The day that the rain came down

And very welcome it was too if I'm honest :)

The other morning I woke up to a very watery sunrise:

A sign that the rainy season is on its way here - clouds on the horizon, moving in from Koh Phangan. But still so calm and very beautiful. Just the birds chirping to welcome another day.

We since had some rain, so refreshing and cooling, along with very sunny times too.

Earlier today we took another trip into Nathon, so much better than Chaweng where we went the other day - that place is a bit like 'Blackpool in a hot-tub'. I didn't take a single photo and after 14 trips to Thailand we finally decided that Chaweng is off the list for even a day visit :)

Today the rain really came down and, intrepid little explorers we are, that didn't stop our plans to go and say goodbye to Nathon until next time. We had huge hotel umbrellas but were scampering along in thin clothes as it was still so hot, managed to get totally soaked, 'plodged' through puddles up to our ankles and generally had a blast!

Ended up in our favourite bar overlooking the Port and I found that Hilda Ogden had been there already - photo taken more for UK friends:

Whilst sitting drying off over a beer and just watching the world go by a religious procession suddenly appeared. Not a good photo but do bear in mind I was wet, trying to scamper along the very uneven pavement without breaking my ankle yet AGAIN (once had to be flown home as a stretcher case from Tenerife and spent months in a wheelchair) and just did what I could:

A bit like a ceremonial barge, made of teak and being hauled by what seemed like about 60 people with very long ropes.

We then weebled our way through the back streets to the appointed place where our lovely taxi diver was waiting and this is just a little glimpse of a local dress shop - Armani NOT:

So, that for now is what we've been up to on 'teacher training'. And where are we right this minute? Here of course - on our lovely balcony and debating where to eat tonight:

That's only about a third of our balcony - if you ever, ever venture to Thailand then come here - Hansar Samui Resort and Spa, Bophut, Koh Samui. It's fabulous :) This is the bed - I lose Len in the night and have to check he's still there! :)

And this is the bath:

OK, it takes some getting used to having a bath in the middle of the room, but it's optional whether you use it- the huge walk-in shower is big enough for a Playground party :)

And this all happened because just ONE WEEK before we came, our normal place we stay at also in Bophut emailed to say 'tough luck we'll be closed for building work'. It's called The Waterfront, is in fact English owned by quite a pretentious couple and has outgrown its boots to the extent that even returning guests of a few years standing were dropped in favour of profit margins so they could extend their tiny swimming pool to a slightly larger one in time for more money when the high season arrives at Christmas :( Without walking up and down with a placard outside the place, I can only say it's best to strike them off your wish list. With our flights all booked we were in a real pickle - but I would now always recommend The Hansar well above them, they look like amateurs by comparison - just a shame we had the trauma to find out! Sorry for the rant, it was 'take it or leave it, tough luck' and so very unprofessional :(

But hey, didn't they do us a HUGE favour?!

Di
x