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No SADness in Thailand
  • Simon and Jackie Annals
Dec 2021 – Sep 2025

No SADness in Thailand

Hopefully no Seasonal Affective Disorder for us by avoiding the weather, Christmas & the supermarket shortages in the UK by heading to Thailand for a 2 month holiday. Read more
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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    My (Battered) Left Foot
    1

    Day 26 - Arse Over Tit in Sunset City

    January 4, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    We didn’t wake up until gone 9am, then it was down to breakfast. No new entertainment was on offer, but we had some new/trainee staff that still had some way to go. I ordered an omelette, but got scrambled egg, we didn’t receive our fruit platter & it took a while to order a 2nd coffee. I’m struggling to cope with such hardship!

    The sun was out & so we set up camp on 2 deckchairs for a full day of sun. At lunchtime Jackie popped back to our room & smuggled 2 cans of Chang on to the beach. Once drunk, it was my turn to get a couple more.

    After collecting my illicit contraband, I walked along the beach back to Jackie & didn’t notice the anchor rope of a longboat had risen up. I didn’t just trip up in my flip flops, but I somehow managed to a actually face plant into the sand. My embarrassing shriek of pain woke up the crew on the longboat as I picked myself up & walked on as if nothing happened, despite having a cut on the top of my foot.

    During the afternoon, the sun & fluffy clouds were threatening to provide us with a proper sunset. We weren’t the only ones to think so because the beach started to fill up. At 5.05pm, Jackie decided we needed to have a sundowner drink & she returned to the room to collect a bottle of Hong Thong & a can of coke. We are not cheapskates, just frugal!

    Whilst Jackie was away, I splattered a full mosquito against my leg resulting in a big smudge of blood & mossie carcass. Seconds later I was being attacked by another 2 mosquitos & I quickly, but with style, walked to the sea to clean my leg. Unfortunately as I was waving away the chasing mosquitos, I didn’t notice the rock in the sand that I smashed my left foot into, which again left me in a pitiful mess on all fours in the sand with a bleeding middle toe. The bastard mossies continued to eat my legs, despite me splatting another three.

    The sunset was still disappointing, no red skies, but I took a couple of arty photos for the sheer hell of it. We then returned to our room & did a bit of packing. Our dirty clothes had been successfully returned from laundry.

    We were just about to head out for dinner, when I went back into our room to put my iPad on charge & somehow managed to smash my left foot on the step, ripping the skin off the bottom of my arthritic big toe. What an absolutely clumsy tw^t, I’ve become!!

    After some serious swearing, hopping up & down & 1st aid from Jackie, we popped out for dinner. It was at La Luna, an Italian restaurant where I had gnocchi al pesto & Jackie had a spicy penne dish. We treated ourselves to a litre of red wine & garlic bread. It was very good.

    We managed to make it home & to bed without further accident or incident.

    Song of the Day: Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty.
    Sunsetz by Cigarettes After Sex.
    Clumsy by Cotter.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Lord & Lady Muck
    In our Super cheap minibusHotel receptionBathroomOn the tiny balconyStreet artStreet art againAnd moreThe pissed-up bald obnoxious Australian talking to the miserable tw^t with the beardStodge heavenSpecial treatThe pissed-up bald obnoxious Australian about to make his exit

    Day 27 - Mr Simon, Been Expecting You

    January 5, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Woke up with a seriously throbbing big toe & no pain killers. We had breakfast & packed & went to reception around 10.20am to settle our bill & to get a lift to the speedboat port. We saw Lucas & our nice (but NOT so dim) girl who had successfully booked our speedboat & minibus tickets back to Hat Yai Bus Terminal & revealed she hails from our next stop, Songkhla.

    We arrived at the speedboat port overly early, but as a result we were allocated plastic boarding cards No. 7 & 8. For 45 minutes we sweated in the shade until we were allowed to board & we managed to secure the co-pilot seats at the front of the boat. We felt like Lord & Lady Muck!

    The 62 kilometres back to Pak Bara on the mainland took just 1 hour 20 minutes across a decidedly choppy sea. At Pak Bara we did not have to show any documentation & we ushered straight through to our minibus. The only annoyance was our fellow passengers were 2 Russian or similar families & they tried to reserve all the best seats on the minibus by putting their bags on the seats then disappeared to the toilet. We weren’t having that & we moved the bags off & sat on the seats we wanted. No one said anything when they returned.

    It was a painful journey on the minibus. We were too squashed in & the driver was in no hurry, the complete opposite of our kamikaze driver on the way out. After dropping off the Ruskies at Hat Yai Airport we continued on ‘just the two of us’ to Hat Yai Bus Terminal at 3.30pm. We alighted & I ended up rushing to the toilet with loo roll in hand to do what was required in effectively a hole in the floor.

    After that disaster had been averted, I walked back to the PM Residence to pay for our stay back on the 28th December 2021. Booking.com had been in touch with us to say that we hadn’t paid for our stay. We tried to pay for it remotely, but it was just too difficult. When I arrived at the PM Residence, the receptionist said “Mr Simon, been expecting you”. If they had been expecting me it was a shame that they hadn’t got the necessary paperwork ready! It took about 15 minutes for the very apologetic receptionist to find & complete the necessary paperwork & take my payment.

    I returned to the bus terminal & Jackie went off in search of a bus to take us to Songkhla. No one spoke English, but after Jackie’s heroic efforts we eventually boarded a minibus to Songkhla bus station. We paid the driver for 3 seats (at 34 baht a seat) so we could stack our rucksacks on the 3rd seat. An absolute bargain for a 20 mile trip. The remainder of the minibus was filled with schoolgirls.

    We arrived at Songkhla bus station which was empty except for one sole scooter taxi. We had no choice, but to explain to him where we needed to go. Once he finally understood, he ran off & returned in a car. The 1.6 mile journey to our hotel took less than 10 minutes & he charged us 140 Baht. We made his day.

    Our A. List Hotel is the most stylish we have stayed in on this trip. After checking in & having to produce our UK vaccination certificates, we had a free coffee in the swish reception. To our amazement a western male guest appeared & when I said hello, he just grunted. Miserable tw^t.

    Up in our room, Jackie had a bath & shaved her legs in the opulent bathroom whilst I examined the damage to my left foot. It had a bruised purple hue.

    Around 7pm, we ventured out in search of food. The first suitable place was Oscar’s Bar, but ‘Miserable tw^t’ was sat at the bar with 3 other farangs. We carried on & chanced upon a scooter rental shop with a pissed-up bald obnoxious Australian farang hassling the lady in the shop. Jackie stepped in to enquire about the price of a scooter for the day & the Aussie turned to me introduced himself as Adam & said “What the f¥ck are you doing here?” I tried to politely explain our itinerary to him, but every time I said something he replied “Yeah, but what the f¥ck are you doing here?” I honestly can’t remember what I said when my patience finally snapped, but he then accused me of being negative. Jackie & I walked off leaving him to rant and rave to his mate about me.

    We walked round the streets only to discover that all the local restaurants were closed. At 8.20pm, we bit the bullet & returned to Oscar’s Bar. The 4 farangs at the bar said hello when we walked in. We ordered a couple of beers from the lovely staff & were reading the menu when the pissed-up bald obnoxious Australian appeared in the street & started shouting about me being a wanker. One of the farangs told him to not upset the guests, meaning us as we were the only other people in the bar. We thought it best to ignore him and try and avoid further confrontation.

    Jackie ordered chicken wings and chips, whilst I ordered a steak & mushroom pie & chips. The food was pure stodge heaven & we had the a special treat of proper Sarsons malt vinegar & HP brown sauce.

    The pissed-up bald obnoxious Australian managed to annoy everyone at the bar, but the final straw was when the 16 year old daughter of one of the farangs popped in & the pissed-up bald obnoxious Australian said to her “Nice Tits”. To be fair, she did have them a bit too much out on display!

    The pissed-up bald obnoxious Australian then made a quick exit (well, staggering from side to side down the street) without paying his bill, but left his phone & sunglasses behind. The atmosphere was much more relaxed after he left & the English farang with the daughter with large bosoms came over & had a chat with us.

    We learnt that he, Chris, had lived in Songkhla for the last 18 years & was a catering manager for the off-shore oil rigs. This explained why there were a few westerners in town. He gave us some tips on where to eat & told us that his mother had visited him for Christmas & she lived in Chichester. Small world!

    Chris also told us that the pissed-up bald obnoxious Australian unbelievably held a senior position at the port, but he had been at sea for some days & it was his 1st night back on shore. No excuse!

    It had turned out to be a really good evening & we returned to our snazzy hotel knackered.

    Song of the Day: Twat by John Cooper Clarke.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Golden Mermaid Statue
    Cat & Rat statueMonkey on our motorbikeReclining BuddhaVery lazy waitressesNot a clueShipyardLunchStreet ArtMore street artNot too sure about some of the dishesOur dinner

    Day 28 - Motorbikin’ Around Songkhla

    January 6, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Despite having a lovely comfortable bed we both had dreadful night sleeps. At 9am, I popped down to reception to get a couple of free coffees. Around 10am, we headed around the corner to Temptation Car & Motorbike For Rent & saw the very attractive & pleasant lady who was being hassled last night.

    She rented us a more powerful motorbike & we set off on Simon’s Tours. Bizarrely as the driver, I had to wear a crash helmet, but Jackie didn’t! Our first stop was Samila Beach to see & touch the Golden Mermaid Statue. We took our photographs & a Thai tourist asked if we wanted him to take a photo of both of us. We accepted & then I offered to return the favour. He said “Yes” then gave his phone to Jackie & insisted I pose with him. It made a nice change.

    We next visited the Cat & Rat statue then returned to our motorbike to discover a monkey was trying to ride off on it!! The troop of at least 20 monkeys in this location were very aggressive & we saw a sign warning of monkeys stealing purses.

    Once we had shooed the monkey away, we continued through Seree Public Park & headed to Tang Kuan Hill. It was my intention to take the funicular railway to the viewpoint to the top, but sadly it was closed, presumably due to Covid.

    We motorbiked around Tang Kuan Hill & then set off on a ten mile ride to Ko Yo, an island in the middle of Songkhla Lake. The plan was to have lunch at Sunset Café, which had been highly recommended by the motorbike rental lady.

    On Ko Yo, we stopped at the Reclining Buddha at Wat Phranon Laem Pho for a photo opportunity, then we cruised around the scenic coastal circumference of Ko Yo. We found the empty of customers Sunset Café & asked for 2 menus & ordered a beer. Our beer arrived in two paper cups & we perused the menu, which was ridiculously extensive especially the range of beers & ciders from Europe. After 20 minutes the 4 waitresses were still sat on their phones & hadn’t come back to us, so we just paid up & walked out.

