We jumped in our "taxi" (open side-car) to the resort... we were the only people there and the bungalow was lovely. We had the entire beach and local area to ourselves. Apart from us, the resort was essentially closed -and we had to specify a time when we wanted to the local staff (a lovely local couple) when we wanted to have any food or drink! We were glad to avoid Charlie's Resort on the other side of the island. We have read that is trying to take over the whole beach, is unsightly, and has attempted to have part of the island renamed after itself.
Being quiet and remote, our beach had a myriad of wildlife on offer including many starfish. Immediately obvious were the thousands of tiny crabs running around - maybe it's the season for baby crabs! When walking towards them, they would scurry away and bury themselves into the sand.
I went for a nice afternoon swim (being careful of the plant-life!), and then after some chill time under the sun we decided that we would explore the island villages to look for somewhere to eat... a torch was required for the journey back. We were lucky when one of the locals gave us a photocopy of a hand-written map - there were very few landmarks to guide us! Until that point we took to photographing local signs and landmarks to help mark the way back. It was also apparent that there was a tsunami risk from the signs that we saw!
We ate supper at "Hill Top" restaurant, rather than at having our own restaurant specially opened - it was also half the price. The owner was crazy was a crazy mother who had moved down from Bangkok - easily distracted and clearly trying to steer us towards eating things that were easier, quicker or more convenient for her to cook!We did notice that there was a similarity between all of the dishes that came out of the kitchen that evening! Tomorrow she says she will have prawns and chicken, so I expect we will be given more than a gentle push in that direction!
