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Life on the beach

Mon 15th Feb 2010 — drew
image(s): 
Heather takes charge of the (automatic) scooter
Heather goes for a dip
beach in Khao Lak national park
beautiful coastline
huge spider
sunset's different every day
Heather heading North up the beach
Drew on his bike on the beach
crossing a river
at least it'll be soft if she falls off
cycle tracks

It took us over 6 weeks of living in Thailand before we made it to a beach; but now that we are finally here we are really enjoying it. We are still enjoying cycling and morning runs or swims and have found some favourite restaurants and spots to watch the sunset. We have settled in to a work routine - Drew is working on the charity's computers including helping with their website where the three working languages (English, Thai and Burmese) are providing some new and interesting challenges. Meanwhile, Heather has been teaching in the nursery in the mornings and working in the office in the afternoon helping with editing translations and continuing environmental research work. Teaching in the nursery is very tiring and the few helpful Thai phrases that she learnt teaching in Bangkok are of no help as all the children speak Burmese. Although the children are very cute, trying to control 26 of them aged between 3 and 5 is definitely a challenge.

We rented a scooter one day to travel down the coast to Khao Lak national park. Heather was very pleased that this scooter was automatic so she could happily drive without any embarrassing stalls on the hills (as she had in Chiang Mai)! The national park is a beautiful stretch of rocky headlands, cliffs and sandy bays where the jungle reaches right down to the sea. We walked along the coastal trail which takes you through the dense forest, frequently breaking out onto the coast where we found big crabs scurrying around the rocks and enjoyed great views back along to Bang Niang beach. The trail leads to a small sandy beach where we relaxed and tried to cool down with a swim in the sea before the long, sweaty walk back.

On Friday, there was a family fun day organised including displays showing off all the children's arts and crafts, singing, dancing and games. Some of the older girls from Heather's nursery class had been practising a short dance all week and were very excited to be on the stage but managed to complete the routine without any problems. All of the volunteers had different stalls to run and Drew was in charge of the football (target practice) whilst Heather was doing jewellery making. Whilst Heather was able to relax in the shade helping thread beads on elastic string, Drew was out in the heat most of the day kicking footballs. However, the event managed to raise a fair bit of money and a lot of fun was had by all.

We spent the weekend exploring the long stretch of sandy beach that we live on. On Saturday we walked down the beach towards Khao Lak which is a few kilometres of beach split up into sections by rocky outcrops and dotted with beach resorts, forest and small bars and cafes. On Sunday, we headed the other way up the beach. This is a much longer stretch of sand and would have been too much to cover on foot so we decided to take the bikes. Where the tide has gone out the sand is firm enough to cycle on happily but there are frequent streams to cross and unexpected sections of sinking sand to contend with. There are a few resorts dotted along the coast but it is mainly just huge stretches of beach with no-one on them. The bikes allowed us to make good progress and we soon found ourselves at the headland with views back inland to the lush forests and hills. We were very grateful for the make-shift bamboo huts selling cold, refreshing fruit shakes and also providing some shelter from the fierce sun. We have got used to liberally applying sun cream at regular intervals as the sun here is very strong and you see a lot of farangs with either alarming burn marks or an unhealthy leathery over-tan. Thankfully, so far our strategy has been successful.

We are already almost half way through our stay here and the time seems to be going very quickly. Onward travel arrangements are starting to take form but there is a lot of detail to fill in. Sometimes it seems that all the research and organising of travel, tickets and visas is a full-time occupation in itself, but we are looking forward to the results of all the hard work.