Day at the Beach

KT and I popped out of bed the next morning, eager to hit the beach, only to be surprised by a rainstorm.  We went back to sleep awhile, and when we woke up the rain was gone, so we all went out in search of breakfast before the beach.  Another fatherly figure, this time a Dutch guy, called out to us and invited us into his restaurant just like your grandmother would invite you in for cups of cocoa after a day of playing in the snow.  The breakfast buffet looked delicious, the price was cheap, and the Dutch man was so nice that we couldn't resist.  We had a spectacular breakfast at the Karon Cafe before KT and I headed off to the beach.  In my experience, boys are almost always less enthusiastic about the beach than girls and Mark was no exception.  He opted to hang around the room awhile, and promised to meet up with us later.

It was a beautiful day, and the waves were just as brutal as the day before.  The red DANGEROUS NO SWIMMING flags were still in place, although we'd been told that it was all right to swim as long as we didn't go out too far, and provided that we made sure that the lifeguards were awake before going in the water (yup, for real).  KT and I had a good time wrestling with the waves, but when a wave knocked me off my feet and turned me in a perfect somersault before dragging me across the sand and then spitting me out on the beach, I decided to take a break for awhile.

Mark eventually met up with us, slurping an ice cream bar, which made KT and me smile.  Mark said he'd enjoyed a massage from one of the women out of the hordes that were lining the streets repeating, "Hello, welcome to Thailan'.  You wan' massaaaaaaaaaage?" I was glad he'd found a way to enjoy himself while KT and I lounged on the beach.  He headed out into the water while I photographed some of the local wildlife.  I thought the abundant common mynas were interesting, since most of the ones in Singapore are Javan mynas.

Common Myna

Our day of sun and fun went on and on, and we were completely waterlogged by the early afternoon.

Me and Mark at the beach

KT and Mark in the Andaman Sea

KT and I laid about, thinking that we were working on our tans.  In reality, I was working on one of the most gnarly sunburns I've ever had.  Once I looked down and realized that I was turning a preposterous shade of neon pink, I jumped up and covered myself, then beat feet toward the guesthouse.

KT laying out...and dancing?

After showering off all the sand and salt, we all went to get something to eat at a little place that appeared to have no name, but lured us in with a giant list of milkshake flavors.  When we saw this menu, we were pretty happy with our choice...  Spaketti, anyone?  No?  How about some magaronee?  The meetsort kind, of course.

Adding to the awesomeness was this poster of fruits and vegetables.  Obviously hawthron, brinjaul, megranate, and spinage are all essential parts of a balanced diet.

I also appreciated the drink stirrers in our insanely delicious banana milkshakes.

We turned in early that night, as we had to get up early for a tour we booked to go out to Phang Nga Bay.  That night, as we got ready to go to sleep, Mark was bested by the taco bed, which collapsed and chomped him like a big angry mouth.

Omnomnomnom