Day T8: Slipping Out

January 27, 2025

Pattaya to Chachoengsao

I slipped out of Pattaya on the bicycle just as discretely as I had slipped in. Nobody would have known.

Why the Bicycle Adds to the Mystery

Unpredictable Movements:A bicycle offers flexibility. Unlike taxis or public transport, it’s not tied to fixed schedules or routes. People can’t easily predict when or where you’ll appear, adding a layer of intrigue to your presence.
Departure Without Notice:By cycling out of Pattaya, you bypass the usual rituals of leaving—no taxis from the hotel, no shared vans, no farewells announced to reception. It’s a quiet exit, almost like vanishing without a trace.
Blurring the Narrative:When people ask, “How long are you staying?” or “When are you leaving?” they’re trying to piece together your story. By not giving direct answers and using the bike, you create a narrative that’s harder to pin down, making your presence more elusive.
Discretion in Movement:Unlike motorbikes or cars, a bicycle moves through spaces almost silently. This makes it easier to slip out of a city like Pattaya without drawing attention. It’s as though you’re part of the scenery, blending into the environment.

Adding to the mix I ended up staying at two hotels. The second one was Cozy Resort in the general area where my old condo was. It was very quiet and peaceful in the area, and mostly frequented by Indian guests with some amazing breakfast.

When it was time to leave, nobody would have known about it. No minivans, no taxi bookings, nothing. Just a quiet bicycle ride through the thronging streets of Pattaya. Along the way I picked up my laundry then continued on 2nd road and all the way through Na Klua before turning right and slipping out onto Sukhumvhit Road. As I cycled further and further out, everything left further and further behind and it was slowly back to the real world. Hip hop music was pounding in the headphones for the first 30km of the exit.

Today was going to be quite a long ride with the aim to reach Chachoengsao and meet a friend. There was a brief stop in Si Racha mall to update my bank account and then more or less powering north. Headwinds were strong and it wasn't hot at all. As many locals said, the cool season is back this year which is a welcome relief for them.

Getting closer towards Chachoengsao, the traffic increased and this wasn't the most fun cycling. I then realized I didn't want 500+ km more of this shit towards Chiang Mai and with such limited time this trip decided to change it up. I would simply change bikes back at the guesthouse, fly the Montague over there, bike the Mae Hong Son loop and end the ride at Pai to meet Jen and hopefully sell the bike there or in Chiang Mai.

But for today the main plan was to meet Husna, her and her husband helped pick a nice place with a rooftop view. We had a delicious dinner of spicy fish, shrimp salad, and oyster omelette. It was also Chinese New Year so I got some photos with the cute waitresses dressed up in their traditional outfits.

The conversation was extremely interesting. We caught up on a lot of topics since our last visit (which, I think, wasn't until July 2023 but my mind is a bit of a blur). One of the most interesting things that Husna said was that "I thank Allah that I was born in Thailand. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else". This came after me talking about all the recent hardships in China, the situation with my job and boss, and the fact I left my home country Canada where the weather is shit and nobody smiles -- especially in Vancouver at this time of year. Yes we agreed it is easy to get depressed. I explained that my original plan to work in China for many years, make money then retire in Thailand fell off the rails with the political and economic downturn. We then talked about my emerging plan to find a job in Dubai and leverage that for Thailand retirement and she gave it two big thumbs up. No doubt Allah approved. I'm pretty sure that Allah was behind the fact I got zero leads or followup from the Hong Kong search. But hey, it was a good chance to practice networking and learn how to handle rejection gracefully. I said, "To be fair there are many good things about China" and she agreed. But the rest of the world isn't quite familiar with how quickly Xi Jinping is making changes (not for the better) and so my job is to keep people up to date with information.

As a total side note I met another Chinese ex-national in Pattaya again this trip, she completely agrees with everything I said, and decided to permanently retire there.

We talked about many other things and enhanced our cross-cultural understanding of things. Some of the highlights

- Good riddance to my own leader Justin Trudeau, hopefully the new leader will improve things but I left Canada for a reason despite whoever is in power

- Not all Muslims are terrorists. Well, duh, that's a no brainer but the media to this day is still promoting this stereotype. We agreed that most of the domestic attacks are done by right wing white extremists.

- It is entirely true about the classic stories of foreign men who meet Thai women at the bars in Pattaya then go back to their hometowns in Isaan. They age rather poorly, the women still look beautiful in their 60s and they go and cheat on the guy and take all his money. Maybe the stories are exaggerated but Husna said "I feel ashamed that this kind of thing still happens and the women would do this" I said, "Well it's never going to happen with me, I have multiple bank accounts around the world and would never buy property in their partner's name like these guys do" But we also agreed the women who do this are in the minority and, as with many things, it is more complex than we realize.

- China wants more and more countries to visit with visa free policies, but people are not biting. Her husband shared a story about how they went to Chongqing on one of the cheap flights from Bangkok. While there, everyone was unfriendly to them, nothing set up for tourism, and nobody could speak English. They had a shit trip basically. We also said there are still many Chinese tourists in Chiang Mai who insist on speaking Chinese. The locals have caught on, yet nobody wants to communicate with Thai people when they visit China. The hypocrisy is unbelievable. So they can go ahead and offer these free visas as much as they want. People are still very cautious about visiting and expats are reluctant to come after covid. The net result is still more and more expats leaving.

She then said, "You are very smart, you know. You can manage your life well and have many plans for everything."

I thanked her for that then we talked about aging parents and loss of loved ones. For some reason I went on a tirade about how the Chinese government locked down the place in 2022 and I couldn't see my Dad before he passed away back home.

She said, "Yes I understand you but try to let all that go. People die is a fact of life. It will happen at some point to everyone, including me and you."

This wasn't fun to hear but she was right. I took her advice to heart because my mind was already made up about leaving China anyway, and I had long decided there was no sense in trying to "change things". It reminded me of what my life coach said earlier, both Putin and Xi will rule for life anyway. Contrary to what people might say about Trump being "president for life", he can't run for a third term without changing the constitution on term limits, and that requires a 2/3 majority vote from both the House and Senate. But autocrats like Putin and Xi can change the constitution at will which they have done. For that reason, nothing is going to change or get any better in those two countries. The only option is to leave, which I had decided anyway. Getting angry or "seeking revenge" wouldn't achieve anything. So in that sense what Husna said was correct

We talked about a lot more stuff and it was evident this was a pivotal conversation. She the helped order a VIP taxi back to my guesthouse where it would then be time to switch bicycles.

Today's ride: 100 km (62 miles)
Total: 269 km (167 miles)

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