How A Tube Of Toothpaste Has Changed My Life!

Saturday 30 September

The day had arrived to revisit Tesco Lotus to collect my new glasses. It was another very hot and sunny day and we blogged and puzzled round the pool. Juz and Dave arrived mid morning – their “date” had postponed till this afternoon, so we hailed a tut-tut at the top of the village which was the cheapest ride yet – just 20 bahts each to the shopping mall.

Our first stop was the opticians, and as we walked in all the staff went aaaahhhh! . . . . . they obviously remembered us from last week. We soon collected both mine and Ray’s spectacles and headed for lunch at the Black Canyon Coffee Shop, where we each had a main course, plus three portions of fries, and eight drinks, all for 800 bahts - under 12GBP. I then made my first purchase in a Tescos store for nearly thirty years! – a tube of toothpaste!

Back to the Bandara for another drink before Juz and Dave were collected to further their quest for land, and we wandered back to the bungalow, to relax on the balcony. By the time we saw them again in the evening, the land bubble had burst for Dave, and he is now going to give up his dream of building a house here, in favour of loads of holidays in different destinations around the world. Land here has become outrageously expensive and there’s not a lot of ‘good’ land left. The island is changing so rapidly – even from last year we have noticed the huge changes to Chaweng and all the new development springing up all over the island – and with lots of new regulations coming into force, who knows what it will be like in five years time.

We had arranged to meet at the Beatles Bar for cocktails, and when we arrived a huge concrete mixer was discharging concrete into frames along the side of the bar and the building opposite. It was very noisy, but luckily it left soon after we arrived. We watched from our seats, along with about a dozen locals standing around outside, as a couple of men flattened the gloopy mixture to form flat long stages along each side of the buildings. We could only think that they may be the bases for more stalls to be erected on, to sell more souvenirs. We shall see.

Having to decide where to eat, Juz persuaded us that another visit to “Adolf’s” (not Adolph’s as I have previously reported!), would be best tonight, and to visit Chaweng again tomorrow. The three of us finally gave in, and when we arrived at the restaurant, “Adolf” was not on duty, only some of his “henchmen”, who came in pairs and stood over us while we chose from the menu – “Adolf” had obviously taught them well. But we all agree that the food here is some of the best – whether it be Indian, Asian or fish. Dave had managed to stock up on pain killers, antibiotics, and drinks, sufficiently to relieve the pains in his back and teeth tonight, both of which have been troubling him since he arrived.

We are into our last week here now – after four weeks it seems quite like home – and I am not too sure how we are going to motivate ourselves into the more strenuous requirements of the tour next week. Although I have been swimming, at least twice a day on most days, (modest exercise), it will take some effort to get back to a regime of getting up early, out all day, and collapsing in the evening, exhausted from the day’s exertions. We won’t think about that yet, just enjoy the last week here in this idyllic place.

A Sad Farewell

Friday 29 September

It was a very emotional start to the day. Jean and Ray were returning home today after spending two weeks as our next door neighbours, and it was very hard saying “Goodbye, see you in April” – at least on our part. I was more than a little bleary eyed after they had left – but they have lots of exciting things to return to, not least, all the preparations for Elaine and Darryl’s wedding, just two months away now. I hope they have had a good journey home and their transit through the new airport at Bangkok goes smoothly.

Having seen them off in their taxi, I had my “early” morning swim, before breakfasting and blogging. Today was again extremely warm, with blue skies and white fluffy clouds overhead, and we had to find shade or burn – Colin even turns red in the shade, so has to be very careful of his little lobster chest! Compared to yesterday, when the world and his wife seemed to have visited our pool, it was quieter this morning and very peaceful again. Juz and Dave had hired another jeep for a day to revisit some land they had seen before on the Choeng Mon peninsula and also look out for any other beach land was for sale. We lunched at Coffee Junction – the streets were absolutely burning by this time and a cold Singha was definitely called for.

This afternoon we relaxed on the balcony as the temperatures soared. A gardener planted some small banana trees on either side of our bungalow, so we are now even more surrounded by lush greenery.

Juz and Dave arrived around 17.00 ish. They had seen a couple of plots of land that were of interest and have a date with a man tomorrow to see some more. Just as we decided to leave for dinner, the rain started (it was dark by this time we had not seen the approaching dark clouds), and this was obviously no passing shower, as the thunder crashed in the distance and flashes of lightning lit the sky. We grabbed the umbrellas and made a dash to Starfish and Coffee, halfway along the high street. Juz wanted to stop at “Adolph’s Tandoori” as it was closer, but we have planned to go there on Sunday, after the Grand Prix – and we can’t take too much of the jack-boot treatment.

The sunken courtyard inside the restaurant was a paddling pool, several inches deep, by the time we arrived, as rain poured off the surrounding roofs as well as in from the sky. We were tempted by a variety of Thai dishes, including some scrumptious spare ribs. No “bloody wine” though, just beer tonight. It was still raining when we left the restaurant and Colin and I performed our “Singing in the Rain” routine along the flooded road, back to Smile, while Juz and Dave took the drier option of the jeep back to their hotel. Will we be needing canoes to get to breakfast in the morning?

Pig On A Spit

Thursday 28 September

When I got up and went for my morning sabbatical in the swimming pool, it was raining – only just a little more than spitting really – but the clouds overhead were white and augured better weather. By the time we had finished breakfast the skies had cleared and the day was already one of the hottest we have had in the past couple of weeks. We sat around the pool all morning – I even wrote my blog there, in the shade, until the sun got so warm, I felt the computer might overheat – and we had to take frequent dips in the pool to cool us downl Dave arrived to tell us Juz had booked into the “poodle parlour” at the hotel for three hours and he was off on a mission to Tescos to buy cosmeticy things for nails and bodies (later we found out that he walked the three kilometres to the store, stopping in a transport café for a bacon buttie and a cup of English Tetley’s tea – it was quite like home).

Early in the afternoon the pool was invaded by a couple of very noisy, screaming French children (aged about 3 and 4 years old), whose mothers seemed unaware of the disruption their offspring were causing, so we decided lunch was in order. We went to Hemmingways, which we found open today. It is a small café/bar with rattan tables and chairs set out on a verandah right over the beach. The tide was still high, and the water lapped only a couple of feet below our table. The others ordered fruit pancakes, but I chose a tuna sandwich – very ordinary on the menu – but when it appeared it was a large crusty brown baguette filled with tuna and salad – and the bread was so delicious, topped with sesame seeds - the best we have had on the island. We had shakes and “exotic tea” - a home made concoction of ginger, lemon and ginger ale, which was very refreshing. The bar is run by an Austrian lady, and has a German bakery attached. She also offers a wide range of German sausages and organic Thailand teas boasting many medicinal properties. I am sure Colin and I will revisit this cafe to sample some of the other fare on offer, including more of the breads, before we leave.

We returned to the pool, and the children from hell were still in the jacuzzi, although slightly more controlled as their fathers had appeared on the scene. We sat on the balcony for a while before having a last swim of the day. The “Oileys” had been packing – sadly they are leaving us tomorrow. Juz and Dave joined us all on the balcony later for drinks and nibbles (Dave had purchased a variety of mini doughnuts at Dunking Donuts at Tescos) before finding a tut-tut and going to Chaweng.

When Ray and Jean had visited Chaweng yesterday afternoon, during their meander along the High Street, Jean had purchased a pair of sandals and received a discount voucher if she should visit again. Tonight, soon after we alighted from the tut-tut, we found another branch of the same shoe shop, and she bought a pair of white shoes, receiving yet another voucher. If this pattern had continued (we found three or four more branches of the shop along the way), she would have had a suitcase full of shoes to take home, and no room for anything else. It was time to hit Tropcial Murphys!

Whilst wandering they had also spied a restaurant called “Ocean Basket” which was part of the same chain of restaurants they eaten at in South Africa last year. Here it was a restaurant of two halves, one side fish and the other meat – you could tell the difference as a whole pig was balanced over the barbeque, gently roasting on a spit, at the front of the meat restaurant. This was our choice for tonight. The two sections of the eaterie were separated by a wide alleyway, and we had just given our orders from the huge menus (in size as well as choice), when a whistle blew, rapping music suddenly blared out from the balcony above and all the staff from both restaurants congregated to dance in unison to the pulsing rhythm, led by a couple of the chefs, continually turning to face first the meat restaurant and then the fish, and then back again. It reminded me of the Chinese exercising in lines to music in the squares in the evening and felt we should all have joined in. It only lasted about five minutes but was very entertaining and unexpected.

We enjoyed a wide variety of food tonight – I started with oysters that were served with small whole red chillis (very burning to the mouth, but I am assured they are good for your digestion) as well as coriander, fried onions (different), red wine vinegar and of course, as if the chillis weren’t hot enough, tabasco. The oysters were much larger than those we eat at home and slightly more chewy – lacking that delicate flavouring – more Singha than champagne – but still very rich and mouth-watering. I had then chosen pig from the spit as my main course – poor porky was still standing over the barbeque - and that was equally delicious. Others chose sea-food baskets, red snapper, surf and turf and a pizza! We had more “bloody wine” but at least this time it was more drinkable than some of the previous choices. It had proved a very tasty “last supper” with great atmosphere, and we all enjoyed it!

We hailed the tut-tut home, and feeling exhausted (probably our visa run was catching up on us) we fell into bed and were asleep almost immediately.

The Long and No So Winding Road

Wednesday 27 September

The alarm went off at 0400! We hadn’t seen that hour of the day for a long time. It was quite a struggle to get up, but we were dressed and ready at the front of Smile in time to meet the mini-bus at 05.00. We wee off to the ferry at Nathon for the start of our marathon journey to extend our Thailand visitors visas by thirty days.

On arrival at Nathon harbour, we are given the usual arrival and departure forms for Thailand and Malaysia! We thought we were going to Burma, but apparently not! We were originally told by Mr Builder man that Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the run went to Malaysia, and Tuesdays and Thursdays went to Burma - and this was Wednesday. The girls in the travel agents had insisted the run to both destinations went every day – obviously not the case. We have become used to all this form filling at borders and no longer have to consult our passports to complete the details.

