a postcard from a little russian beach with love!

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Today Nico and I visited a beautiful little island just 7 km from Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand. In the morning we did some quick research to find out a little about how we could get there, price, and some good advice on how to avoid being shafted. We read the beach was beautiful (lie) quiet (lie) and you could get there for just 30 baht (yet another lie). But ill get to all that later. We caught the boat which as it turns out was 150 baht (per person) at the cheapest. The journey was lovely ,perfect scenery the gentle rocking of the boat soothed Nico and i into a lull of comfort which led us to a beautiful state of mind in which we didn't bother to notice that there was one language being spoken on that boat and only one (minus the occasional outburst of the captain screaming at his first mate in Thai) and that language boys and girls is Russian. Now i have absolutely no qualms (or should i say 'had') with Russians but i prefer a bit of diversity in my travels- too much of one thing is never good.

Now this beautiful boat-ride ended as we landed on what must have been one of the dirtiest beaches i've ever seen (minus Malaga beach in Spain). I mean there weren't exactly tampons bobbing in the water but one the boat ride in Nico and i saw a plastic chair,millions of polythene bags and even more bits of polystyrene (my father will be sad to hear). so really the beach was no great shock but its always a little disheartening when you see it up close and not from a cosmetically improved distance.

However, despite the above.. we actually ended up having a fantastic time on the beach!The water was an azure blue, the sand was nearly white.We got some food, had some drinks (Muay Thai in a pineapple and a Piña colada in a coconut - fancy cocktails always spell holiday for us because that's the only time we can actually afford them! The sun was out in full force and we have definitely gone a few Pantone shades darker.

After a sun filled day of pure relaxation we decided to get the boat back and we realised the extent of the problem at hand. Out of the whole group of people boarding the boat which was almost all Russian.Except a small Israeli family group in which all..and i mean ALL the women looked like they had been shot in the face with a makeup gun. The one thing the young Russians didn't have - despite their disposable income and apparent education ...Manners. The words "rude as fu*k" come blindingly to mind. Literally....blinded with inner (but outwardly polite) rage.

The boat ride back was a bit of a nightmare evidently as powerboat they used to shuttle us on tho the main ship had to make 3 trips (the 1st time was just 2) and each time the people around us were pushing like they were in line for free gold.

despite that fact Nico and i had a nice time on the bottom deck (only place with room) running our hands through the water as we sped along to shore. upon landing we were met with the weirdest sight ! they had taken pictures of us as we had got on the boat earlier and made them into CLOCKS!!! i wanted to take a picture but Nico was a bit embarrassed i think, so sadly no photo evidence but I'm sure you can imagine how strange it is to come back from the beach to find your face for sale as a clock!

On the way back from the port we we walked the (nice) other end of the "walking street" and discovered some baby sharks in a fish tank at the entrance to a restaurant. and so ends this entry...with an empty stomach and a tired head Nico and i head back out into the dusty Thai night to find sustenance so we can sleep into a new sunrise.

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