The Changing Seasons-July 2018
The Changing Seasons post, inspired by the lovely Sarah at Secret Art Expedition and hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch.
I had two treats in July.
The first one was when I went to meet two very good friends, who I haven’t seen for a long, long time, 7 years to be exact!
Hailing from the Czech Republic, Lucie and Stefan are two of life’s shining stars. Always happy and always doing the things they love to do. I met Lucie when I did my TEFL course in Cambodia back in 2009. We travelled to Siem Reap together, got up at 4am to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, and became firm friends. They came to visit me while I was living in Surin and, since then, have been on their own epic journey through life, living in Colombia, travelling to SE Asia again, and now back on home turf where they’re currently studying for their PhDs and travelling when they can. So, when they told me they were in Thailand I just had to see them. We met for lunch in Bangkok and spent a fabulous couple of hours catching up. It was like I had only seen them yesterday, and I love that! It really was such an immense pleasure to see them again.
The other treat was going on a day trip to Krabi! Yes, a DAY TRIP! 😉 Chris and I have had some mad ideas, but this was probably one of the maddest. After discussing it over a few drinks, we booked it! All of 440 baht one way (£10.33). A few years ago, we went on a day trip to Saraburi to see the sunflowers in bloom. We went by train, early in the morning and didn’t get back until late in the evening, so this was our motivation for going to Krabi for the day, for lunch! That, and the several alcoholic drinks we had downed! The only difference would be that our mode of transport would be a plane rather than two trains.
The day arrived. We met at the skytrain at 6.30am, made our way to the airport, and at 8.55 a.m took off on our way south.
We arrived in Krabi at 10.15 a.m and got the free shuttle bus to town and went in search of the food market that Chris knew about. Bearing in mind that he hadn’t been there for a couple of years, we weren’t even sure that this particular stall would still be there, but it was, so we sat and enjoyed some delicious, and some not so delicious food. As I get older, I have become more fussy about what I eat, I know what I like and I, generally, stick to that.
But, Chris is a foodie, through and through, and he will try almost anything. So, after the initial disappointment and thinking we had come all this way for something I didn’t really enjoy, we were then presented with some Massaman, a dish that comes from the south of Thailand. It was the best I’ve tasted and with the catfish and more Massaman, we were soon filled to the gills!
We left the market and caught a songthaew to Ao Nang beach. Sometimes, the journey is just as fun as the destination itself. The road to the beach was surrounded by high limestone cliffs and it is just so green, a welcome sight when you live in Bangkok.
Ao Nang has a laid-back vibe filled with many restaurants and shops along its short promenade, and the most beautiful stretch of sand that I have seen for a while, flanked by more stunning cliffs, palm trees, and, oh-so blue water with views out to Koh Poda and beyond.
We walked along the beach and had a paddle in the sea, we wished we had taken our swimming shorts because the water was so inviting.
We went in search of a bar, so we could sit and enjoy the views with our afternoon drinks. It was bliss!
Time goes so quick when you’re enjoying yourself, doesn’t it? We moved to a different bar and had one for the road before heading back to town to catch the bus back to the airport.
We arrived back in Bangkok around 10.00 p.m, took a taxi to our neighbourhood and had a debrief about our day over dinner. We realised we had travelled 1,600 km and been out for 17 hours! It was a lot of fun, but it took a few days to get over it!
If you would like to join me and the others in this challenge, here are the guidelines:
The Changing Seasons Version One (photographic)
- Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery that you feel represent your month
- Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.
- Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so that others can find them
The Changing Seasons Version Two (you choose the format):
- Each month, post a photo, recipe, painting, drawing, video, whatever that you feel says something about your month
- Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!
- Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons so others can find them.