Catch Club Surin Beach. This place has become for me one of the most meaningful and stylish in all of Phuket. Imagine a beachfront bar, sophisticated, tidy and clean, sleek. You can sit at the bar as well as at a table, with a sea view, lights dimmed, hearing the sound of the waves. The bar is separated from the sea by a wide strip of beach. Mostly Russian speech is heard, obviously indicating its ownership. We only had a reservation for the two of us with the Thai woman. We went in a taxi, and she was wearing a stunning long black dress, accentuating her elegantly pretty body and features, hair tied up in a ponytail, light and mysterious makeup, smelling of a nice perfume (which I had not bought). Yes, let's laugh together. We ordered some nuts and another cocktail, which we didn't know what the contents were, but they had brought them back looking great. Since you've already figured out that I'm a lucky guy, it turned out that the special guest at the bar would be Brazil's finest saxophonists. Incredibly hitting the tone for the whole evening. When this guy from the side of Pele, Ronaldo and Neymar showed up, our skin crawled. Just imagine - a great Brazilian saxophonist, a stylish and sophisticated bar with Russian-speaking bartenders and waitresses, a gentle sea breeze, a full moon, dimmed lights...call it romantic, how? Okay, I admit the romance came largely from the girl I was with, but the surroundings helped those feelings a lot too. Like every story I tell, this one had its expected climax. Yes, what I've told so far covers that feeling, but...something else happened. She, the great looking, beautiful and subtle Thai woman asked me that she wanted to come with me to my home country Bulgaria. "Well," I said. There was no way something could spoil this idyll". Yes, I liked her, yes, I had some positive mental feelings, I was having a great time with her, but this topic pretty much broke any romance. We were already on our way back in the taxi, and she knew it wouldn't be. At least I was honest. Despite this incident, she stayed with me for the rest of my adventures in Phuket.
On one of the following days, we rented a car, for 24 hours, with a right-hand drive. It was a real nightmare for me and once I found out she had a license and could drive, I kind of calmed down. Although, let me tell you, I don't like being a passenger, whether a man or woman is driving. I left my international passport as insurance, videotaped the car, and photographed any damage done by the front renters so I wouldn't burn out in the end. We picked up the vehicle and set off on a day trip to Phuket, a round trip whose purpose was to stop at every beach and interesting monument and take pictures for the Thailand-Secrets project. I was very happy that after the hard conversations with the girl about our future, that we could stay together and enjoy the rest of our time on the island. We were able to tour all of Phuket in a few hours and the materials I wanted were available. We stayed for a late lunch on the beach at Bangtao Beach and drove back to Patong. She asked me to take the car with her and we could return it together the next day. I didn't consider at all that the next morning at 5am until late in the evening I was going to take a trip to the Similan Islands without her. This event posed another question mark. Immediately my friends, or as I should more properly call them, detractors, intervened. They said that she would return the car, take my passport and disappear and I would not be able to return to Bulgaria. Something that, in view of the drama that unfolded with my refusal to take her back to my home country with me, could have turned out to be a bad ending and revenge. I kept calm and decided to be brave and not dramatize. I also wrote a message that we would have dinner the next day as we would be going home at night and I would expect her at my place with the passport. We had a great time in the Similan Islands, unique scenery, turquoise waters, greenery. The day after the excursion I woke up late at noon. We went to the beach with friends, and I had a date and dinner with the girl, again where this whole story started, at the "Wine connection" restaurant. She had to come at 19 o'clock with my personal documents, which guaranteed me a successful journey to Bulgaria. We sat down at 6:30 pm with some of my friends there and the betting began - whether She would come with the passport and whether She would run away and hide. I was convinced that she would be on time and at 7:00pm she was at the table we had booked, carrying the important documents for me. We sat down to dinner, I thanked her for her honesty once again and I saw sadness and tears in her eyes...it was getting close to the time to leave towards Bulgaria. I didn't feel good, but I kept my composure. We briefly went over the topic of our relationship and indulged in a party.
Suddenly the "X" day, in the afternoon of which we had to leave for the airport, came. The girl was willing to drive us to the airport with three other friends, but just in case and in her interest I refused. I agreed, however, on our last morning and lunchtime. Somehow I had gotten used to it. But, I took this whole incident as a lesson. I drew the appropriate conclusions and bravely moved on. When we got back to Sofia, she tried to text me a few times, but I told her that we should remember the good moments, but not go back to them again. However, there was one memory from my meeting with her that I still keep and use to this day. One of the days my flip flops broke and I had to buy new ones. We went to the Jungseylon Mall in Patong and I still remember her saying "Buy expensive flip flops so you can use them for a long time. They will always remind you of our fun times". And so it happened. I bought a pair of "Sketchers" flip flops for about 60 euros, which I still wear today, and they will prove to be an indirect participant in one of my next stories and visits to Thailand.
