From the Gulf of Thailand

---

Here is the weekend again and another week has passed!
After we said goodbye to Caroline first then Simon then Alana (all went back to London to work we spent another day with Maura - Alanas Mum. The day before Alana left, they took us to see an amazing friend of theirs. Richard
Maura thought Rob would be interested in this friend of hers as hei s a keen woodworker. and Rob certainly was!!
Richard is 93 and lived most of his life in England. He now lives on Phuket in a beautifully purpose built annex to his son's house.
His son and daughter in law have 3 children and live in a magnificent house overlooking the water surrounded by gardens full of beautiful trees and lush vegetation.
Richard creates masses of things out of wood, mainly furniture ,which has a very distinctive folky style.
His house is furnished with it and he has also made lots of pieces for his son's house.I am hoping to upload some photos.
After this visit Maura and Alana took us to their house in Kamala, Phuket and we had the most delicious Thai food.
Rob and I fell completely in love with Maura's. It is a work of art in itself!
Maura has had the house rebuilt almost from scratch and has created a most beautiful Thai house with lots of interesting Thai and Chinese works of art and pieces of furniture which have been very carefully chosen to reflect her interest in Thai art.
The house has a courtyard within it, which has a beautiful rectangular pool which is both decorative and functional, tiled with irridescent turquoise blue mosaic tiles.
The next day Rob and I were leaving for Kaoh Lak, further up the coast and Maura took us there a huge drive, and it was good to spend some time together and catch up. Rob and I stayed in Tonylodge in Kaoh Lak for a couple of days before getting the bus (5hours to Chumphon, a very Thai town with links to the islands in the Gulf.
Koah Lak is on the Andaman Sea and also was severely hit by the Tsunami - It is being rebuilt but still has a long way to go. The beaches and coast line are beautiful but there were chilling reminders of the wave - not least the police boat, which was patrolling the coastline because some of the Royal Family were staying there. It is a huge iron boat which was brought inland for 500 metres and remains where it came to rest on 26th Dec 2004.
As well as being a symbol of the power of the wave it is also used as a gathering point fo memorial services.
After leaving Kaoh ,I felt I had been on a pilgrimage, having visited so many places that the Tsunami had affected. Maura's words rang true for me - if it happened once it could happen again - I hope it never does and it will not put me off going back to the places I feel such a pull to.
There is now a Tsunami warning system in place in all these places and clear signposts to evacuation routes and high ground

The hut was VERY basic and I dont like a cold shower even if the weather is hot, so today we have come back to Asia dive resort for 2 more nights of relative luxury -and a fan in a beautiful wooden Thai house!!
Next stop Koh Phagnan for about 4 nights then Koh Samui!
These islands are beautiful and just what I needed to relax and think about all the things I can do with my new life!!

---