A DAY AT THE BEACH

[daherk]

Yes I'm one of the old farangs who has been in Pattaya for eons. I remember the days when the boys played volleyball and soccer in front of you when the tides were out. And yes I remember the boy charmers jumping from chair to chair to possibly pick up an afternoon delight! But the beach is still there and still a great way to spend an afternoon. Yes some of the boys from your past are still there: Achoo the Akha wearing his funny hat and selling trinkets and Ice Cream Ka vocally selling his goodies and now joined by the singing Orange Juice boy.

A DAY AT THE BEACH
As I relax here in my beach chair overlooking the sometimes pristine water of the Gulf of
Siam, I often think, "What are my friends doing now?" Our military junta has
forced the beach chair vendors to shrink the seating area, but it has opened a vast area
of walkable beach.

After the gym, I leave my condo and walk down the path to our private beach entrance
and WOW here I am on the world famous GAY DONG TAN BEACH. As I exit our gate I am
met by "Me" who along with "SateA" are the Burmese beach boys servicing Mama's
chair concession. All the comforts of home, a towel on the chair, an ice bucket and cold
water are delivered to my table. I am now ready for a GREAT DAY OF DOING
NOTHING.

Soon the fruit man arrives with his array of choices: watermelon, cantaloupe, mango,
papaya and fruits you've never heard of like mangosteen and dragon fruit. Yum fresh
fruit for brunch. The fruit guy is followed by the donut boy with hot from the oven treats.
Thereafter the various vendors stream by, need a leather belt, a Rolex watch, trinkets
from the Akha tribes people of the North, wooden Buddha carvings, silk scarfs and
bedcovers, unframed pictures, swimming suits.... you name it and it will walk by
including Ice Cream sold by beautiful boys lugging large coolers! Hungry, a full menu is
available delivered to you served on China plates from the restaurants behind. Want a
massage, how about a manicure/pedicure you can get it here at the WORLD FAMOUS GAY
DONG TAN BEACH.

A smattering of languages surround you - just down a couple of rows in front are my
friends Donny from Florida talking to Darrin from Australia, a group of Italians sit behind
me, to the right they are speaking Dutch and on the left German. The beach boys are
jabbering in Burmese, Cambodian and Thai...but everyone has to mutually correspond
using English or some version of English or Tinglish (Thai English) and sooner or later
your wishes are made known. The Burmese and Cambodian beach boys have the
amazing ability to freely converse in Thai and English while greeting their customers by
saying "Bon Journo" to the Italians, "Bon Jour" to the French, "Gout Morgan" to the
Germans and Dutch. You must remember these kids come from some of the most
impoverished areas in Asia. I feel good when I can say "Sawadee Krup" and
"Mingalaba" - that's "good morning / hello" in Thai and Burmese.

Well as the sun falls past the yard arm, I'll head home just to do this all over again
tomorrow. I hope your having fun, 'cause I am.

[catawampuscat]

Now that's refreshing. A positive, even joyful thread posting by a farang who appreciates his life and the pleasures
of Pattaya. No bellyaching about how things have changed, no complaining about cramped seating, noisy neighbors
or persistent vendors.

[gerefan]

Does it still happen?