs roaming the highways and byways of this beautiful country. Most of these are feral but a few are, sadly, abandoned or lost pets. One such animal arrived at our house the other day from goodness knows where and as soon as we opened the gate to let ourselves in, waltzed in with us! Our new next door neighbour, who happens to be be a semi retired French vet, gave our new found friend the once over and declared it to be a her, approximately 1 year old and neutered and who had clearly been well looked after.
Of course, once we started feeding Miss Dog, she realized she was onto a good thing so was never going to leave. So we started asking around the neighbourhood (and posted on Facebook) if anyone had lost a slightly nervous but otherwise very friendly pet. Nothing doing so Miss Dog clearly considered herself to be a permanent resident in our home which, with our planned overseas trip looming, didn’t suit us at all. Then, obviously not satisfied with the meals we were providing, Miss Dog took to chewing anything in sight whilst we were asleep.
Apparently, this is a sign of canine anxiety which is all very well and perhaps understandable but I suspect made us more anxious then her. So Miss Dog had to go. Our first attempt at achieving this failed miserably. Our security guard picked up the pooch (literally) and told us he would take her to a pet rescue centre. Within 45 minutes, Miss Dog was back again. Finally, 2 days later, the guard arrived once more but this time with a proper collar and lead. Our very disgruntled house guest was then led away and, so far at least, has not been seen again.
The other day, a group of us hired a proper working fishing boat
and went out into the deep. This was a first for me so I had visions of hauling in some enormous Tuna but it was not to be!
The camera, though, can be a great liar so we have fooled some people with this photo whereas in reality, this catch cannot have been more than 30cm long!
Nokky looked the part, though,
and it was a nice sunny, relaxing day but after 4 or 5 hours, boredom took over
so we headed back to shore with our less than inspiring catch,
At least it was enough for a BBQ and to make a delicious fish soup.
Our Toyota pick up truck is quite an expensive beast to run for our needs so we agreed to sell it to Nokky’s brother who wanted such a vehicle for his expanding construction business and have bought ourselves a more economical second hand SUV instead.
We did consider buying an even more economical vehicle
but felt it might be just a bit impractical – especially if we ever have family or friends coming to stay!
A few days after this purchase, in absolutely typical Thai style, 10 (or was it 11) brothers, sisters, aunts, nieces, mothers and a couple of friends to help with the driving arrived on our doorstep at 6.30 am to collect the truck having driven non stop and overnight the 650 odd kms from their hometown in Isaan, way north of Bangkok. Within minutes of their arrival cooking was under way
followed swiftly by an hour or so of family eating
all done, in typical northern Thailand style, sitting on the floor! Still a little strange to me as we have got two perfectly good dining tables but this is the Isaan way of doing things and I have to say, all very convivial.
A couple of hours later and they were gone! So, app 650kms to get to us, a few hours spent recharging their batteries followed by another 10 or so hours drive back home. Are they crazy or what??!
As is common in this part of the world, our house is home to a number of little geckos who roam about the walls at night feasting off mosquitos and other insects. Apart from leaving a bit of a mess (!) they don’t cause any trouble so are most welcome. On the other hand, their much bigger (up to 30cm in length) cousin, the Tokay gecko can be quite vicious if threatened
and can inflict a bite – albeit non poisonous- that you would certainly remember! And, as was experienced by a friend of mine when we were hacking around on the golf course the other day, once these creatures get their teeth into you (literally), they just don’t want to let go!
We are ever hopeful that our plan for a visit to Europe in April will actually happen this time (after a few false starts, courtesy of Mr Covid and the Variants). So, with good luck and a following wind, when I write again we may have some good news about Nokky’s visas so can start doing some serious planning.
My attempt at a traditional western style Christmas lunch turned out to be quite a success, thanks to my ‘Plan B’ (to fill the guests with large quantities of alcohol before the meal to mask the quality of the cooking!). What was planned as an intimate lunch for 12 turned out to be an even more intimate lunch for 9 – thanks to the ever present Mr Covid – that started at 1230 pm and ended at 2330pm!! I managed to find most of the usual traditional ingredients here in Hua Hin
and I even managed some ‘pigs in blankets’
which I have to admit didn’t quite taste as they should have, made with mini frankfurters but it was the thought that counted!
I even discovered a retired English chef here who makes the occasional batch of almost forgotten favourites including…Christmas puddings which went down a treat.
The only semi disaster was the lemon meringue pie which I thought I was being incredibly clever by making on 24th and which, I have to admit looked pretty good.
Clearly, though, lemon meringue pies don’t like hot climates! As there was no room in the fridge I left it overnight in what I thought was the coolest place in the house only to discover on Christmas morning that the meringue had collapsed and most of it had seeped out onto the floor! A rushed 5 egg whites later and I had the semblance of a meringue topping again which, although didn’t look quite as professional as my first attempt seemed to satisfy my semi inebriated guests. All in all, a good time was had by all- at least, I think so!
Despite the looming spectre of Omicron, prior to Christmas there was a slight relaxation of the hospitality sector rules meaning that alcoholic drinks could, at last, be openly served in restaurants approved by the Thailand Tourist Authority and given SHA (Safety and Health Administration) certification. As we had no such approval, a frenzy of form filling followed (oh, how the Thais love their paperwork!) together with much taking of staged photos to show conclusively that we were following a myriad of health and safety rules and regulations. A nervous few days later and we were awarded the certificate which is now proudly displayed on the Knock Knock 94 wall.
Sadly, our self congratulation at gaining this certificate was short lived as we were then about to be embroiled in some sort of internal political game between the local provincial government and the national one. Whereas it had been loudly proclaimed by the Thai central government that if a restaurant has the SHA certification, alcohol could be served with food, the local provincial worthies announced shortly afterwards that this wasn’t good enough for them and that: a) despite having a restaurant licence, we had to prove that we actually were a restaurant again and b) our SHA certification was just not good enough – and certainly not a blue coloured one – so we must now apply for the local Super SHA certification (SHA+) and in green, not blue!!
The result of all this was (inevitably) more paperwork, more signs and instructions for the customers,
none of which, in my humble opinion do anything to enhance the relaxed customer experience that we are trying to promote. And if all this wasn’t bad enough, all our cushions and table coverings have had to be discarded as they were obviously a Covid breeding ground
which has left our once quite cosy and user friendly restaurant/bar looking more like a hospital canteen! Aaah! But as long as it ticks the right government boxes, what does it matter what the place looks and feels like?
The culmination of all this ‘realignment’ was a visit from inspectors from the Thai Health authority accompanied by the police which I guess was to to give this event the gravitas that it, quite clearly, deserved! Lots of box ticking and finger pointing was followed by the inevitable picture taking,
presumably to show the relevant bosses that the public’s money was being well spent in the fight against Covid.
We have been told, unofficially, that we have ‘passed’ but whether we will have any customers left who are prepared to comply with all the regulations and discomforts that this latest initiative has imposed is a different matter entirely. For now, though, it’s time for a bit of relaxation to try and forget the bureaucratic nonsense we have had to endure over the last few days!
There are at least some advantages of the lack of tourists during this beautiful time of year!
thelasthurrahsite 