Day #127 - Sleeping by the Sea

A Thai cow in the field next to our villa. Proved to be quiet noisy in the mornings! 

It's a transit day - of sorts! Today we leave the lovely Beach Village Resort at Sam Roi Yot and head south. Our ultimate destination is Krabi on Thailand's other coastline. This is an eight hour drive which we felt was too much for one day. So we had booked a lovely beach front hotel around the halfway mark. 

The wonderful Angel had arranged a driver for us for the two days and so we set off for the first leg of the journey knowing we were in good hands, although he didn't speak any English. 

Sadly James wasn't feeling much better, so our driver had been briefed beforehand that we might be requesting loo breaks quite frequently. Luckily in Thailand, it appears that most petrol stations have public toilets that can be used. As you might expect, they do vary in quality, but on the whole, we found them to be more that adequate. 

We drove through the Thai countryside and then onto the main motorway heading south. The scenery was forever alternating between small settlements with shops, business and presumably houses behind, and open countryside with its countless palm trees and the majestic granite mountains that punctuate the skyline. 

It is hard to capture views from the rear passenger seat of a speeding car, so I don't have any exciting pictures to share. When we did stop, it was at a petrol station and I didn't think you'd want to see that! 

After about three hours or so, we arrived at our overnight location - a delightful beach resort that promised lovely ocean views. However, we arrived in heavy rain as dusk began to draw in and so our first impression wasn't as our hosts would have liked. Nevertheless, the welcome was warm and the staff wonderfully helpful.

We were staying in a cute little beach bungalow that was as close to the sea as building regulations probably allow. The golden sand received the relentless waves which were more akin to Cornish waves this evening than to the gentle lapping paradise waves seen in holiday brochures! 

As we settled in, I was thrilled by what a knock at the door brought us - afternoon tea!! How amazing and wonderful. This was fully appreciated by me in every sense of the word!

The rain eased a bit during the evening and we enjoyed a lovely meal in the hotel restaurant. James was still feeling a little delicate and so not only did I have a delicious plate of chicken, mash and veg (sometimes you just crave the simple stuff) I had half a bowl of spaghetti carbonara since he couldn't quite manage it all. 

By the time it was dark the rain had stopped and the air was warm - perfect for an evening swim. 

Tomorrow we continue our journey south, but for now, we are enjoying  a beautiful view from a very comfortable bed!