Saturday 25 December 2010

Christmas Day

Saturday 25th December 2010

MP3 track of the day: We wish you a merry Christmas -

Weather: Beautiful, if a little hot. The sun was shinning until 5pm when light showers started to fall.








As I woke up I didn't feel very festive; there are no decorations in my room and, with no windows, the outside world was still a mystery for me today. I decided to have a lazy start and do things that I would have done at home on this festive of festive days … I decided to watch TV.


The whole collection of 'Men Behaving Badly' is on 'you tube' and so I watched a couple of episodes before I noticed that the time was around 12:30. I got ready and headed into town for some lunch. Again bright blue skies with white fluffy clouds were present in the sky and it was hot. For my first Christmas meal of the day I had noodles with chicken and a coconut milk (it's an actual coconut with the top prized off and a straw in it's place) which I bet not many people in the UK will be having. The coconut milk was okay but the noodles weren't that great; I ate as much as I could and then left for the beach.


On the way to the beach I stopped to book a half day elephant trekking session for Boxing Day starting at 8:20am. I then walked leisurely to the beach and found the spot that I was sat in yesterday; I sat down and started to read my book I didn't feel very comfortable and so after two hours I decided to return to my guesthouse for some more TV viewing and – as I'm sure I would be doing a lot of this if I was back at home today – to eat some chocolate. I got up, dusted most of the sand off my body and started to walk back. As I walked I found even more sand … sand really goes get everywhere and it has a mind of its own.


It was a good thing that I left the beach when I did; as I approached my guesthouse a light rain shower began to erupt. Whether it would get any worse I did not know, I was in my room for a few hours before going out for some tea when it was dry.


I found this great little restaurant that was really cheap (even cheaper than the restaurant I went to in Krabi but the food wasn't as nice). What's more I got a plate of pineapple and watermelon for free, and two sweets … bonus. As I looked around the open-fronted restaurant, in a clockwise direction, I realized why my opinion of Khoa Lak had dropped; all around me where white 'resort people' ordering chips and burgers and pasta. Okay I have to admit that I had a McDonald's yesterday however this was for lunch and if I'm in a Thai restaurant, in Thailand, I shall eat Thai food. The sad reality is that as I looked up and down the main high street it become obvious to me that I can order a margarita pizza easier than I can get a Thai green curry. I suppose it's the same in our country with the Chinese and Indian restaurants … that's globalization for you! I suppose the best way I can describe Khao Lak is within two words 'soulless' and 'characterless'. As James May put's it, it's rather like Munich.


As I have to get up early tomorrow I decided to pack my bag for elephant trekking and get an early night. Now, being pro-animal protection, I am a little concerned about the state in which I will find the elephants. However my gut feeling is that the elephants will be treated well, mainly due to the fact that they are someones livelihood and that a badly treated elephant will cost money. WWF (World Wild Life Fund) has been doing animal protection campaigns for a while now. In the Congo, Africa, elephants were being hunted illegally for their ivory. The WWF pays local people to protect these animals and so, financially it's now in their interest to do so … I hope the same logic applies here in Thailand.


Well Christmas Day has been okay; sure I would have preferred to be at home … or actually Franz Joseph Glacier in New Zealand or Kyoto in Japan would have been pretty cool. It hasn't really felt like Christmas and I think the main reason is down to the weather; it's not natural to have temperatures in the low thirties, and humidity as high as a kite, on Christmas Day ... not natural at all.


Toodle Pip!

2 comments:

  1. Belated Happy Christmas (been away from the computer for a while)!

    ReplyDelete
  2. No problem, Mate

    A belated Happy Christmas to you too!

    ReplyDelete