Thailand Revisited

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Wednesday 2nd February
Pran Buri, Thailand Slept very well after our journey, fully waking at 8.30am local time, which was good timing. Paula gave Leo a bit of a scare after they realised Paula's nocturnal trip to the bathroom nearly ended in disaster as she tried to walk through the patio door instead of the bathroom. There is a 30foot drop and only a low iron balcony, about knee height. Fortunately some internal warning system must have kicked in, sending her padding across the room to the right place! Breakfast on our terrace, bananas, Oreo cookies and tea, best start to the day- lots of energy for our planned bicycle trip to Khao Kalok beach for some sun sea and exploration. This name in Thai translates to Skull Mountain and contains an interesting cave with a Hole through it where the sun's rays shine through. There are rocky paths leading upwards from the beach which we will explore another day. We restricted ourselves to deckchairs and lounged happily facing the sea, the warm breezes welcome. The sun is very strong and the temperatures averaging 32deg c, so breeze most welcome, we also took our first dip in the warm clear Gulf of Thailand, managing to avoid the many colourful Kite Surfers who were enjoying the breeze, there is a sign on the beech warning of Jelly Fish but on this occasion we didn't see any. Leaving reluctantly, Leo is changing colour rapidly, we start our return trip of 4miles, but with the breeze now a head wind, we are finding it a bit harder going. When we are about half-way home, Leo spots a beach front restaurant and we decide we've earned refreshments. We share a portion of fried rice with crab, with chilli on the side (thankfully) and swill it all down with a Leo and Singha beer, no prizes for guessing who drinks what. Having organised car hire from Saturday onwards, we intend to use for bikes as much as possible until then. It's not that we don't enjoy the cycling, there is just so much to see and do in this lush rural area of Thailand that it's a must.

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