Having been “stickered”, we boarded the ferry and found some seats near the front of the boat for the one and a half hour crossing to Surat Thani. We set sail exactly at 06.00, on time, and I promptly fell asleep. Colin tells me we had another typical Thailand downpour during the crossing when it was a bit bumpy, but when we arrived at the other side, the sun was shining. We saw the luxury coach used by “Julie’s Coaches” which if we had known we were going to Malaysia we could have booked. Instead eleven people crammed into a minibs for twelve (I had a double seat to myself as there was not enough room for me to put my legs down in front of me, without pushing my knees into the seat in front!), and we sped off along dual carriageways, all the way to Malaysia – much of it very straight like our Roman roads. We had a brief stop at a “transport caff” for ten minutes, where the loos were the smelly, squat type, with the floor running with water, so often experienced in China, but only rarely in Thailand. For about an hour the rain fell from the sky in great torrents, but this didn’t slow our driver down at all. He kept his foot on the pedal at about 70 mph all the way. The air conditioning in the minibus was not the best, especially when an old man at the front insisted on closing the vents. We arrived in Malaysia, just after 12.00 midday – about 4 hours, 20 minutes driving in total – like traveling from home to Newcastle, after the ferry ride – and we still had to go back today.

We all piled out of the minibus and were taken to a small hut where we presented our passports to an official who typed all the information on to a computer, checked our pictures resembled our faces and handed the documents back. We had officially left Thailand! It was now time for lunch. Whilst on the minibus we had had to complete a choice of menu form – obviously for our lunchboxes - which turned out to be a one dish hot meal – I had chosen sweet and sour chicken which was served with plain rice, while Colin had chosen chicken fried rice. There had been about ten options in total. The food was very welcome, but even more so the bottle of water. We had had nothing since we left Smile this morning – and Colin was missing his breakkie. The loos here were even worse than the “transport caff”!

Following our repast, we all piled back in the minibus and were transported about 200 metres to the Malaysia side of the border. Out of the buss again to present our passports and immigration forms and we were duly stamped in as visitors to Malaysia – for up to 90 days – shame we were only staying for less than twenty minutes – but we will be back again in a month or so. Entry of information on to the computer was by digital read out, none of that manual entering as on the Thailand side, so it was much quicker. Then we walked across a road, through a building to an identical hut on the other side of the road, where we were signed out of Malaysia and our passports stamped again. It was then back to the minbus for the return trip to another hut in Thailand for the final part of the immigration process. But by the end of this process we had visas to stay in Thailand until 26 October 2006 – another 30 days – the whole point of this boring exercise. It was then time to squeeze ourselves back in the minibus again for the return journey, this time to Donsak, a little port further up the coast from Surat Thani – we don’t know why this change of departure point was used going home – perhaps the ferry times fitted in with our schedule better – who knows? The boat this time was a big, old “rust bucket” to look at, but took us across the strait with no probems to arrive in a heavy downpour at Nathon harbour. Both the morning and evening ferries were not full up by any means, but had a considerable number of people making the crossings, apart from the visa runners – more than I thought would be aboard.

Another minibus was waiting to take us back to Smile, where we met the gang on Jean and Ray’s balcony, still suppling “bloody wine” (this has been a standing joke in the evenings, as the girls chose to drink wine – which was more expensive than Singhas and cocktails and increased the cost the meals by about a tenner (10GBP) a time!). We soon adjourned to the Happy Elephant for cocktails and to relax. – it is surprising just how tiring traveling about 800 miles in a day can be. We chose to go to La Sirene again tonight, as we always enjoy the service and atmosphere, the food is good and it was nearby. I was determined not to partake of “moules and frites” again tonight - I have already eaten it three times - so chose a Thai red curry with fresh crab which was also delicious – with frites ,of course.

Juz had spent the morning learning how to make yellow curry paste from fresh ingredients and then producing a Thai yellow chicken curry and fish cakes. Dave was invited to the sampling at the end and his verdict was that the food was all delicious and he looked forward to more such meals when they got home. Jean and Ray, meanwhile, had spent some time meandering in and out of Chaweng shops, finally purchasing some pretty sandals – for Jean of course.

After the meal it was time for us to return to the bungalow and collapse for the night – I don’t envy those living here for a long time having to do this trip each month. The rules here are changing on 1 October – everyone on a tourist visa will only be allowed to stay three months (90 days) - ie two extensions to their entry visa - still using visa runs. They then have to leave the country for 90 days before being allowed to return. Apparently these laws were passed ages ago, and were meant to be introduced last year, but for some reason they were delayed. Now the feeling is that when they come into force this time, they will affect the Thailand economy greatly – companies, such as dive companies will suffer (there are no Thai divers), and all employees will need a work permit – which will cost the company. Others in the tourist sector may also be affected, such as travel agents, hotels, tourist attractions, etc. Ex-pat residents will only be able to live in their properties for six months a year. And foreign investors may not be so tempted to support projects here if long term stay is a problem. Of course, there are other types of visa and work permits – educational (this is how dive instructors could get a work permit), retired (over the age of 50 and with 12,000 bahts in the bank here) but this visa still has to be renewed annually. Owing a company here, used to exempt you from needing a renewable visa, but that too is now changing. So there will be lots of changes here in the next year or so, if these regulations are successful – those caught up in this bureaucratic red tape are hoping they will fail.

Appearances Can Be Deceptive

Tuesday 26 September

Another day of relaxing around the pool, blogging, puzzling and even reading a bit more of my book – I must try to finish it by the time we leave Koh Samui, to lose a bit more weight from my luggage. We hoped to have lunch at Hemingways, a small bar/café at the other end of the village, but when we wandered there in the early afternoon, we found it was closed on Tuesdays, so we had to adjourn once more to Coffee Junction, for sarnies and shakes. We will get there one day.

We then all relaxed round the pool. Jean and I had just finished a late afternoon swim when Juz and Dave texted us to say they were at Tropical Murphys in Chaweng and were we on way? Well, no - but we soon could be. We changed quickly, hailed a tut-tut at the end of the village, and were soon all sipping cocktails at the Irish bar. .Juz had tried to book a cookery course in Chaweng for this afternoon, but the classes were full, so had arranged to go tomorrow morning to learn to cook yellow Thai curry and fish cakes.

Having supped to our fill, we wandered along Chaweng High Street (well part of it – it is so long it takes more than an hour to walk the whole length oneway) to look at some amulets Juz had found (Colin lost his on our last visit here, and is desperate to replace it), but they weren’t quite right. We found out that they come from Singapore, so we will be seeking them out when we visit there at the end of October. It was then time to decide where to go for dinner.

Whilst ambling we had passed the Chaba Hotel, the Ocean View site, that backed on to Chaweng beach. The hotel was in two sites, one on either side of the road, and this side was very striking art deco style, a tall, white circular fronted building, with a round Greek pergola to one side, which was outlined in bright while lights. The frontage, where a chef was barbequing fresh fish and steaks, was lit with lots of coloured fairy lights, in the trees and around the food preparation area. A large area behind was set out as a restaurant, with a small bar to one side and a ‘performing area’ to the other. It all looked very pretty, like fairyland, so we decided on this venue for the evening.

There were several pointers that should have warned us this wasn’t quite what we had expected – firstly they gave us five menus instead of six, and then came and took one back as they didn’t have enough for another table. Secondly, the wine was less than 3 GBP a carafe. Thirdly the entertainment consisted of a group of six young Thai boys and girls, doing dances from Hawaii, although the three boys did juggle with flamed torches as the climax to the show. It reminded me of the show on the Three Gorges boat, performed by the staff whih was at least entertaining – nobody here seemed to be paying much attention. We did see the performers leaving by car for another venue! Fourthly, there was complete confusion when it came to ordering the meal. First one young lady started taking the orders (Colin ordered his complete meal at this stage). I wanted fresh squid, but she couldn’t understand, and a Thai version of a Maitre D’ came over and explained that four of us wanted fresh fish. We went off to order this from the pavement in the street where we chose our fish and had it weighed. When we returned to the table, another lady was taking Dave’s order, and also asking for our choices for starters and main course. Again we tried to explain, that we had ordered our food from the fish counter, and that another lady had taken Colin’s order. She appeared completely baffled Juz then tried to explain to the by now, even more confused Maitre D’, that we wanted our starters to arrive before the main courses. It was all very chaotic and then there was a delay while they went to fetch some more red wine from across the street (from the other part of their hotel, or the Seven/Eleven?).

Needless to say, Colin’s starter and his main course dish of pork with garlic and pepper, arrived together, before anyone else’s food – no rice though. We accepted the starter – fish cakes and returned the meat course – although I think when it arrived again later, it was the same dish that had been left on the side. Eventually the remaining starters arrived which we all shared – Juz’ cheese-covered crab was delicious. Then the barbequed fish arrived – Juz, Ray and I all had squid, although the other two had tiger prawns with theirs. The two large squid I had selected had become small oval offerings during the cooking – not like the one I had at Schnitzels – in fact, when we got home a snail was wandering across the path towards our bungalow, and this was larger than each of my squid! – to be fair snails out here are the size of our whelks! We all ate up and left without more ado. The food at best was fair, and the chaos was amusing – but it’s hard to understand how a 5* star hotel operates one of its restaurants in such a confusing and disorganised manner. It got top marks for appearance from the road, but low marks for the rest of the evening.

We returned home in a tut-tut and went straight to bed as we were due to be up in less than six hours.

Two Brave Fisherwomen

Our long wooden boat anchored in the bay where we had lunch and a swim.

Colin with his 'catch of the day' and Juz looking more relaxed as she tries for a 'bite'.

Monday 25 September

Another early morning alarm call this morning, so no early swim again, but we made breakfast as they opened at 07.30.

By 08.00 Juz and Dave had arrived and we were all sitting in Reception ready waiting for the transport to take us to our meeting point for fishing and snorkeling. We waited and we waited, and we phoned (on way) and we waited. The receptionist even phoned again (still on way) and eventually, about 09.10, when we were all thinking we could have had an extra hour in bed, a tut-tut arrived. Juz and Dave had told us when they came that there were enormous traffic jams outside their hotel, where they are replacing the drainage system. There’s no such thing as temporary traffic lights or ‘stop/go’ boards to regulate the traffic flow here, although a man was doing his best with a whistle when we finally emerged from the village. By this time the line of vehicles stretched almost to Chaweng.

