OH, THE SIGHTS YOU WILL SEE...
Sometimes, you see some very unusual sights just taking casual drives in this area. I try to take my camera everytime we venture out on the motorbike in the hopes of capturing a few of these. Occasionally, I succeed but most times I do not. Often I'll see an interesting sign or other object and try to file it's location in my grey matter in the hopes of returning at some point to take a photo. Most times, I forget about these before we've gone too far down the road. The majority of the photos I do take are made while we are speeding past; it's only when I look at the pics on the computer screen later that I see most of the shots are out-of-focus or -frame.
However, on very rare occasions I can get Tim to stop so I can take a stationary photo. We managed to do this yesterday, returning to an interesting shopping street in Kata. Amidst the usual selection of tailor shops, minimarts, and internet cafes we found several prehistoric/dinosaur-themed buildings. There was the DinoPlaza, DinoBar, and DinoPark (complete with miniature golf). It looks like a fun area to take my nephew when Marilyn, Keith, and Spencer come for a visit. We also checked out the menu at the Buffalo Steak House across the street and it looks like a great place to get a good steak or burger (although the prices do seem rather steep for Thailand, they are pretty close to what you'd pay in a good Stateside steakhouse). Nearby, we saw the Andaman Coffee Company who have perfectly ripped off the design of Starbuck's signs and logos for their own.
Also on this drive, we found a very nice selection of houses around a lagoon (Kata Lagoon) that I want to investigate further: are they houses for sell or rent, or is it a resort/hotel/guesthouse? Tim also showed me the small Kata Noi Beach in the area which is nice although most of it has been cordoned off by a beachside resort (I hate these big hotels that try to limit beach access to non-guests). We then began driving south towards Laem Promthep, stopping at the Kata View Point along the way. It seems like I'm forever snapping photos of coconut palms with the backdrop of mountains and seascape on these rides. After a while, it does start to look much the same but I am constantly amazed at how much natural beauty there is just a short ride from our home. A far cry from New Mexico indeed.
At one point during yesterday's drive, we were traveling on a remote section of road (going in to Promthep Cape the "back way") through a forest of (I believe) rubber trees. We rounded a bend and all of a sudden there was a large elephant crossing the road (and just a few feet from an "Elephant Crossing" warning sign — how do they know where to cross?). Luckily, I had my camera out and managed to power it up for a couple of quick (but a little blurry) photos. It still impresses me everytime I see one of these magnificent creatures, particularly the ones that are running around loose rather than as part of a tourist safari.
Other sights I am constantly on the lookout for are unusual signs. There are loads of them in Thailand and the funniest are the ones that butcher the English language either through grammar or spelling mistakes. However, it seems like when I do discover one of these signs it's always when I don't have the camera ready or I can't get a decent shot. And most times I'd be too embarrassed to have Tim stop (how to explain why I want to take a photo of something so "common"?) or to have local people see me taking the photo (same reason). Hopefully, I'll soon overcome this shyness as there are some real "doozies" that could qualify for inclusion on "Late Night With Jay Leno" or in Lonely Planet's "Signposting" book/website.
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น