I think it may be Thursday, I’m so laid back I’m not sure. I wake when my lovely hubby brings me tea around 8am. It’s raining and dull. Mr Turnbull has already left for physio on his poorly shoulder. Earlier in the month whilst Rita was visiting Kaitlyn, Richard and the grandchildren in Australia, David took a sober tumble on the stairs whilst carrying shopping bags, probable wine, poor boy dislocated his clavicle. David always has to do something a little dramatic, but he is stoic and assures us he feels no pain. It’s raining so we are not in a hurry to dress. Around 9.30 DT returns having called at the bakery and we have a light breakfast . We are all slightly jaded from yesterday with the exception of Judy who is bright eyed and bushy tailed on her black coffee and granola. Rita and Judy go to the local shops, thankfully find me a hair dye so I can cover my roots, my poor hairdresser Heather went down with covid before we left leaving me very embarrassingly badger looking. They return and Mrs T decides she will make a birthday cake for Roger! It’s his birthday tomorrow. A few hours pass somehow….. David books a local restaurant for lunch. Rita drives us, it’s a short ride, our table is booked for 1.30. We have a great lunch, some have starter, mains and puds, four carafes of wine the bill is €70 for the five of us. We leave around 3pm. The sun is out by now. In the car we decide we would like to see another local bar so trot off in a different direction & two or three minutes later we are in another village called Espiche and a lovely little local bar. The Turnbulls are welcomed like long lost friends by the bar maid Shaza and the locals. Two more vinos each and DT decides he wants his afternoon kip, we are all ready for a rest so head for home. Roger lights the fire. Mr T heads for bed and we four sit and watch Tv, hating the news re Russia and Ukraine, very depressing, we all have different views on the subject. We study world maps on the size of the countries. Later we watch a film called the Unfortunate Man, half way through decide we have seen it before but it passes time and we continue conversation during the film. Rita produces a delicious homemade red pepper soup for supper during which time Judy takes phone calls taking on three new part time jobs and sells her car! Rita joins DT around mid evening followed by myself & Roger leaving Judy to sit and contemplate the fire embers over glass of vino.
Panic over the storm has passed. Our friend Judy is joining us on the trip. Judy worked as one of our very first barmaids at the Adam and Eve in the early 1970’s so we have much history. I ring Judy early to discuss transport but she has already rung to check the trains and they are all running on time with no delays or changes in routes. We decide to meet at the original time, albeit a tad early but we all wish to arrive at Stansted in good time to chill, shop and maybe a bevy or two. The train from Norwich to Stanstead was uneventful . We arrive at Stanstead and find we are far too early to check in as the gates are not open. It is eerily quiet at Stanstead. A coffee and bite to eat and Costa , the time soon goes and Roger finds we can check in. This all goes far too easily and we are through fast track in double time but so sad to find the champagne bar closed down. No problem Judy leads us to Weatherspoons which is packed so we try the upper level which is much less crowded and feel safer. Four double gins plus one single later, Roger is on beer, we realise we have a bit of a way to our gate. Judy leads the way and sprints like a racing chicken with me hopping behind to our gate for our flight. Its a full flight the only one of the day to Faro. It’s on time , we board our 737-800, good seats all together fairly near the front. Most of the passengers in front and beside us are off duty crew returning home exhausted from previous extended flights due to the storms. Judy and I have isle seats and chat about life, family & many friends that have gone before their time. The bar trolly comes around and we order g n ts and crap Pringles and kitkats as we are peckish from the previous gin and not much else. Masks on throughout the aiport and flights. One guy opposite in front of me in a designer hoody and bottoms that hang down showing his boss underwear , wears his mask on his eyes as the lights are too bright. No one take any notice of the silly prat. The flight is over quickly, we land, captain tells us it’s is warm 18c, at 10pm I’ll take that for February. We leave the aircraft, pass customs, i get a telling off from the customs officer as a dared to go through European passport control queue. Roger and Judy have hand luggage but I had put a case in the hold, I have Rogers shoes and toiletries so need a larger case, so checked in a 20k case. I’m amazed that Judy has the smallest case which asctually includes her entire wardrobe for the week p,us a large hairdryer! Judy collects my case while Roger & I have a wee and we exit the airport to find Jorge our driver that DT has booked for us. Jorge turns out to be a smart young chap with a good size Mercedes people carrier. We were soon on board and on our way to prai da Luz. I text DT & Rita to tell them we are on route and they should go to bed and not wait for us. Jorge drives swiftly and we enjoy the ride. In no time we leave the motorway and are in an urbanisation. The next thing we know we arrive to be greeted by DT & Rita who are sitting outside their fabulous home with glasses of wine in hand to give us the most fabulous of welcomes. DT invites Jorge to join us for a quick snifter & before we know it Rita has fabulous cheese & meat platter on the table with warm crusty bread & olives. We sit and chat until the small hours and eventual retire at around 2 am. Our room is large and luxurious and the bed feels like velvet. My head hits the pillow and I can’t remember anything else.
