Friday 21 April 2017

Thailand - The Island

Woke up finally to a clear sky and blazing sun. Being within a tourist resort also meant we could wear shorts and vests that haven't really been appropriate in the Muslim and Buddhist traditional communities that we have previously visited.
Pool

It's fair to say that we just don't have have sunny days like this in the UK. By 10am the decking around the pool was already too hot to stand on without shoes and my factor 30 sun cream was running off me quicker than I could reapply it.
It has to be hot, very hot, for me to plunge anything more than my ankles occasionally in to the water. By 11am I had pretty much given up the sporadic swims and was just happily wallowing in the water, watching the hawks circling overhead. Consequently by the time the rain threatened to join us for lunch I was a worrying shade of red.
Sun kissed?

An unnecessary but delicious lunch of western influenced Thai Food (sweet & sour chicken) was enjoyed in the cool cover of the restaurant area benefiting from the sea breeze. Receiving glowing reports of the Island Tuk Tuk tour by others from the group who had had a less lazy morning we booked one for the afternoon.

With skin coated in aftersun, and cameras at the ready we boarded our Tuk Tuk as the first drops of rain began to fall and the thunder rattled around us.  The weather necessitated the unfurling of the plastic sides, reducing our view but protecting us a little from the downpours, and gave our Tuk Tuk a bridal makeover as the rear floated behind us like a veil in the wind.

We toured around from one soggy viewpoint to the next, passing little farmsteads and seeing local life at its best - averting our eyes from the lady taking a Thai Shower from the bucket beside her house. We saw farmers moving their buffalo and tending their rice fields. It was a pleasant way to spend the wet afternoon but at just over an hour was shorter than the two hours we expected.
Viewpoint on a wet afternoonLadened scooter

When we got back our fellow travelers asked us "Did you see the watermelon Farm?" No. "The fresh water spring?" No. "The souvenir shops?" No. This conversation seemed to be repeated with everyone we met. It appears we were short changed, and that couldn't all be blamed on the rain. Never mind.
The rain stopped and the rum opened, amazing how an afternoon can fly past in such a way. Our most productive activity was to write a Happy Birthday message in the sand for the oldest of our group (at 76) and to buy him an Emerald Cave cocktail to go with our Pinnacalades.
Happy Birthday Keith

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