We were taken to Thong Krut, just a little way before “Chez Milton Keynes”, where long wooden boats were lined up ready to take several sets of visitors out for the day. The boat was a long narrow version of a rowing boat, but with a car engine mounted on the back and a long pole with a propeller on the end, which the “gondolier” would use to direct us through the waves. There was a covered area in the middle with four rows of benches straddling the boat. We all embarked and after some deft manoevring to turn the boat round, we set off up a dredged channel and out to the sea dotted with lots of islands, some looking far away in the distance – blue and misty – others seemed quite close.

When we got out into the open water, the current was running against us and the boat started to move up and down in time with the waves. The wind was blowing very strongly, so there were lots of ‘white horses’ in the choppy water. I didn’t realize Juz was so scared of boats, even if the water had been calm, and though I knew Jean was afraid of the water, she had been on lots of boats in the past and enjoyed herself. Today, both were very, very scared as the waves continually bumped the sides of the boat and at times even lapped overboard. The “gondolier” did his best to keep the boat steady, but some rolling and lurching was inevitable, and Juz and Jean were really unhappy. I think they felt similar to Colin when faced with heights, and me in the company of spiders and creepy crawlies.

We eventually came to rest in a small bay off an island that hadn’t looked very far away at the start of the journey, but took us more than half an hour to reach. The “gondolier” dropped anchor and took out the reels and a box of bait for us to fish. The waters here were calmer and we all enjoyed a couple of hours baiting our hooks and dangling the weighted lines over the side of the boat in the hope of getting a “bite”. We had lots of “nibbles”, but only Dave and the “gondolier” caught anything at this spot. We moved on a little further across the bay, where Juz and Colin were successful anglers. The fish they all caught were like small talaipa, with silver scales tinged with red and a bright orange ring around the pupils of its eyes. The “gondolier” thought that we were not catching much because the wind was too strong, and churning the top of the water too much for the fish to ‘bite’, so we abandoned our cause and agreed to go for lunch. We sailed to another ‘nearby’ island, around a rocky reef, to enter a lagoon. Some boats had arrived before us, and tables were already set up and people eating. Green chicken curry, rice and vegetables and some breaded chicken were produced from a cabin near the engine, so the food was still warm. There was also pineapple and watermelon for desert. In the gale that was blowing straight in from the sea, the paper plates we used were like airplanes waiting to lift off the moment you let go, even when fully laden with food. We all managed to find a way of anchoring the plate whilst at the same time devouring the food, which was most welcome (last time we went on a fishing trip, they cooked the fish we caught for our lunch on a barbeque – lucky we weren’t relying on our catch to feed us today!)

Following lunch, we wandered around the point to another bay, this one shielded from the wind, We waded out in the calm waters for quite a long way, and were still only thigh-deep in the water. The beaches were sandy, with areas of finely broken shells, as well as white sands. The others sun-bathed here while Colin and I returned to the windy beach, where I could play in the waves, before we too collapsed on the beach. The “gondolier” had said we could stay as long as wanted, as there was nowhere to snorkel around these bays, and would have had to venture to where the water was more choppy to find the coral reefs. The other boats had long gone before we returned to our craft, to once more brave the waves. Getting out of the bay, around the rocks, was quite calm and Juz had her eyes open at this stage. But once back in the open water, the waves again became stronger and the boat lurched and rolled in the motion of the sea, and some larger waves even came overboard and soaked everyone in their path. I was sitting on the prow at the front of the boat and hardly got wet at all, but by the time we got back to Thong Krut, Ray and Dave particularly were absolutely drenched. Juz and Jean again did not enjoy the journey, and when we landed on solid ground, Jean was absolutely amazed we had all survived and were living to tell the tale. We had a quick drink to revive our spirits and then it was off in the waiting tut-tut back to the Bandara and Smile. I think four of us enjoyed our day as mariners, but both Juz and Jean were adamant that they were never going in such a boat again.

While traveling back in the tut-tut we had watched dark clouds descending over Koh Phang Yan Island, across the bay, and we had only been indoors at the bungalow about twenty minutes (enough time to unpack and have a shower to rinse the sand and salt off our bodies) when the heavens opened and the rain came down in torrents – it often rains about four o’clock in the afternoon. The palms were swaying ominously in the gale force winds, but it was still warm. We watched from the balcony for some time, trying to encapsulate the scene on film, but failed dismally. As twilight was falling, the rain stopped, just as suddenly as it started.

We all met for cocktails in the Beatles Bar, before going to La Sirene for dinner, where once again I had moules and frites! This is our third visit, and I have chosen this dish for main course on each occasion. Although they have some other very delicious food – as sampled by the others – the moules are served with a really delicious thick creamy sauce – just right for dunking chips!

After some really satisfying meals, wine and cocktails, and the adventures and emotions of the day, we all felt we would sleep well tonight.

Choice : Still Mooing or Just Short of Shoe Leather

Sunday 24 September

I was up early this morning and in the pool doing my stint of forty lengths when I was joined by Jean and Ray. Following breakfast I blogged again all morning (entries seem to be taking longer – is that because life is somewhat banal at present, so not so many colourful incidents to describe. When Juz and Dave arrived, soon after midday, the three girls decided to have another massage, so ambled along to one of the shops in the village, not far from Smile, where we were informed that the masseurs did not start until about 15.00. We arranged to go back later, and meanwhile had time for a swim. The ball we had played with in the pool before, had sadly deflated recently, so Dave bought us a new “Penelope Pitstop pink ball (especially for Juz) and we played “catch” and “piggy in the middle” while Jean and several children looked on! This life is returning us to our childhood!

It was now time for the massage. The boys went to the Frog and Gecko and we went to the massage parlour, where we were taken up the small side street and round the back to a large oblong, light and airy room, containing six mattresses, divided by curtains, all raised about 18 inches off the ground. Standing up in a compartment, your head and shoulders were above the curtain rails so you could chat! We had all decided to have an “oiley” massage (appropriate for Jean) and striped down to our knickers (for Thai massages you don’t usually take your clothes off). For an hour, three Thai ladies rubbed, stroked and kneeded our bodies from toes to heads with a light oil (which didn’t come off on your clothes when you were dressed). It was very relaxing, although if they felt you were nodding off, they used a few “flick” stokes which shook you awake. At the end, as we stood up, all three of us felt “stunned” and a little off balance. Definitely in need of a drink

We had left the men in the Frog and Gecko, and that’s where we found them. After a few discussions about what we were doing tomorrow, Dave and Ray went to see our favourite travel agents and booked a fishing, snorkeling and swimming trip, similar to the one we did last year which had been great fun. For 900 bahts each – about 13 GBP – including lunch, it’s a real bargain.

We finished drinks in the Frog and retired to the balcony to await time for cocktails – not too long, as the bars start opening soon after 18.00. The sun had come out this afternoon, and it was really warm sitting outside the bungalow, trying to avoid the mozzies. We wandered down to the Beatles Bar – fast becoming our favourite bar due to the cheap drinks – all cocktails 130 bahts till 21.00 (against 170 in most bars and 180 in the Happy Elephant) and the cocktails themselves are always good – voted best Black Russian on the strip and the Bloody Marys, Pina Coladas and Gin Fizzes aren’t bad either. Having downed a couple of rounds, we made our way to the Shack for our Australian barbeque meal. The menu was scribed on a large blackboard which took up the whole of one side of the restaurant. Starters included ribs, prawns, mussels, breads, smoked salmon and soups. Main courses were of course, Australian steaks, either rib eyes or fillets, with some lamb, pork and fish. Everyone ordered a steak of some kind, including Jean (I don’t think I remember Jean ordering a steak before in all the years I’ve known her). Colin and I both had ribs to start and they were “finger-lickin’ good” with a cinnamon/clovey barbeque sauce. Between us we had a range of steaks for main courses which were delicious – I of course had mine “still mooing” or blue, and Dave had his usual “well done” or “a shade shy of shoe leather” according to the menu - but tasting a morsel of Dave’s I might change to “well done” in future, as it seemed to have more flavour (unlike our steaks at home) and was crispy on the outside and still juicy inside. The steaks came ready served with garlic mash/jacket potato/fries, and spinach which was not heat hot as it is served on the plate and taken to the barbyman to wait whist he cooked the cow over fiery flames at the front of the restaurant. (At one stage, when the barby needed refueling, he fanned the coals using a large electric fan that had been helping to keep the room at a comfortable temperature.) I am looking forward to food in Australia – great steaks and lots of shellfish I hope.

After dinner we were all feeling weary and could not even summons up enough energy for a nightcap, especially as we had to set the alarm clocks for an early call tomorrow for fishing.

Eye Visit Tescos!!

Saturday 23 September

After a late swim and breakfast, I only had time to make a few notes for yesterday’s blog, before it was time to go to Tesco Lotus – yes, usually I refuse to even enter a Tescos store at home, and here I am, thousands of miles away from home and, for the second time in two years, I am going to visit Tescos.

We wandered through the village, and a taxi stopped and offered us a ride for 300 bahts – a joke – previously we had been all the way to Chaweng (at least twice the distance) for 200 bahts – so we continued walking to the main road, where after only a few minutes wait, a tut-tut sped up and agreed to charge us 30 bahts each – a bit of a difference – with no haggling. Juz and Dave had arrived at the store a short while before us and were supping coffees when we met.

The main reason for our outing to Tescos was to visit the opticians – Dave had been here yesterday and found a good deal for some new glasses (he had lost his since being here and was constantly borrowing Auntie Jeannie’s) but it had been the actual optician’s day off. Dave quickly made his purchase today, and being single sight lens, they would be ready in about an hour! Meanwhile, Jean, Ray and myself were all choosing frames, trying on a wide variety of styles and colours. We each found some to please us - mine were purple sides and top and more square than I am used to wearing, but everyone said they looked OK, so I dec
ided to purchase them – and with varifocal lens they cost about 110 GBP – a third of the price in the UK. Jean and Ray also decided to buy a pair each. Jean’s were red, and single sight lens, so they too would be ready in an hour, but Ray and I with our varifocals would have to wait a week while they were specially made. So it looks like a third visit to Tescos next Saturday.