Wednesday. 18c
I wake at 7am. It’s all very quiet. I wait until I hear movement and Roger wakes to fetch me a cuppa. I move to explore the ground floor where are bedrooms are, Judy is already sitting by the pool. The sun is surprisingly warm. Rita calls us as she has prepared breakfast. DT has already been to the bakery and purchased Croissant and warm bread, pastel de Nara’s those delicious Portuguese pastries. it’s all very pleasant. Later we shower & dress and DT drives us to the village. The beach is fabulous. As I remember but much more developed than in 1980 when We were here previously here with Billy Fish and our children. The sun is shining, surfers are already on the beach and many families with children as it is half term here this week. After a short walk, DT leads us to a warm sunny spot outside a bar called The Bull, we have been here before many years ago, when it was run by the Bulls a Norwich couple. We sit in the sun and put the worlds to rights. After an hour or so we walk back to the beach for lunch. David has booked a beachside restaurant called Paraiso with a view to die for. More wine and a delicious lunch, wonderful classic prawn cocktails, fish & chips, tuna, salads, & great deserts. Walk back to the car & drive back to a typically Portuguese bar on the main road close to the house. The Turnbulls are already well know already in most of these places we visited. Back at the house David lights a fire , Rita busies herself in the kitchen and we sit and chill for the rest of the day gradually getting more oiled and confessing all sorts. David retires first followed by Roger and myself . I need to write up my blog. Another wonderful sleep.
Roger & I are off for a long awaited trip to Portugal to visit our very sociable friends Rita & David. With the “do we don’t we” need negative tests before we go, can we stay covid free for two weeks, should we go to Stanstead airport by train or car?? Great no more travel tests yippee! Just our vaccine certification. Taking the Train seemed the easy and more relaxed option now that there’s a direct train to Stanstead!!! With our senior rail discount cards it’s a no brainer. Bus passes and rail cards just one of the many advantages to being old! However over the weekend we have had storm Dudley, Eunice, Doris now Franklin, trains cancelled because lines damaged by falling branches, flights delayed and cancelled as they couldn’t land or couldn’t land in the correct place, are we actually going to make it? That is the question!
We all decide we should have a quick snack as the next meal will not be until our Bangkok to Doha flight at 2am tomorrow. That is a sleeper flight so will only serve a light snack and breakfast. At 1pm we trundle next door to Pen Bungalows and have a large table put together. Roger joins us, he has been in Flipflop bar for his last Burmese meat balls and beer chatting to the lovely staff. Celia and Jooles share a whole friend fish with fired garlic, Thai salad and fried rice, it looks delicious, I have pad Thai, Gary has similar. The boys have beers, us girls pineapple milk shakes with a shot of Malibu. Valtar & Clive join us for a beer. I think they really enjoyed our company, they have a few more days left before going their separate ways. We suggest we might see them next year. I rush back to the bungalow as I need to wash my hair and shower and finish packing. It’s all a mad rush now and Roger decides he want to shave and shower at the same time. Gary has told us we need to be at the reception with cases ready to go at 4pm and not a minute later. Hurriedly we put our stuff together forgetting how cold it will be when we reach Norwich airport. I am last at reception, the lovely gardener collects our cases and puts them on the roof of our transport. The entire Thai family have turned up to say goodbye, we hug and they wave us off. I find this extremely emotional they are wonderful people and who knows if I will be lucky enough to see them again. Gary, Jooles and the girls are driving in Dong’s truck that we borrowed. Dong is driving the Hamlins ,Roger & myself in his open air bus. We set off on the scenic route back to Thong Sala to the dock with Gary driving behind us. We are there in no time and all aboard the speedboat. Dong comes with us on the boat. It’s bumpy again but nothing like the original crossing. We all get a bit wet from the sea spray.
Koh SamuiOur spacious seats on Qatar flights
A short ride from the dock to the airport. Thong Sala looks quiet maybe because it’s Sunday. At the airport we check in, it’s early so we wander around the small shops, Roger get us a fresh juice which takes forever to produce and costs 300 Baht each but welcome as we have no water now. Through security where my deodorant is confiscated as it’s just 20ml over the limit, darn it was almost empty and I wanted it for the flight. We wait a short while in the departure area then board the little plane for our short flight to Bangkok. It’s a little like the flight from Norwich to Amsterdam. You are just airborn and before long you are down again. We are all excited to get home now and looking forward to our Qatar flights. Us girls go to check in with the luggage and wait in the queue which is not yet open, while the boys return their hired Wifi devices. Eventually check in opens Mike and Celia go first and appear to get through ok and go off to security. The Gilveys go forward after them Roger and I go to another kiosk. Being at the front as we are business passengers there is a huge queue behind us due to all having to do the extra checks that are now required because of the pandemic. We show our vaccination certificate, passports, passenger location forms and assume everything is in order but suddenly the check in assistant tells us we are one hour out of time for our lateral flow test. It will be over 24 hours when we land at Schipol airport so our tests will be out of date. We took it too early and should have done it that morning – we are flabbergasted as we thought we were ok, it’s the PCR test that allows 48 hours and the lateral flow test only 24 hours. We are told we have to go to the medical centre and be tested again before we can check in. It costs 600 Baht