In And Out Sritanu

We booked the bungalows at Nice Sea Resort for 9 days, after that our plans are not quite clear. I have extended our accommodation in Mae Haad continuously until February 11th. For the price of 10 days, I can stay for a whole four weeks. I immediately agreed. Darshi was more hesitant because he was considering going back to Bangkok. At least that's what he communicated to me. I didn't know that he didn't want to return to Mae Haad anymore. It came to light now in Sritanu because he was constantly looking for other bungalows.

In Mae Haad, there are not enough people for him, nothing going on, always the same 3-4 restaurants, and the hut is a dilapidated shack, small, no space - you can't even unpack the suitcase because there is no wardrobe, shelf, or anything like that.

Everything is true, except that we liked it there better than anything else we had seen within our budget. And I know from experience two years ago that despite all the shortcomings, we can feel very comfortable there. However, there was no COVID back then, all the restaurants were open, and there was more life in the village.

And now he has experienced Sritanu and would rather stay here. I can understand that, there is more life, more variety. But it is also significantly more expensive and pretty booked up.

I have gotten to know Darshi reasonably well by now and I know that when he resists something, there is no shaking him. He becomes obsessed. So I tell him that if he finds something decent in our budget, I am willing to take a look at it and maybe forget about Mae Haad.

So he gets to work and checks websites and booking platforms, makes suggestions, shows me photos, etc. We would prefer to stay at Nice Sea Resort, but it was a bargain price we booked at and besides, the bungalows are already booked after us. So we have to look elsewhere.

We met an American woman in our favorite restaurant who has been living here more or less for a few years. Tara from California, who, as luck would have it, gives yoga classes, and she named a few good resorts nearby.

We set off the next day. Darshi wanted us to rent a scooter, but I refuse to organize a bike for the 20-minute walk. I do this on purpose because he depends on me in this matter since he cannot drive. Two days earlier, I had suggested that we rent a scooter for 4 weeks, then it would be available for half the daily rate and we would be free and independent. He rejected it because he didn't want to constantly ride a scooter and on the other hand, he didn't want to leave the thing unused. Now I could demonstrate to him the advantage of having a means of transportation available at all times, and he understood it as well. The next day, he was ready for a 4-week contract.

But for today, we started out on foot.

We found that beyond the borders we had previously set, there were a lot of other restaurants and shops. Mostly completely rundown and repulsive, but also interesting shops. We took our time and looked around curiously until we reached the recommended resorts. Seaflower only served as a landmark where we turned left towards the beach. By the way, we also found the Belgian beer bar marked on the map, where we immediately settled down to recover and refresh ourselves from the long walk in the heat. We also learned that we were already in the sought-after Seatanu Resort. The first bungalows we had seen had put us off, but here at the bar, they were located in a beautiful garden and made a very good impression overall. The beach was only a few steps away and it wasn't bad either, but Darshi didn't like it. However, a wonderful palm tree grew there, almost horizontally over the sand, towards the sunset, perfect for photos. Unfortunately, all the bungalows were fully booked for the time being. So we asked for directions to the second tip from Tara, the Jungle Huts. They were not far away on the same beach, but unfortunately, we didn't really like the bungalows there, although they were significantly better than those in Mae Haad and even had a refrigerator that Darshi was so keen on. As far as I can remember, there was only one available, so we also said goodbye to this option. In the end, there would be nothing else for us but to move back to Mae Haad. But Darshi wasn't giving up that easily.

But first, we went back to the beach where the sun was about to sink into the sea. It bathed the world in a golden light and gave me some wonderful photos, of course with the mentioned palm tree.

From the southern end of the beach, music reached us and we were drawn to it. A lot of people had gathered there for the sunset and there was a sympathetic, peaceful atmosphere. Most of the predominantly young people, often with small children in their arms, were Israelis. I realized that we had passed by here before in search of the Seatanu Bungalows. At that time, the place seemed run-down and lonely, now there were almost 50-60 scooters parked here, all of them had come for the sunset. It's interesting how such groups always come together. Here it was the Israelis, elsewhere Germans, and a few meters further maybe French or Russians.

Enchanted by the beautiful sunset and the peaceful atmosphere on the beach, we made our way back. Our search had been unsuccessful, but we had also seen some beautiful things along the way.

Out of interest, I asked at the scooter rental shop on the way if they had a scooter available, unfortunately, there were none. This would also remain the case in the following days, to our mutual regret.

Later in the restaurant, Darshi was bent over his phone again, searching for a place to stay. He had been quiet for a long time until he pushed the device over to me and told me to take a look. He had really found a great resort, fantastic bungalows with a refrigerator, super cheap, a bargain. And right around the corner! That's what he thought. I took a closer look and unfortunately had to correct him, it was in the middle of Thongsala, the island's capital, and not even Darshi wanted to go there.

So he continued searching and soon found another place. This time actually around the corner, even in the immediate vicinity on the same beach. Only 3 bungalows left. I said we would go there tomorrow and take a look on-site and then we could also book, but Darshi said it can be canceled at any time for free, so we couldn't go wrong if we booked right away. So I gave my ok before someone else could snag it from us. Darshi clicked 'book' and that was it.

The next morning, we took the few steps along the beach to Laem Son Bungalows to inspect our future huts. We found the landlady, who came out somewhat grumpily from her kitchen, and explained our request to her. At first, she didn't understand what we wanted, she was fully booked. It took some effort to explain to her that we had already booked and wanted to have a look at the huts in advance. That was not possible because people lived there, was her clearly unfriendly response now. We just wanted to look from the outside, not go inside, I tried to reassure her. No, under no circumstances, that's private, she now almost hostilely exclaimed. I gave her one last chance and asked her incredulously if she really didn't want to show us the huts from the outside. No, definitely not, she said and started making her way back to her kitchen. Astounded and incredulous, I called after her that in that case, we would cancel the booking. She didn't seem to be interested at all, on the contrary, yes, do that, she replied, and with that, the conversation was over for her and she was gone.

Darshi and I looked at each other completely perplexed. What was that?! We had never experienced such unprofessional and unfriendly treatment here, and there was no need for any discussion to decide to cancel this booking, we were both completely in agreement. Whatever comes or doesn't come, but we definitely would not stay in that place, with that woman.