Chilled and Alive

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Thursday 9th Feb
Woke lazily, birdsong, sunshine streaming into our bedroom. 8.30am, not too early, not too late. The great thing about deciding to have one base for our month away, is that there are no bus/train/flight itineraries to adhere to. We have one house/one car/two bicycles and one month to enjoy. This is totally a different kind of trip. So far, we are both enjoying ourselves very much. The weather is perfect. No rain, clear blue skies, hot days and slightly cooler, sleep easy nights. So, a bit of laundry done, usual pints of tea consumed, morning ablutions done, we decide to visit the Royal Town of Hua Hin, 30kms away to the North, using sleepy, scenic roads. Leo drives. A nasty accident ahead very soon slows us down, but it makes us appreciate how fragile and fleeting our mortality is, and determine to enjoy our time here on Earth, as we see ambulances fly past, eventually passing the mangled remains of two vehicles, and conclude some People won't be . It is a sobering thought. We arrive Hua Hin, parking at a main Mall, which includes a street market and giant Tesco Lotus. We noted this on our drive from Bangkok airport last week, and knew we would be going back some time. Also, we knew we would be curious about Hua Hin itself, as a major resort favoured by the Thai Royals and International Tourists alike. Driving from Pak Nam Pran to Hua Hin is like leaving Argaka and going to Larnaka (Cyprus). Or leaving the Lake District and going to Blackpool (UK), you get the picture. We take a stroll along the long stretch of beach, passing hundreds and hundreds of beached sun-burnt whales, oops, sorry, holidaymakers, all achieving various degrees of tanning/burning under an Eastern Sun. We do not feel drawn to stopping or swimming, it is a shallow and overused coastline and would be a very poor relation to yesterday's bathing experience. So much so, that we don't even take pictures,so we head back to the main road, retrace our steps to the Mall, treating ourselves to £6 worth of Burger King's best Mushroom Double Swiss meals, decent coffee and fries on the side - well we do have Western tendencies now and again, no apologies given. Purchased some interesting Asian foodstuffs for al fresco dining tonight and tomorrow from Tesco Lotus ( we Love these stores) then Paula takes us safely home, before we stroll along for a couple of cheeky Leo Beers, then it's homeward bound for sundowners, supper before another lovely day ....

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