for each person – a real racket but a lot cheaper than it would cost in the UK. We are a bit annoyed that my sister got through why not the rest of us as we all did our test at the same time? She alerts the girl at the Gilvey’s Kiosk and they get turned away also. The girls are very apologetic and say they will prepare our boarding passes and keep our luggage behind the kiosk while we are retested. We head for the medical facility the other side of the terminal and three floors down. The testing facility is immediately outside the terminal. We sigh when we see the queue and a guy kicking off holding up registration. Eventually Gary registers us all, hands over our passports and explains our flight leaves imminently ( two hours) and we are promptly shown through to the testing area to wait. We are tested very quickly in a box that resembles a portaloo, you go in the door and a nurse in full combat gear put her hands through two holes in the window to test you. It’s a poke up one nostril and it’s over in seconds. Whilst waiting Gary notices the ambulance at the side of the testing area and a large white secure looking container similar to Doctor Who’s tardis. We quickly realise this is the prison for those who test positive and have to go to hospital for two weeks! Scary stuff. We all get our results in less that ten minutes, negative of course and rush back to check in. This time all goes through correctly – the check in girls are ready for us and we go through security after being fast tracked to the airport departure area. We are invited to the Qatar lounge but it’s located miles away, on the way a strap on Joolia’s sandals breaks and it’s impossible for her to walk in them. What a surprise – amazingly we are just in front of the designer shops and I spy some flip flops at the back of the Salvatore Ferragamo unit. Joolia spots some cute little jelly shoes with a silver bow, just her style and luckily the assistant quickly gives her 3000 Baht discount! On we march to the lounge as we are looking forward to a beverage. It’s bloody miles as there is a temporary lounge whilst the old one is revamped. There we meet up with Celia and Mike who have been relaxing while we have all been stressed out doing our covid tests !!! There is some reasonable food and drink which calms us down!!! When we tell Celia and Mike what had happened they were worried that they might have problems in Amsterdam. After a quick pit stop we all trolly on back to find our gate and board and find our seats. The crew are all adorable Thai’s – so polite and can’t do enough for you. We all settle into the flight after a glass of bubbles and Roger and I snack on a great cheese board. Again given some lovely White Company pj’s each. I watch Stillwater with Matt Damon, a bit of a slow film but I love Mr Damon. I fall asleep for a couple of hours and wake with a terrible headache. I can’t find my tablets in my bag and try and cure it by drinking loads of water. Celia wakes with the same thing. When they serve breakfast I can’t even bare the smell of the warm croissants but manage to find two paracetamol to take. When we get off the flight in Doha which has arrive an hour late due to a big head wind Joolia gives me pills which she says will kill or cure. She later tells me they were Aspirin, paracetamol & caffeine. Well they worked. The head ache subsides but I still feel rough. We head over the airport complex to our next flight to Amsterdam, we get to the gate and find the plane has been changed and we will not have our lovely Qsuite seats as it’s a different seating format. The gate staff will not tell us what’s happened only that it’s due to operational and engine problems and the flight will be delayed. By this we think that some of the staff have covid as we’ve seen lots and lots of cancelled flights on the flight board both here and at Bangkok and they are deep cleaning our plane!!! We hang around the departure gate waiting for our delayed flight concerned about our Amsterdam connection but eventually we board and are pleasantly surprised that we have very roomy seats right at the front of the plane. Gary is ecstatic as he has a window for the first time and takes an amazing video of our take off from Doha showing the F1 circuit, the Doha Football stadium site, lots of empty motorways and buildings. This flight is more comfortable and we all enjoy a delicious meal and wines. Roger has his usual soup followed by a lobster appetiser and a lamb shank in red wine – I don’t know where he puts it all !!! I still feel icky so only manage half a glass of champagne and a light appetiser. I watch another film which I really enjoyed, The Man Who Invented Christmas – a story about Charles Dickens. We are late landing in Amsterdam due to our delayed departure in Doha. We were really worried we will not be able to get through collecting our luggage, immigration and changing terminals to our Norwich flight. Said a quick goodbye to Celia and Mike who were flying to Luton and ran to our departure check out desk. Luck was on our side, we had absolutely nobody in front of us anywhere, which came as a surprise – every check point was deserted, fast track security, health and passport controls, etc and plus we were actually near to the departure gate we needed. Less than 30 minutes later we were onboard the Amsterdam to Norwich flight, all very weary except for Logan who is very excited about seeing Jack her boyfriend whom she really missed this holiday. We enjoyed fine dining on the flight (a packet of crisps and a bottle of water!!!) landed at Norwich and with only a handful of other passengers, we were first off and straight through passport control before the luggage even left the plane. We must have looked a sight in jumper, leggings and flip flops – Roger was still in his shorts. Aspen only had a sleeveless vest so I had to give her my inflight pj’s, she would never be seen dead in normally. It was absolutely freezing cold and the wind howled through the open exit doors. It’s 16.35 pm on 3rd. We have been travelling over 24 hours. Gary ordered a mini bus for us which arrived promptly and before we knew it we were home and dry after one of the most epic memorable holidays ever.
