Beach Therapy

If there is a heaven for me, I'm sure it has a beach attached to it 
Jimmy Buffett

Thailand - My Most Momentous, Memorable Moments

The whole trip was fabulous - I seriously did not want to leave! But if I could pick a few of the most memorable things, these would be.....


Stepping off the speedboat from Krabi, straight onto Phra-Ae (Long) Beach and being greeted by the lovely staff of the Layana Resort and Spa, Koh Lanta Yai, almost as soon as our feet hit the sand....

Gorgeous, gorgeous sunsets.... and sun-downers!...almost every evening.....

The snake dropping by for a visit... quite literally... falling out of a tree and onto our beach umbrella!

My darling husband surprising me with a romantic, candlelit birthday dinner on the beach on our last night at the resort...

Officially old enough to be a Cougar!

New Year In Thailand

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? Hope you had a fabulous New Year...

I spent mine eating my own body weight in satay chicken and Pad Thai, watching fireworks and Chinese lanterns lighting up the Andaman Sea, and dancing barefoot on the beach... not a bad way to see in 2014!

 Fire dancers

Note to self: this long dress (currently at the dry cleaners) is perhaps not the best attire for dancing barefoot on the beach until the wee hours....

More on my Thailand holiday to follow....

Trouble and Strife

My poor, long-suffering husband…. almost 11 years ago he promised to give me his unending love and devotion, to share his thoughts, hopes, and dreams with me. He also promised to be The One Who Disposes of All Things That Crawl and Flap and Buzz, and The Calm One in Adverse Situations… come to think of it, many of the adverse scenarios we have so far encountered in our lives together have been resolved by his expert spider slaying techniques. So actually, he got off rather lightly, all things considered… two roles rolled into one, so to speak.

Or maybe not… he did marry into my somewhat insane oddball mad as a box of frogs eccentric family. I always say he should have run for the hills the day he met my brother. This is the same brother who assured me as a child that if he cut my Barbie doll’s hair, it would grow back… even longer and more luscious. Who set fire to my favourite baby doll, using her to put out the flames of a fire he had started in his cupboard. The self-same brother, who decided that ironing the creases out of his shoe laces would be the perfect intimidating activity to accompany his interrogation of B… one requiring a fierce spotlight lamp, apparently positioned just right to illuminate the ironing board, and by happy coincidence, casting a blinding bright light into B’s eyes!

Then there's my mom, who can take practical jokes a bit too far at times.

Anyway, that's enough about my family and other animals.

So…. it’s the last evening of our Thai holiday, and time to bid a sad farewell to the beautiful, tropical paradise of our lush resort, the smiling Thai people, excruciating but invigorating daily Thai massages, and of course, satay chicken on tap. How depressing to have to pack to go home… isn't that the worst part of the trip? And such a contrast to packing to go away… that can take me weeks of excited anticipation. Packing to travel home I usually leave till the last minute… no need to waste any precious holiday time neatly folding dirty clothes!

Just grab the cases, flip them open, chuck everything in and….. whoa!!! 

Hang on just an eight-legged freak-ing moment! What in the name of all that is hairy and scary is THAT THING leering up at me from the depths of Suitcase Abyss?

Possibly the ugliest spider I have yet to set eyes on… and I’ve eye-balled quite a few. Growing up in the Tropics, I’ve had more than my share of Close Encounters of the Arachnid Kind.

This Thai variety was almost snow white…. which was quite fortunate, as it was thus easily spotted as it set off at great speed across the dark, teak floor boards, towards the floor-length curtains.

Nat: Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!

B {barefoot and barely clothed}: With what, exactly?

Nat: Don’t care… just kill it! Kill it! KILL IT!

B: Pass me a shoe, please.

Note to self: Flimsy flip-flops and insubstantial strappy sandals may look pretty on holiday feet, but they are about as much use as a chocolate teapot when it comes to Arachnid Annihilating Activities.

Nat: You got it? I’d stand on that sandal now though, just to be sure...! {B lifts said sandal and (as if by magic) the spider has vanished. Presumably, it has crawled up the aforementioned (very pale) curtains... just perfect for any anaemic-looking spider trying to go incognito}

Note to the management of the Sala Samui Resort and Spa: Subdued lighting is all very well and romantic… but it does nothing to aid Spider Spotting Situations. Ditto the white curtains. But thank you for so thoughtfully providing a very powerful torch in the room…

To cut short a long, long, LONG story… involving the torch, an umbrella, lots of shrieking, and a loud thump… the sneaky spider’s plans to stowaway to London in our luggage were well and truly scuppered.

…….

Random Useless Piece of Information: in Cockney rhyming slang, your ‘trouble and strife’ is your wife…

Food, Glorious Thai Food!

One of the best things about visiting Thailand? The food of course! I absolutely love Thai food, and so I was in food heaven on my recent travels.

Perhaps not the most waistline friendly... all that satay (peanut) sauce and coconut milk, but somehow I managed not to gain any extra pounds, and I am still under my target weight that I have been striving to adhere to this year.

Our hotel resort offered one-to-one cookery lessons with their resident chef, who showed us how to turn these lovely ingredients.....

.... into these tasty dishes....

Tom Yum Soup

Green Curry

Chicken and cashew nuts

Some of the best food to be had can be bought from street vendors and at the night food markets, like Fisherman's Village at Bophut....

Corn on the cob with coconut butter ... delicious beach fare!

Even the birds love them!

Coconut candy treats

Spring rolls (fore) and Imperial spring rolls (aft)

Duck pancakes

Fruit smoothie... my type of sundowner!

Now that would be food hell... a whole load of duran fruit!

What is your favourite type of food?