    We tried another restaurant that was full of Thais & tried to order a beer. After lots of gesticulating we finally succeeded in ordering to Changs. The menu arrived & was solely in Thai. Despite Jackie doing her chicken & fish impressions, we couldn’t make ourselves understood so we drank up & left.

    We were now starving, so we motorbiked back to the historic Songkhla Old Town & parked up. We stopped in a Chinese restaurant & the miserable waitress literally dropped the menu down on our table & said they didn’t sell beer. We got up & walked out yet again.

    Two doors down, we found a cafe/pizzeria serving homemade pizza & beer. We shared a very nice beef & chilli pizza with a Chang. After we strolled around the old town admiring the street art before the searing heat took it’s toll. We drove back to our hotel & had a siesta in the air conditioned room.

    At 7pm, we ventured back out on foot & found a market place restaurant full of locals. Luckily they had an English version of their menu & I ordered a chicken & cashew nuts, not the dish above it. Jackie ordered fried squid with garlic. The food was excellent & we washed it down with bottles of water.

    Song of the Day: Me And My Monkey by Robbie Williams.
    Monkey 23 by The Kills.
    Motorbike Beat by The Revillos.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    The Bus Sub Station
    Our coachRefreshmentsGot the back seatTenseA beer should do itDinner

    Day 29 - Blind Faith Prevails

    January 7, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Superb sleep & we both struggled to get out of bed at 9am. I dutifully went down to reception & got the latte coffee with an added shot on espresso. I then rode the motorbike back to Temptation & got my full deposit back from the nice lady, despite not actually ever putting any fuel in.

    At 11am, we checked out of the hotel & two of the receptionists drove us to the Bus Sub Station free of charge. The English speaking receptionist spoke to the bus staff & then told us that she had arranged everything to get us to our next port of call, Nakhon Si Thammarat. I was exceptionally grateful & offered her a 20 Baht tip for her assistance, but she refused.

    We were then in the hands of non English speaking staff who gesticulated us to sit on a bench. 20 minutes later, a bus driver with limited English told us he would be taking us in the next 10 minutes. His minibus was a disaster that stank of stale cigarette smoke & he tried to chat with us throughout his leg of journey without hardly paying any attention to the road ahead. He asked us lots of questions, which was fine until I told him I was a retired police officer. He then retorted that all police were corrupt, but qualified it by adding in Thailand.

    Our minibus driver drove us & the other passengers to Songkhla hospital where waited in his minibus until a small coach arrived 10 minutes later. We were escorted to the small coach & our minibus driver boarded & informed us it would take 3 hours to get to Nakhon Si Thammarat.

    We took up seats at the rear of the new coach & watched the world pass by as we headed north up the eastern coast of Thailands southern peninsula. We arrived in Nakhon Si Thammarat & when the coach stopped outside Phra Mahathat Woramaha Wiharn we got off.

    The Phra Mahathat Woramaha Wiharn temple with its huge chedi (pagoda) is one of the most important Buddhist temples in Thailand, and one of the very oldest. This was the main reason for us visiting Nakhon Si Thammarat.

    Several taxi minibuses pulled up to give us a lift, but we were met with confused or blank faces when I showed them my phone with either the hotel address in Thai or just the location on a map. Things got tense between Jackie & I when she kept telling me to ask waiters & shop owners for directions when I knew the directions but was trying to get someone to give us a lift.

    After failing miserably to get a lift we walked the 1.2 miles laden down with our luggage in the blistering heat to our not so central, Bunprasop Garden Hotel. Half an hour later we arrived, absolutely dripping & slightly testy.

    It took several receptionists before we could find one that spoke a modicum of English. She gave me a map of the places to visit, but suggested we caught a taxi & pointed on the map.

    We went up to our room & spent an hour trying to cool down & dealing with some of my vetting/admin issues on the iPad. Having changing into less damp clothes we went down to reception to get a taxi, only to be told that the main temple, Phra Mahathat Woramaha Wiharn, would now be closed for the day. FFS, I was furious.

    Abandoning the idea of going back to Phra Mahathat Woramaha Wiharn, we walked along our busy main road in search of somewhere to have a drink & later something to eat.

    This might sound weird, but we found a restaurant on the corner of a very busy crossroads & sat down for a couple of Changs & enjoy the street life around us. We were definitely the only westerners in this town & the beer numbed the pain of not getting to see any of the sights today.

    Finally chilled out & happy, we found a local restaurant with an English menu & both had fried pork & sticky rice, with a beer we had to purchase from the shop next door. It was bloody delicious & each dish cost 50 baht, just over a £1. That was two local restaurant dinner successes in a row.

    We returned drained back to our hotel for Netflix & chill, but fell asleep instead.

    Song of the Day: Blind Faith by Chase & Status.
    Can’t Find My Way Home by Blind Faith.
    Street Life by Randy Crawford.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    What wat?
    Oh that oneChediRinging the bellAmongst the worshippersMore worshippersPutting golden leaf on BuddhaGold leaf hanging offShe bangs the drumDinner in the rainDinner in the kitchenOur lovely bed

    Day 30 - The Gold Leaf Tea-Leaf

    January 8, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Again slept like babies until the alarm at 8am. We got ready & had our complimentary breakfast at the coffee shop next door. A bit of a weird American breakfast, scrambled egg & toast with cold spam, chicken sausages & sweet corn salad caked in thousand island dressing.

    We then packed our bags, left them in reception & took a 40 Baht taxi to Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawih, which is the main Buddhist temple (wat) of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in southern Thailand. The main stupa of the temple, Phra Borommathat Chedi ('great noble relics stupa'), was built by King Sri Dhammasokaraja in the early-13th century CE to establish a symbol for the Theravada Buddhism sect in the province. The temple is believed to house a tooth of Gautama Buddha. (Enough of cutting & pasting from Wikipedia).

    Upon our arrival, we were harassed by an elderly, but very pushy & persistent Thai equivalent of a ‘lucky heather’ seller. Instead she was trying to flog us lucky yellow poses to give to Buddha.

    We eventually shook her off & headed into the wat. As one of the more important temples in Thailand, there was some serious praying going on. I tried to surreptitiously take photos among the praying congregation & the chanting of the orange swathed monks which was slightly awkward.

    We went around the museum which Jackie described as ‘just a load of old pots’, then located more golden Buddhas in an indoor building surrounding the great Chedi.

    Upon entering we discovered that the Thai worshippers were meticulously putting gold leaf on to the Buddhas. Jackie in her wisdom, saw a piece of gold leaf hanging precariously from one Buddha & decided to press it back on. What actually happened was that the gold leaf clung to Jackie’s finger & she had to roll it up like a bogie & flick it away. She will definitely not be going to heaven!

    After an hour or so we had seen everything we needed to see (and before we got thrown out), so we walked back to our hotel in the blistering heat again. We arrived back at the hotel sweating profusely & I begged the receptionist to ‘get me out’ of this place. In fact I actually asked for a taxi to take us to the minibus station to head further north up the coast to Khanom, the home of the pink dolphins.

    Yet again we had a smooth transition from taxi to minibus. The taxi dropped us off directly behind our minibus. The minibus, which cost just 80 Baht each, only had a couple of other passengers, but lots of cargo & we set off at 12.30pm. It was supposed to be a 2 hour journey, but our driver, a Thai Nigel Mansell, got us there at 2.10pm despite having at least 8 parcel drops along the way.

    At Khanom minibus station, we waited for our new hotel owner, Sylvian, to pick us up free of charge. It was at this point that Jackie informed me that she had been sending messages to Sylvian, but signing off as Simon & he will probably think I’m gay. Fabulous!

    Sylvian arrived in a beat up car & we loaded our luggage in. I was relieved to learn that he was French but had a Thai wife. Sylvian pointed out all his recommended restaurants as we drove to Leeloo Paradise at the southern end of Khanom.

    Sylvian introduced us to his wife, Aiye, who checked us in to what was for us the best accommodation we have stayed at so far on this trip. The decor was too our taste. It just felt classy but understated.

    After dumping our luggage, Sylvian sorted out 2 complimentary pedal cycles for us & we set off to explore & most importantly get a cold beer down our necks. We pedal-cycled to CC Beach Bar & Restaurant for 3 quick Leos.

    Suitably refreshed, we cycled for a couple of miles up the road in search of an Indian restaurant that Sylvian had recommended. Apparently the owner was a 4* chef from Bangkok. It was not a traditional restaurant as we know it, but a Homestay. Two miles up the road we realised that we had missed it, so turned around & cycled back.

    We eventually found it much closer to home than we thought & told the owner we would be back later. We got back to our room before an almighty thunderstorm passed through. Sylvian came out to make sure we didn’t get caught in the storm & offered us free use of his scooter for the evening.

    After a couple of Hong Thongs we scooted out to the Indian Homestay. We ordered a chicken tikka masala, a chicken biryani, 2 naans, rice & a couple of Changs. Our table was under an awning in the owner’s back garden & we were unsurprisingly the only diners. It was a slightly surreal experience made all the more so when just after our food arrived another violent downpour sent us running for refuge into the owners kitchen. We ate our dinner side by side facing a brick wall in his kitchen.

    The food was very good & reasonable, but as we mounted our scooter to ride home the engine wouldn’t turn over. The battery was flat. The 4* chef gave us a two’s up on the back of his scooter back to Leeloo, where Sylvian admitted his scooter hadn’t been used for the last 2 years.

    Song of the Day: Thieves in the Temple by Prince.
    She Bangs The Drum by The Stone Roses.
    Get Me Out by New Model.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Easy Rider
    French BreakfastDeserted Pink Dolphin JettyFish spaFish foodTickled pinkGrand CanyonCoral pagodaAnd againJackie & I enjoying a swim!I walk this lonely beachDinner

    Day 31 - We’ve Become Fish Food

    January 9, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    After another good nights sleep we made it to breakfast at 9.30am. Sylvian was on duty & we both chose the continental breakfast option of muesli with yoghurt & french toast. It was very nice.

    We asked Sylvian to arrange the rental of a motorbike & a Honda 150cc was delivered to our hotel for us. Sylvian insisted we both wore crash helmets for reasons of safety, not because it was the law. Jackie was not impressed with this & ditched her helmet almost as soon as we were out of sight of our Leeloo resort.

    We cruised northbound up the Khanom coast road, then cut in land to Khanom town centre, before continuing north on Highway 4044. Our 1st detour was to Ao Kwang Pao, which had the potential to be a lovely coved beach. There were a lot of Thais tourists taking selfies amongst the litter & flotsam on the beach.