As usual after a very late night I’m woken up by something. This time it’s the bird song. Most mornings the Myna Birds that nest in the tree outside our bathroom start their mating calls which resemble wolf whistles just before daybreak. These birds are common in Thailand especially outside my window! They pair for life so always in two’s and quite tame, they often appear on our deck and talk to us. They are often kept as pets and will learn to talk mimicking their owners. Joolia stumbled across one in the market the other day and was surprised it answered her when she said hello to it! Other birds we have seen are reef egrets flying above the sea. Aspen was first through our door this morning at 8am smelling of stale booze and still full of bounce, sent by her mother as she was hungry for breakfast and certain people were still sleeping! After everyone is up Gary hears from Dong that he has been and rescued the abandoned truck and guess where he found the missing keys – on the roof of the truck!!!Someone had obviously picked them up nearby and put them there! Or had they been there all the time? After breakfast, massages and a spot of packing. Joolia asked if we would like to accompany them all to Thong Sala and watch the girls jet ski. We all pack up for the day and pile in the now rescued truck and drive like mad things to the dock where the jet skis are collected. Joolia remembers a nearby fisherman’s restaurant where we can wait and watch as Gary Aspen & Logan race the along the coast. They are gone for two full hours so we have a spot of lunch. Roger has a Quack Burger (duck) and we all have delicious salads. The fisherman’s restaurant is very laid back but we are surprised how long our food order takes. Joolia thinks it prudent to pre order Gary, Aspen & Logan three burgers as she knows they will be starving on their return. Two hours later they still haven’t arrived ( apparently busy with Thai style deliveroo take outs) and with the guys really hungry we cancel the order and head along to a Thai food market. On the way Gary stops at a bank to change some English currency and then proceed to the food stall. We wait as Gary collects the food, the girls in the back of the truck with us inside with the air con on. As he jumps out of the truck his cash, which is in the door pocket of the truck falls out onto the road. Gary is oblivious to this as are we until some very kind young Thai stops on his motor bike and picks it up and hands it to us through the window. We are so astonished that he dashed off so quickly we didn’t have time to give him a reward but he was gone…. After the guys had eaten We are taken to another fabulous location to watch the sunset. We take a very narrow windy road, Gary is not sure he remembers the way but eventually we reach the top, again a lot of motor cycles and scooter, not quite as many as the night previous but this time a very rustic bar with lots of atmosphere, very wonky floorboards (you can see the mountains through them) and I am a little nervous when the barman suggests we move seats as it’s slightly unsafe. Two fabulous mojitos later I am less nervous. We are high above the rain forrest so naturally all get bitten and spray the last of the mosquitoes spray and hope for the best. Sadly not as clear as would like to see but very atmospheric and a brilliant last night. We drive home, Gary suggests we have pizzas in our room and do our lateral flow tests and passenger location forms ready for our flights then next evening. When we get to our room I get a text from Bangkok Air saying our flight is cancelled and now rescheduled for 10am the next morning, quickly I realised we would need to pack and leave the room by 6 am to get the boat over to Koh Samui, Gary comes to our room, I started to discuss how we would manage this. It was a hoax! Gary and Aspen cooked it up together….. I could have killed him. I was looking forward to my last day chilling in the sun….
Our last sunset at Apichada Viewpoint Bar.
Sunday 2nd January 2022. 29c Sun & Cloud.
This morning it’s still too windy to get the speedboat from our beach to Koh Samui so it’s back to Thong Sala port to pick it up. Dong pops in to tell us he will pick us up at 16.00. After doing our lateral flow tests and waiting for the results we fill in the passenger location forms, hopefully they are correct with all our connections. Finalise packing. Roger settles our room account which is only 1,600 Baht (£35) which was for our bottle of Gin, tonics & beers & daily ice for the whole two weeks plus a few coconuts and some Jack Daniels Roger & Mike had on Christmas night. We did try buying some wine from the local supermarket but it was undrinkable. Joolia has a long massage so Logan and I help no 1 granddaughter pack. Aspen is notoriously unorganised for a bright girl! Gary take charge of checking all info for entry into the different countries we pass through. We have a last few rays on the beach and Valter & Clive pop to say goodbye to us. Hannah the dog Joolia feeds daily with the breakfast sausages which are like frankfurters sprawls at our feet. Roger tips the gardener/waiter 2.500 Baht , he has worked non stop and serves us breakfast, cleans the beach with us, does the gardens, brings us ice or anything we need in our rooms. He is dressed in same poor clothing so I leave him some of Rogers tee shirts. We leave the room maids 1000 Baht each and some toiletries which they are very happy about.
Valter & Clive Last few photo’s on our beach. Flipflop Bar & the Burmese Meatballs.
