Day 12 : Uh-oh.

16:30
Big change around in our hectic daily schedule today. We’re a little later getting up than yesterday, and head out for breakfast around 10:30. I accidentally (seriously) order more food than I’d planned to, and need a morning nap to see me through. I get up around 14:00, and join Vicki by the pool. She’s bravely tried a Sangsom - a local rum that we’ve been warned can be a touch risky. I join her. It’s - ‘interesting.’ Doesn’t taste like a spiced rum, but goes down easily enough.

Vicki’s peckish, and orders a pizza. I go for a light option of a papaya salad, asking for medium spicy. My first taste sets my mouth on fire. There are crushed red birds-eye chillies throughout, and the dressing has a bold, red tinge - evidence of further chillies. It is, by a country mile, the hottest thing I’ve eaten in this trip. It’s also one of the most delicious - by far the best example of papaya salad I’ve been served while in Thailand. I’m torn between leaving most of it, and devouring it at pace. Ultimately, I manage most of it, but leave as many of the shredded chillies as I can. My lips are burning, and my mouth is watering. I ignore my wine, knowing this will only make the pain worse. 20 minutes pass, and the discomfort starts to dissipate - thankfully.

It’s 15:30, and we both reckon there might be more snoozes in our near future. We’re not heading to the Half Moon party until 21:30 tonight, so we’ve plenty of time to play with. Vicki is off to sleep almost immediately. I try but fail. Apparently, there is a limit to how much napping I can do in a day.

18:00
A comprehensive change of plans. Throughout the afternoon, my stomach’s started to feel less than solid. I don’t think it’s the after-effect of my ultra spicy papaya salad - I suspect that’ll visit me in the morning. To be fair, I would always expect to have a couple of days out of a 3 week trip in this part of the world with a somewhat dicky tum. Without wanting to enter into too much detail, I shan’t be going anywhere tonight that’s more than sprinting distance to the nearest facilities. We’re gutted to miss the Half Moon party, but sometimes listening to what your body’s telling you is the right (if boring) thing to do…

23:30
As a result of my geographical constraints for the evening, we grab a seat down at TropiCoco’s beach bar for sunset. It’s staggeringly beautiful - a real treat. The colours are incredibly vivid, and the light playing off the water is hypnotic. It’s a wonderful place to spend some time.

We have some dinner - a fairly plain Gnocchi dish for me - and spend most of our time people watching. There’s a German guy sitting next to us who I think might be the most stoned man I’ve encountered. He spends quite a bit longer than is entirely necessary explaining to the bar manager about his Grandfather’s technique for opening coconuts with an electric screwdriver. The temperature at this time of evening is a delight - the edge of heat having dissolved from the day.

Not the plans we made, but 100% not the worst way to pass the evening…Read more