    We then followed signs to a pink dolphins viewpoint, which turned out to be some rocks at the end of Ao Tongnod Beach. We gave it 5 minutes of looking out to sea before giving up.

    Next stop was Laem Prathap, also known as Pink Dolphins Pier. We arrived around midday & there was hardly a sole around. I tried to converse with the odd old lady, but couldn’t make myself understood. There were a few longboats at the pier, but no drivers, so we weren’t able to enquire as to the cost to rent one for a few hours. We would have to take a gamble & come back early tomorrow.

    Our next planned stop, which we found more by luck than judgement, was the Fish Spa. It is a free to visit, natural (I think) river with small pontoons in which to sit down & dip your feet in the cool water. Immediately our feet were descended upon by a shoal of hungry fish who nibbled away at our trotters, tickling us until we just couldn’t stand it any longer, which was literally seconds later. It amazed us that some Thai children were able to swim & play around in the river without distraction. It was a lovely spot & a couple of Thai families were picnicking in the shade.

    Moving on we found Thailand’s very own ‘Grand Canyon’ & we ended up at Amphoe Don Sak ferry port, where a ferry to Ko Pha-Ngan departs. We were slightly perturbed to see that they were conducting Covid checks at the departure point.

    Next we failed to find Khao Krot Cave, but we did stop at Coral Pagoda before heading back for a much needed drink. We ended up back at CCs for a couple of Leos & a club sandwich & chips to share, before heading back to Leeloo.

    After a shower & chill, we popped up to reception & saw Aiye, pronounced ‘Eye’, who is yet another lovely lady on our travels. We discussed our plans for the morning & informed her that we would like to stay a further 2 nights. Aiye gave us a discounted price for booking directly with her & took extra money off because we would be missing breakfast in the morning. Before we left her, we enquired if she could recommend any Thai food restaurants. She showed us on a map where she & Sylvian ate most nights apparently.

    After a quick Hong Thong, Jackie & I boarded the scooter & headed out in search of Aiye’s recommended ‘Suchada Villa’. We got ourselves lost & suddenly behind us a voice shouted “Simon, Simon”. It was Aiye & we had overshot the restaurant by about 30 metres.

    We took the table next to Aiye & Sylvian & spent a very pleasant evening chatting about life in Thailand during Covid & their struggles over the last 2 years. Sylvian was more relaxed & Aiye was so so lovely. Sylvian suggested Jackie order the shrimp paste rice, which came with an array of other dishes for just 70 baht & I ordered a green Thai chicken curry & rice.

    The food was delicious, plentiful & cheap, no wonder they ate here most nights & the waitress was also really really nice. She taught us how to say “good night” in Thai, but I’ve already forgot. No problem, we will be returning here for the next two nights.

    Song of the Day: Wide Lovely Eyes by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
    (I struggled with today’s song).    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Keep them peeled
    Pink Dolphin PierHeading outPink DolphinMixed race dolphinPink dolphin hiding behind a grey dolphinPink DolphinGrey dolphin in front of the boatThis is what we should've snapped!It's real....honestMotorbike safely parked at the waterfall car parkJackie trudging up the hill with a sore foot & wrist

    Day 32 - Pink Dolphin Bonanza

    January 10, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The alarm went off at 6.15am, which would have been early but for the fact that I had been awake reading since 1.30am & Jackie had been just dozing.

    We were out & on the road by just after 7am wearing our fleeces because it was damn cold on the scooter. About 40 minutes later we arrived back at the Pink Dolphin Pier at Laem Prathap. We parked up & my heart sank when again we saw that there was no-one around.

    After walking along the length of the pier, I saw an elderly lady sweeping in a house, so in my best Thai I called to her “Pink dolphins?” She seemed to understand what I meant & shouted something to the man in the house next door. I think the man was on the toilet, because he was shouting back, but didn’t emerge for several minutes & when he did he soaking wet & wearing just a pair of shorts.

    I had read that the price of renting a longboat & driver was between 1,000 - 1,500 Baht for 2 hours, but the man was adamant that we would be paying 1,200 which was non-negotiable. Jackie & I then stood around for about 10 minutes not really sure what was happening until another man appeared with 2 life jackets & told us to follow him.

    We did until Jackie slipped on a patch of wet mud, both her feet went from under her & she crashed down on her backside, getting both her ‘Daisy Duke’ shorts & our beach bag covered in mud. When we got to the longboat, I stepped in & the boat sank below me causing me to lose my balance & fall in, scrabbling around on my hands and knees on the bottom of the boat. This was not a very auspicious start to our trip!

    At just after 8am, we chugged out away from the pier & followed the coast westwards. We had given ourselves the best opportunity to see the dolphins, because the optimum time was between 7.30am & 9am & the sea was like a millpond. Apparently there are about 60 pink dolphins that live in this coastal region & no one has come up with a definitive explanation for why they have a pink pigment.

    We stopped for some waterside repairs, a fellow longboat fisherman had a flat battery, so we passed our battery to him to jump start his engine. We then continued along the coast surveying the horizon with our beady eyes & our fingers crossed. The Raja Ferry port came into sight & our driver suddenly shouted “Dolphin, Dolphin”.

    It was then full steam ahead towards the ferry port & we got our 1st glimpse of the pink dolphins. Annoyingly the few passengers on the ancient ferry, which we would be catching in two days time, could also see & were photographing OUR dolphins. Our driver cut the engines & we watched a number of pink, some grey & some mixed race dolphins chasing fish in the port waters.

    For a glorious 30 something minutes we floated around in the port waters watching the dolphins pop up & down. We attempted to photograph them, but again with absolutely hopeless results. Our time came to an end & we motored back to the Pink Dolphin Pier feeling very pleased with ourselves & glad we made the effort.

    It was still only 10am, so we took a slow ride back towards base. We by chance found a National Park just south of our hotel, which had an exhilarating winding coastal road with serious peaks & troughs as well as a couple of nice viewpoints.

    Our last stop before lunch was to a waterfall recommended by Aiye. The ride started fine up a paved road, it then turned into a gravel path before deteriorating into a rutted crumbling seriously steep track. Our 150cc Honda screamed as I tried to unsuccessfully accelerate up & stay on the track. Jackie wasn’t comfortable & insisted on getting off, but she got her leg stuck on the saddle & actually fell off. It was made all the worse when the bike rolled backwards & I stood on Jackie’s foot.

    I didn’t wait to hear the volley of verbal abuse, so I revved up & sped up the remainder of the track & waited for Jackie to huff & puff her way up. The waterfall wasn’t worth the effort & we had similar problems on the way back down.

    We stopped at a little local restaurant, Nong Sao’s Kitchen to quench our thirst with Changs & we ordered a meal each, chicken with cashew nuts & fried pork. All delicious.

    The lunch after such an early start took it’s toll on us & we were reduced to having a siesta in our air conditioned room. At 3pm we forced ourselves back up & spent a couple of hours chilling in the gardens of Leeloo, before having another really decent light dinner back at Suchada Villa.

    Song of the Day: Dolphins by Fred Neil.
    I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down by Elvis Costello & The Attractions.
    (Whilst researching my Song of the Day, I discovered that ‘Pink Dolphin’ also had a slang meaning relating to the noise a dolphin makes!)    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Lizard flitting
    Lounge lizardSkinkSkink slinkingPoolGardensOur gardens at nightThe pagodaDinner - pad thai in a thin omeletteFarang hunters

    Day 33 - F¥ck It, Not Phuket

    January 11, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Woke up to a cacophony of noise from singing birds to crowing cockerels to the Thai man next door hacking up phlegm & gobbing it. Just after 9am we went to breakfast to find an agitated Sylvian. Apparently the Thai man & his family next door had not respected the Leeloo rules & their crimes included flicking cigarette butts into the well tended garden, urinating in the garden & having a poo in an another room. Aiye was tasked with ensuring that they packed up & left the property.

    According to Sylvian, the Thais from southern Thailand are less educated & have no manners or respect. A harsh sweeping statement. We sent Sylvian off to make our breakfast & cool down. As you would expect from a Frenchman, he took pride in his food & the breakfast was excellent.

    After breakfast we lounged around the pool & after their cleaning chores, Sylvian informed us that he & Aiye were going into town for a few hours & we were in charge of the place. Apparently one of the mountain bikes we had borrowed on day 1 now had a flat tyre, so gave me his motorbike keys should we need or want to go out. It was a nice gesture considering the last time we borrowed his motorbike we abandoned it at the Indian with a flat battery!

    We stayed around the pool all day, appreciating a lazy day with the birds singing, butterflies fluttering, lizards lounging & skinks slinking. Lunch consisted of a couple of Hong Thongs & in the afternoon, after much ‘discussion’ about prices & value for money, we booked 3 nights cheapish accommodation on Ko Phangan.

    We also looked at the the different location options available to us & made the momentous decision that we would avoid the Phuket resorts & stay in Ko Phangan & Koh Tao until we go home.

    We returned to CC Restaurant & Bar on Sylvian’s scooter for our final dinner in Khanom; which turned out to be a bit of a wind tunnel. We both ordered the Pad Thai, but no ordinary Pad Thai, ours came enclosed in a thin omelette. We hadn’t had or seen one of these since we went to Koh Samui at least 20 years ago.

    We saw a different side to CC Restaurant & Bar, because a number of westerners, male & female turned up throughout the evening as well as some potential Thai brides. The bar was definitely the farang’s meeting place.

    We were too exhausted to hang around, so we picked up a Hong Thong & headed back to a our balcony for a Ricky Gervais outtake session in preparation for Afterlife series 3.

    Song of the Day: Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups.
    F¥ck It (I Don’t Want You Back) by Eamon.
    The Charge by New Model Army.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    View from the room
    Black smoke billowing from our ferryLeaving Don Sak Ferry PortPersonal groomingIn the taxiView from our other windowLunchLunchSalad beach

    Day 34 - Room with a View & a Half

    January 12, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    A decent nights sleep was had by both of us & we headed to breakfast at 9am, already showered & packed. Sylvian cooked us a delicious American breakfast to send us on our way. Sylvian had also booked our ferry tickets to Ko Phangan & Aiye offered to give us a lift to Don Sak Ferry Port for 200 Baht less than the taxi would cost.

    Just after 10am we said our goodbyes & Aiye drove us to the port. We were so glad she was with us, because apart from showing our tickets, she delivered us right up to the pier for our ferry. It seemed that other passengers were having to show passports & vaccination documentation.

