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Published: January 2nd 2024
Broccoli Revolution
I'm afraid we'd eaten all the food by the time I thought to take a photo of SusanSince I last travelled to SE Asia my world has changed a bit. Covid came along , fast on my heels as I got back to the UK in March 2020. My little gallery, blue-ginger, changed shape, went on line and slimmed down and I had time to take stock of life. Time to close up shop and move house. Thirty five years and happy memories at Home End Farm were hard to leave behind, but the move to a little house in Hay-on-Wye heralded a recognition that sometimes life just changes direction.
So my first real travel opportunity came up, and feeling a bit nervous of the whole process I was delighted to be catapulted into booking a return flight to Bangkok when Lisa (Australia) suggested meeting up with Susan (Kazaksthan) and spending Christmas on a Thai Island. When I booked the flights it seemed a lifetime away, but time moved on, as it does of course, and here I am in a beach house on Koh Mak Island, gentle sound of waves on the beach just outside and I'm finding my way around this travel blog website to see if I can still do it. I love looking
Just a little glass of bubbly
Terrace lunch at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok back on my previous stories which I started recording in 2008 when I met Lisa in Lima on New Year's Eve and we had an adventure around Peru together. Those were the days when we would spend a whole afternoon in an Internet cafe, writing about where we'd been and then the painstaking task of moving photos from a digital camera onto a stick and then downloading and carefully selecting where they would go in the blog text. Sadly that original website, Travelpod, closed a few years ago but gave a chance to download the blogs before they disappeared into the world wide ether. So they sit on my computer, but are only available to me.
Little dog, Sascha was safely transferred to London along with my car. She's staying with Charlie, who she already knows, and has taken to city life and grasped all the changes involved with four paws. So I know she'll be happy.
Pauline and Pete dropped me off at Hereford Station for the journey to Heathrow. I had loads of time, but it shrank as there were delays after delays. The night before there had been a wild windy storm and
Oriental Hotel
Susan standing outside the old wing of the Oriental trains were stuck due to trees on the line. But eventually I got to Heathrow and the flight was delayed by an hour. After four years of not flying I was initially horrified by the sight of my very small economy seat and the two large men sitting on either side of it, their ample bodies spilling over the arm rests.
Anyway, it was a night flight and I had a super new head support so it wasn't too bad, and despite being delayed by an hour our EVA air direct flight made up some time and we landed in Bangkok only about 20 minutes late. Immigration was heaving with people as some big flights had landed so it took a while to get through, but the actual process of immigration and customs was far faster and slicker than it used to be.
I took a taxi to the guest house in Ekamai district, Sukhumvit, but it was late Friday afternoon and the infamous Bangkok traffic was gridlocked. When we hadn't moved an inch for about 20 minutes I paid the driver and took to my feet as I recognised where I was. Susan had already
Oh Christmas Tree!
In the Mandarin Oriental arrived from Kazakhstan ( a balmy minus 12 degrees) and we went for dinner at Counting Sheep Corner , soi 61. Proper food and veggies after bland airline food and my favourite - a Matcha latte. Still lovely friendly atmosphere there but I didn't recognise anyone.
Lisa would be arriving the following evening, so Susan and I got up next morning and walked to Broccoli Revolution for a healthy and delicious breakfast ( no broccoli involved) before walking to the bus station and buying three tickets for an air-conditioned bus to Trat the next morning. Easier than we thought, so we took the Skytrain towards the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, walked the final bit and enjoyed a delicious lunch on the terrace overlooking the river. And a glass of bubbly. The hotel has wooden barges which take guests and customers from the pier at the hotel, downriver to a pier near the Skytrain station so we took advantage of that, and had the stately carved wooden boat to ourselves.
And in the evening, while waiting for Lisa's flight from Melbourne, we took a short walk to the Marriott Hotel and were catapulted up to the 45th rooftop
River Barge
Rather swish transport from Oriental to the train station bar where there was a breeze and a fabulous view across the night-scape of Bangkok.And cocktails ..... well it's nearly Christmas.
Lisa arrived later that evening and we all made the attempt at jet lagged sleep. Christmas Eve morning and off we went for another delicious and healthy breakfast at Broccoli Revolution and then found our bus at the bus station. Seats were basic but spacious (especially when compared to airline seats) The journey to Trat did take 6 hours, with a loo stop halfway. At Trat bus station we were picked up by a songtaew ( open back van with seats down either side) and taken the short distance to our accommodation. A pleasant room down by the river. We walked into town and had a shared meal in a restaurant. That night the wind rose , the coconut trees alongside the river swayed and our sliding glass doors rattled loosely in their metal runners.
All was calm in the morning and we took another songtaew down to the port and waited for the speed boat which whisked us , gently bouncing on the waves, to our holiday island : Koh Mak.
Off the boat and
Rooftop Cocktails
Susan enjoying the high life we were deposited at our room, just a few feet from the clear warm waters of the bay. We went for the first fresh coconut juice of the holiday. So lovely to scrape the succulent white coconut from the inside and to drink that coconut water. It must be healthy too! We had a little walk along the beach , saw that beautiful little bit of sandy artwork by the little scuttling crabs. It looked so much like a flying bird with wings outstretched, and I like to think the crabs had created a sign of hope for the year to come.
As the sun set we really got into holiday mood with cocktails by the beach. The sun dipped behind the outcrop at the edge of the bay in a blaze of ruby red and gold. And we sent Christmas messages of cheer the friends and family , trying not to sound too smug and annoying!
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