October 22, 2009 – Ban Krud, Day 2 (Reg is too laid back to write anything, so Amanda is doing the work.)

Reg was parked on his hammock on the beach under the coconut trees most of the morning until I threw him out of it and dragged him for a walk along Ban Krud beach road taking in the country life of this little village. It was hot but the palm and coconut trees did provide lots of shade. Stopped for lunch at a local beachside restaurant and had a wonderful meal of spicy papaya, squid and shrimp salad, and a green shrimp curry washed down with 2 ice cold Singha beers. Had a few laughs with the waitresses who were trying to teach us Thai. The weather has been wonderful so far but would certainly welcome more ocean breezes which are nearly non-existent. After our walk back from lunch, Reg parked in his hammock again and wasn’t moving for the rest of the afternoon!
A swim and shower and then a quick stint on the net while savouring a delicious sautéed squid appetizer with 2 sauces accompanied with iced tea before Gai came to suggest our dinner menu, based on what the cook had found in the market today. It just couldn’t get any better than that!
Chatted with a lovely couple, John Rolfe (teacher), wife Belle with 3 beautiful children Becky, Benjamin and baby daughter. They normally reside in Pattaya but were enjoying the peacefulness of Ban Krud and away from the dozens of expats that reside in that city. Becky, their oldest child, personality plus, and precocious, kept us entertained most of the evening, especially with her precise boarding school, English

October 23, Ban Krud, Day 3

Reg was back in his favourite hammock again after breakfast, getting his fill of escape novels. After some coaxing, we decided to bicycle ride and explore more of the village. We noticed a number of new resorts popping up in this area…..soon it won’t be a tranquil haven but a touristy area like Phuket & Phi Phi which would be too bad. Half way through our ride, Reg was overcome by the heat and had to turn back. We stopped again at the beach side restaurant for a cold drink and lunch, then headed back to the resort for a dip in the pool and a snooze in our air conditioned bungalow. Another lazy day, just relaxing and reading. Dinner was a Thai buffet…..the chef out did herself and provided all the guests with a sumptuous feast, many dishes we had never tried before nor will probably ever see again. After dinner Becky, Benjamin and the owner, along with a few other guests led us down the back trail to the canal where we saw a mass of fireflies, it was like a lit up Christmas tree.
A really tough life!

October 24, Ban Krud, Day 4

Our last day in Ban Krud before we catch the bus back to Bangkok tomorrow morning. There is so much to see but we couldn’t tear ourselves away from our hammocks. If you stay here you will understand. We bade farewell to the Rolfe family as they headed back to Pattaya, sending them off with all our chocolates saved from the ship (for the kids) and a couple of completed novels to lighten our baggage. At noon we dragged ourselves out of our hammocks and headed in for lunch. Lunch was another feast of delicious Penang curry with roti, stir fried vegetables and a seafood noodle dish, accompanied by iced tea. Unlike the Thai restaurants in Vancouver, the flavours here are so rich and scrumptious they just burst in your mouth. We even recommended these dishes to a German mother and daughter Zabina & Lina who loved it. We look forward again to tonight’s feast, this last night at this charming place.
According to locals, the weather in Bangkok has been wet and stormy, we are hoping that our day in Bangkok will be sunny so that we can take in some of the sights in the short time we have here.