It really doesn't feel like the run up to Christmas. It's going to be strange to get back to England on Friday and be little more than a week away from the big day. There are a few lights and decorations finding their way into the hotel, but all this sun and sand just doesn't say "fortnight before Christmas". But maybe that will be good. It sort of extends the holiday to the whole month by doing it this way, which is a neat trick.
The days are zooming by here though, as if they are being ripped from a desk calendar in a montage in an old movie. Surely we just got here. We can't be going home on Friday. And I refuse to. I am staying on and living with the next couple who move into our room. I hope they won't mind. I could pretend to be a butler or something initially and then just refuse to go. Or live in the wardrobe.
Anyway we went sight-seeing this afternoon, hiring a taxi to take us up to
the Big Buddha, also known as the Ming Mongkol Buddha, though obviously I got on my high horse and started knitting yoghurt when I saw that. They are still in the process of completing this impressive statue, but it's nearly finished and it was great to see it up close, after seeing it from a distance over the last couple of weeks. There were also great views of the island and the sea from up there as well as the chance to interact with Buddhist monks. I was too self-conscious to do it, but my girlfriend went up to a little raised platform where some monks chanted some stuff, flicked some water on her and gave her a little bracelet. I played it cool and refused to join in, but I wished I had had some water flicked at me too and I'd have loved a little bracelet. I am against all religions, even the fun ones with big statues and bracelets and monks who are all laid back.
As with everywhere in Thailand there were lots of pictures of the royal family everywhere. They love the king and in fact it's against the law to insult him and people get sent to prison for years if they're rude about him. Given my nature it's very hard not to shout something offensive or fill up my blogging with awful and untrue statements, but I want to go home really (unless the prison is as nice as my hotel) so all I will say is that the King reminds me of my friend Ben Moor. Which is one of the best compliments you can ever receive, so I don't think they'll lock me away for that. If Ben Moor came here and put on some ageing make-up and some glasses he could be treated like a king. Literally. Like a really popular king too, not like one of the resented European kind.
We then headed over to a Buddhist Temple called
Wat Chalong filled with more statues of Buddha which made me feel like I was in a religiously offensive episode of Dr Who and they were all about to come alive. It was eerie and slightly alien with pictures and statues that would have scared the 9 year old me (but I wasn't scared now), but really interesting to see.
A couple of times we got shocked by people letting off fire crackers in a special structure like a giant kiln. I had been warned about this, but it still shocked me. I think people do it for good luck. To be honest if I was forced to choose a religion I'd go for the one with firecrackers. It's a lot more fun than lighting a candle. We bought a plate of phad thai from a man with a little cart with a wok on it for less than a pound and drank a horrible tropical fruit Fanta drink that tasted like liquid chewing gum. We sat on a rock and ate our lunch whilst a three legged dog hopped by. I like to think this was the most authentic Thai experience of the holiday. Even though it wasn't. And I was worried about getting food poisoning because we'd been told not to buy food from carts. I am glad we disobeyed though because the food was great. The drink was horrible though.
Only two full days left now. That can't be right. Maybe I should be rude about the King after all. But he seems so darn nice and popular. So looks like I am going home.