    Our Raja Ferry is very old, greasy & smokey, but we managed to get a prime seat at the back. At 11.05am, the ferry pulled out of the port & I was secretly slightly glad that we didn’t see any pink dolphins hanging around.

    The ferry crossing was 2 and a half hours, which gave Jackie time for a bit of personal grooming & me some reading. We docked at Thong Sala Pier on the island of Ko Phangan at 1.30pm & were met by our pre-arranged hotel taxi driver.

    It was 5.4 miles to our next hotel, Salad Beach Resort, a snip at just £21.50 per night. Our taxi driver lugged both our big rucksacks through the resort to reception, where I gave him 300 Baht for the taxi fare. He looked at me a bit funny, then a couple of minutes later returned with my money & asked me what the 300 Baht was for. It would have been a fantastic tip for him, but I was supposed to pay the fare to the hotel receptionist.

    After checking in, the receptionist asked us to take a seat for 10 minutes which actually turned out to be 20 minutes. She then asked us to follow her up a flight of stairs & we followed but were getting ready to complain because it wasn’t what we had booked. She took us to the front room on the 1st floor & to our very pleasant surprise discovered it was a double aspect sea view room with a lovely balcony. We couldn’t believe our luck.

    On the negative side, the room is a bit dated, but it is spacious with a nice bathroom. We will not be complaining & almost certainly be extending our stay. My value for money discussion with Jackie yesterday had definitely paid off!

    After unpacking a bit, we popped next door to Diamond Bar & Restaurant for a Chang & a chicken satay. It was the best chicken satay of the trip so far & we both agreed that Salad Beach was by far the best beach we have visited in the last month. It had a lovely vibe, even if first impressions were that most of the tourists were Russian.

    After our late lunch, we strolled up the beach & counted just 4 restaurants to eat in. We bought some provisions from the local shop & returned to our lovely balcony for a sundowner.

    That evening we walked to the northern end of the beach & had dinner at a little restaurant called Spicy Salad. Jackie had a pork & rice fish, whilst I had a Massaman curry. It was a romantic setting & evening, I even allowed Jackie to have an expensive glass of white wine!

    Unfortunately the mood was ruined by ‘Biscuitgate’. We stopped at the little shop on the way home to pick up a pack of bottles of water. I was just paying when Jackie added a small packet of Dewberry jammy dodgers to our purchases. The shop assistant showed me the new price & I saw that the biscuits cost 65 Baht, but I still paid for them.

    As we walked away the actual cost of the biscuits sunk in. Normally we had been paying just 10 Baht for the exact same biscuits. I was furious & blamed Jackie for not checking the price before giving them to me. Jackie in turn was angry with me for blaming her when I paid for them already knowing their cost.

    We returned to our balcony for a nightcap & we sat and ate the £1.50 biscuits in silence. At least it was a nice view!

    Song of the Day: Room With A View by Billy Vera & The Beaters.
    True Romance by She Wants Revenge.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Under the palm tree 🌴
    ContemplatingMy silhouette at lunchJackie at lunchThe lunch viewSunsetRed Snapper, but Jackie isn't eating!GoingGone.......almost

    Day 35 - Sun, Sea, Sand & Cheap Beer

    January 13, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    This will be short & sweet.

    By 9.30am we were up & laying our towels out on the sun beds in the prime spot facing out to sea with guaranteed sunshine all day.

    Apart from the odd stroll up & down the beach & the occasional dip in the sea we did nothing other than sit on our sun beds & watched the beach comings & goings.

    Lunch was scheduled for 1pm, but hunger got the better of us & we arrived at Dubble Duke 10 minutes early. We chose this restaurant, because it advertised an all day happy hour & true to their word I was pleased to discover a large Chang was just 90 Baht (Further down the beach it was 80 Baht for a small beer). Jackie had a happy hour Pad Thai & I had a spaghetti carbonara. It was a decent cheap lunch.

    We returned to our sun beds after lunch & repeated the activities of the morning. We stayed out until sunset finishing with a beer in Dubble Duke, then a couple of beers in Crystal restaurant bar. We accidentally only got charged for one beer each in Crystal, which was a result!

    That evening we went to Salad Villa Restaurant where they had tables set up on the beach & a BBQ on the go. Jackie picked her whole red snapper which was put on the barbie & I ordered chicken with Thai chilli paste. Jackie’s dinner when it arrived was enormous. Her fish had been butterflied open & it covered the entire plate. She still managed to eat pretty much all of it & despite my fears, it was actually very reasonably priced.

    Song of the Day: Stay by Bernard Butler.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Tell me when you're going to take it so I can breathe in
    Beach life from our sun bedsLilo lilRoom with a view at duskA shot in the dark

    Day 36 - A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

    January 14, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    This morning we nearly got caught out when we saw people loitering near OUR sun beds. I managed to get our towels down whilst others dithered.

    To spice up our morning we ordered a couple of iced coffees from our very nice receptionist/manager, who we now know to be called Pat. Jackie enquired about extending our stay in our room for an additional 4 days & Pat gave us very favourable rates so that was a done deal.

    During the morning I bought a couple of lovely coconuts from Pat’s bunch she had for sale. Jackie & I then discussed our itinerary for the coming weeks in Thailand & came up with a plan. We would stay here at Salad Beach on Ko Phangan for a total of 8 days, then go to Koh Tao for 5 nights, then spend another 8 nights, probably back at Salad Beach for another 8 days before heading to Phuket and home. We would prefer our stay could go on & on!

    We also got chatting with Mandi, who has been staying at our resort since the beginning of December with her 19 year old son, Jude. Mandi is English who is now a self employed working with old people, but has spent most of her adult life travelling, mainly around Asia. She is an interesting character, but also quite a chatterer.

    Lunch was back at Dubble Duke for a couple of cheap beers. I had stir fried mushrooms with chicken & rice, whilst Jackie had a bowl of french fries.

    After lunch, we borrowed our new friend’s lilo & took it out to sea for a relaxing float. It seemed to have developed a couple of punctures whilst it was in our possession & so we blew it up & returned it as good as new………for a few minutes.

    Mandi got her own back, when she asked if I had any books she could read as she had read every English novel in the whole of Salad Beach. I generously gave up my book I was currently reading, but quite frankly not really enjoying. She did give me a DCI Banks book in exchange.

    That evening we returned to Spicy Salad for another romantic meal. Jackie & I ordered dishes that I cannot recall the names of. Jackie had a pork & rice dish, whilst I had a chicken noodle curry from northern Thailand. Both were very tasty, but the portions were too small for us. We left the restaurant certainly less than full & we didn’t have any food back in the room.

    We compensated with a couple of Hong Thongs whilst watching the 1st two episodes of the excellent Afterlife series 3 on Netflix.

    I also fixed the malfunctioning flash on my camera.Apparently the flash doesn’t work in silent mode, which I had switched it to for my covert photos. The result of all this means that I didn’t get any pictures of Jackie eating!!

    Song of the Day: On & On by Longpigs.
    Afterlife by Nothing But Thieves.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    To (Not So) Secret BeachPaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrtyPresumably lost flip flopsFull Moon Party BeachFull Moon Party BeachLunch at Sadet BeachWaterfall with nudistsWild boar disappearingThong Nai Pan Noi BeachBig treeDinner side by side

    Day 37 - Right Place, Wrong Time

    January 15, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    After another decent sleep we went down to reception at 9am for a much needed breakfast before our scooter arrived at 9.30. The timing couldn’t have been better, because as soon as the scooter arrived and I was required to complete the paperwork & go & check the scooter for damage etc, our breakfast of eggs on toast were going the other way to our table. By the time I returned to breakfast, Jackie had finished her poached eggs & my scrambled eggs were just lukewarm. Not the start I had been hoping for!

    Our trip commenced by heading south to (not so) Secret Beach followed by Yao Beach. The tide was high so we couldn’t see the beaches at their best, but we decided they didn’t match up to our Salad Beach. On their plus side, they certainly had more eating options within walking distance of the beaches.

    We stopped fleetingly at several other beaches, including Ao Chao pao, before driving through the busy centre of Thong Sala. After stopping at a pharmacy for a couple of bits, we stopped at a 7-11 store for some snacks for our room. I bought several packets of Dewberry jammy dodgers at just 10 Baht each. Just saying!

    The roads on Ko Phangan are very hilly & steep with lots of potholes, which makes riding a scooter extremely treacherous, particularly when at the bottom of each slope you have to drive through what can only be described as a sandpit. Understandably there are frequent scooter accidents resulting in the loss of skin on limbs which is known as a ‘Ko Phangan tattoo’. We have seen plenty of evidence of this with many people walking around with bandaged limbs, including one poor sod who had all 4 limbs & his chin bandaged! For these reasons, it is the law to wear a crash helmet & I had read that it is strictly enforced by the local police.

    The roads from Thong Sala to the south of the island were the trickiest to navigate, due to large cracks & potholes in the road, but we arrived safely at Hat Rin Nok Beach, better known as the famous Full Moon Party Beach. The next Full Moon Party is scheduled for two days time on Monday 17th January. We parked up & walked most of the length of the beach. Despite being deemed to be a beautiful beach it didn’t particularly do much for either of us. The beach front resorts were a mixture of nice to damn right awful & the town behind it was run down & soulless.

    We didn’t stay long & instead rode back to Ban Tai, just south of Thong Sala, then headed into the mountainous jungly heart of the island. This provided an exhilarating ride which took us to Than Sadet-Ko Pha-Ngan National Park, where we were forced to pay 100 Baht each entry fee. The road took us down to Hat Sadet Beach, which is highly rated in my guidebook. The beach was very pleasing on the eye with large boulders at either end & large waves crashing on to the beach. On the downside, the beach faced east & the tall palm trees behind the beach were shading it from the sun. After a quick beer in the beach restaurant, we sat on the beach for 30 minutes in a small sunny spot & snacked.

    As were were helmeting up back at the scooter, two wild boar sauntered past, but true to form they had virtually disappeared before I could lay my hands on the camera.

    We rode back up the road & parked up to walk a 100 metres to a waterfall. Halfway along the rocky path, we decided to stop because we could see in the distance that the waterfall didn’t look that impressive & there were Thai families & kids playing in & around it. Instead I leapt from rock to rock over a couple of raging torrents (streams) to get a better photo of it, when to my amazement a stark naked western man & woman emerged from the water where the kids were playing & started drying off on the rocks. I’m not a prude but that was seriously taking the piss in a country where even topless sunbathing is seriously frowned upon.