The Gilveys are missing all day while Cece and I sunbathe.I check my find friends and see they are in Hadrin. Logan wanted to go back to purchase her bracelet. They also purchase some gorgeous earrings my sister had her eye on. They checked out the beach for tonight’s Full Moon Party and decide it’s ok and safe to go. We stroll down to FlipFlop for lunch around 2pm for a delicious Caesar Salad, Burmese meat balls and hot cashew nuts, a couple of Leo beers and a chat with an Irishman called Chris about island life – we then return to our beach house for more sunbathing. Later that evening we all get ready for supper that P-Kum is cooking us at her restaurant. Celia and Mike decide to go to the little local Italian. The spread that P-Kum and her daughters have cooked is amazing, delicious, real Thai food, fried chicken, barracuda, tiger prawns, squid, chicken & cashew stir fry, sticky rice, black rice heaps of salad enough for 20 people not eight! Then she serves a fabulous desert made from coconut, evaporated milk and sticky rice…..we are well and truly stuffed!!! We are pleased to see Dong back from his office in Hadrin, so nice to catch up with him. Roger & I manage to convince Joolia we would rather stay at the beach. Having already experienced one Full Moon Party I do not wish to do another and the thought of thousands of teens knocking into me for six hours is not inviting. So the guys go off and we stay a while and chat to the Thai family, such cheerful smiley people despite being hit hard by the Covid 19 pandemic with no tourists for two years. They have very little and are extremely poor but they laugh continuously. We walk back round to our bungalow for a quick pee stop then on to Flip Flop bar where we manage to get a great table at the front facing the beach. Flower and Hey the bartenders are pleased to see us and we quickly get served. The bar is hopping, music great, Celia and Mike join us. I am not really in the drinking mood having had several strong gin & tonics then that huge meal but we order mojitos and Roger & Mike have a beer. We continue the night with a pina coladas. We watch the beach fire being built and gradually people start congregating on the beach, the bar fills up and towards midnight we wait patiently for the fire to be lit. Suddenly fireworks go off, little children have hand held fireworks !!! Mike and I are horrified, it’s an accident waiting to happen. However all is well and the party continues. The fire pyramid grows and grows, people constantly bringing wood to pile on, then the bar furniture goes on. I ask the bar owner is this normal and he assured me it’s all old broken stuff. At midnight fireworks go off along the beach. We can see them from Thong Mai beach and all along our beach. They light the fire after the fireworks. The wind blows sparks our way, I would be really worried if I owned the bar. Wishing everyone happy new year both physically and on Facebook, texts and Snapchat. Celia and Mike leave at 12.30 as a spark has caught Celia’s eye and she wants to check it out , we stay on for one more drink enjoying the atmosphere and the fire. I love people watching especially happy drunks, even if they are nearly all German! Badger and I stroll back along the beach, the tide is way out now, the stars are twinkling in the clear sky. We reflect on how lucky we are and wonder if we can come back soon. We FaceTime son James to wish him happy new year but it seems strange that with the time difference he has only just got up on 31st. We also speak to Michael Gold James father in law to wish him happy birthday. As my head hits the pillow around 1.30 pm, my phone is off and on charge but my ipad rings. It’s Joolia, I guess to wish us happy new year. No, I have a very stressed daughter telling me Gary has lost the keys to the truck, Aspen is being violently sick , they can’t get a taxi, there is wall to wall people everywhere & she needs daddy to walk into the village and wake up Dong to drive to Hadrin & pick them up! It takes a few seconds to realise this is not one of Gary’s pranks. I am not letting Roger go round there on his own in the dark so we both dress, lock up and walk to the village. It’s only 10 minutes but it’s very dark, we use the torches on our phones. We reach the house where the family live and bang on the windows, we wake dogs who start barking and lights start coming on but no sign of Dong. We bang on the metal shutters and hear P-Kum asking in Thai “who there”, we try and make her understand the problem and she goes to wake Dong. This takes a few more minutes and poor Dong appears half naked rubbing his eyes, we think he’s probably still drunk but he cheerfully looks for his phone which he has left in the shop front.. he phones Joolia who now says all is well they are in a taxi and on the way home!!, So we need not have got up and woken these poor people up at all. We walk back muttering to ourselves wondering if we will still be needed when we are in our 80’s, so thankful we didn’t go to Hadrin! As I attempted sleep for the second time the phone goes and it’s baby girl again, all is well we have a taxi, on our way back, Aspen is still being sick overboard but we will be home in 30 mins or so! I attempt to sleep for the third time and am just about to drop off, wondering if they are all ok and suddenly Joolia and a drunk Aspen bang on the windows shouting merrily “Happy new year NooNoo and Gdad”. You couldn’t make it up! It’s now gone 3am. Finally we sleep.
We wake this morning to a very dark sky. The weather predicted a short rain storm around 11am. After breakfast Ju turns up early for my massage. I thought I’d give it another go, give her the benefit of trying to cure my pains. I told her my age and asked her to go easy. She started on my foot and I squealed a bit but she perseveres, the other foot was more comfortable. She worked her way up my legs which was firm & strong and in places slightly painful. Then she starts on my arms. When she gets to my bad shoulder, which has been much better for 24 hours since the last massage, it’s ok until she pokes under my armpit again and insists on holding the tendon until I scream in agony. The rest of the massage was lovely. She insists I will benefit from it. I book for tomorrow at 10am, I am a sucker for punishment. Gary Jooles Mike & Celia also have massages on their deck today. Then it starts to rain heavily, a storm starts to blow and the rain shield has to be lowered on our deck. The rain is torrential. We enjoy watching the storm and the waves from the comfort of our deck. After an hour or so it clears and leaves beautiful sunshine. We are all totally chilled. Around midday Roger takes Gary for a beer in Flipflop. Followed by Joolia. The maintenance man comes to repair the ceiling on my deck which has blown loose in the storm. Aspen who has been bitten by mosquitoes badly has been drugged by Joolia on antihistamine and sleeps most of the morning. Celia and Logan keep me company whilst the man does his repairs. We then catch up with the boys along at Flipflop whilst Mike does his daily exercise walking up and down the beach. Aspen wakes and joins us & we have a few silly hours in Flipflop downing, pina colada’s, mojitos, beers, Burmese meatballs and spicy nuts. Leaving the bar we all meander tipsily along the beach back to our bungalow. Suddenly Gary and Roger dive into the sea, it’s very inviting and before long we all strip off and join him followed by Celia and Mike. A sobering swim , we all dry and pop into the village for a quick Thai supper. A very early night. 9pm. I do not sleep well as the sand flies have eaten my back and despite Roger applying the local Snake Brand talc I’m struggling to get comfortable.