The opticians was one of the many new concessions around the edge of the Tesco’s shop – a huge store, hypermarket in size, selling everything from meat, groceries and cosmetics, to clothes, washing machines and televisions (a real one-stop shop) – that have arrived since last year. Along with the jewellery shops, banks, mobile phone shops, Boots and sports wear outlets, they have installed a multiplex cinema and a ten-pin bowling alley. But no petrol station as yet. We hear Tescos are already expanding into Nathon and Lamai, much to the local shopkeepers horror (they have petitioned the King of Thailand and Tony Blair, as previously reported), and once those stores are up and running, they will obviously want to expand even more.

After all our purchasing – we were in the store over an hour - we were in dire need of a drink, and found a very pleasant snack bar, where we all had drinks and eats to last us till the evening (we had been going to KFC, but apparently the coffee there is not good). Ray, by this time, was chomping to get into Tescos proper! He was off – probably making a beeline for the meat sections, as he does at home - although we later met him with three new T-shirts in hand that were a ‘bargain’ – obviously all three together were less than a ‘fiver’!. The rest of us brought bits and pieces and some wine and Singhas for later consumption. Following a visit to the bank – they are open seven days a week here, from 10.00 until 22.00 – a little different from English opening hours – we hailed a tut-tut to take us back to the Bandara for a refreshing dip in Juz and Dave’s plunge pool and a few drinks.

Having read the newspapers, played cards, and some had a little snooze (with plenty of zzzz’s) it was time for a couple of rounds of cocktails at the Pool Bar – where it was Happy Hour till 19.00 - followed by dinner at the restaurant on the beach, attached to the hotel. We sat on the balcony overlooking the beach with the sound of the waves lapping in the background. There was an area on the beach where they were serving Australian barbeque, but as we have booked the Shack in the village tomorrow night, which serves similar food, we decided to stick with the a la carte menu. While we were eating a couple of men with guitars came and serenaded us with (what else) Love Me Tender, and Let It Be Me, the old Everley Brothers number. They were quite good, compared to the pianist in the Ling Bar at the hotel, and the guitarist in the Happy Elephant.

The food here is an ambitious range of fusion food, using lots of asian spices and flavours with meats and fish. Ray and Juz chose from the fresh fish selection, having rock lobster and tiger prawns and squid respectively. Dave chose a Japanese meat dish which was almost a replica of his duck dish at Rice in size, whereas I chose breaded squid, stuffed with green curry (which turned out to be a thai flavoured sausage) on creamy tagiatelle. It was delicious, but extremely large and filling and I only managed a small amount. Jean and Colin both chose scallops, in five different sauces, with sweet potato and a vegetable wrap. Juz had told us that on Trip Advisor many people had declared the food too complicated, and we could see their point – no dish was simple or straightforward. We finished off with coffees and teas. The meals had been delicious, and we thought that the many flavours had complimented each other, even when ranging from sour lime and ginger through to hot and spicy chilli and garlic. Soon after we had sat down it began to rain lightly, and some people moved into the shelter of the restaurant proper, but we braved the shower – an awning did start to cover the balcony, but seemed to get stuck half way – before it reached our table. And the rain soon stopped, but we had another heavier shower just before leaving.

We wandered back to Smile, while Jean and Ray visited the Frog and Gecko to watch the end of the Fulham match on the big screen as they lost to Chelsea 2-0 – we saw it on the little television screen in our room – and heard that Arsenal managed to beat Sheffield United 3-0 - have they pulled their socks up now? Soon after we got in the heavens opened for just a short while and we could hear the rain pounding the paths outside, above the sound of the television. I hope Jean and Ray got home safely in the dry. Having checked the emails and written yesterday’s blog from the notes I had made earlier, while watching the European Gymnastics competition, it was already past midnight and time for sleep.

Preparing for the Visa Run

Friday 22 September

Today marks the two months anniversary of our leaving England for this trip and although it seems we have been away some time, it doesn’t feel anywhere near as long as sixty three days. Might be time to have another read of the blog entries to refresh some of the memories. I still hear from Millie and Jim – they are having a great time in Texas at the moment, but what are Terry and Margaret up to, or all those people who were with us on the train, or Sue and Dave from the China extravaganza – did Sue give in her notice when she got home – and we think of Dave every time we hear Portsmouth are doing well this season – or Avril and John – they probably planning their half term break now.

When I went swimming this morning, another lady was in the pool when I arrived and Ray arrived a little later – had I got up that early today? It was unusual to have company in the pool at that time – it usually feels like my own private pool! The weather is still overcast but very warm and quite humid – and there was only one dragonfly this morning which swooped over the pool a couple of times and then flew off – perhaps not too much rain today.

I spent the morning sitting on the balcony, blogging, dealing with emails and downloading the latest piccys from the camera, so that I could add a couple to yesterday’s blog. During this time we were visited by a range of wild life. Several varieties of butterfly flitted by, including the dazzling large black and yellow beauty that never seems to settle, but flits from plant to plant. The frog that lives somewhere between the ‘Oiley’s’ bungalow and ours was continually gribbiting most of the morning, and then there was the snake who literally “dropped” in from the banana tree outside our bungalow, on to the broad-leafed plant by the balcony rail. It was about two feet long and only a finger width round, greeny-yellow in colour with black diamond hatchings all over its body. It had a very small head,, black beady eyes that were constantly on the move, and a long splinter of red tongue, that darted in and out to catch insects and warn away predators, like us. Colin took some piccys and we watched it for a long while. Next a lizard came by, below the balcony, about six inches long and again a greeny colour, blending in with the flora. As we were leaving the bungalow, after I had finished blogging, we saw a long pale brown lizard with a tail over a foot long and very, very thin. When he moved he disappeared in a flash.

By now it was after midday, so Colin and I went along to the travel agents beside the Happy Elephant Bar and booked our visa run to Burma for Wednesday next week (27 September). We will be collected from Smile at 05.00, taken by ferry from Nathon to Surat Thani and then by coach across mainland Thailand to the Burmese border at Ranong. This is considered the safest route to take at present as the unrest in the south of the country near the border with Malaysia is still continuing. We will be furnished with a ‘lunch box’ – we have had a few of these on our travels so far, so wonder how this one will rank alongside St Petersburg, Wuhan, Shanghai, etc – and we can expect to return to Smile somewhere between 18.00 and 19.00 – so it will be a long day. It was slightly cheaper than we had been quoted, at 1500 bahts each, plus of course our 10US$ at the border – we were asked if we had booked any other tours, and of course we had booked our safari at this office, so perhaps this helped us to get a small discount.

Following our negotiations we felt in need of some refreshment and made our way to Coffee Junction for banana cake and coconut shake for Colin and spinach and avocado salad and fries with a watermelon shake for me. It was as usual very delicious – much better than breakfast which is altogether too early to eat in the day, and too many eggs or porridge for my liking.

Just as we returned to Smile, it began to rain lightly – just enough to wet the pages of my book – and we sat under the pagoda, chatting to Jean and Ray. After a short while, Dave arrived – minus Juz, who was feeling poorly with an oncoming cold – and told us that he had been in a three-way telephone conversation with the owner of the land and the agents, each of whom had different versions of the deal on the land, which it appeared could not be resolved – the price for a start, who owned and was responsible for the road and who had rights of access and rights of view across the land, and more worryingly whether the land being purchased was a freehold or leasehold plot? In the end, Dave decided that it was safest to pull out of the deal and get most of his deposit returned, rather than take a risk and find himself having to spend large sums later. So “Chez Milton Keynes” is no more – for the present – I am sure if Dave and Juz want to pursue building a property here, they will find the right land at the right price with the right conditions.

Dave went back to minister to Juz and we went for a swim. Ray left the pool early and returned after a short while to model his new suit – he looked very smart – such a change from the shorts and Tshirts we have been used to since he arrived here. It was then time for the rest of us to shower and change and sup a few drinks on the balcony, before visiting the Beatles Bar for cocktails where Juz and Dave arrived very soon after us – Juz feeling a little better. We had three rounds of cocktails tonight – pina coladas were yum, but Jean had a black Russian which tasted like Matchmakers chocolate sticks – very Tia Maria-y. We all might be changing our tipples to Black Russians tomorrow.

Feeling slightly light-headed, we headed to the Shack for dinner, but it was full tonight, so we made a reservation for Sunday evening – looking forward to Australian steaks or New Zealand lamb or racks of pork ribs. We continued on up the street to the far end on the beach to Shades.

Ray and I both ordered barbequed fresh squid and fries while the others had jumbo prawns, or asian food. A plate of squid arrived first, together with two portions of fries and dips – lots of squid with a small salad garnish, which was presented to me. Everyone else’s meals followed on quickly which left us waiting for Ray’s. On enquiring, the waiter then told us that there were two portions of squid on my plate!! I had been munching away and dipping. There had been no indication that both portions had been served together – no second plate for Ray (who was sitting on the other side of the table to me, and one place down). But the problem was soon solved when they brought a second plate and I transferred some of the squid for Ray. It was lucky I had not managed to eat my way through it all by this time, although it was a large portion, and I probably could never have eaten it all by myself! – but you never know. Although not up to Schnitzel standards, it was still yummy.

We all wandered to our separate homes and feeling particularly weary tonight, we retired to bed – I cannot blame the Singhas tonight – perhaps it was all those cocktails.

Fun on Safari

Ray and me taking the plunge in the waterfall pool.

Enjoying our elephant trek with Colin as the intrepid "mahout".

Thursday 21 September

I didn’t make my early morning swim today – the alarm went off at 06.30, but by the time I roused myself it was almost 07.00 and breakfast was beckoning in half an hour. Not that I have a lot of breakfast – usually just fruit and maybe a slice of cheese on marmite toast – but for Colin breakfast is often the best meal of the day and he likes to have several courses at a sedate pace, so it takes a while.

But we were all ready and waiting for the jeep by 08.30 and it arrived soon after – an old and battered, dark green military jeep (we found out later it was a forty year old Nissan Patrol), complete with driver and guide. The six of us jumped in the back and off we sped (and I mean sped – weaving and overtaking other traffic) to Chaweng where we made two calls to other hotels to pick up four more participants in our jeep safari – two sat in the front and two others in the back with us. The guide stood in the middle at the back at this stage. We also stopped off at Lamai for water and ice to fill the cool box.