    We continued up the east coast to Thong Nai Pan Yai Beach, then to Thong Nai Pan Noi Beach, which was decidedly more upmarket. We parked our scooter up alongside Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villas & walked to the beach. As we did so I became aware of a security guard blatantly watching our every move. We walked up & down the beach & declared it the best beach we had visited today, but it also suffered with the afternoon sun disappearing behind the palm trees. I later checked the starting cost to stay in a room at Anantara with a sea view which turned out to be £494 per night.

    Still under the scrutiny of the security guard, we left the beach & headed home. We passed an afternoon rave in the jungle north of Thong Sala, then we stopped at a Lotus (Tesco) store to buy masks & snorkels but 30 minutes later emerged with enough wine & Hong Thong to sink a battleship. We passed another pool party rave with lots of bright red, pissed-up kids & we made up our mind there & then that we wouldn’t bother with the Full Moon Party.

    Heading home we chanced upon a Police roadblock & they were stopping everyone, presumably to fine them for not having a crash helmet or a face mask or both. At least 8 people had been detained at the side of the road, but after we had stopped we were waved on. It felt good & justified us wearing our uncomfortable helmets all day.

    We rode to KC Kitchens, a roadside restaurant we had spotted when we first returned arrived on Ko Phangan, because it was heaving with diners mid-afternoon. It was rough & ready, but the food was fantastic & plenty of it. I had a pineapple curry with chicken & rice, whilst Jackie ordered a crispy pork dish. We had also ordered a starter of spring rolls which arrived after the main course & we struggled, but managed to eat.

    After being out & about for around 11 hours, the evening ended with a much needed shower, several large glasses of passable white wine & 2 more episodes of Afterlife.

    Song of the Day: Right Place, Wrong Time by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
    Karma Police by Radiohead.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Message in a Bottle Beach "Sawadika from Simon & Jackie"
    A boat on a beach we visitedClimbing to the viewpointThe viewpoint & my adventure sandalsBottle Beach beerIt's meThe long steep walk backBack at the topPuncture repair man & our scooterWhat took you so long?Croc shopThat's it I'm stopping for a drink!

    Day 38 - Message in a Bottle Beach

    January 16, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We both slept for over 10 and a half hours straight. I belatedly wrote up my blog & realised that we had failed to visit Bottle Beach the previous day. Disaster, especially when I discovered that to get to it by road was 18 miles away & yesterday we had been within 2 miles of it.

    We had an iced coffee for breakfast & the resort was noticeably busier, so Jackie negotiated with Pat to rent a ‘superior’ bungalow for 8 days when we returned from Koh Tao at a discounted rate. Nice work Jackie.

    It was gone 11am before we were back on the road again. We headed north to Chaloklum Beach where we found what appeared to be a number of nice waterfront restaurants & decided we would return that evening for dinner.

    We then followed a road up a high headland until we reached a car park full of scooters. We weren’t sure why or where everyone was, but a young lad informed us it was possible to walk from here to Bottle Beach. It would take at least an hour & the path was through jungle & up over a mountain. We decided against it on the grounds that we didn’t have any water with us. Just so we didn’t feel entirely lazy, we embarked on a 200 metre climb to a viewpoint looking down on Khom Beach, which was bloody knackering.

    We then drove the now 17 miles around the island to Bottle Beach. We found the correct turning off the main road, which for the next 2 miles took us along a bumpy dirt road until we reached a sign that read that only 4x4 vehicles were allowed to continue. We therefore parked up our bike with several others & continued on foot.

    For the next 500 metres (I measured it) we slipped & slid down the very steep loose gritted track. I effectively ‘snowploughed’ down in my adventure sandals. Our relief at reaching the bottom was short-lived when a couple coming the other way informed us we still had another 3/4 of a mile to go. This last leg was actually a pleasant undulating walk through coconut trees & the occasional sighting of a monkey.

    Dripping wet, we arrived at the very scenic Bottle Beach & made straight to the bar/restaurant for a much needed beer & food. Jackie had a Niçoise salad & I had spaghetti carbonara. It was all very pleasant apart from the flies attracted to our sweaty bodies. We noted that beach front huts with a fan could be rented for just £9 per night. We decided that we would stick to our aircon, but visit the beach again, but next time by taxi boat.

    After lunch we had a swim in the sea and wrote a message (in the sand) on Bottle Beach. I took photos of the message & Jackie, then I asked Jackie to take a photo of me with the message. Somehow she managed to adjust the camera settings from automatic to manual focus (As can be seen in the subsequent photo).

    We then steeled ourselves for the trudge back to our scooter. It took us half an hour of serious toil to complete the journey, particularly for the ridiculously steep last bit. At least we could now cool off with the air rushing past us on the scooter!

    We had gone no further than a couple of 100 yards when the rear wheel started to have a life of it’s own. My fears were realised when I looked down to see we had a flat rear tyre. Brilliant, on a Sunday, in the middle of nowhere & with absolutely no-one around.

    We had no choice but for Jackie to get off & walk, whilst I rode on ahead & turned left to find somewhere to get it fixed. I then crawled along the dirt track leaning over the handlebars to preserve the rear tyre. Luckily you are never too far away from a scooter repair shop in Thailand & less than 2 miles from where I left Jackie I found such a repair shop.

    The young mechanic undid the exhaust pipe to remove the wheel, then he replaced the inner tube & put it all back together again in about 30 minutes, by which time Jackie with her helmet in hand had caught me up. It would seem that a small sharp stone had caused the puncture & the cost of the repair & new inner tube, just 200 Baht. Less than a fiver, bargain.

    The afternoon was now pushing on so we rode back to Ban Tai & stopped at Lotus for more provisions, booze, mixers & a token bag of grapes. Opposite Lotus we found a shoe shop & we each bought a pair of Crocs to wear between the house & The Lemonery, for just 100 Baht a pair. Well we have to keep up with the Joneses (Clarkes & Rushes)!

    Pleased with our latest bargains, we sped north through the island back to Chaloklum Beach, but not before we had been waved through the police road block set up in exactly the same place as the previous night. At Chalokhum Beach we narrowed down our 2 favoured restaurants & chose the right hand one. It was the wrong one, next door was bustling with diners, so we had a quick relaxing beer on their empty waterfront tables, paid up & went next door to Cucina Italiano.

    In Cucina Italiano we ordered Italian food, Jackie had penne with ragu sauce & I had gnocchi with my favourite carbonara sauce, which didn’t really work & a garlic bread. It was very nice & warrants another visit.

    It was then a cold scooter ride home, where we ended the night with a nice hot shower & the remaining episodes of Afterlife.

    Song of the Day: Message in a Bottle by The Police.
    Nostalgie by Viken Arman.
    Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Full moon rising
    Jackie- the child snatcherJackie eating fried squid salad in her Tina Turner sun dressPanoramic!Sunset from our room windowBoat at sunsetNearerIf anyone was in doubt, that's not Jackie & IResort restaurantChangJackie eating again - her meal for oneThe Full Moon

    Day 39 - The Oldest Swingers NOT in Town

    January 17, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    The alarm was set for 8.30am & at 9am, I was laying out towels & sarongs on OUR sun beds. I then went into the restaurant to write up my blog & wait for Jackie. I returned the bike key which was collected without incident.

    We had an iced coffee & returned to our sun beds to find a Russian girl had moved her sun bed to within 2” of mine so she could also share the sunshine. I moved my bed a couple of inches away from her while she pretended to be asleep.

    We sunbathed all morning & noticed that all the Russian women around us resembled floor mops, a big head of hair & stick thin bodies, unlike us. We headed to Dubble Duke for lunch for a cheap beer. Jackie had a fried squid salad, whilst I had an Indian chicken curry.

    The afternoon was much of the same, but there were noticeably more young children around, mainly Russian. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Russian families all talk so incredibly loudly & I struggled to concentrate on reading my book.

    Sunset was a cracker that evening & warranted a couple of photos. Around the same time I also checked my emails & felt obliged to make more of an effort to complete a vetting form that had been sent to me that couldn’t be opened & completed on any Apple products or phones or tablets.

    With new determination, I popped down to reception to enquire with Pat if she had a computer or laptop I could borrow. She didn’t. She even rang another hotel, but they couldn’t help. I then knocked on Mandi & Jude, who had an Apple laptop that they were happy to lend me & Jude downloaded Google Chrome on to it for me. I took it away then had a touch of the seconds, because they were leaving the following morning. Mandi then introduced me to a Swedish family who had been staying at the resort for the last month, which ultimately resulted in the mum, Julia, agreeing to lend me her currently not working non Apple work laptop once IT had remotely fixed it. Hopefully this will be the following day.

    After all this running around, l relaxed with a chilled white wine on our balcony & we watched the full moon make it’s first appearance over a mountain. We tried to take photos of it, but it didn’t like it.

    We returned to the restaurant on the beach, where I ordered for both of us, a large Chang, a starter of No Name (vegetable tempura) & a Pad Thai. The waiter then turned to Jackie & asked what she would like. He was incredulous that we were sharing. He obviously thought that I looked like a greedy bastard!!

    After we’d finished dinner, we discovered that there was hardly anyone about & certainly no raving going on. We were definitely in the wrong place at the right time!

    We finished the evening with a quick nightcap on the balcony.

    Song of the Day: The Oldest Swinger in Town by Foster & Allen.
    Full Moon by The Kinks.
    Wrong Place, Right Time - No 2 by The Fall.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    A dog with it's head in the sand - just wanted to do that morning
    A 5 minute walk from the Pier. You know it makes sense!Green lighted fishing boats out in the bayAt the beach restaurant

    Day 40 - No Techno to Technophobe

    January 18, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    At 8.30am, the alarm sounded & I rushed down to our sun beds to put our towels out. I was particularly nervous, because I could hear the noisy Russian family up & having breakfast. They were still free, phew.

    Once ensconced on my sun bed, I checked my emails & saw to my horror another request for the completion of a vetting form for a different job. Happily I had all the information I needed available & I was able to complete this vetting form on my IPad without leaving my sun bed. I was quite impressed with myself.

    Over breakfast of poached eggs & French toast with iced coffees, Jackie & I looked at accessing our emails through the Sky website on the internet. Try as we might, every time we tried to sign in we were denied access. After lots & lots of googling, we established that it was something to do with our IP address & we needed to contact Sky through their website that we couldn’t access. We went round & round in technophobic circles for the remainder of the morning.

    In the end we’d lost the will to live, so gave up & had lunch on our balcony, 2 cans of beer & some peanuts, whilst the IPads were recharged. The afternoon consisted of reading our good old fashioned paperback books back on the sun beds.

    The Swedish lady didn’t make contact with me during the day & I didn’t bother to hunt her down, because I needed access to my emails on her computer to get started. I’ve conceded defeat. The vetting forms will just have to wait until I get home.

