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Before Darshi set off for Bangkok, we went to Chaloklum for the Sunday market. Absolutely nothing spectacular, but quiet, manageable, and sympathetic, like the whole place. No big fuss, no frills, and no loud music like everywhere else.

In the village street, small stands were set up, mostly with snacks or fruits, but also occasionally with clothes, although with limited selection.

At the pier, mainly edible things are offered, small dishes - fried, baked, cooked, roasted, or grilled -, snacks, sweets, and fruits, there is something suitable for every taste and appetite. Tables and chairs have been set up out into the sea, all with enormous distance due to COVID.

It's more of a small happening, a change. The people are all in a good mood, relaxed, and extremely friendly, there is a wonderful, harmonious atmosphere, you almost want to think that here in this small world everything is still in order. Interestingly, the cafe at the pier is called Cafe at the End of the World.

On the way back, we also made a little detour to Bar 360 on the hill above Mae Haad, where the sunset was once again spectacular and the music was inappropriate and too loud.

After Darshi set off for Bangkok, I took it easy for a while...... and explored the surrounding area. I came across some interesting things such as the free-living wild monitor lizards here in the backwater, right in front of my hut. It is an imposing animal, about 1.50 - 1.80 meters tall. The other three seem to be their offspring, as they are noticeably smaller at about 60-80 cm. It is quite a spectacle to watch them slither through the brackish water. I am always fascinated.

Behind my hut, I came across a praying mantis, perfectly camouflaged with the green of the bush it was sitting on. And behind the resort's buildings - a really lofty term for the miserable small huts - I came across an almost overgrown and rusty old jeep that has almost merged with nature. It probably gave up the ghost at some point and was simply left in place and abandoned. To call this resort itself a resort is not only an exaggeration but also an insult to all resorts that truly deserve the name. Our resort actually reminds me more of a junkyard.

Of course, you can ask yourself, why do we still live there? Well, the whole thing also has its advantages and its own charm. If you embrace the given situation and don't get hung up on the truly big deficiencies, you can feel very comfortable here, even at home.

However, I find this particularly difficult in the evenings. When I'm tired and just want to go to bed, I always have to fight various pests first. Sometimes they are thumb-sized cockroaches, sometimes huge spiders, and of course, mosquitoes every day. The first spider was as big as my hand, the next one was twice the size - as big as my whole hand, including my fingers. I actually have nothing against these creatures, except maybe the mosquitoes, but I really don't want them to visit me in bed at night.

After finally catching, chasing away, or otherwise 'eliminating' the critters, I am so hyped up and full of adrenaline - in killer mode, so to speak - that all the beautiful heaviness of the bed disappears and I have trouble falling asleep.

This nightly fight is mainly why I'm looking for a new accommodation, even though I have already paid for the Mae Haad Beach Resort until 11.2.

Darshi has already booked at the nice sea resort in Sritanu. But my bungalow there was already booked. However, Mr. Nice from the resort said that he might be able to rearrange things and would let me know if the bungalow became available. But since I hadn't heard from him for several days, I was a bit in limbo and had to start thinking on my own and creating options.

Two days ago, while looking for a breakfast place in Chaloklum, I came across the perfect place. Located at the very end of the bay, I parked the scooter and started searching for the reception on foot. I walked through cheap and somewhat neglected wooden bungalows, occasionally encountering a better one, but everything seemed deserted and deserted. Probably closed due to Covid. But then I spotted great, well-maintained, and modern bungalows in the further course of the complex that were clearly rented out. They were certainly too expensive for us, but the resort wasn't closed, that was already a positive discovery. I also found the reception and restaurant of the resort and immediately asked the lady there if she had any vacant bungalows for rent. Like all Thais here, she was very aware of Corona, which is why I immediately brought out and put on my mask. She confirmed my question and then the familiar question and answer game began, when, how long, how many people, what price, etc. The price naturally depends on the location and quality of the bungalow and the length of stay. The negotiation was a bit difficult because the lady, like almost everyone here, spoke little English and I wanted to know the prices for 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month. Since she gave me total sums, I had to convert everything back to a daily rate, it was a bit of a brain scramble.