Our first stop was at the Grandfather and Grandmother rocks, just past Lamai, which are natural formations in the rocks that are very suggestive of body parts of men and women.
A whole village had grown up around these features selling the usual range of souvenirs including coconut toffee in what looked like banana leaf triangles with sesame seeds stuck to the outside. We only stayed here long enough to take a few piccys and then back on the jeep for a short ride to the Mummified Monk – a man was in his fifties when he decided to become a monk and do good works. When he died about twenty five years later, in 1973, and asked for his body to be left in the same position as when he died - the sitting Buddha position. There was no mention of embalming or other preserving processes and his body now, a light tan colour, is as if the skin has worn away, but the muscles and bones have all solidified. Apparently his eyes have worn away and he now ‘wears’ a pair of dark sunglasses. He has been encased in glass dome. There is a golden Buddha in front of him and a small altar with flowers and candles and offertory boxes fronted by a large mat on which to kneel to pray. This was all housed in a brown open sided almost shed-like structure with marble columns and floor, while across the car park was an ornate Buddhist temple, painted with gold, red and blue. Presumably the monk was sitting outside looking at the temple when he died. Beside the building with monk, was a large “gong” with a bubble in the middle that you rubbed – it was very shiny, so it had been rubbed lots of times. Some people, like our driver and Dave, could make it hum, very loudly and resonate, while the rest of us couldn’t even get a peep.

From here we went to the small zoo, containing monkeys, elephants and crocodiles. As we entered I was invited to sit on the back of a young five year old elephant - another first while being 60. While the elephant knelt down, I had to jump across its back and swing my leg over – not very elegant - but it got me sitting on the elephant’s back. As it stood up slowly, I wobbled and hung on tightly to the chain around its neck. It lumbered off, in a circle under the palm trees and because the spine is raised, you were “thrown” from side to side as it moves. I had the same feeling as when I was riding the Mongolian horse – aaah! – but at least it didn’t trot! – although of course, there was much further to fall. Getting down was a reverse of getting up, another inelegant “bum in the air” movement.

From here we wandered around the crocodile farm. There were lots of large dinosaur-type beasts, laying around in the sun, many with their mouths open – something they do in the sun apparently. They are not at all friendly looking animals, even when they are well away from reach and I find them rather scary. There was also a couple of monkeys in small cages, that didn’t look at all happy.

Next we went to the display ring, where a monkey on a chain climbed a palm tree just off to the side and sent three coconuts crashing down below. He was then brought back to the ring, to show us how he snapped the tendrils attaching the coconut to the tree, by spinning the nut round and round with its hands. It was then the turn of two elephants – the one I had ridden on and a three year old baby. They were made to do circus turns like sitting on a large stool, kicking a football towards a goal and swinging a hoop around its trunk. Not particularly spectacular, and the elephants all had chains on to stop them escaping. None the animals at this zoo looked particularly well-cared for, but as those working with them were also doing the caring only received about 100 bahts a day for their keep and the animals’, plus any tips they could entice people to pay, they probably felt they were doing the best they could.

It was then off to elephant trekking. We climbed a high staircase just to be able to clamber on to the seat for two on the elephant’s back. The ‘mahout’ sat on the elephant’s head and directed the animal with a long stick, which he prodded behind its ears. The elephant again lumbered along, this time round the edge of the crocodile farm and through the palm trees. The paths were rough and unmade and hilly and the seat on the top swayed with each plodding step. A little way round Colin was asked if he wanted to “drive” the elephant, and very awkwardly managed to scramble on to the elephant’s head. The ‘mahout’ meanwhile wandered on down the path in front of us. We were in a group of three elephants with Juz and Dave in front and Ray and Jean behind, and eventually all three men were “driving” their elephants back to the mounting block. Along the way all three ‘mahouts’ took pictures of us, using our cameras – an enterprising way to earn an extra 200 bahts each. The trek was about twenty minutes long and great fun, and another first for me.

We reloaded ourselves into the jeep and raced up the side of the mountain, some of the roads being concreted roads and others just rough terrain, to the base for the climb to the waterfall. It only took about ten minutes to reach the waterfall and pool, but the way was up over craggy rocks and boulders, the pathway very uneven and slippery at times. But the water fell from a great height, down the side of the mountain, bouncing and splashing off the rocks into a pool, about two metres deep and ten metres long. We were invited to swim for half an hour (other groups were there before us and already in the water, and others arrived after, obviously well programmed by the organisers) and Ray, Dave and I stripped off and “slid” off the side rocks into the water (we had been told to wear swimwear when we booked the trip). The water was cold but very invigorating, as we swam towards the waterfall. The current there was strong and pushed you away, and the only way I could get close was by creeping along the submerged rocks towards the torrent. The rest of the group paddled their feet in another pool below, or took the opportunity to take some more piccys.

Having dried ourselves off, it was a scramble down the hillside over the rocks to the jeep (this was probably more difficult than the climb up), and off to lunch at a mountaintop restaurant. The tracks were mostly unmade and we were bumped and shaken around in the back and had to hold on tight as the vehicle zoomed over large water-filled potholes and deep ruts. We also had to make sure those in the back stayed in the jeep. We felt quite unsteady as we left the jeep and went up the steps to the restaurant for lunch. The view was again spectacular – looking out over the southern coast, to the many small islands dotted around the coastline – including, we thought, the islands that are near Juz and Dave’s property. Lunch was a typical Thai meal of chicken and mushroom soup, with that special Thai flavour, green chicken curry, characteristic with its small aubergines, a mixed vegetable platter in a soy-like sauce and temperua vegetables. We all chose Singhas, and water was provided on the tables. Dessert was water melon and pineapple wedges. It was all very tasty provided the sustenance needed to survive the afternoon. There was a large pool of catfish in the grounds of the restaurant, which leapt out of the water and ate anything offered – one man was tempting them with his fingers and I think we were all hoping one fish would take a bite!

Onwards in the jeep for an afternoon “drive” up the mountain to the very top to look out on two sides of the island. The terrain was now even more rough and rutted, and we crashed and collided in the back as we struggled to hold on – there would be a few bruises tomorrow. The guide sat on the roof of the cab at this stage during the ride, brushing aside any low branches and on the lookout for anything interesting. We tried green peppercorns, on a stalk like weeny grapes, and small oranges picked from the trees along the tracks. When we stopped for a view across to Lamai beach, the guide cut large pillar-box red flowers, the size of agapanthus at home, for all the ladies. The petals were waxy and peeling away from a tight central “cone” of other closely packed petals, not yet opened. The stalk was like bamboo, very hard and unbending. There were other beautiful blossoms to smell along the way, similar to some we see at home, and other fruits to see and taste, such as a snow apple. We stopped by a huge spider’s web with a long, thin bodied black spider in the centre – his long angular legs wafting around like daddy-longlegs limbs, trying to entice small flying creatures into the web. Urggh – horrible. We kept climbing until we reached a plateau where we could see Chaweng Beach, the Cheong Mon peninsula and Bophut in one direction, and out over the west coast and islands in the other.

It was then time to return to the lower levels of Koh Samui to visit the Big Buddha. The track, and then road, meandered down the opposite side of the mountain back to civilization. The Big Buddha landmark can be seen from miles around and from the air as you fly in, and is a huge golden statue, approached by a long white marble stairway, midway along the Choeng Mon peninsula. The views from the top of the stairs were around Big Buddha Bay to Bophut and Maenam Beach and we could see the original “Milton Keynes”. Lots of stalls have been established at the base of the stairs, again selling all the usual trinkets and some holy souvenirs. You have to wonder how all these people actually manage to make living, even a poor one. Having stayed here for half an hour or so, it was time to make our way back to the hotels.

It had been a real fun day, and we had all enjoyed ourselves enormously. We, at Smile, were the first to be dropped off, and feeling extremely hot and sticky – the day had been very warm and sultry – we made immediately to the pool for a long swim to cool down. I then spent some time emailing and posting yesterday’s blog, before readying ourselves for the evening cocktails and banquet.

We met Juz and Dave in the Frog and Gecko, and Jen made us all some good cocktails tonight – I asked for extra Malibu in my Groggy Gecko, an ingredient that seemed to be missing the other evening. It was then time for food, and last night I had promised Juz another visit to Mr Tandoori tonight, so we braved “Adolph” once more – as the owner/manager (?) has become known due to his excessive hovering habits. He definitely does produce some of the tastiest food around, it is just his insistence on placing your orders quickly, hovering and clearing away almost before you have finished eating. But he is improving – or getting fed up with us. When we first went to eat there, nothing was too much trouble – any dish could be any spicy heat – not so now – he claims butter chicken can only be a mild dish – Colin could challenge him on this. There was no fish on the menu tonight (due to the Public Holiday – no one went fishing) and no Asian food (no one had been in to prepare it). But on consultation with the chef, Adolph did manage to provide a dish of sweet and sour pork for Colin. The rest of us ate Indian. Having also had a range of starters and a couple of bottles of wine, Singhas and gin and tonics to accompany the food, this was not the cheapest meal at over 5000 bahts, but very delicious.

By this time we were all feeling very weary after our day’s exertions and fell into bed to ready ourselves for another day tomorrow.

Safe and Sound in Koh Samui

Wednesday 20 September

Today I am back to blogging late in the evening, as we are off on a trip around the island tomorrow and have to have completed our morning routine by 08.30! We are usually just waking up at that time, and its mid morning before I finish the blog.

Our first task this morning was to find out how the coup in Bangkok was progressing. It appears that the army only wanted to remove the Prime Minister and his associates from power and intend to appoint a new Prime Minister in the next couple of weeks and arrange for new elections within a year! Bangkok itself seemed fairly quiet on the news, although the military are expecting a bigger back lash from the country and outlying districts where Thaksin Shinawatra was more popular. A Public Holiday throughout Thailand was announced for today – a bit late for some people who had already arrived at work when they heard the news, so had to pack up and go home again (this is what was happening with Victor at the Bophut Property Shop when Juz phoned this morning about 11.00 – he had just heard that he had the day off and was about to return home). Luckily for us, this Public Holiday did not affect any of the services we wanted throughout the day. The latest Foreign Office news said visitors should ‘act with caution’, particularly in Bangkok, but not to stop traveling to Thailand. We are acting cautiously and not traveling outside Bophut today!

The Moslem insurgents are still causing some problems in southern Thailand, where it is not so safe to travel – we are not due there for another month, so hopefully the danger will have passed by then.