    Just after 5pm, we had a few drops of rain, so we ran for shelter to our balcony. We then had a disagreement over accommodation in Koh Tao, Jackie was dithering, so I took charge & booked The Miracle Guesthouse & Dive, which had an excellent 9.2 rating on Booking.com & cost just £95 for 5 nights. Jackie accused me of only picking it because it included a superb breakfast. I took offence when she tried to make me promise not to have a Full American breakfast every day!

    That evening we returned to Salad Villa Restaurant, the restaurant on the beach for some barbecue food. I ordered a chicken skewer & Jackie chose a whole squid to accompany a large corn on the cob each. The restaurant was really busy which was possibly detrimental to the food because neither of us were particularly impressed with our dinner. Jackie’s squid was over cooked & very chewy, whilst there were more onion & peppers than chicken on my skewer. Still it was cheap & a lovely setting with the green lighted fishing boats out in the bay

    Song of the Day: Computer by Toyah.
    No Surprises by Radiohead.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    The Russian Army have now invaded Salad Beach, Ko Phangan, Thailand
    Swing low sweet chariotAnother covert photo of the RussianThis was just after lunchYou're 'Simply the best'Chicken satay

    Day 41 - Sod Ukraine What About Thailand

    January 19, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Woke up to discover that I had an email from the vetting people to say my Apple IPad may actually be suitable to complete my vetting questionnaire. Oh god, here we go again!!

    The first thing I had to do was cut & paste a link into Google to open up a portal. I failed at the first hurdle the WiFi in our room was not strong enough to upload the portal. I spent the next hour walking around the resort trying over & over again to upload the link without a glimmer of success. Totally f¥cked off, I resorted to begging a friend who has gone through the process to try & upload it for me in the UK.

    We had a liquid breakfast, Jackie had an iced coffee & I had a fresh mango shake. During breakfast, Swedish Julia found me & informed me that her computer is totally knackered & she cannot now work for the next 2 months until they go home. We are all being held hostage by technology!

    After breakfast we returned to our sun beds & read our paperback books. We are now fighting off Russians from all sides as they grow in numbers around Salad Beach. The point couldn’t have been emphasised any better than a Russian girl who at lunch was wearing a Russian army hat & just a skimpy bikini. Are they planning an invasion here as well?

    We had a relatively early lunch at Crystal next door & to mark our last lunch on Ko Phangan for a while, we ‘splashed out’ on a sandwich & french fries to share. The sandwich was onion confit, bacon, cheddar cheese & homemade pastrami, all in rye bread. It was absolutely gorgeous. Just 2 small beers accompanied it.

    Apart from the odd stroll along the beach we did nothing during the afternoon & ended it with a sundowner. Against my better judgement, we had a quick Hong Thong, then Jackie attacked my Pompadour with my beard trimmers on the balcony. I am now too scared to look in the mirror!

    After another Hong Thong we went out for dinner at Salad Hut, which Swedish Dad had recommended for it’s pizzas. When we arrived, the annoyingly loud Russian family were just leaving & it left us as the only diners. Not necessarily a good sign.

    We ordered a chicken satay starter followed by a margarita pizza with extra ham & garlic. The chicken was plentiful, but a bit chewy & the satay was not to my taste. The pizza then arrived & we knew we had made a mistake. Effectively it was a frozen pizza heated up in the oven & at some point ham slices & raw garlic slices were dropped on it. It was the second disappointing meal we had had in a row.

    We paid up & drowned our disappointment with Hong Thongs & a packet of 10 baht jammy dodgers. Just saying again! After a couple of Hong Thongs, Jackie felt the need to attack my Pompadour again, but now with a pair of nail scissors. My best white grandad shirt was covered in clumps of grey hair & blood. I’m never looking in a mirror again!

    Thank you Alka for getting me registered on the portal. Infuriatingly, I still can’t access the portal with the resort WiFi. Hopefully I’ll have better luck at our next stop!

    Song of the Day: Russians by Sting.
    Dominion / Mother Russia by Sisters of Mercy.
    The Best by Tina Turner.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    British chavsFishing boatAboard the catRainclouds over Koh TaoApproaching Koh TaoOn the pierThe 'Budget' Miracle GuesthouseOur refurbished roomAfternoon beerDinnerNightcap

    Day 42 - Slow Down You Mad Bastard

    January 20, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Woke up at 5.30am to a tremendous downpour & saw that our drying sarongs & a few clothes which we were due to pack, were saturated on the balcony. My mood was improved when I checked the sports news & discovered that United had thrashed Brentford 3-1. My mood then dipped again, when I went to the bathroom, caught my reflection in the mirror & saw that I had a big bald patch above my right ear. It looks like I now have alopechia!

    We spent the morning packing the clothes we needed for our holiday to Koh Tao into one rucksack & what we didn’t into the other. At 10.45am, we took all our luggage down to reception & had a breakfast of cheese baguettes, iced coffee & a mango shake.

    At 11.50am the waiter informed us that our taxi had arrived. We left Pat with half our luggage & boarded our taxi van. It was the most terrifying ride of our lives. The driver drove like an absolute lunatic, way to fast for the road conditions. It was like being on a rollercoaster as the taxi swung violently left & right around corners & up & down steep gradients. Unlike a rollercoaster, we weren’t strapped in & we had to cling to the roll bar & hang on for dear life. Jackie admitted the taxi ride actually frightened her.

    Funnily enough, we arrived at the pier earlier than expected & after collecting our tickets, we waited under an awning whilst being serenaded by a one man band. When our catamaran arrived we immediately spotted the British chavs up on deck, he stripped to the waist & her sporting a homemade boob tube to show off the tattoos. Typically we ended sitting immediately behind them & they actually turned out to be alright & we swapped travel tips.

    Upon arrival at Koh Tao, just over an hour, later we disembarked on to the pier & we were required to produce an array of documentation that the immigration girl clearly had no idea what she was looking at, but eventually just waved us through anyway.

    Once on terra firma we walked up the road from the pier & about 400 metres later we located our budget accommodation, The Miracle Guesthouse & Diving. No one was around when we arrived, but after 5 minutes a young lady arrived by scooter & introduced herself to us as (Silly) Ninny. She was a bubbly excitable lady who told us she was the Yemen.

    Silly Ninny showed us to our room, that was an upgrade on what we booked. Apparently it had just been refurbished & eventually even Jackie agreed that it suited our purposes perfectly. Instead of a balcony, we had a lounge.

    I enquired with Silly Ninny about the possibility of hiring a scooter & before I knew it, ‘her friend’ arrived with a 125cc scooter just 10 minutes later. I told him that I didn’t actually want it until the morning & he seemed a bit upset, but we agreed that he should return at 9am. He left in a huff.

    Jackie & I then went out for an explore & to visit Sairee Beach, but we got caught up in a downpour & abandoned that idea. Instead we found a sandwich restaurant & supped a few beers, whilst the divers returned from their trips.

    After a shower we had a stroll around & ended up choosing a restaurant less than 50 yards from our Guesthouse. It was busy with divers & I noted that everyone in the restaurant was only drinking the free water. We got a large Chang out of the fridge & ordered crispy pork with kale & a Massaman chicken curry. It was absolutely superb & cost less than £6. I felt obliged to give them a healthy tip.

    We stopped at a Rasta Bar for a nightcap on the way home. We ended up sharing a large Leo & calling it a night. Back at the guesthouse, we struggled to open the door until eventually we realised that we were trying to open the wrong door.

    Song of the Day: Fast & Frightening by L7.
    Slow It Down by The Lumineers.
    Slow Down by Wire Train.
    Mad Man Blues by George Thorogood & The Destroyers.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Hold on tight Jackie!
    Anyone seen Bo?Hin Wong BayBloke jumping off the big rock at Tanote BayBeer o'clock at Ko Tao pier & bayWalking through Yang Bungalows to Lang Khaai BayThe road down to Sai Daeng BeachLooking out over Shark BayPanoramic view of Ko Tao BayCocktail spotNot eating, but drinkingCheers

    Day 43 - Like A Bat Out Of Hell

    January 21, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    We had a decent nights sleep & I had to drag myself out of bed at 8.40am, when scooter rental man came knocking on our door. I signed my life away & was given the keys to an orange 125cc scooter.

    We got ourselves ready & went to the breakfast room for our ‘superb’ breakfast. Silly Ninny gave us a coffee & then disappeared without asking what we wanted. I had to find her to tell her I didn’t eat fried eggs. She later returned with 2 American breakfasts with scrambled eggs that were definitely not superb. At the time of writing we will probably just have coffee in future!

    The German owner, Tom, made an appearance with a baguette, which he had bought from somewhere else which probably told us all we needed to know about our free breakfast. Whilst he was present & knowing that he owned a personal laptop, I innocently enquired with him if he knew of anywhere where I could borrow (or rent) a laptop or computer for a few hours. His reply was “Impossible “. Thanks for your help mate!

    After breakfast, we hit the road on our new scooter like a ‘Bat Out Of Hell’. We zoomed over to Sairee Beach to find Bo. We walked up & down the promenade & eventually found Sairee Beach Cabana. We enquired about Longtail boat trips around the island & we were given a price of 2,300 baht, about £60. I asked if Bo was still working & the receptionist didn’t really understand what I was talking about. We did try!

    We then embarked on a tour of every beach that we could reach on our scooter. Our first planned stop was Mango Beach, but we soon discovered that it required riding for quite a few miles down a rough dirt track. We bottled it on the basis that we had suffered one flat tyre already on this trip. Instead we continued to Hin Wong Bay, which took us down an incredibly steep road to a little car park. There was a 20 Baht charge to leave our scooter, but in exchange the lady gave us a small bottle of water. The beach was quite nice & there were free beds if you were a customer at the restaurant. The sea was very choppy, but we decided it was probably worth a return visit.

    We then headed towards the south of the island & completed a comprehensive tour of all the reachable beaches in an anti-clockwise direction. We started at Tanote Bay, a wide sandy beach with a huge rock in the bay & then Lang Khaai Bay, which was down a 600 metre track & the abandoned & derelict Yang Bungalows. Next was Aow Leuk Bay, where a road sign as we came away from the beach warned that only one person was to be on a motorbike going back up the extremely steep hill. I chanced it with Jackie on the back (see the 1st photo) & we actually made it. It the bike had come to a standstill we would have been in trouble!

