Best Dinner Ever

Monday 13 Nov 2006
We awoke and ate breakfast at our guesthouse, had to have another banana shake, they are the best we have had in all our travels. Somjay, our tuk-tuk driver is waiting to take us to the airport. We will cetainly remember this gentleman!!!!!! We arrive at the airport in the early morning light of the day, and both look at each other quizically. The Siem Reap airport is giving us "deja vu", are all airports designed the same? Or do they just use the same plans and pass them around? Metal and glass, we determine that if you didn't know where you were all airports would blend into one. We keep expecting to see some culturally significant design at all the airports but they all just look the same. We are starting to understand the T-shirts we see everywhere that say "SAME SAME, BUT DIFFERENT" It has many meanings, from the airports (which interestingly enough all charge you to leave the country- Cambodia $25 Us and Thailand 500 baht), to the tourists saying " I will have the same as them, but different, to the temples, etc.........
It is a fast flight to Bangkok, 35 minutes total, and somehow the flight attendents serve us a meal and drinks. Pretty damn efficient, and with a smile on their faces at all times. We have to wait around for an hour before we can check in, and find out all airports are the same. We go to get something to eat, and you must PAY first! You cannot go in and even look, you must pay either 500 or 1,000 Baht that they then load on a plastic card???? What the *#@*. I get a Baguette sandwich that cost's almost $10 US, Rebecca gets noodle soup about $7 US. Ouch! we are used to paying that for a room... All airports are the same, high priced food with no taste. We go to check the internet and get ripped off for that as well, you have to buy a card that is preloaded, 20 minutes 100 Baht! Can we get out of here quick enough? We board the plan to Phuket, and it is another short flight, where they treat us like first class passengers again. It costs us about $80 each to fly there. I guess they make all their profit from the airport.
Rebecca, seasoned traveler in SE Asia that she is, has arrange for us to stay at the Little Buddha Guesthouse, just off Patong Beach, and for the taxi driver to pick us up. Again, we have our name on a placard and feel really special. The taxi driver has a VERY cool car, much nicer than either of ours. He tells us he shows the car on weekends at the local car show. He looks like a wealthy, elite, sophisticated Thai local. The room at the guest house is very nice, 400 baht (about $12 US), and we decide we will stay there upon our return flight back from our two weeks on the beach paradise of Phi Phi. We shower up, they have hot water---Yeah!!!---and head down to Soi Sansaban to look around and take in the sights. This is the in your face crass commercialism, bright lights, big bars, lady boys, and hedonism one hears about. Having grown up in Las Vegas I am not quite so taken in by it as most tourists, but remark to Rebecca how in your face everything is, she replies "This is nothing compared to Pattaya". Wow! I can't quite image how it could get more in your face. I am hit on by both a "lady of the night" and a "lady boy" all while Rebecca is just two paces away looking at jewerly. They saw her but obviously didn't care.........kind of makes me wonder what came before me for them to act like this. We are touted every few steps with, "Masaage Mister", "tuk-tuk mister", "Want a suit mister". But what do I know, I am the big pale guy from Utah now and must just seem like a easy mark?????.
Rebecca takes us down to the Restuarant row on the beach, and we have THE BEST DINNER EVER!!!!!!! We get to pick out our Prawns and they are Huge, The lobster in the picture must be 5 lbs at least. You can tell by how big they are compared to her hand, but pictures do not do their size justice. We have Large Prawns cooked in a sweet salt sauce, Very delectible, Seafood Curry, exceptional, and Pineapple fried rice served in a hollowed out pineapple. We top it all off with a fried banana topped with vanilla and coconut ice cream. Yum! Yum! We walk back and take in more of the sights to try and burn off some of dinner and the bars are now in full swing and packed. Girls and "lady boys" out in force dancing on tables ect....Its very cool to see but we are both looking forward to some decompressing time on the beaches of Ko Phi Phi.