Having satisfied myself we were not under direct attack or enemy rule, I emerged from the bungalow this morning to find the paths wet and it still spitting with rain (not sure how long or hard it had been raining during the night) – the first time since arriving here I have had my first swim of the day in the rain – albeit not even enough to wet my hair after forty lengths. Once again the sky was overcast, but the temperatures were still up in the high 20’s. On our way to breakfast we met Ray, just venturing for his early morning swim – it is a rare occasion that we are up and breakfasting before the “Oileys”. We followed our normal morning routine and joined Ray and Jean at the pool around midday, having blogged and dealt with eleven new emails - some from England expressing concern at the news of the coup and asking how it was affecting us, others with news from home and abroad, and two with information regarding our impending tours – firstly Australia Pacific had forwarded the itinerary and everything we need to know about the Cairns to Sydney tour recently arranged, and secondly a revision of the stopping off places on our cruise at the end of March next year - swapping Recife in Brazil for the Cape Verde Islands - but we will still arrive in Barcelona on the same day.

It had become even warmer during the morning as the sun shone down brightly from a now cloudless blue sky and we had to have several dips in the pool during the afternoon, just to keep cool enough to read our books. Around 16.00 Jean and I decided to go for a Thai body massage on the beach – the foot massage last night had motivated us to have another go at getting ourselves into shape. As all the beds were in use (there are about eight or ten in a short stretch along our beach), we arranged to go back in twenty minutes. This just gave us time to walk along the beach through the edge of waves to the Bandara hotel, to show Jean the position of Juz and Dave’s villa, and back. It was still hard work walking through the sea, and gave our calf muscles a good work out even before the massages started. We stretched out on mattresses on a small stage built on the sands and two young Thai ladies got to work on our bodies pinching, pulling and pivoting our muscles and limbs into positions we haven’t been in for a long, long time. This time we had the full works – not the “Granny” version - and at times it was quite painful. By the time they finished we were feeling pummeled and quite exhausted (similar to how you feel after a strenuous work out) but euphoric too.

We arrived back at the bungalow to find Ray and Colin had started on afternoon snifters already (malts – we’re not sure how many) and within minutes Juz and Dave arrived too (Dave didn’t want to miss out on the whiskey). They had been to an inaugural meeting with a couple of Thai architects and a site visit to The Plot. They revisited the million GBP dwelling to see how the plans here were working out and for a check on sizes – the two properties offer a similar width of beachfront. From their descriptions they are asking for some fantastic features to be included in the plans for “Chez Milton Keynes” – including the Penelope Pitstop Pink pool, with chrome rail (for Auntie Jean who needs this for swimming) and seats and a table in an offshoot at end of the pool for cards and drinks. Inside, the house will also feature many weird and wonderful ideas from Juz’s creative mind!!! I am looking forward to seeing layouts when they arrive.

After hearing all their news, it was time for a quick shower and change before ambling to the village for cocktails. Ray also had the final fitting for his new suit (it fitted perfectly this time, so he brought it away with him), and we collected even more brochures for a trip round the island. We have been going to do this almost every day since the “Oileys” arrived - its about time we got it sorted – which we did whilst sitting in the Happy Elephant Bar sipping an array of blue, pink and lemon alcoholic mixes. We selected a tour with “Funny Days Safaris” – I hope it means “amusing” not “odd” – that seemed to offer all the places of interest we had hoped to visit including elephant trekking, the crocodile farm and swimming at the waterfalls. Dave managed to do another “deal” and get us a good price. So we are all off tomorrow morning around 08.30 provided the alarm clock works.

We chose to eat dinner tonight at the indoor restaurant of the Happy Elephant, just across the road from the bar, because of its convenience and choice of fish or asian food – I had to promise Juz that we would visit Mr Tandoori again tomorrow night! Three of us (Ray, Dave and myself) chose Stone Age steaks (cooked in a sizzling dish with prawns, tomatoes and onions) with mixed vegetable salads (turned out to a form of coleslaw) and fries or rice. Colin and Juz shared some fresh squid and king prawns with noodles and rice (and some of my fries!) – similar to my feast last night, and again very tasty – and Jean chose shark! (she said this was very meaty and tasted good). We had a few carafes of red and white Italian house (?) wine and a whiskey sour for Colin (he had missed out last night) before finishing with coffees, tea and an amoretto (guess who had the amoretto? – not me). It had been another splendid meal (happily much better than our last visit to the Happy Elephant more than a week ago).

Dave took Juz back to their abode – might not have been an easy task – and the rest of us retired to bed – well except me who had to write this blog. Will I get my early morning swim tomorrow - we have set the alarm for 06.30 so we shall see. It’s just about midnight, so just six and a half hours till get up time.

The Reality of "Milton Keynes"

Tuesday 19 September

Dave arranged for a private minibus to take us round the island for six hours today, so we were all ready and waiting in the Reception at Smile by 12.00 noon. Today was another hazy, but very warm day, and when the bus arrived we were glad of the air conditioning. There was a bit of confusion as to whether the bus was for us or not – it arrived exactly at midday – too much of a coincidence not to be ours – but the driver, even being shown the booking slip, was not sure – he thought he was going on a formal Round-The-Island tour, not the random exploration we had planned. But eventually, with the help of one of the receptionists, he agreed he was our driver.

We set off towards Chaweng and the Imperial Hotel (stopping at our favourite garage on the way – the driver only put in 300 bahts worth of petrol – why had we put 400 bahts in the little jeep? – pointing out the sites to Jean and Ray. We stopped at the Cliff View Restaurant for some Singhas, where the view across the bay to Chaweng Beach from this high point is beautiful. But below the restaurant, at the base of the cliff, they are building a new complex of villas, with a pool, and what looked like some sort of Club House, near to the rocks at the edge of the beach. There was nothing here last year except vertical cliff face and shrubs. The villas looked very nice – if very huddled together and “friendly”. But I am sure Coral Cove will be a delightful spot to stay, even if all the roads around are up and down steep hills. We drove on through Lamai and past Rocky’s Restaurant (supposedly the best on the island, according to one of the free magazines), but didn’t take the obvious south coast route along the 4170. When our young driver did turn off the road, we were headed to one of the inland areas of waterfalls. No, no, no – not where we wanted to go! He was definitely a bit perplexed that we wanted to visit Thong Krut - but with a few directions from Dave, we finally arrived at The Plot – soon to be renamed Milton Keynes! As they had described to us yesterday, there were two other houses under construction around them – one a huge three sided, two storey house, with large pools and several of gazebo type buildings both back and front. This was all still in a shell-like state – but even so valued at 1million GBP. The other house, directly behind The Plot, was nearer completion – another two storey building but much smaller with the pool and garden still to be formulated. There was another plot of land going full length in between, which had not been developed at all.

The Plot was a large grassy area with some shrubs, edged on the fourth side by coconut palms and shrubs (first side beach, second side plot not yet developed, third smaller house). The land ran right on to the beach – a wide sweeping arc of white sand with shells and remnants of coral. Today the tide was well out, and we wandered in the shallow waters for a long way and were still only up to our ankles. Far out we could see men fishing with their distinctive Thai conical hats, still only knee-deep in the water, while others were collecting mussels and clams from the shallows, putting them in panniers on their backs. It reminded us of the “cockle pickers” at Morcambe Bay. In the distance were a range of islands, the closest, quite large, covered by green trees (probably palms) with a small sandy beach, others far in the distance looked blue and hazy in the afternoon sun – we thought of the peaked ‘karst’ scenery of Yangshuo – this was similar, but more rounded – but just as ethereal – it could easily be Camelot or Avalon. To wake up each morning to this view would be like heaven.

We drove a hundred yards or so up the road – although could just as easily walked along the beach – to the café where Juz and Dave had coffee yesterday, and had shakes and a few nibbles of wantons, dim sum, calarmari and vegetable spring rolls, whilst discussing the wisdom of purchasing a plot here by the beach. The main question is that of the rights of the house behind The Plot, but Dave will be speaking to the lawyer before negotiations are continued to confirm that there is no right of view. The owners of the café were very friendly and before we left Mrs Noi had promised to help Juz learn to speak Thai and cook perfect wantons when they were in residence.

Whilst the rest of us were languishing over lunch, Juz and Dave (and the driver) wandered up the beach to take pictures of their land and were invited to take a tour of the million pound house. The views from the first floor were amazing and gave yet another view of the palace they could build for themselves. I had another paddle in the sea – the sand is dotted with small black specks that are apparently minute clams – and saw lots of very small shrimps and crabs running sideways to find holes in the sand.

We had to tear ourselves away at last, and made for Nathon, to collect Dave’s shoes. They fitted perfectly now and just needed a final polish – ready in half a hour. We again wandered the town – Colin is now no more enamoured with this town than on his previous visits - had another round drinks – soft this time – collected the shoes and eventually met up again with our driver along the harbour road. The journey back to the Bandara (to drop off the shopping) and onwards to Chaweng was like London at its busiest, bearing in mind that most of the road is only one lane either way, but nose to tail, with motorbikes weaving to overtake at fast speeds on either side, each with anything up to five people aboard. It was therefore almost 19.00 by the time we arrived in Chaweng – an hour over our allotted time, but worth the extra 300 bahts.

We strolled around the market stalls and along the pavements window shopping. Walking up further into town, we came across a shop offering foot massages which sounded divine, so we three girls immediately dived in and settled in padded executive style chairs. We enjoyed having our feet, lower legs and toes massaged, pulled and flicked in an effort to unwind and refresh our aching limbs. After about 45 minutes, the masseurs moved on to arms and head, neck, shoulders and back, for another 15 minutes to give us an all round feeling of relaxation. It worked and for 250 bahts each plus tips it was an hour well spent.

We met the men in Tropical Murphys, eying up all the ex-pats with their Thai wives and girlfriends – its amazing just how many there are out here, especially in Chaweng. After more Singhas, it was soon time to decide on where to eat. We had seen a “Schnitzel” restaurant on our previous visit, next to “Chilli” – it had lots of fresh fish on display at the front, as well as offering a wide selection of European and Thai food. The waiters (with a bit of persuasion- a lady was just leaving her table) put together three small tables to accommodate the six of us and we were soon partaking of drinks and perusing the menus – all except Colin. We all chose Blue Hawaiis to drink (very different from those in Bophut, quite sour in fact, but very refreshing), except Colin who chose a Whiskey Sour. Ours all arrived, but it wasn’t until another ten minutes or so that Colin’s drink arrived – a B52 – not a Whiskey Sour. The waiter took it back, but returned after consultation with the barman to say that they weren’t sure exactly what components made a Whiskey Sour – evn though it was on the menu. To ease the consternation, Colin chose a Singapore Sling, which then arrived promptly.

