AN EVENING IN PATONG

After spending most of yesterday at home (during which we watched three out of the four DVD's from last year's massive Live 8 concerts — Tim was most impressed by the performances of U2, Robbie Williams, The Who, and Pink Floyd, we set off for Patong around 8:30.  We took the slightly longer way via Kata and Karon (which I think is much more scenic) and arrived at the large shopping plaza in the southern part of town a little after nine.  We met Jum there and also saw Lek and Ja who were working their jobs as motorbike taxi drivers.  We bought some beer at 7-Eleven and spent a couple of hours just watching people and traffic go by.

Around eleven Jum, Tim and I walked down to Bangla Road and our favorite Patong watering hole, Margarita Bar.  The band was exceptionally good (as far as Thai cover bands go); I particularly enjoyed their versions of Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" and The Eagles' "Hotel California".  In addition to our bottles of Singha, we feasted on a plate of very good french fries.  It was fairly late by the time we walked down to Rock City but we were in time to see the last set by Fight — a Metallica tribute band from Sweden.  They were very good (if you closed your eyes, it was almost like listening to the real group).  We were soon joined by Lek and another friend who's name I never caught.  Jum and Tim spent quite a bit of time down front dancing and I shot a bit of video along with numerous photos.  By the time we left (it must have been after two in the morning), Jum was very much the worst off of the five of us; we hailed a couple of motorbike taxis to take us back to the shopping plaza where Tim had left her motorbike.

The drive back to Chalong was a bit of an adventure.  Tim was sober but I had had one or two too many beers over the course of the evening (I usually try to limit myself to four or five bottles, about one per hour).  But riding on the back of the motorbike I was able to gulp plenty of fresh air which usually makes me feel better (and prevents me from getting sick).  When we got home, we both collapsed onto the bed and slept most of today — I woke up around 11:30 and did some computer work while Tim remained asleep until after two.

I finished making reservations for our upcoming trip this afternoon; our train tickets will be delivered tomorrow and I have vouchers for hotels in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.  We'll have to go to an Internet cafe soon so I can print out the flight e-tickets and other documents.  I wasn't able to find any accomodations in Lamphun online but Tim assures me there are several small guesthouses in the area; we'll just book a room when we arrive.