Perhaps it was the couches, cushions and indoor-meets-outdoor feel that lured us in, but we did enjoy the Fisherman's House restaurant on the tourist strip. They made great banana pancakes, which seems to be a favourite here, and the coffee menu ran on for pages. We'll be back. I noticed a small sign at the restaurant that said "You look even more beautiful when you smile." I think that sums up the tone here in this tourist haven. People from around the world come here, partly I'm sure because the locals are genuinely friendly and accommodating. The only thing left to do here is just smile back and enjoy.
Later in the morning we went for a stroll down the sandy beach past restaurants, massage spas and resorts. With us all in bathing suits and me in my flip-flops (standard issue in Thailand), we were looking for a place to spend time on the beach, but we didn't notice a specific public beach area. We discovered that the beach strip is available to all but the beach chairs are reserved for the resort guests. Catheleen solved our problem by renting a couple of pool-side chairs at the Bandara Resort & Spa. We were a bit confused at first by the vouchers we had to purchase for a small fee, and even more puzzled when the bar tender asked us to bring the vouchers with us when we ordered from the pool bar. It turned out the vouchers weren't so much to rent a couple of chairs but were to purchase a minimum amount of food and drinks from the pool bar. So we ordered our drinks and enjoyed a day in paradise pool-side. While at the pool I admired a huge banyan tree nearby, with garlands of flowers and enough bands of ribbon fabric wrapped around the tree trunk to make a rainbow of sorts. I understand many Thai people consider these banyan trees sacred, either because Buddha sat under a banyan tree or due to beliefs in animist spirits.
On the beach I noticed an entrepreneurial family had set up a barbecue, brought in by a small boat which was holding the supplies nearby. So we enjoyed a picnic on the beach with barbecued corn on the cob, chicken satay, spring rolls and papaya salad. A dog was quietly lying nearby and John eventually pet him and fed him some chicken when I wasn't looking. When another dog same along John's new friend took off and barked and growled at the interloper, who turned tail and went back where he came from. Our local dog then came back and sat quietly down near us again. I guess there's only room for one canine beggar on each slice of the beach. Later in the day I watched the family clean up and clear out. They packed up everything into a small blue wooden boat and walked it along the shore through the shallow water. Nothing was left for the dog.
On the beach I saw the usual sea-side pursuits like wind surfing, banana boats pulled along by jet skis, and people just enjoying the warm water with the island of Koh Pha-Ngan in the distance. What we didn't expect was someone rising ten feet out of the water like a super hero with jets of water coming out of his feet. Whoever was hooked up to this contraption took a while to get adept at it, first falling this way and that a few times. Once he learned how to control the flow, he would shoot out of the water and hover above, attached by a tube to a jet ski that provided the thrust. I'm not sure what skill he was learning from this thing, but it certainly looked like fun.
Here's me next to the banyan tree.
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