Our table was right behind the fresh fish stall at the front of the shop. Lobsters, tiger prawns, squid, oysters, mussels, sole, red and white snapper and two different types of crab were all displayed on ice. I decided to try some fresh fish and chose one large squid (about eight inches long) and two large tiger prawns (at least six inches long) to be barbequed with fries – total cost 300 bahts (just over 4 GBP). Others selected their dishes - we all had fish except Dave who stuck with a Thai curry and noodles. When the food arrived, I was also given a cruet of three sauces – tartare, garlic butter and chilli and coriander (hot). The squid was exquisite – not the chewy round circles we are more used to, but firm, melt in the mouth food, which when dunked in the sauces was absolutely scrummy – I shall be trying more of this before we leave. The tiger prawns were delicious too, but slightly disappointing alongside the squid. Fresh pineapple and watermelon were automatically served as a desert along with ice cold hand towels as a refresher. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal and it is on the list as worthy of a return visit.

We hailed a tut-tut to return to Smile via the Bandara. We were all feeling tired after quite a hectic day from those we have recently been used to, so could not face a nightcap tonight. We all said goodnight and retired to our beds. We were very surprised to have visited Chaweng without seeing any rain!!! There’s a first time for everything.

We switched on the television, just to catch up on the latest happenings around the world, and were immediately plunged into a newsflash of a military coup in Thailand! Reports were still emerging as to what exactly was happening, but there were lots of pictures of soldiers in tanks on the streets of Bangkok. The current Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been unpopular for some time. There hasn’t been an elected government since he disbanded parliament in April when he was accused of corruption, by allowing his family to benefit from a national communications deal, at the same time as the results of the election victory were very dubious. He had also offended some people by promising to promote his supporters to high office. There had been several alleged threats to his life and he was under strict security guard at all times. He is currently attending the meeting of the United Nations in New York, so out of the country, but declared a State of Emergency from the safety of America. We await to see what has developed by the time we wake up tomorrow morning.

While we were cogitating over the state of the nation, Ray and Jean had a midnight swim!

Property Tycoon Raids Samui For Penelope Pitstop Pool

Monday 18 September

I am in trouble for two omissions from yesterday’s blog:

From Colin because I didn’t report last night’s Arsenal football result – but to be fair, when we went to bed the match was still in play. Colin did see the first Arsenal goal before switching off the television, but we didn’t know the final score until today!! Eagerly he watched the Eurosport 2 News this morning (the only sports channel we can receive here) and waited with baited breath for the football section. When it came, they reported in detail all the major leagues throughout the world – Italy, Spain, Brazil – showed all the goals, and gave opinions on the standard of play. But when it came to the English Premier League it was one sentence: “Manchester United lost their unbeaten record this season, by a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal”. Full stop. Nothing else – no piccys of the goal, no report of the match – poor Colin, he felt very hard done by. But what hey, the main team won.

Juz is very upset I forgot to include anything about “Colin the Kitty”! The six of us decided to pool our resources in a “kitty” – making it much easier for settling any bills when we are out and elected Colin to be the banker. When at the Beatles Bar later yesterday evening, a beautiful, very short haired, sleek black cat with a fringe of white on his chest, came over and wanted to play – we had met him on previous visits to this bar. Having stroked and petted the cat, Juz decided he needed a name – thus the cat is a “kitty” and Colin holds the “kitty”, thereby the cat was duly named “Colin”.

Having made amends for not including these riveting items in the blog yesterday, back to today. The sky was very overcast this morning when I went for my swim, and there were a few dragonflies over the pool – not a good sign. At breakfast, after my fruit course, I ordered two 5-minute boiled eggs, which never arrived, and after half an hour I gave up the wait and decided to defer eating till later.

It was still very warm and languid and after breakfast and blogging, we retired to the pool and partook of the usual pastimes of reading, puzzling and snoozing. Not long after, it began to rain – not the pell-mell downpour we have become used to, but a gentle shower, such as we have at home. The less adventurous amongst us went to shelter under the Pagoda, while others “leapt” in the pool (or sidled down the steps) for a swim. After another game of ball and a few lengths the rain slowed and we decided it was time for a snack at Coffee Junction.

This was the last day booked for Juz and Dave to have their jeep and they decided to visit the property shop we had seen yesterday in Bophut. They texted us to say there were a couple of properties and some land of interest and they were off for a viewing. We received texts throughout the morning on their progress, from Choeng Mon Beach, which is further out on the Big Buddha peninsula, to the Bophut hills behind the village and the Plantation Villas Project, which we visited yesterday on the far western side of the island. By the time we reached Coffee Junction they were on their way back, so we agreed to meet there.

We had almost finished our sarnies and drinks by the time they arrived. Dave immediately ordered a gin and tonic whilst we clamoured for information on what they had seen. At Choeng Mon they had seen some land by the beach which they really liked, in the hills some properties with views and at the Plantation Villas they were taken up yet another vertical track to a house with a fantastic view over the islands out to the west – but both of these were not land, and building his own “palace” is what appealed to Dave. It was then apparently time for coffee and whilst supping, their guide, Victor, remembered some beachside land nearby, that had not even been advertised yet. Needless to say, for both Juz and Dave it was love at first sight with this plot. The building line was on the edge of the beach, in a large sweeping bay of white sand. A house, valued at 1 million GBP, was a couple of plots up, with a couple of other plots around still to be developed and some secluded bars and restaurants just up the beach a little further. The beach itself was clean – not like the one at Sumui Villas that we visited yesterday which was a bit of a tip – most of the rubbish probably washed in by the tide. The island opposite is owned by one of the Thai princesses and has been designated a ‘green’ island – boatmen will take you for a day’s visit, but you can take nothing made of plastic with you. After a few telephone calls and some haggling, Dave bought it!!!!! Just like that! Just needed to retrieve a passport and deposit from their hotel. They will need meetings with architects and lawyers before they return home, and then all the final arrangements can be made over the internet. Juz is already planning a Penelope Pitstop pink pool, with seats and a card table and, of course, a jacuzzi. “Chez Milton Keynes” – only better, as all the best features of properties they have seen can be incorporated, and the others omitted. It was all very exciting. And now it is “D K Williams – International Builders of Darlington and Koh Samui”!!!! Three cheers and good luck to them.

We had watched the dark clouds descending over Koh Phang Tao Island across the bay, and by the time we left Coffee Junction, the rain was falling gently again - I think we must just have caught the edge of the clouds this time as it was nowhere near as heavy as we had expected, and we were only slightly damp by the time we returned to Smile for another swim – to cool us down after all the excitement. When Juz and Dave returned to their villa, they had no electricity and despite the best efforts of housekeeping and three electricians, no one could find the problem, so they were given a “romantic” candle to see by. The problem was eventually ‘sorted’ just as they were leaving for the evening, by two men up a pole trying different combinations of wires together. One combination worked – at least temporarily.

Tonight we were meeting as usual for cocktails – first stop was the Frog and Gecko – and Jen greeted us in her usual effusive fashion (one of the reasons we are not using this bar so much now). We had gone here specifically to enjoy Groggy Geckos and the like, but tonight they were not up to the usual standard, so we soon adjourned to the Happy Elephant Bar for Blue Hawaiis (same as Groggy Geckos only much better tonight) and Whiskey Sours – this is the only bar to supply peanuts with your drinks, often hot (temperature). Time for dinner, and for a change we ventured out of the village, towards Juz and Dave’s hotel, to Shades, a thatched barn actually on the beach, which also has some bungalows for hire. Juz and Dave chose a selection of Thai food, Ray had rock lobster, Jean chose noodles with vegetables, Colin had red snapper (at last) and I had tiger prawns in garlic and spring onion sauce with salad. Ray finished off with crepes and Colin had some banana and coconut milk concoction which he said was very sweet but yummy. Jean and I had jasmine tea. It was all very tasty. They also offer European food, and there are many more items on the menu that sounded interesting, so I think we will be returning one evening for another dip into the menu.

By now it was getting late and drizzling again, so we all departed for our beds. Feeling excited is very tiring and even Ray didn’t have the energy for a midnight swim tonight. I think we will all sleep soundly tonight – if the midges will let us. We have all had a few bites so far, but the midges are finding Jean the most succulent at the moment.

Fancy being related to a property tycoon!!!

Horrible Hangovers!

Sunday 17 September

We didn’t get up with our usual bounce this morning - I felt slightly off balance – a bit dizzy and spinny - but Colin had a major headache and his stomach felt wobbly ! Could it have been the red wine last night? or the mixture of drinks? or just the amount we drank? – all in celebration of the ‘Oileys’ arrival!!!

I managed a swim, only about thirty lengths today, and as we set out for breakfast, we met Ray, who had just woken up, and was having his early morning swim – about 09.45. To his credit, he thought it was about 06.00! He too was feeling under the weather – but put it down to traveling (Ray is hardly ever affected by drinks). Breakfast was a really poor meal today, I didn’t eat or drink anything and Colin only managed a few cornflakes and half a slice of dry toast – a long way from his marathon ten courses we are used to him consuming.

After blogging, we joined Jean and Ray round the pool for a swim and relaxation. Later Juz and Dave arrived – Dave had also been feeling poorly this morning (it seems the girls came off best from last night’s celebrations) and as they had missed breakfast, were on their way to Coffee Junction. We all decided to join them, enjoying shakes, beers, coffees and sprite, along with a couple of portions of nachos supreme (I wonder who ordered those?) and some prawn toasties (which turned out to be like prawn cocktail on toast), with fries. It definitely supplemented our breakfast till we eat again this evening.

