Monday morning boat trip.....

....that never was.  Morning from Bliss my faithful followers, of which I appear to have many from all 4 corners of the globe!!  I have no idea how someone in Nigeria finds my blog but if you are the person from Nigeria reading my blog, hello and thank you! Maybe one day the Editor of Lonely Planet or Bill Bryson will read it, like my witty banter and insightful view of travel, and offer me a job.

Until then the boat trip that never was.  Pick up at hotel at 9am, it said.  9.30, no show.  Mr Chang (I now know his name is Wa Wa) was hovering a little miffed that I had not booked a trip through him, so I decided to walk up to the shop and enquire as to the problem.  The lovely lady was mortified. A few phone calls, lots of Hmmmm, ya ya , hmmmmm ok ok later it transpired that the driver had forgotten to pick me up.  So a discount and lots of apologies later, I am to go on my boat trip on Tuesday.

So, what to do with Monday then.  I decided to give the next town along a go, Ao Nang, as this has tat shops and I had been missing a bit of shopping.  Now, it is a captive market here, you can't walk to Ao Nang as its 25 mins by car, but there are lots of people offering taxi services, from tuk tuk's to minivans and Mr Chang, so I plumped for a lift with him as it was easier than not doing so and I was only £2 more....

Got to Ao Nang and it was indeed shop heaven, all laid out along the beachfront.  Even had elephant harem pants! Busy here too, lots of tourists, a real tourist resort with big hotels and purpose built shops, and also the ferry port to some of the other islands.  So, as I wandered the shops it became clear that some of them were a bit dark, maybe they don't open up fully this early, but it wasn't until I went to get a bit of breakfast that I was informed the whole town had a powercut.  So no coffee and pancakes for me then, or anyone else for that matter. 

So I wandered along the shoreline, finally finding a little stall selling the banana pancake thingys I loved so much in Bangkok.  Nom.  Did a bit of souvenir shopping and then something strange happened.  I got a bit bored of all the shops and all the tourists. It had a different feel here. Oh yes, I can't believe it myself, but I was hankering for Bliss so I decided to head back. 

Now, I had not managed to squeeze in a tuk tuk ride in Bangkok so I decided to get one back from Ao Nang to Bliss, and once I had chosen my smiley tuk tuk driver and pointed out my hotel on the map we were off.  And a very considerate driver he was too, slowing down for the bumps to stop my wobbly bits from wobbling and after a very enjoyable 30 mins we arrived home.  Bliss indeed.

Time for lunch.  Now, one of the other things I do for you faithful followers is to try out local cuisine, and this little place had enough food establishments for me to try a different one for lunch and dinner every day.  Todays lunch offering was at the Beach House and very good it was too.  Penang chicken curry, rice and pad Thai, all washed down with a Chang.  Bloody lovely, not a lot of it but soooooo tasty.  The food is here is more expensive than the street food in Bangkok, obviously they have to pay for the restaurant, but it is still not dear by our standards.  That little lot was under £8 but the pad Thai was 120 baht instead of 40 in Bangkok! The curry really was lovely, I didn't want it to end, sweet and spicy but not too much, just enough that when I sweated it out it made my face sting.

Don't know if I have mentioned before, but this area of Thailand is Muslim and there is a more Indian feeling influence.  It may not be the case but it has that feel.  There is a mosque somewhere that calls to prayer 4 times a day.  Hypnotic. 

Popped to the shop for a Cornetto, went back to the room to de sweat, fell asleep on the bed and woke up an hour later ready to go and sit on my lounger by the swing,  under the ban yan tree, you know the one, and wait for sunset. 

And there I lay for a lovely couple of hours, on the lonely deserted beach, all the locals off working and doing what they do, all the other guests somewhere else, just me, the sun and the waves and a can of Chang from the shop.  Right up until the crucial time of sunset when a family arrived and frolicked in the sea right in front of me.  For the love of God, you have the whole bloody beach!!!  It all worked out in the end and I have the pictures to prove it.  One the sun had set on another 24 hours of wonderful memories, the mosque called to prayer and the birds and insects started their corus and I knew it would soon be time for dinner.  Exhausting.

I decided to venture up the town tonight and what a lovely little town it is, buzzing with people but not too many, lots of places to eat.  Touristy in a very non-touristy sort of way if you get my meaning,.  Unspoilt. I chose Mothers House.  No fast food here but bloody amazing when it finally arrives.  And it is fine as you can watch the 35 tipper trucks drive by, all lit up with lights and taking the winding streets very slowly so not to knock down any walkers or dogs.  There must be a quarry or something nearby as they go through day and night.  Doesn't really bother you though, it is just kind of part of the place.  That and the pimped up taxis complete with flashing neon lights and boom boxes.  Anyway back to dinner. Tom Kha Gai (chicken, coconut and lush spices soup) followed by Masamun chicken curry with potato and peanuts and another heavenly sauce.  With rice of course. Another culinary slice of heaven.

All finished off with a little wander and peruse through a couple of shops that obviously only open at night.  Back to the room and sleep, after a strange exchange with Mr Chang.  We sort of have a mutual mis-understanding of each other.  He said 'hot yes, oooooooo hmmmmm hot' I said 'yes it is but lovely and better at night' he said 'hmmmm yes ha ha ooooo so many emails, ha ha'  Night night Mr Chang, love you long time.

TTFN xx