Thursday 30th December. 30c
I always wake and draw the curtains at around 6am so we can watch daybreak. It’s raining and humid. We leave the doors closed and the aircon on. Suddenly it starts to rain very hard almost horizontally driving rain which comes under our doors! I am surprised when we get a knock at the door at 7.30, it’s Ju the massage lady insisting I booked a massage with her at that time. I would never do this so early as I take a while to focus in the mornings and Roger and I like to read the papers on line whilst having a cuppa, same ritual as at home. She is soaked through and seems quite agitated ( high on something) so we tell her to go away and cancel the later appointment. She then walks next door and starts on Joolia who uses a completely different massage lady all together. Really weird. Gary pops round and asks if we would all like to go to the other side of the island for a change. We are all excited and pile in the truck for our day trip. We head north toward Thong Sala as this is the only road that will take us to the west coast. We pass the big tree and the garage where Gary stops to book reconditioned tyres for Dong’s truck as one at the front is almost bald. We also pass the funeral crematorium which looked like an open air concert establishment. We drive through Thong Sala and we head to a new beach club Joolia has sniffed out. If it’s somewhere exclusive and posh my daughter will find it. So we pull up outside Kupa Kupa Beach Village & Spa. It’s literally just reopened since March 2020. We are welcomed by the owner’s son/manager – a handsome Italian chap. The place is practically empty we think although all the villas are occupied. Most have private beach and pool access. We are quickly served mojitos and cold beers and settle on sun beds overlooking the sea. Us girls carefully climb down over the rocks to the private beach for a swim. It’s warm and welcoming. We spend the day there and have a superb lunch in their restaurant. After a few zzzz’s on the day beds, we girls use the facilities to clean up and dress as Gary is keen for us to climb up to the nearby Amsterdam bar to watch the sunset. Gary drives most of the way up the hill. We are amazed at the hundreds of motor cycles in the car park and can hardly find a space to park. There are 20 or 30 more steps to the deck which is teeming with youngsters. There’s a DJ booming out rather fab house music and a bar. It’s a great photo op and we stay until it is well and truly dark having watched a spectacular sky! Driving back home we wanted to try the local Italian which we feel needs our support and are very surprised to see it packed. So we head back to Thong Mai beach to the Italian restaurant we went to earlier in the week with great staff. Their wine list is a bit limited and they run round to the local supermarket to get our wine. We stuffed our faces then left for home but not before the kids insisted we stop at the Pancake man’s cart. The guy was asleep at the side of the road but soon woke up when he smelled cash! We all had amazing pancakes, Mine was lemon, Logan had Nutella and banana, Joolia & Roger had evaporated milk and cinnamon, Celia had huge mango job, they were all delicious. Mike abstained as he already had a dessert both at lunch and at the Italian. Mike is partial to icecream and is not able to pass anyone selling it as my readers will know from previous travels!
Kupa Kupa Beach Resort.Gary’s massage. Amsterdam lookout bar.
Friday 31st December. 20c Hot Sunny Windy.
The sea is very rough today. The wind is welcome as it keeps us cool. It’s so windy we have breakfast inside for the first time all holiday. It’s great to hear a little background Jazz playing after all the Christmas music. After breakfast Gary , Joolia & Mike have massages. Roger decided to clean up the debris on the beach, this always encourages the staff to follow suit. We have the cleanest part of the beach this morning, the storm has brought up fresh plastic along the shore line. It’s so very sad that plastic from our so called civilised world is ruining their natural and otherwise pristine beaches. Our holiday is sadly nearing the end. Tomorrow we will start the paperwork and tests for our return back to the UK hoping we are allowed through Schiphol airport without hindrance. But tonight we will party on the beach at the Flip Flop bar.
Ever industrious Roger always loved emptying the fruit machines and counting the cash. Clearing up the beach after the storm. The view from my bed this morning. The sea almost at our door.
We all turn up to breakfast in Christmas hats of various designs. Even the staff are wearing them. After breakfast the Gilveys walk to pick up the truck where we left it last night and drive off into Thongsala. While they are there they have a roast lunch each at the soho bar. While they were gone Celia and I sunbathed and chatted whilst Roger & Mike got engrossed in their books in shade. Had a lovely chat with son James & family who are on holiday in their Florida house. At 1 o’clock it started to rain like crazy, stair rods, then the wind started. This lasted over two hours but we were glad to get inside with aircon. Both Roger and I fell sound asleep with the French doors open and were abruptly woken but the Gilveys jumping in on us! We shower and get ready for the party that Gary has arranged with the resort staff. He has invited his entire Thai family. We invited a German guy called Volta ( Walter) who has been running along the beach each morning training for the Berlin marathon. We have been cheering him on daily, he is an electrical engineer by profession and very interesting to talk to. We had a wonderful night of fun and chatter & the Thais manage to finish their food and take home all that we can’t manage. All left well fed and merry.
Boxing Day 29c.
I catch up on my blog whilst Roger continues his read his kindle. Mike & Celia go off for their massage along the beach. Gary Jooles and Logan hire canoes for a couple of hours. Aspen grabs grandad and they go next door to Ping’s bar as Aspen fancies some fried rice. Roger says they had a lovely chat about her uni course and she mentions she so far prefers working in Cardiology. We all go to the Flipflop bar for cocktails and silly hour. I have the Burmese meatballs and warm cashew nuts, with a fabulous cocktail containing ginger, chilli, lemongrass vodka and Cointreau. In the evening Gary drives us all in the truck to an Italian restaurant in Thong Nai Pan where we all enjoyed their homemade pasta washed down with Pinot Grigio and Barolo. Home and bed by 10.30pm. Both Joolia and I have our backs bitten badly by sandfly’s. Extremely itchy we try applying everything possible from the pharmacy which Joolia can recognise. I end up smothering myself in Thai talc which is particularly cooling – it also helps arthritis in my ankle.