    It was then Sai Daeng Beach, which had 2 hotels including Coral Beach Resort. We were seriously considering booking our stay on Koh Tao at Coral Beach Resort, but we are so glad we didn’t, because it was in the middle of nowhere & it looked like no one was staying there. From there we went to Thian Og Bay & parked up & walked through the posh, but also virtually empty Jamahkiri Resort & Spa, which had a stunning view over Shark Bay. We didn’t go down to the beach, but rode to Freedom Beach, where they wanted 50 Baht entrance fee. We decided to save that for another day & so we head back into town.

    We had to make an emergency toilet stop at our Miracle Guesthouse suite, then we drove down to Ko Tao pier for some urgently required refreshment. We parked up & selected Bro & Sis Restaurant & Bar which looked out over the bustling Ko Tao Pier & bay. Over the next hour or so we shared a.couple of large Changs & watched the world go by.

    Around 4pm we headed over to Sairee Beach to purchase the cheapest, nastiest sets of mask & snorkel that we could find. 250 Baht (about a fiver) each bought us a dodgy snorkel & mask.

    To celebrate our bargain purchases, we popped in to Blue Water Cafe to take advantage of their happy hour. We ordered a ginger mojito & a bamboo cocktail with a plate of cheesy chips & basked in the late afternoon sun. It was bliss, so we ordered a second round of cocktails, I had a gin ‘n’ jam, whilst Jackie had a pineapple margarita.

    Being responsible, after just 2 lovely cocktails, we sadly had to pay up & rode back home on the scooter. Back at the suite, we learnt the sad news that Michael Lee Aday had died at the age of just 74. Whilst getting ready, we played our own musical tribute to Meatloaf.

    We went out for a walk around town that evening & went back to the same restaurant that we dined in last night. We had a Pad Thai, a chicken & cashew nuts & a large beer that cost just a fiver.

    We picked up a new bottle of Hong Thong & coke & returned to our suite for an early night.

    Song of the Day: Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf.
    For Crying Out Loud by Meatloaf. (One of Wedding 1st Dance Songs).    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Cheap'n' nasty masks & snorkels
    Greasy spoonShark BayFreedom BeachSnorkels onSwingingPath between Freedom Beach & Taatoh BeachFollow meGary Gar Fish & his mateParty boat offshorePano from John Suwan ViewpointMe

    Day 44 - Freedom Beach

    January 22, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Woke up at silly o’clock & went to breakfast at 9.30am. We stuck to our plan & had just a coffee instead of the full American. The owner was in the breakfast room & he was in quite a jovial mood relating amusing stories of the ridiculous Thai bureaucracy particularly in these Covid Times.

    After coffee we rode down to Ko Tao pier & booked our return catamaran tickets back to Ko Phangan for Tuesday, then we booked a snorkelling boat trip for Sunday. The beauty of being out in Thailand at this time is everyone is fighting for you business. The boat trip was normally 850 Baht, but at the moment it is just 500 Baht per person.

    We celebrated our bargain with a baguette from Da’s Sandwiches, which we noticed had a steady stream of customers. I ordered a best seller - a chicken, bacon & cheese baguette, whilst Jackie ordered a healthy chicken & salad baguette. What we didn’t realise was that it would each contain huge slab of chicken which was breadcrumbed & fried. Once several rashers of bacon, cheese slices & salad & mayo were added, mine was enormous & Jackie’s not much smaller.

    We drove to Sainuan Beach & tried to eat half of our respective baguettes. We couldn’t, they were way to greasy & the chicken was over fried. Absolutely gutted. Feeling rather queasy, we drove to a 7-11, ditched the remainder of our baguettes & bought a large bottle of water & a pineapple pastry to try & cleanse our greasy mouths.

    Our first proper stop was Sharks Bay, where we walked through a resort to the waterfront. We water was quite rough, which made Jackie nervous for tomorrow, because we were returning by boat.

    Next stop was Freedom Beach. We paid our 50 baht entrance fee which we felt rather aggrieved about, but that soon changed when we clapped our eyes on Freedom Beach. It was very picturesque with a row of bushy trees growing along the water’s edge. We helped ourselves to two free deckchairs & settled in for the rest of the day.

    I apprehensively tried out the new cheap ‘n’ nasty masks & snorkels & I was pleasantly surprised, they worked an absolute treat. No leakage at all. I had at least 5 snorkelling sessions & Jackie had a couple, where we saw some quite big Gar fish & a number of other species, but nothing spectacular.

    At lunch we visited the restaurant for a couple of overpriced small cans of beer, but the view made up for it. We remained at the beach until 5pm, when we started to head for home. I convinced Jackie that we must climb up to John Suwan Viewpoint.

    The climb started to get steeper & steeper clambering over big boulders & just a thick rope to cling on to. It wasn’t designed for flip flops, so Jackie abandoned half way up & I continued in my more appropriate adventure sandals. I arrived at the top puffing & panting only to discover their were 6 other people already up there. I took a few photos of the lovely view & skipped back down to Jackie like a mountain goat.

    That night we stayed local & ate in Yangs Thaifood Restaurant. The owner was a right miserable bugger, but the food was good & probably the cheapest yet. Funnily enough it was frequented by a lot of farangs.

    Song of the Day: Freedom by Christine & The Queens.
    Beach by Something Happens!    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Frightening
    Our itinerary Program 1Koh Nang YuanKoh Nang Yuan panoramaUs at the viewpointJackie has not yet got the hang of snorkelling!FishPurple coralFishesFishGreen Sea Turtle & the crew member taking some hopefully better photosOn the boat

    Day 45 - No Sharks in Shark Bay

    January 23, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Woke up with it absolutely pouring with rain, just the perfect weather for a boat trip! We packed our bags including our rain macs.

    We had just a coffee for breakfast, during which we had some entertainment, when another guest was enquiring about getting a taxi to a beach. The German owner told him that they were very expensive & he should hire a scooter. The guest told him that he couldn’t ride a scooter & instead he would walk to Sairee Beach. The guest then got up from the table & we saw that to our shock he had one of those old fashioned black boots, that had a built up sole at least 9” high. Good luck with that walk!

    At 9.40am we were picked up by taxi & driven 300 metres to Diamond Tours. We waited nearly 30 minutes before everyone had arrived & then we walked down to the pier to board the boat.

    The first stop was the islands of Koh Nang Yuan, which were 3 islands connected by sand spits. These islands were yet another National Park requiring an entrance fee of 200 baht each. We were told that we could not snorkel here, but we should climb up to the viewpoint. We did, but unfortunately we were at the back of the other trippers from our boat & when we got to near the top we were stuck in a log jam, whilst some Thai tourists took seemingly hundreds of photos of each other before moving on. We had to wait for what seemed like ages, before we took a few snaps & headed down. After wandering around the whole island we still had 30 minutes to kill so Jackie insisted on buying 2 very expensive small Changs.

    Back on the boat we were provided with lunch, spicy chicken, rice & a fried egg. I was still feeling a bit queasy & couldn’t face it, but made do with lots of watermelon & pineapple.

    We then chugged to literally about 50 yards from Koh Nang Yuan dock & were told we would now be stopping for 40 minutes for snorkelling. The crew insisted we wore life jackets which were an absolute revelation, We had always viewed them as being for wimps, but they made snorkelling so much easier.

    We both snorkelled in the clear calm waters & apart from the usual fish, it was good to see some bright coloured coral. I stayed out for the full 40 minutes.

    We then stopped off Mango Bay & Aow Leuk, each for 40 minutes, before to what promised to be the highlight, Shark Bay & it’s Black-Tip sharks. We dropped anchor & then Jackie & I set off in search of sharks in the slightly murky waters. Unfortunately we didn’t & nor did anyone else find a shark, but we did find 3 large green sea turtles. One was enormous, 4 foot in length & had 2 remora, also known as sucker fish accompanying it.

    After Jackie had seen the turtles, she returned to the boat, but I continued swimming around searching for those elusive sharks. At one point I had the fright of my life when I turned round to see a large turtle swimming just under the surface & almost bump into my leg. I desperately tried to turn my camera on as I watched him swim away. I tried to chase after him, but I couldn’t catch up.

    It was then that I realised that I was out in the bay on my own. I looked back at our boat in the distance & saw Jackie frantically waving for me to return. Keen not to hold the boat up, I swam front crawl back to the boat, which was definitely not easy with a life jacket, mask and my snorkel flapping around my head!

    We completed the clockwise circumnavigation of the island at 5.20pm. It had been an excellent boat trip all for just 500 Baht, about £12 each. Hopefully we will have some decent photos of the turtle sent to us taken by a crew member.

    We were absolutely knackered having snorkelled for nearly 3 hours & stopped for a couple of well earned Changs on the way home.

    That evening, we rode over to Sairee Beach & had dinner at the Blue Water Cafe. Jackie ordered the house burger & I ordered beef taco. Jackie’s burger was nice but the rest was pretty disappointing because it was cold. We were too hungry & tired to complain.

    Song of the Day: Island in the Rain by The Men They Couldn’t Hang.
    Ghost of a Shark by Tom McRae.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Our turtle
    Panorama at Freedom BeachPanorama at Freedom BeachJackie in the shadeMy pancake ladyMore of our turtle

    Day 46 - My Nurse Diagnoses Pneumonia

    January 24, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Woke up at 2.30am absolutely freezing & shivering under the duvet. I thought the air-con unit had gone haywire. Jackie work up with clothes discarded & announced she was boiling hot. I put on my fleece, got back into bed & went back to sleep again.

    At 5.30am we both woke up again & Jackie informed me that my head, chest & back were on fire, but I felt just comfortable. Nurse Jackie then conducted a rigorous interrogation of my symptoms which included an aching body. She made me check my heart rate numerous times & take an ECG. All came back fairly normal, so she then trawled through the internet & after considering several illnesses, she settled on pneumonia.

    We got back to sleep again around 7am & slept for almost 2 hours by which time I felt much better & so we ordered a omelette with our coffee from Silly Ninny. When they came they looked horrific, the fried tomato, onion & mushroom omelettes were huge & to top it off they both had 3 sheets of processed cheese melted over the top. It didn’t actually taste too bad, but it was way to greasy. The decision to order an omelette was a massive mistake. I wanted to take a photo of it but Silly Ninny wouldn’t stop watching us eat.

    We returned to the room & I was soon running to the toilet. Enough said!

    We are now of the opinion that my body has overdosed on fried food & is rejecting it. We also think our aching bodies are down to our swimming exertions the day before.

    After settling the stomach we picked up a couple of bags of fruit, mango & pineapple for a healthy lunch & a couple of Changs & a bottle of water. Probably all a bit to late now!

    Belatedly, we headed back to Freedom Beach for a day on their deckchairs. I couldn’t face a beer at lunch & I was grateful that they did have very nice toilets, because I needed them on 3 occasions. Apart from wallowing in the sea, we did nothing. We had a break from snorkelling.

