Memo #6 in Hat Yao

Halloh. I am beginning to think I've been forgotten over here. Who needs friends when I've got Sang Som and bla muk (squid).
I had another fun overnight train trip to Trang. My bar car companions were a large group of Belgians. I arrived in Trang refreshed. I found lodging in a very nice guest house managed by a lovely tall slender Thai lady, or Khatoey, I never could quite tell. Her name was Emma. I spent the night and explored this clean friendly town. There was a theatre showing the new Bond flick . Emma was sure it was dubbed into Thai, so I didn't see it.
There are many beaches (hat) and islands (ko) near Trang. I decided to go to Hat Yao. There also, is a large city called Hat Yai and another beach town called Hat Jao. Damned if I didn't go the wrong mini bus station and book a ticket to Hat Yai, two hours south near the Malaysian border. There was no Roman script at the station or on my ticket. The ticket was only $3, and the driver thought it was so funny he payed for my ticket back to Trang. I did however, miss the last bus to Hat YAO, so I stayed one more night in Trang.
I am at a small non profit 'eco' resort. I'm not sure what makes it an 'eco' resort. They use rain water roof runoff for bathing and toilet, but lots of homes and guest houses do that. Part of their mission is to train local young people in the skills of the tourist industry. Prices for food and drink here are about twice everywhere else in town. So I'm dining at local eateries, and contributing to the resort by paying for expensive sattelite (sp) internet. I intended to send recent photos, but the connection is so slow, it couldn't download Picasa. The internet company is owned by Thaksin Shinawatra. Anyone know who that is?
Hat Yao is an old pirate village. The people who live here are decendants of those pirates. There is a large cave nearby where they used to hide their ships, booty, and captives. The cave can only be reached by boat. The resort wants $25 to hire a plastic sea kayak for a day to paddle to the cave. They offer a light so you can paddle at night! Anywhere in Thailand you can hire a motorbike for $6 a day. I am my fathers son, and $25 is absurd.
In Trang I had TV with BBC and Aljazeera news. I was able to catch up on all the polical stuff here. There is a retired professor, who volunteers his time to the resort. The weather has been bad, so we have been chatting at great length about politics here and around the world.
Until moments ago, I was the only farang (westerner) in town. Two young couples have now arrived. People here are friendly. In Trang, some were, and some just stared at me. I have already booked my trains north, for Dec 2 (overnight to BKK) and Dec. 3 to Chiang Mai. The weather shows no sign of improvement, so I may change my plans.
My Thankgiving dinner was bla muk (squid), sauteed chinese greens and steamed rice. The lady let me drink my own Regency brandy. She had no ice (nom kang) so I brought my own.
When I find some faster internet I'll send photos of this nice little town.
Bye for now, Doahlah