Silly hour at flipflop bar.
Monday 27th December. 29c Hot & Humid.
Today the Hamlins join Roger and I on a day trip to Koh Samui to see Robin. I have arranged the trip on a Catamaran from Thom Sala. Gary’s friends sister Ann drives us in her taxi from our reception the 30 minutes drive to the port of Thom Sala where we check in for the Catamaran. The journey over extremely hilly roads where we spot elephants working in a timber yard and we are soon in the extremely busy port of Koh Samui. The port is full of young backpackers heading for Hadrins Full Moon type party on New Year’s Eve. Another relative of Dong’s picks us up at the port for our short ride to Boput. Robin serves us a very welcome coffee each and we meet up with friends from Norwich staying at Robins resort for a few days. Lorraine & Geoff Clinch form the Dog at Ludham in Norfolk. It’s great to catch up with Robin and the state of affairs in his town but with little time to explore Boput we walk along the village, window shopping and stop at the Happy Elephant for a cool beer and delicious salad. We meandered back to Robin’s place in time for our taxi to take us back to the Catamaran. We are surprised to see a smaller boat with three Volvo Penta outboard motors for our return trip but it is faster and we are back on Ko Phangan by 5pm. Ann is waiting for us and drives us back. We ask her to drop us at Thong Nai pan beach and we walk to the shore and settle at tables on the beach to watch the sunset over a couple of bottles of rosé and a light supper. We totally forget we have left our rooms keys with reception and Gun calls us to ask how long we will be as they normally leave off early in the evening. We apologise and tell her to leave them with Gary and we hurry back. Walking back through the town we catch a taxi at our now regular taxi rank which is also a massage parlour, creche, tattoo parlours, bar and restaurant, the drivers all seem to have small children who drive on their laps…. no seatbelts….!!! The Gilveys spent the day at the other side of the island, visit a zoo and then they watch the sunset at the Amsterdam Bar in Thongsala.
Tuesday 28th December. 29c feels like 30c +. Breezy.
After breakfast we all take massages on our deck arranged by Gary. My massage is wonderful but Ju finds my bad ankle and works hard on it. She says in broken English I am blocked and I must breath and relax. Hard when you are in pain. The rest of the massage is great until she tries to pull my arms behind my back and one won’t go. I have bursitis in my right shoulder which I am managing but she finds it!!! She works on my outer arm then proceed to put pressure under my armpit and the pain is unbearable. She ask me to try and stand the pain as she insists she can unblock me and cure it! We will see!, I have booked her again for tomorrow. Gary & Aspen play boomerang on the beach, everyone else is reading. Gary finds a stingray, sadly it’s dead but he quickly puts it back in the sea just in case.
Earlier in the week Gary saw a disturbing sight! A person having a PCR test, the doctor in full hazard gear!!!We are waiting on the outcome.
Roger and Gary go for a quick beer along at Flipflop bar where Roger sees a fish floating ashore. A rather unusual sight he is able to pick it up and takes it to Flipflop where the chef is pleased to take it for the nights menu! At 1 o’clock Gary drive us girls to Thongsala market to find a few shops. These are not shops as we know it back home but little stalls along the roads randomly popping up, so Joolia has to keep a beady eye out for Gary to abruptly stop for us. It starts to rain so we shelter in a food market and try some local cuisine. Joolia did manage to buy a rather lovely beach dress and Logan saw a bracelet that she liked. Although there were several staff in this tiny shop, the owner of the jewellery was not around so they could not find a price and need to go back later. Strange that nothing in the shop was priced! Do they want to sell or not. On the way to Thongsala we stop to take photos of the biggest tree in Thailand. (Allegedly) This evening we go up to the lookout bar to the right of our bay. It’s reached at the dead end of the village, Gary drives us in the truck up the unmade up road to the car park. This place hasn’t changed since we were here three years ago but they obviously have plans to open another deck as a restaurant. Sadly it’s not a clear sunset but we enjoy the view as darkness descends. I am not at all comfortable with heights and am glad to climb down to the first level. We have a variety of drinks, just one each, Roger & Mike pay the bill and we head back down to Thong Nai again for supper. Tonight we dine at the French restaurant which looks the poshest in the area. However this was reflected in the price. Joolia did not want to drink too much so just had one negroni. We settled on a rather lovely light rosé whilst Gary choose to stick with Sauvignon. Sadly this wasn’t very nice so we ordered a second bottle of pink so him Aspen & Logan could enjoy a glass. Having had a snack earlier in Thong Sala market we were not hungry. I opted for two tiny starters, Celia, Joolia, Aspen & Logan had a light meal of prawn carpaccio whilst Roger had the Duck special and Mike & Gary had burgers. Roger, Mike & Celia had deserts, Roger & Celia shared a flambè dessert. Gary was driving so had to watch his booze intake. Mike choose an delicious expensive bottle of desert wine @1400 Baht (£31). The meal and service was superb so was the bill!
