Phi Phi...Relax (Pt. 2)

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Ko Phi Phi, January 28

Floating with Palisades Park

After a minute or two of "omigawd you're here! we're here! we're all here together!!", Angela, Paulie, Kim & I settle back into our Chiang Mai groove ('cept this time we've got an ocean view). Floating along in the "glassy green" (saltwater buoyancy is fantastic for floating on your back), we do a little catching up and a lot of staring at the horizon.

Turns out, Paulie must be addressed by his new official title, "Mayor of Phak Nam Bay" (the bay in which we're floating), since he's been fairly elected after a short campaign of hand-shaking with everyone that sets foot on his beach ("hi howyoudoin'? I'm Paulie from Jersey"). Not being afraid to kiss babies is also a time tested ritual for winning the hears and minds of your constituency. So..."mayor" it is.

Cicada hear it to believe it

After an hour or so of turning ourselves into salt-prunes, Kim & I realize that after two weeks in Thailand, this is the first time we've been in the water. Oops...sorry, no...there was a bit of swimming in Ko Chang, but that didn't really count. This is exactly the kind of water that we're looking for. No chlorine and you can count the tourists on your fingers and toes (including ourselves).

Come sundown, we decide to head up to the mayor's residence which sits high atop the rest of the bungalows. It's a bit of a hike, but the view is stunning. I imagine the mayor stepping onto the balcony to the cheers of his loyal subjects. Actually, it's the cicadas that I'm hearing.

As we're watching the daylight disappear (sunsets are on the other side of the island), while sampling a bit of the "local flavour" (rum that is, yeah that's it...Thai rum), a low whirring noise quickly builds into a roar that sounds like a million New Year's noise clackers spinning out of control. It's dusk, we're sitting up high in a bungalow on stilts (about half way up a palm tree), a wee bit inebriated and this soundtrack is like something straight out of "Apocalypse Now". Awesome.

Decisions, decisions...

Pad thai or spicy basil chicken? We end up eating from each others plates anyway...

Sit right down and I'll tell you a tale

Our tent is actually pretty nice. It's quite new and more clean than most of the guesthouses we've experienced so far. It's just a mattress, pillow and sheets (a sleeping bag is unthinkable in this heat), and the most important feature, the screens, are fully intact so we can leave the windows open for air while keeping the "mozzies" out.

It's a pretty blissful feeling to be lying on the beach literally a stone's throw from the crashing waves. Life is good.

Good friends. Good food. Good weather. It's all...

For a brief moment as I was dozing off for the night, I did think to myself, "so this is where the tsunami ripped through, eh?"

The thought only lasted for a few seconds because I....zzzzzzzzzz.......

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