10/03/10
Third day at the beach. I finished that 800 page book yesterday. I am glad to have it behind me. It was beach material, no more. I am sitting on the porch of my bungalow, the water perhaps 4 metres in front of me. I can wade into the water in seconds when it is high tide. When the tide is low, I have a great expanse of sand in front of me. The water is different shades of turquoise and warm as bathwater. The sun is strong. I am careful to lather my body with sunscreen and avoid the peak heat. Today I have experimented and gone bathing at high noon. We will see later if I am burnt. I do feel a tingle on my face.
The bungalow is very basic. It is made of wood with a thatch roof and is up on stilts. A mattress on a raised platform, a couple of rudimentary shelves, a mosquito net, 3 wooden windows, a door, a small balcony with a hammock.There is no fan. and as long as the wind is blowing off the ocean, I am comfortable. When the wind dies, I sweat. There are many little bungalows along the path. They are placed such that there is a sense of privacy. There are many trees and flowers and shrubbery. I have seen hibiscus plants towering over me. Thus, my balcony and hut are always in shade. A big plus here. There is a bigger bungalow 2 bungalows down. No one is using it so I go during the day to use its hammmock. It has a better view than mine. Plus there is a bigger balcony space to do yoga in the morning. At 350 baht(around $11) I am in the most expensive bungalow here. There are others at 200, 250 and 300 which are further from the beach. But not by much. We all share the numerous toilets and showers. They are in concrete huts. Someone has been creative and mixed rocks and shells into the concrete. The shower is a bucket shower. A room with a concrete bath filled with brackish water, a plastic basin for rinsing. A dead tree trunk in the centre, the branches are hooks for clothing and towel. The toilet also has a concrete bath filled with water and a plastic basic to flush the waste.
The electricity comes on at 6 pm till 1 or 2 am. A long life bulb in the bungalow and one on the porch. A few strategic lamps light the path to the restaurant. The food is fair. Many different types of salad, rice dishes and curries. Tofu and yoghourt available. I drank the last soya milk yesterday. Water is 10 baht a litre and we can refill the bottle for 5.
So the days pass. I get up, meditate, do yoga, then go for breakfast. Sometimes I swim before breakfast. Today I was hungry. Breakfast is a fruit plate, raisins and yoghourt. Then I went to swim. It is now the heat of the day. I stay out of the sun. I sit and look out at the water. A Danish man just passed by. He stopped to talk. He came for the afternoon on his motorcycle. We chat about this and that. Now he is gone. Soon I will go and try another salad. A German woman has made up the menu. It is definitely not Thai. There was banana in my salad yesterday with the curried rice, tofu and vegetables. Actually tasty. And the shake yesterday of carrot, apple, cucumber and honey was fine. Do I dare try the ginger lemon watermelon shake?
I will be here for 4 more days and then it is time to go home. It is Thai New Year and the red shirts are protesting in Bangkok. I will avoid the city and stay at the airport.
Third day at the beach. I finished that 800 page book yesterday. I am glad to have it behind me. It was beach material, no more. I am sitting on the porch of my bungalow, the water perhaps 4 metres in front of me. I can wade into the water in seconds when it is high tide. When the tide is low, I have a great expanse of sand in front of me. The water is different shades of turquoise and warm as bathwater. The sun is strong. I am careful to lather my body with sunscreen and avoid the peak heat. Today I have experimented and gone bathing at high noon. We will see later if I am burnt. I do feel a tingle on my face.
The bungalow is very basic. It is made of wood with a thatch roof and is up on stilts. A mattress on a raised platform, a couple of rudimentary shelves, a mosquito net, 3 wooden windows, a door, a small balcony with a hammock.There is no fan. and as long as the wind is blowing off the ocean, I am comfortable. When the wind dies, I sweat. There are many little bungalows along the path. They are placed such that there is a sense of privacy. There are many trees and flowers and shrubbery. I have seen hibiscus plants towering over me. Thus, my balcony and hut are always in shade. A big plus here. There is a bigger bungalow 2 bungalows down. No one is using it so I go during the day to use its hammmock. It has a better view than mine. Plus there is a bigger balcony space to do yoga in the morning. At 350 baht(around $11) I am in the most expensive bungalow here. There are others at 200, 250 and 300 which are further from the beach. But not by much. We all share the numerous toilets and showers. They are in concrete huts. Someone has been creative and mixed rocks and shells into the concrete. The shower is a bucket shower. A room with a concrete bath filled with brackish water, a plastic basin for rinsing. A dead tree trunk in the centre, the branches are hooks for clothing and towel. The toilet also has a concrete bath filled with water and a plastic basic to flush the waste.
The electricity comes on at 6 pm till 1 or 2 am. A long life bulb in the bungalow and one on the porch. A few strategic lamps light the path to the restaurant. The food is fair. Many different types of salad, rice dishes and curries. Tofu and yoghourt available. I drank the last soya milk yesterday. Water is 10 baht a litre and we can refill the bottle for 5.
So the days pass. I get up, meditate, do yoga, then go for breakfast. Sometimes I swim before breakfast. Today I was hungry. Breakfast is a fruit plate, raisins and yoghourt. Then I went to swim. It is now the heat of the day. I stay out of the sun. I sit and look out at the water. A Danish man just passed by. He stopped to talk. He came for the afternoon on his motorcycle. We chat about this and that. Now he is gone. Soon I will go and try another salad. A German woman has made up the menu. It is definitely not Thai. There was banana in my salad yesterday with the curried rice, tofu and vegetables. Actually tasty. And the shake yesterday of carrot, apple, cucumber and honey was fine. Do I dare try the ginger lemon watermelon shake?
I will be here for 4 more days and then it is time to go home. It is Thai New Year and the red shirts are protesting in Bangkok. I will avoid the city and stay at the airport.
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