We are all dressed up ready to party. Gary drives all eight of us in the truck , Joolia & the girls brave the back of the truck, to a cocktail bar called Soho in Thong Nai Pan Beach where spend a lively hour or so on Mai Tai’s & Margaritas, Joolia films us all prancing about to Aspens playlist. We all sign our names on the bar, famous for its painted messages. Leaving Thong Nai Pan beach we drive back to our beach. Mike and Roger hop in the back of the truck with Aspen & Logan for the short drive back to Longtail Beach resort for the party. Our table is at the front and directly on the waters edge so a cool breeze keeps the mozzies at bay. Swiftly our cocktails arrive along with our bbq ready plated supper of large tiger prawns, kingfish, chicken , jacket potato and salad. There is far too much and on top of cocktails we can’t do it justice. The strangest feeling sitting in beach clothes at 28c the sound of waves splashing and listening to Christmas music, it’s surreal. The evening continues with a fire dancing display, particularly spectacular as they do it on the waters edge so the fire is reflected on the water and as it is very dark you hardly see the performers. One of the waiters bravely stands between the swirling fires , everyone gasps at the sight. Then Aspen decides to have a go & for a moment I thought she might try and take over!!! The staff at both resorts this evening have been brilliant fun and entertaining. All dressed in Santa hats. A memorable evening.
Breakfast at 8am today, we were first, followed by Mike & Cece ,the Gilveys joined just as we left. Just got back to our bungalow when it started to pour with rain. I used the poor weather to do work emails and pay the Ribs staff. Roger and Mike go off to reception to pay for our accommodation for the two weeks. Embarrassing as neither of our credit cards will work. I get a text from one card company asking if this is us so all is well and Roger goes back to settle the bill. Gary hires a canoe and disappears around the bay. After that he returns and goes off snorkelling. We watch him in the bay and slightly alarmed when a speedboat appears at speed. Fortunately Gary has seen it and is clear. Joolia sleeps for two more hours, waking she complains she doesn’t understand why she is so sleepy. Celia and Mike find a massage lady along the beach and disappears for a couple of hours and return singing her praises, it was 500 thai Baht ( £11) worth every Penny. Roger & I walk around the village and end up in a beach bar next to us called Penns having a beer and salad. An early G & T on the deck with Celia, I decided I can’t be bothered to dress so Roger walks to the Flip Flop bar and gets a pizza for us to share, has a quick beer with M & S who are having burgers. We zonk very early.
Thursday 23rd December. 2021. 29cSun.
We called him Clive.View from our deck.
It’s our bother Murray’s birthday so I text him and put a message on Facebook. Breakfast at 8am. Mike pops along for another massage and books me in for one at lunchtime. Gary leaves for a days deep sea diving. The Gilvey girls sunbathe, Aspen already the colour of her father, deep bronze. Meanwhile I contact Gary’s friend Dong who arranges a trip for us to Ko Samui later in the week to visit Robin in Bo Phut. I finish processing the wages which wouldn’t go through the day before and settle down to continue this blog. A wonderful swim today, the sea is very calm. I take my massage by what feels like a sumo wrestler who batters me black and blue, does she not realise my tender age!!!Afterwards the sweet little thing gives me a lemongrass tea and biscuits, by way of apologies I guess? Joolia & the girls try and get Roger drunk on Rum & cokes in the middle of the day….More swimming and sunbathing. A little G & T at sunset for sister and me. Gary returns around 4.30 having had an epic day. Did a depth of around 25 meters – spotted rare lion fish and barracuda. We look forward to the photos. Shower and change and the four of us Mike, Celia, me & Roger get a taxi to Thong Nai Pan Noi and dine on the beach in a very nice restaurant, the sea lapping near our feet. We enjoyed three very nice bottles of unoaked Chardonnay @ £30 per bottle (wine is quite expensive here as most imported) accompanied by four large lobsters with the total bill coming to 9000 Baht (£200) at this rate we will run out of money !!! Well we did share a pizza last night 200 Baht (£4.50). Gilveys dine with P-Kom and her family in their road side restaurant. Meanwhile I’m anxiously waiting to see if James, Leslie’s & Alexander’s plane has landed safely in West Palm Beach for their Christmas break.
Friday 24th December 2021. 29c Sun.
We all wake excited as this is Christmas Eve. We are to party in a restaurant on the beach tonight. I packed plenty of Christmas hats and my Christmas earrings. It’s really hot today and I need to take shade for breakfast, not like me. Mike has a massage & Cece and I have a reflexology massage. This is not what I expected! Having only ever had Sharon Grady’s delicate hands on my feet I am horrified at the positions Thai girl gets my feet and ankles into and the pressure she puts on toes, soles and balls of my feet. She proceeds to massage my legs quite forcefully and then starts to bend my knees up and out in a position only normally achieved for Roger! However she finished with a shoulder and head massage and all for 375 Bhat plus a tip. I floated out of the parlour and on to the beach where Celia and Mike were waiting with a welcome cold beer! I shall probably return, sucker that I am for punishment! Walking back to the bungalow it is clear the beach is much cleaner and livening up. Workmen are repairing the fronts of the bars and restaurants, we dont venture behind the scenes as we did this earlier in the week and were surprised at how these people live in quite primitive conditions. Tonight we have a double celebration as we just heard granddaughter Aspen passed her latest nursing exams at uni.
Liquid Tales 