    That evening I was still feeling dicky, but Jackie was keen to have the same Massaman curry I had had on the first night. We ordered just one curry & rice, with one large Leo & a bottle of water. Apart from 2 mouthfuls of sauce & rice I couldn’t face anymore, but I did managed to drink the beer & water, so we had a 2nd Leo.

    I had promised myself a Nutella & banana pancake, so we walked down to the pier & ordered one just for me. Jackie ate a third of it.

    Back at our room over a nightcap, I managed to access the Diamond Tour photos for the day we were with them. There were 134 photos, but none featured us, generally they were of the same few show offs who didn’t wear a life jacket. I managed to Airdrop a couple to my iPad (not such a technophobe after all!)

    Song of the Day: Fever by Daniel Ash.
    Shiver And Shake by Ryan Adams.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Leaving Koh Tao
    On the catamaranIn the taxiRoom complete with football on the TVA Dubble Duke beerScene of pastrami sandwich

    Day 47 - Highs & Lows

    January 25, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Jackie tried to wake me at 2.30am to inform me that I was literally pouring with sweat. I could hardly wake up, but I felt trickles of sweat running off my body & head. I slept through to the alarm, whilst Jackie was apparently googling my new symptoms.

    I got a coffee from the German owner & Silly Ninny returned my passport in exchange for the scooter keys. We walked down to the pier & boarded the catamaran at 9am & got what we considered the prime seats on the top deck. At 9.30am sharp, the catamaran pulled out of Koh Tao.

    An hour and a quarter later after a calm crossing, we docked at Thong Sala on Ko Phangan. We never know what to expect, because each time the entry requirements are totally different. On this occasion we were met by 2 police officers with Go-Pros on their helmets who demanded to see our passports, they photographed them with their phones & then took a 2nd photo of each of us holding our passports.

    Jackie had emailed Salad Beach Resort to arrange a pick up, but she hadn’t received a reply & there was no one there to meet us, so we had to resort to using a taxi. We were told it would be 200 Baht each & we had to wait 5 minutes for another boat to come in. Other taxis were full, but it seems we were the only taxi heading north. The driver then told us that because it was just us we would have to pay an extra 100 Baht each, but if he picked up any passengers along the way he would refund the extra money. I advised him that I was extremely unhappy with a volley of choice expletives. He just smiled back at me like a grinning idiot.

    The taxi ride was sedate compared to our last ride, but unsurprisingly enough we didn’t pick up any other fares. Upon arrival at Salad Beach Resort, we were met with a heroes welcome. All the staff came over to welcome us back. Pat told us that our cottage 205 was ready and escorted us over to it. We had previously selected this cottage as being in the best position & Pat was giving it to us at a good discounted price as loyal customers.

    Our cottage is so lovely & fresh with a large bed with white sheets. The balcony is large with a view of the sea and the pool. We were both have high hopes for a relaxing last week & are so glad we had made the decision to return here.

    After unpacking, we took a walk along the beach for a couple of beers at Dubble Duke, before returning at Jackie’s request to Crystal for their toasted rye bread pastrami sandwich we had enjoyed so much last time. When it arrived it was with white bread & when I bit into it the pastrami & bacon were limp. It was just what I didn’t want or need. I removed the offending meat & ate basically a cheese sandwich. I checked the menu intending to complain, but there was no mention of type of bread or crispy bacon etc, so we were left high & dry on that score.

    We sat by the pool during the afternoon & my queasiness returned, as well as a headache from reading with the wrong strength glasses. Jackie left to get me a banana shake & returned to tell me she had seen a laptop in reception. I had also been tracking Swedish Julia all afternoon, because I had seen her using her ‘broken’ computer.

    At 5.30pm, I saw my chance to innocently ask Julia if her computer was fixed. It wasn’t, she could still only access ‘Teams’ on it. We then went to reception & I asked Pat about the laptop Jackie had seen. Apparently it was a laptop lent to the resort, so that they could play music into the restaurant. Pat said I could borrow the laptop but only after the restaurant closed for the night. I explained that I needed to firstly email a link to the computer.

    For the next 45 minutes it was like the blind leading the blind. The laptop was all in Thai & Pat had never sent an email before in her life, but we managed to eventually get the link on to her phone.

    She suggested we return at 7pm, but upon our arrival a group of Scandinavians with unruly kids had just sat down for dinner. We would have to wait, so we ordered dinner. Jackie ordered a lamb mok, a spicy lamb salad & a Chang, whilst I ordered a cheese baguette & a banana shake. I couldn’t face anything else.

    Around 8pm, Pat brought the laptop over & she sent her very 1st email. After several attempts the link appeared on the laptop - hallelujah. I clicked on the laptop & it whirred round, before telling me it couldn’t open it. I tried several more times with the same result. It would seem that the link can’t be opened from Thailand!

    It was definitely a day of highs & lows, unfortunately more lows than highs!

    Song of the Day: High Hopes by Pink Floyd.
    High & Dry by Radiohead.
    Low by REM.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Moody morning
    Breakfast of ChampionsShit Top Knot

    Day 48 - Almighty Night Sweats

    January 26, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I had fallen asleep at 8.30pm the previous evening, leaving Jackie watching Netflix. Apparently Jackie had been monitoring my symptoms hourly & around 1am I had started to sweat profusely. She had tried to rouse me, but I was too drowsy to wake up. I did eventually wake up 12 hours later at 8.30am, but my side of the bed was literally sodden from top to bottom, including the pillows & the duvet. This was a worrying development, but on the upside I felt much better. Maybe I had sweated all the badness out!

    Feeling hungry we headed up the beach to Coral Beach Restaurant, where we had a superb breakfast. Jackie had avocado & poached eggs on toast, whilst I had mango & sticky rice. We then sunbathed around the pool. Lunch was just a solitary beer then more reading around the pool & listening to the soothing sounds of the Steve Ignorant Band - Live in Notts 2021.

    Over lunch I had marvelled that at Salad Beach every Scandinavian male sports a shit top knot haircut (Are they trying to imitate Zlatan?) & the Russian males just have shit haircuts!

    That evening, we returned to Dubble Duke, where I discovered I think that I’m all ‘beered’ out. I ordered a soda water! Unfortunately we didn’t enjoy our meal either. It didn’t help that I had lost my appetite again, but I had Arabiata spaghetti that was too spicy & garlic bread that was too garlicky & Jackie had Prawn Tom Yum soup that was too watery.

    A Hong Thong nightcap finished off the evening.

    Song of the Day: Sweaty Betty by The Macc Lads.
    Bata Motel by Steve Ignorant Band.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Shat on Jackie's sun bedNot onceBut twice

    Day 49 - Noisy Bird & Not Jackie!

    January 27, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I was still awake at 4am, without any indication that I would have the night sweats again. A short while later I must have fallen asleep & the next thing I knew was that I woke up at 8.30am again AND the whole of my side of the absolutely drenched again. This is a concern particularly to Jackie.

    I felt absolutely fine, so after Jackie did her best to air the bed, we popped down to Pat for breakfast. Prematurely we ordered cheese & tuna respectively baguettes & a portion of french fries. We struggled.

    After breakfast we made arrangements through Pat to get a ferry & minibus back to Phuket in 7 days time. It was going to mean a 4am taxi & a 5am ferry, which will be nice, but it was a good price & we may yet see our 1st sunset on this trip.

    The highlight of the morning was conversing with the resident resort Myna bird. It is an extremely noisy bugger who is already become a bit annoying. I shoved my phone towards him & filmed some of his repertoire. I then suggested Jackie try & touch him & she nearly lost her finger.

    He obviously wasn’t happy because the moment Jackie got up from her sun bed, he flew over & shat on it not once, but twice. He clearly did give two shits!

    We avoided having any beer for lunch & spent the day in & out of the sun around the pool & reading. Our plan was for an early sunset tea, then cards on the balcony.

    At 6pm, we went next door to Crystal & unbelievably I was still not hungry. We sat at a table on the beach, where I got well & truly attacked by mosquitoes (I splatted about 8), whilst Jackie didn’t get bitten once!

    Jackie ordered a chicken salad & a strawberry mojito, whilst I ordered just a soda water. I had 2 mouthfuls of Jackie’s salad which was more than enough for me.

    We returned to the cottage & just chilled on our balcony with Hong Thongs & bottles of water.

    That night when we went to bed we were surprised that the cleaners hadn’t swapped the bed linen on my side of the bed for a paddling pool. Jackie was also threatening to go to bed in her mask & snorkel. I knew they’d come in handy!

    Song of the Day: No Rest by New Model Army.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsNo SADness in ThailandSimon and Jackie Annals
    Wat Phu Khao Noi
    Apparently it's very good!Market produceSmall templeBuddhaLooks like Jackie has been let loose on it againThe stupaPhoto opportunityLunch viewLunchThe dinner photo Jackie presented to Zak.The dinner Zak prepared for Jackie

    Day 50 - Back in the Game

    January 28, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    I had the night sweats or more accurately sleep sweats for a 4th night in a row, but because I hadn’t slept that much the bed was damp more than saturated. I did however feel perfectly fine.

    At 10am we popped down to reception to await the arrival of our scooter & to get an iced coffee. Pat had forgotten to order our scooter & hurriedly ordered one for us.

    We were on the road by 10.30am & heading to Thong Sala for some retail therapy. We spent the morning hunting around for souvenirs with limited success.

    For a bit of culture, we visited Wat Phu Khao Noi, one of the smallest temples in the country, but the oldest on Ko Phangan. The hill upon which it sits has been designated a historic site. Jackie was not sufficiently modestly dressed, so she guarded the scooter, whilst I wandered around & snapped away.

    We then stopped at Lotus for provisions, mainly alcohol & snacks & headed back towards the resort. We stopped at What’s Cup, a cafe for a bowl of smoothie & an Hawaiian sandwich which were excellent & with a pleasant vista.

    It was then back to our place for an afternoon around the pool & with no side effects from lunch. So that evening we went back out on the scooter & headed south. We found a Thai restaurant called Zak. I ordered chicken & cashew nuts, whilst Jackie showed Zak a photo on her phone of the dish she would like. It was spicy prawns with rice & egg on top. Zak said he could do that & by god could he. He returned with a virtual replica of the photo which was apparently very tasty. With my appetite restored, I ate all my dinner & even managed some snacks when we got home.

    I feel that I am now back to my normal self which is a blessed relief. The ultimate test will be whether I do or don’t have sleep sweats tonight.

    Song of the Day: Part Two - In My Own Way by Ray LaMontagne    Read more

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