August
2004
Updated July 2006
Ko
Samui: Charlie's Huts on Chaweng Beach
Part
3
It's
a definite rush, similar to the feeling of a roller
coaster but with much nicer views. There are four
separate cable trips, each slightly longer than the
next. Total price: 1,400 baht (about 40 USD). That's
what's amazing. They get about 30 customers a day.
They have about 5 employees. The capital investment
is basically a bunch of tree houses, the cables and
the harness tools. And they are pulling in over a
thousand dollars a day. However, if you ask to use
the bathroom at the "home base", you will
be informed to just go in the woods because they don't
have a bathroom!
When
it was time to leave Samui for home, we had to find
a taxi or songtaew to take us to the airport. Like
most of the market people you meet in Samui, the taxi
drivers are like pirates, keenly assessing your situation,
local knowledge and ability to pay before quoting
a price. After some repartee, we negotiated a deal,
got in the taxi and, naively, though that was the
end of our early morning sales activities. But no,
this taxi driver wanted to talk about land, and about
how foreigners were buying land all over Samui, and
that it was a great investment. He of course could
assist in recommending a real estate company if we
were interested. He went on about how land on the
mountain land is more desirable than beachfront. This
is the single most amazing trait that I find in salespeople,
the ability to look you straight in the face and swear
to you that black is white.
As
the taxi driver droned on, and we kept politely silent,
we passed the inland local shantytowns of the laborers
and the poor. Occasionally a small farm appeared.
In a quiet part of the road, a middle-aged Thai man
crossed the street behind our taxi. I looked again.
He had no hands. His arms were thin and frail, but
the rest of his body appeared normal. I though it
would be expected for your arms to wither if you had
no hands. He looked back at me as if sensitive to
people observing him. It reminded me of a story I
had read in the newspaper some years ago: A young
man was found with arms and legs cut off but still
alive. He survived but wouldn't reveal what happened
to him. However, people whispered. The young man was
a petty thief and trouble-maker. He supposedly wandered
onto the ranch of a local figure of influence. Sometime
during the trespass, the young man was caught and
the man of influence decided to set an example to
warn others against future misconduct.
To
post your comments, please email bangkokjoe2000@yahoo.com.
Charlie's
Hut |
|
Sexpat
Factor : 1/5 |
|
Backpacker
Factor: 3/5 |
|
Thai
Style Rating : 2/5 |
|
Baht
meter: How Expensive?: 1/5 |
|
| |
