Though I should also say that some of the problems we encountered were also caused by them. But I am feeling forgiving--just because of the privilege of being able to experience the houseboat of the south at all.
The front man is the guy who sits in the tiny, hole-in-the-wall office all day long waiting for tourists such as ourselves to happen upon him. His best skill is making conversation while we wait and wait a bit longer. He doesn't know quite as much about the trip as you might hope, but it's handy to make friends with him. Especially when you need a refund for something that didn't go right.
Once on the boat, we were introduced to the three men who would be with us for the next two days: the captain, the chef, and the engineer.
In the promotional material for the houseboat, I read that the boat came with "an experienced chef". Experienced in what, I wondered.It was his job to make us good meals like this one. And tea whenever we wanted.
I would hear his knife start chopping things up around 5 in the morning, and later good things would appear on our table. Our chef was very enthusiastic about his craft, and thrilled to be able to tell us specifics about each dish.
Getting up at 5am to cook for us must have been exhausting. 'Cause when he wasn't cooking, napping is what he did.
Our boat had some engine trouble, which meant that the second day we were actually transferred to a second boat.In the switch, we lost our first captain and the engineer and got a new captain and a second chef instead.
The first captain was skilled: he shifted gears with his toes.
The second, not so much. It seems we were a bit of a headache to him.Okay, maybe it was just the glare on the water while he wanted to be taking a nap like the others were.
I thought it was the engineer's job to keep something like engine failure from happening.Maybe he was more friendly and likeable than skilled.
Conclusion?
Chef One: recommended highly.
The others? Perhaps they need a second chance for higher marks.
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