After this we felt in need of a stroll and wandered through to the far end of the village to explore for bars - Yoga Bar (only open Monday to Friday) and Hemmingways (this looks as if it could be worth a try, but the restaurant attached is vegetarian) and restaurants – could only find one other which served mainly snack style meals, some Thai, but mostly burgers and the like – probably not for us - apart from two hotels (one of which is the English ex-pats residence which we made enquiries about when looking for somewhere to stay on Koh Samui - looks very posh – but as it was twice the price of Smile, we decided to spend the difference on more drinks and food. Dave and Juz found another property shop which looked quite interesting and they may return there tomorrow. I visited the bookshop again and bought the follow up book to the one I purchased the other day (at least I hope it is) and on offering 1000 bahts, a small child of about 3 years old, snatched the change from her Dad(?) and tried to run off in the back of the shop (was this going to be a very expensive volume?). Luckily Dad (?) caught her and managed to wrest the money from her tightly clenched fists and handed it over. The blurb on the back cover of the new book, seems to show the same characters are involved as in the book I am reading now, but there is a picture of another book in the series (is it a trilogy?) and the book I am reading is not mentioned?!? – very strange. So I will have to hurry up and get some reading hours in to find out if I need to explore more bookshops for a middle tome.

Back at Smile, (Juz and Dave went back to their hotel for a dip in their jacuzzi) three of us stretched out again beside the pool, some to read and others to snooze, although Colin retired to the bungalow, on the pretext of looking for football news, but in fact to try and sleep off the remains of his hangover. The weather had become very hot and sunny again during the day, although not with the same high humidity we had had earlier in the week. During the afternoon, it clouded over – high hazy clouds, which filtered the sun and therefore moderated the heat somewhat – and made it very pleasant. We were still around the pool at 18.00 when Colin eventually joined us for a last dip before cocktails and dinner (hair of the dog and all that).

We started in the Beatles Bar for our first couple of rounds of cocktails (there was lots of footy on the television screens at most of the other bars tonight), and then after Juz and Dave arrived, we transferred to the Happy Elephant Bar for whiskey sours and Blue Hawaiis. After lots of deliberation as to where to go for dinner – fusion, Thai, curry, fish – we ended up at Mr Tandooris again – as he offered three, if not four of the options. Juz again ordered her hot meat dhansak and aloo paratha – I think she is going to have to set up a mail order service for this when she gets home! Jean tried barracuda (good), Ray had barbequed tiger prawns (delicious), Colin had another white snapper, this time with garlic, lemon and pepper sauce (red snapper was off the menu – but white was good) and I had chicken saag and aloo gobi (this is the best aloo gobi too, so perhaps we can add this to Juz’s mail order). Dave had chicken fried rice and dipped into Juz’s curry. Accompanied by wine, water and Sprite for beverages. (I had had a couple of bloody Mary’s in the Beatles Bar which went straight to my head – so I was on the water, and Colin was still a bit fragile from his hangover, so after a couple of cocktails returned to Sprite – the rest were brave enough to continue their alcoholic intake.)

On the way home, the ‘important’ football matches were in full swing, Fulham vs Tottenham had just fifteen minutes to play while Man United vs Arsenal were only twenty or so minutes into their game. Ray decided to stop at the Frog and Gecko to see the end of the Fulham match (ended in a nil-nil draw), but Colin, though an avid supporter of Arsenal, could not stand the pace for another hour or so of oohs and aahs – especially as his team has been performing poorly so far in the League this season - so returned home with the rest of us. More nightcaps on the balcony for the drinkers. Just as Juz and Dave were leaving it began to rain (and we know what rain can be like here) so they borrowed an umbrella (two are supplied to each bungalow) and set off quickly hoping to avoid another drenching. In fact the rain stopped not long after – just a short shower – so they should have got back to the hotel reasonably dry. The rest of us retired soon after, although I understand Ray went for a swim before going to bed.

We have been here in Koh Samui now for three weeks, and we have adapted to the lifestyle very easily. We are talking of taking some trips around the island, fishing, etc, and probably need to get back into training again for our trekking experience to come. We have read in the newspapers that there has been extremely heavy rains in Northern Thailand and all this excess water is making its way slowly down to Bangkok – which has been put on flood alert for the 8 and 9 October – we are due to arrive on the 2nd and travel north on the 7th! Are we going to need rafts even earlier than we thought!! Then today there are reports of bombs in Southern Thailand by some extreme faction – it will nearly be the rainy season by the time we reach the south of the country at the end of October, so let’s hope they will have gone away by then!

"Milton Keynes" - The Home Of Our Dreams

Saturday 16 September

Blue skies and brilliant sunshine awakened us this morning, and the water in the pool was so warm I managed forty lengths – really showing off now. After breakfast, we sat around the pool – Colin regularly changing sun beds to find some shade under the umbrellas (the sun kept moving!!!!).

Around midday Juz and Dave texted to say they had hired a jeep and were going for a ride around the island – did we want to go too? - of course we did. They picked us up, up the road from Smile (should have been at Smile, but Colin was too impatient to wait and insisted we started walking to the Bandara – the road being part of a one-way system going the wrong way to bump into them coming to us!!!). This is where the fun started – the jeep is a four seater if you count the back parcel shelf as two seats! Or the truck area behind the cab, which has no cushioning – just a bare corrugated metal base. Juz and I opted for the air conditioned cab – she climbed in behind Dave the Driver (DtD now instead of DtB?) and managed to contort herself into a sitting position with her legs wrapped around her! I climbed in and managed a similar position behind the front passenger seat. Colin manoevred himself into the front passenger seat – his legs having to bend awkwardly to fit into the space below the glove box – and he just about managed to close the door! It was at least very friendly as we set off the find some petrol – as always when hiring a vehicle, the tank was on empty! We chugged slowly along the main road, cruising wherever possible to save what little fuel we had. Fancy Tescos not selling fuel here – anyway almost into Chaweng we found the garage we had used last year, fairly close to the Imperial Hotel. 400 bahts buys about 4 ½ gallons, so about 1.50 GBP per gallon! From here we continued round the island, passing Lamai Beach, Rocky’s Beach and Buddha’s Footprint on the way. The main road then cuts inland, but as we were still on the lookout for any bargains in beachside land, we strayed on to a side road. This was far more rutted than the main road and we bounced and banged around in the back (and I think it was almost a bad in the front!) – there was no room to move sideways, just up and down. Juz and I by this time had managed to sort out our legs – we both sat across the vehicle, with her legs over mine – getting out was going to be amusing.

There are lots of adverts for land with beach fronts along the way, but not in the setting we were looking for. We stopped at a couple of smart looking developments, but there was no one home in the sales offices – although the adverts say they are open seven days a week – so we took web details for Juz to check up on when she returned to the hotel. We drove straight up on a hillside track looking for another set of villas, advertised on the road, which definitely tested the capabilities of the small four wheel drive jeep and our own padding!

We bounced along until we finally came across Big John’s Seafood Restaurant – another haunt from last year – which is part of a beachside resort on a large sandy bay that really is “paradise”. We decided that we were more than ready for lunch and a couple of beers. We were shown to a table right on the edge of the sand and ordered scrumptious appetizers of chicken, pork, prawns, spring rolls and Singha beers. I paddled my legs in the sea while waiting for the food – which was warmer than our pool. A very idyllic setting indeed to while away an hour or so on a very hot afternoon.

Getting back in the car – another amusing exercise in contortionism – we decided to visit “Milton Keynes”, on the other side of Bophut, to see if they were “ordinary” as described by the Trolley Dolly, or more the deluxe houses we remembered. The roadside sales office was again empty, so we wandered up the hill to the development, which had expanded hugely, since we were last here. We were met very effusively by the same lady who showed us around last year – like a meeting of old friends. The last couple of houses overlooking Big Buddha Bay were still shells, under construction, as were the tall apartment blocks on the opposite side which overlooked Bophut Bay – and we can see from our breakfast table. Only one of the houses had not been sold, which was set back from the cliff edge, giving a large space for garden and pool when completed, compared with some of the other properties, and getting the sun until late afternoon. We were able to look round the house next door which was of the same style and then at the show house – now available for rent - which we had fell in love with last year. They were still as wonderful, if not even better than we remembered and definitely superior to the property Trolley Dolly had shown us for 1.5US$. All the pools now had jacuzzis attached – an addition from last year – and one even had a slide and stepping stones arrangement to get from one to the other. There is a choice of dark wood flooring or pale marble tiles – we saw both options (I would have chosen the tiles as they gave a lighter effect and there would be no worries about scratching or marking, but the dark wood staircase was very impressive) – and the master bedroom on the first floor was of ‘palace’ proportions – with his and her everything in the huge bathrooms with two showers, two loos, two washbasins and a large double bath with Jacuzzi – just in case you couldn’t make it down to poolside first thing in the morning. We were again entranced and all agreed these were the “best” – we just needed to win the lottery to make a purchase as the last house is on offer for 450,000 GBP non negotiable – even to Dave (well they would do a deal on the period of interest free credit but the principal sum would not change). A house of our dreams definitely.

By this time we were all dripping both with hankering and from the heat of the day – one of the hottest since we arrived. So we drove back to Smile for beers on the balcony and a game of cards, while awaiting the arrival of the “Oileys”. Several beers later, as darkness fell, Jean and Ray arrived – minus their luggage. They had had to run from the International side of Bangkok Airport to the Domestic Check In, as their flight from London had been late by nearly an hour. They had just made it, their cases hadn’t – but should be delivered to Smile a couple of hours later. I had never realized before how often cases and passengers become separated – perhaps naïve of me – but we have certainly heard of a few “cases” on our travels this time.

Following lots of hugs and kisses, it was time for more drinks and to catch up on the latest news - EO’s wedding of course a prime interest. When immediate news had been exchanged, we wandered to the Beatles Bar for a couple of rounds of cocktails, and were entertained tonight by four ex-pats (including the manager) strumming on guitars and singing their hearts out. Tummies were rumbling by this time, telling us it was time for food – and it had to be Starfish and Coffee. We chose a wide variety of dishes which we devoured heartily, all washed down with a few carafes of red wine. Dave and Juz left us here and wandered back to the Bandara, leaving the jeep with us – drinking and driving is just as dangerous out here as back home, if not more. We finished with teas and coffees and then wandered back to Smile, where Jean and Ray’s luggage awaited them on their balcony. The system had worked again. After a couple of nightcaps, it was time to crash – Jean and Ray had been on the go for more than twenty four hours and it was almost 01.00 – very late for us.