Look it's really hot here, okay? We've reined in our ambitions to go whitewater rafting and zipwire zooming and settled instead for doing some restaurant research in advance of our Monday lunch date with Na and Pook. We walked into the village and pick up a taxi to a hotel outside Cha-am centre, where we are assured, the walkable section of the beach commences. I should explain that despite the first high tide being between 7 and 8 in the morning this week, the sea by us still seems, at lunchtime, to be lapping at the edge of the roads leading down to the shore. We get a short three kilometre walk in and discover that Cha-am is flooded with Thai Chinese tourists, escaping from Bangkok to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Snake (my animal sign, by the way) and to enjoy the annual Cha-am Crab Festival. Regardless of the crowds, there's a job to be done.
This one was nice. Probably too expensive and with the food toned down for the European palate, but we enjoyed the guy doodling on the piano in the background. He was a superb pianist but when he started to sing, oh dear! For some reason, all of the singers we have encountered in bars and hotel lounges on this trip have felt it necessary to make an attempt at Eric Clapton's mournful dirge "Tears in Heaven". I know the personal circumstances behind the song were tragic but that is no reason for every man and his dog to give us their rendition. I guess the world loves a sentimental tear-jerking ballad including Mr Piano Man below.
We made our excuses and left, just as Mr. P played the opening chords of "Nothing Compares 2 U".
Our research trip went pretty well after that - we found four of TripAdvisor's five top-rated restaurants in Cha-am. Getting back to the hotel was more of a problem though as we made our way along the highway leading home. The local taxi drivers were quick to spot us as easy pickings and asked for double the normal rate. Despite our tongues hanging out of our mouths with thirst in the ferocious heat, we waved them away haughtily and started walking along the aptly named Hospital Road. What they knew and we didn't, was that their stand was the last one on that stretch of road until Hua Hin, some ten miles south. Luckily, we were able to take refuge from the ferocious heat in a ramshackle roadside cafe, where an incredibly kind proprietor looked after us. He rang a taxi firm while we had a coffee, and then brought out complimentary green tea, cake and a plate of fruit so that we could celebrate New Year with him.
We made it back okay in the end. We went into Hua Hin that evening just to explore the city. It's much larger than Cha-am, with many more Western tourists. We even found a restaurant run by three Mexican cousins - tacos, quesadillas, margaritas - we were happy.
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