HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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First entry of 2006! Hope you all had a great time celebrating the birth of another year. For us - THE HONEYMOON WITH TEQUILA IS OVER!!! We were cruelly reminded last night that we ain't as young as we used to be, and even then we couldn't really handle the booze. Steve even uttered the touchingly teenage mantra 'I HATE alcohol' (he was curled up on the floor of our bungalow at the time) and I tried not to laugh as it made the room spin faster.

It all started to get a bit whacky when Steve ordered a 'Surfer on Acid' shooter. When it arrived, said beverage was an alarming shade of lime green. Who on earth invented midouri and who then felt it was a good idea to mix it to tequila?! But then who is strange enough to order such an affront? Yup. Steve.

Before the messy end, we found a little bar (could hold about 10 of us comfortably) which was a pleasant contrast to all the sprawling drinking dens with the endless drone of dance musak pumped out at full volume that dominated most of the malacon. The owner was a smiley lady who had lost her previous bar the year before in the Tsunami. We were made very welcome. There was a cross section from across the globe gathered in that little space. I chatted with some american guys who had spent the last 5 weeks volunteering on construction projects, building schools, playgrounds etc. We also met some English gals (Sue and Sally) who were extolling the virtues of our newfound haven. Sue was enjoying a 'pink lady' - a very blue drink. She explained that the traditional ingredients weren't available here and she would rather change her drink than change her bar. Sounded like wise logic. Sue became very excited when she discovered Steve was a Walthamstow boy and they extolled the virtues of the 'stow' for a while (yup E17 got a mention).

Just before midnight arrived Mama Deng brought round a tray of shots for everyone so we could toast 2006 together. We all hurried out onto the path outside to watch the fireworks.
It was a fun night.

Much love to you, dear friends and family. We think of you often! May you all be healthy, wealthy and wise through 2006 and beyond. We leave with you with a photo bonanza! We love it here! Alas, we move on in the next day or so . . . to Phuket. Hurray!

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Photos

Fireworks New Year's Eve, Phi Phi
Happy 2006!

Fireworks New Year's Eve 2, Phi Phi
Happy 2006!

Snorkelling, Phi Phi
Would you look at the colour of that water! And the fish were very curious and as keen to gawp at us as we were at them.

Monkey Island, Phi Phi
Yup, there were monkeys.

Maya Bay, Phi Phi
We think this is the beach used for the film 'The Beach'. It is hard to say as our boatsman couldn't speak any english and our Thai is pretty much absent.

Snorkelling 2, Phi Phi
I am sooooooo white in this shot. Really it was just a trick of the light. In reality I am nut brown. Lightly toasted cashew that is. I had just got in and as you can see the fish have already come for a good look.

Bamboo island 3, Phi Phi
This beach was so beautiful. It looks really bleached but these colours are faithful to what you see when you are there. I think this may be what heaven looks like.

Bamboo island 4, Phi Phi
The shadow in the water is a shoal of fish. No mask or snorkel necessary here. As soon as you waded into the water they were darting around your ankles.

too drunk to categorise, Phi Phi
Steve is not actually foaming at the mouth. He is determinedly trying to brush his teeth at the end of a long night. It was messy.

Comments

[helen lord]

no they're not!!!

[helen lord]

whoops I meant "no they're not" referring to the cultured and sober bit not the new neighbours...

[Rasquat]

watching you
I know what you meant Lord and I'm watching you.

[helen lord]

rasquat
who are you rasquat?