But in the end, I could get an idea and since the price seemed okay, I now had to see the corresponding bungalows. She led me a few meters behind the house, where two rows of wooden bungalows faced each other, surrounded by many, partly magnificent yellow blooming perennials and small trees. The bungalows themselves were in decent and well-maintained condition, basic standard, but unfortunately very small, just like the veranda in front. There was no closet, no shelf, just a kind of clothes rack where you could hang shirts on hangers, for example. Again, the problem of where to put the suitcase and all the clothes, can't they just add a few centimeters somewhere, there must be a place for your stuff somewhere?! However, the bathroom was also small but cleanly tiled and made a very good impression.

There were 3 vacant bungalows to choose from, all the same size but differently equipped. One with a double bed and AC, two with a fan, one with a double bed and one with non-movable single beds. The one with AC should cost 500 baht per day for 14 days and the other two 400 baht per day. The price for 2 weeks could have been a bit cheaper, but I really liked the resort overall, especially the proximity to Chaloklum.

I postponed making a decision for now since I had to discuss it with Darshi. But first, I ordered breakfast as I was starving. To my delight, there was black tea in a pot here, usually only cups are offered. But when the pot was brought, I was already a bit disappointed because there was only one tea bag in it. This shows that black tea is actually unknown to the Thais, at least here in the south. However, the price had almost tripled according to the amount of water.

After I had fortified myself, I called Darshi in Bangkok. He was also having breakfast, together with a woman who was on her way to Kerala in India, which is why he was very brief in his conversation. A woman always comes first with Darshi.

First, he asked me about the bungalow and then complained that there was no wardrobe and no mosquito net again, even though he had one in his suitcase. I sent him photos of the bungalow, inside and outside, the view, and especially the beach. It was hard to convince him, so I wanted to make the decision easier for him by sending him a photo of the menu with the local beer prices. I was sure that would convince him, and it did. Because we had never seen beer so cheap anywhere.

I let the lady of the house know that we would like to reserve the bungalows until the next day. I still had to check the booking in Sritanu, where Darshi had booked and I had made a pre-reservation. So I called Mr. Nice, but couldn't reach him, so I wrote him a WhatsApp message and asked if he had been able to free up my bungalow for me.

I then sat down on the beach, took a deep breath, and relaxed. It had been an exciting morning, and all on an empty stomach. Now I was just waiting for Mr. Nice, who would surely tell me that unfortunately, he hadn't been able to free up the bungalow, and then we could have canceled Sritanu with good reason, that was the agreement, at least.

I made myself comfortable and enjoyed the view of being able to live here. The sand on the beach was just as fine and light as in Sritanu, but far less crowded.

Actually, I had planned to take a tour with the scooter, but I just couldn't leave here anymore. I spent the whole afternoon listening to music there on the beach in the shade and postponed the tour to some indefinite other day in the future, maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after tomorrow, or whenever.

Since I had postponed the tour for now, I could now take a bath in peace and quiet. The water was very shallow, hardly any depth, and therefore pleasantly warm. Probably the water here was cooler than my bathtub at home, I thought with a smile, which of course is not true, but the idea amused me.

I spent a lot of time in the water, floating on the surface, letting myself drift, it was simply wonderfully relaxing. After a while back on land, I walked around a bit with headphones in my ears to dry off again. In doing so, I noticed something on the lawn. I took a closer look and realized that there was a snake lying in the grass just a few meters in front of me. Bright green, slim, very slim even, the snake moved slowly forward, about 70-80 cm long. I had the phone in my hand and quickly made a video. But the snake had already noticed me and elegantly fled up the next palm tree, which fortunately had a very slanting growth form and was easy for the snake to climb.

I showed the lady of the house the video, which, to my surprise, did not bother her at all. No problem, was her relaxed answer to my question whether the snake was poisonous. They live here in the trees, there are many of them, no problem, they don't bite. All fine and good, but that wasn't my question. I had wanted to know if the snake was poisonous. But she didn't answer that exactly. Nevertheless, I was infected by her serenity and quickly calmed down after the short excitement.

Mr. Nice still hadn't contacted me, which stressed me out for some reason, because it was getting late and I didn't want to leave without having made the booking for the bungalows beforehand. That's why I decided to confirm the booking here as well, in anticipation that my bungalow in Sritanu would not be available anyway - although that wasn't actually necessary since I had agreed on a reservation until the next day.

Five minutes after I had finalized the booking, Mr. Nice wrote to me that he had managed to free up my bungalow for me and that they were looking forward to welcoming us back to the Nice Sea Resort.

What a mess!

Now I had to go home first and take time and peace to grasp the new situation and come up with a solution.