Many people who come to Thailand like to “wing it”, deciding on where to go after arrival and booking accommodations along the way. I am not this kind of person. To me, the accommodation is an important part of the trip—not just somewhere to sleep—and I want what I want locked in months before departure.
We absolutely loved the villa that we stayed in last year on Khlong Dao Beach and were excited to book it again for this trip, but I got concerned when I looked on the resort’s website—six months in advance—and the villa wasn’t even listed. I emailed the manager, who had been so helpful to us last year and inquired. She replied that the villa was “only for sale this year, no rental.” We were disappointed but decided that this was a sign that we were meant to stretch out and experience something different this year.
My ideal accommodation is a private pool villa, no children on-site, on or very close to the beach and within walking distance to restaurants and a mini mart/Lotus/7 Eleven. I used Agoda for my research and didn’t find much but one property on Klong Nin Beach stood out. They were almost fully booked and had one pool villa left. We booked it.
Now, if you’re like me and like to have your trip all planned out in advance, there’s still one important skill that you need to cultivate when visiting southeast Asia: the ability to pivot.
There were a lot of things that we liked about the villa on Klong Nin. The location was fantastic, with the beach just across the road and good cheap restaurants nearby, and we loved the deep plunge pool. I imagine that when it was built the villa was quite luxurious but now it felt tired. The towels and bedding all smelled so strongly of sickly sweet scented soap that even a few days of airing out in the breeze didn’t help. We found some black mold. The air conditioning wasn’t strong enough. There was no closet or dresser for me to unpack into. The rooms were dark. Aside from the flowers placed in the sink and tub for our arrival (which I later figured out was a strategic way to mask the musty smell of the place) there was no welcoming vibe here.
As I went to bed on our first night, I started thinking that we couldn’t stay here for two weeks. I’d recently noticed online that our preferred villa that was “only for sale” was available for rent again so I sent a late night email to the manager. Could she fit us into Villa 3? Then I fought with my hard pillow, eventually fell asleep and had nightmares.
I heard back from the manager the next morning. They were fully booked… with the exception of Villa 3! The nightly rate listed on the website was much more than what we paid last year so I requested a discount and got it! We would now stay four more nights in our Klong Nin villa then move up to Villa 3 on Khlong Dao Beach. With this plan in motion, we really enjoyed our remaining time on Klong Nin.
I arranged a ride to Khlong Dao Beach in a songthaew with my friend from last year, Muhammad. It was great to see him! It was like no time had passed. He gave me a big hug and a squeeze.
Any trepidation that I’d had about whether or not making this pivot was a good idea completely dissipated when we got into Villa 3. We feel at home here. Everything is bright, breezy and spotless. It’s been fun running into staff members who we know from last year and seeing the folks who run the Chao Ley restaurant up the beach. Smiles all around. But there’s one being missing: Leo.
Joe brought up Leo without any prompting from me. “Mao Leo, not here anymore, he left.” I stood up from my chair. “Really? Leo gone??” Ying walked over, “Chai, Leo gone.”
This sweet cat won us over last year. He looked maybe six to nine months old, a little orange creamsicle kitty. Joe thinks that someone local might have taken Leo home with them to live. I named him Leo and he would run over when we called him. We often saw him on the resort pathways and one of us would scoop him up into our arms and bring him back to the villa. We weren’t the only ones… I remember seeing a woman walking by cuddling him. “His name is Leo!” I called out. Apparently, the name stuck. Wherever he is, I’m sure Leo’s doing great and is well-loved.
