A calm day for calm seas.

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After a very relaxing sleep (in which we werent swept out to sea) we met up with Ricky and his two new friends Samantha and Scarlet for breakfast and some time on the beach (somthing we were all slightly hesitant to do). We had discussed getting a longtail boat to take us to various snorkel sites around the island but after the previous day, we all decided it was just a little too soon and settled on sitting in the water and drinking a few beers. Niki busted out a hoop session for us, drawing a round of applause from all in view on the beach.
After a litte more sunshine we walked up into the streets and hit one of the better restaurants on the island called Cosmic for some pizzas and a few more drinks. Afterward we decided to head home and shower up then meet later on for some cheap cocktails at a place on the other beach.
A few Mai Tais later the sun was setting and we all called it a night with promises to meet up again the following day.

The next day followed much of the same pattern, sunshine, cheap drinks and a comfortable day drunk. By now however the island (and much of the country) was starting to wind up for Songkran (Thai New Years). Songkran is primarily known as probably the biggest water fight in the world as the entire country uses water to symbolically wash away the old year and welcome in the new.
Shops all over the island were now stocked up with water guns of varying sizes and shapes and we walked around until we found a good deal on some huge super-soaker style guns and prepared for the night ahead.
After a quick bite to eat we filled up our guns and headed down to the beach to see the fire shows.
Every night at around 9, down the far end of the beach, about 6 or 7 beach bars all put on a fire show where various talented locals spin burning poi (chains with an ignited weight on the end) and doubed ended staves to blaring tunes (check my facebook albums for some shots of this). It makes for a pretty amazing show as some of these guys can do some pretty incredible things without setting themselves ablaze. After several drinks and a burning imbo show (which Niki participated in) we decided to head up off the beach into the streets.
As we neared the lanes that meet the beach we realized that New Years Eve was in full swing, everyone was bunkered down at the corners or running around the streets hosing one another. No one was safe and everyone was soaked. We made our way up to a corner where a local shop keeper was taking cover behind a half wall with a garden hose and we set up to cover her - primarily because it was a good spot but also because it gave us an unending supply of water to work with.
We held the corner for about a half hour until the shopkeep decided she'd had enough and closed up shop. As it was fairly late and Niki and I were heading over to the island of Phuket early the next day to meet up with her friend Amber for the real festivities, we called it a night.

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