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Readers of my Trip Reports might recall that I’m writing a book. This is not easy, given that I work full-time at a school and am also a carer. It’s difficult to find more than a couple of hours every week to write.
School holidays, though, allow me to get some serious writing done. I’ve decided to try to spend a week or so of each school holidays on a “writing retreat”: getting away from the distractions of home to a nice location, preferably with a water view. I write for half a day or so, and spend the rest of the day recharging: walking along the beach, enjoying nice food, reading for research and/or pleasure, getting some exercise and doing some “tourist” stuff if the opportunity arises.
My first writing retreat in June-July was at the Gold Coast (sans AFF Trip Report!). This one will be slightly more exotic.
Several months back I decided that Da Nang in Vietnam would fit the bill nicely, but then I fell for the Accor “Red Hot Rooms” marketing. Accor was offering ocean-view rooms at the Pullman at Khao Lak in Thailand for THB 1100 (about AUD 50) per night. I found reward flights relatively easily (it’s easier when you’re only looking for one seat) and took the plunge.
How could sea-view rooms at a five-star resort be so cheap?
Well, it’s the wet season. And apparently wet means very wet. But that doesn’t bother me because my first priority is writing. The more it rains, the more I’ll write. And when the rain stops, I’ll be in a great place to explore and relax.
I also suspect the resort is following the low-cost-airline model of having the rooms as a loss-leader and charging full-price (or overcharging) for things such as food. I intend to venture out for my meals as much as possible (weather permitting). Will I manage to thwart the LCC model? Or will the resort make some decent money off me after all? I’m about to find out.
I really don’t know what to expect. Apart from a couple of brief BKK transits, this will be my first trip to Thailand. Hopefully it’ll be both an enjoyable and a productive one!
School holidays, though, allow me to get some serious writing done. I’ve decided to try to spend a week or so of each school holidays on a “writing retreat”: getting away from the distractions of home to a nice location, preferably with a water view. I write for half a day or so, and spend the rest of the day recharging: walking along the beach, enjoying nice food, reading for research and/or pleasure, getting some exercise and doing some “tourist” stuff if the opportunity arises.
My first writing retreat in June-July was at the Gold Coast (sans AFF Trip Report!). This one will be slightly more exotic.
Several months back I decided that Da Nang in Vietnam would fit the bill nicely, but then I fell for the Accor “Red Hot Rooms” marketing. Accor was offering ocean-view rooms at the Pullman at Khao Lak in Thailand for THB 1100 (about AUD 50) per night. I found reward flights relatively easily (it’s easier when you’re only looking for one seat) and took the plunge.
How could sea-view rooms at a five-star resort be so cheap?
Well, it’s the wet season. And apparently wet means very wet. But that doesn’t bother me because my first priority is writing. The more it rains, the more I’ll write. And when the rain stops, I’ll be in a great place to explore and relax.
I also suspect the resort is following the low-cost-airline model of having the rooms as a loss-leader and charging full-price (or overcharging) for things such as food. I intend to venture out for my meals as much as possible (weather permitting). Will I manage to thwart the LCC model? Or will the resort make some decent money off me after all? I’m about to find out.
I really don’t know what to expect. Apart from a couple of brief BKK transits, this will be my first trip to Thailand. Hopefully it’ll be both an enjoyable and a productive one!
