Joseph in Asia (part 15)

The otherwise busy Beach Road

Although we have nothing to complain about our hotel with a spacious en-suite room with a large balcony and a view of the sea, we still experience it a bit as if we are trapped in Thailand.

It is very quiet everywhere, but fortunately a few restaurants are still open here and there to serve the few customers.

In the very large Avani Resort tonight a pianist played in the lounge for one listener. Cozy is different, but we have resigned ourselves to the fact that we will probably have to stay in Pattaya for an indefinite period of time. The only consolation we have is the knowledge that things are no better in the Netherlands. We may even be privileged here. We are not giving up and remain optimistic. Fortunately, my dear buddy is also over the first shock and she also remains sensible and calm.

Scared

Tonight we spoke to an American who also stays in our hotel. He said that one of these days there will be talk of a temporary closure of the hotel because, he said, only nine rooms of the immensely large hotel are currently occupied. However, the reception knew nothing about it. We'll see and we already have another accommodation in mind. Keeping calm is now the credo.

Food

The special dining options in our hotel are lacking, so we take a walk on Second Road where it is also very quiet and hardly any traffic. Opposite the famous Mike's Shopping Hall we walk to the arcade on the other side where a few people are sitting on the corner at a simple eatery and walking further we notice that everything there is closed with the exception of a Swedish-tinted restaurant where we are welcomed with open arms to thereby increasing the number of guests to six.

Walking back to our hotel we buy another bottle of Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet to spend the evening in our room as cozy as possible. From Las Vegas we receive a FaceTime telephone call and there too it is completely silent; even on the famous Strip, we hear.

Pigeons instead of people on the beach

The world has changed!

Fortunately, we sleep great and get out of bed in the morning with difficulty. But the thought of the royal breakfast waiting for us and a cooling shower wakes us wide awake.

In the afternoon I walk along Beach Road armed with a camera to take some pictures. You no longer know the otherwise busy street and the beach. Empty sun loungers, folded umbrellas, here and there a stall with drinks but no customers, in short; hardly a living creature to be seen on the beach.

Or at least, because the pigeons are happily frolicking around and literally don't care about the corona virus. Yet the silence also has a good side because everyone is nice and passers-by greet each other very friendly. It seems as if people feel more connected to each other because of the situation that has arisen.

Sunset

Around half past six in the evening we watch the beautiful sunset and the warm glow that hangs over the sea afterwards.

After having spent a whole day in the hotel with a short break, we look for one of the few open restaurants in the evening to take a break. So we don't die of hunger and a bottle of wine in our beautiful room is not missing either. It is only the uncertainty about the sequel, but we keep our spirits up.