Return to Paradise - Saam

Sept. 1, 2017

The first morning on Koh Chang - some who were fighting jet lag were up before sunrise, and enjoyed an early morning walk on the beach.

jellyfish

lots of hermit crabs

 We had rented a motorbike for K. Mick and K. June to use, to make travel between the properties a little more manageable.  They came by in the morning, and told us that the TV didn't work and that they were the only ones in the entire complex.  It was clearly not the experience we were hoping to give them.  I felt really bad - the place looked so nice online.

Tim and I discussed the difficult housing arrangements with K. Mick, and we decided to try to cancel the remaining nights at the deserted condo.  The local manager said she couldn't give us a refund, of course, but let Tim talk to the owner over the phone.  The guy was a first-class jerk, and saw no reason he should refund anything.  The local manager wound up giving us a partial refund from her own pocket, I think because she recognized the unfairness of the situation.

That morning, nearly everyone piled into the van to go shopping for food.  They came back about an hour later with enough food to feed an army!  We crammed everything into the fridge as best as we could, and everyone grabbed some breakfast.

Soon after, a makeshift game of water volleyball was arranged.  No net was available, so they used the rope attached to the property's kayak and stretched it across the pool - clever.  Tim Jr had picked up a small ball from the store, so they were all set.  The game was well under way when a mighty downpour moved in.  The players were undaunted, and continued playing in the rain, "big ol' fat rain" splashing water up into their faces.  It reminded me of the scene in Forrest Gump when the title character describes the different kinds of rain in Vietnam.  "Sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath."

The rain (literal and metaphorical) soon cleared, leaving some nice, wet sand for sculpting.  I love the feel of wet sand and seeing what takes shape.

The sun was soon setting, and K. Mick had just gotten his fishing line in the water - K. June stood at the shore and he rowed out in the little kayak with the line - when we announced it was time to go.  (Guess we should have communicated our plans a little better.)  We heard about a fire show on the beach further down the coast, and decided it would be a fun place to have dinner.

When we pulled up in front of the Sabay Bar, the staff gladly helped find us a parking spot.  I'm sure they were happy to have a van full of customers.  The Tiki-style front is decorated with walls of bamboo, and leads to the beachfront dining area.  Everyone ordered drinks, and took some time pouring over the large menu.  The waiter had jokes, ones I'm sure he'd used a thousand times before, but I was amused.  Some people ordered chicken pad thai, and he asked them if they didn't want pad thai chicken.  Colored lights that looked like jellyfish hung from the trees.  A good soundtrack added to the ambiance.

No babies under twenty?  No grenades?
No eating poison??

Always time for a dance on the beach...

Before the fire show began, we watched a man stack wine glasses into a pyramid.  He poured some kind of alcohol into the top, and watched it cascade down into the other glasses, then set the alcohol on fire.

The food was pretty good, but the fire show was the highlight for sure.  Young men spinning and whirling with flaming props - hoops, swords, ropes, etc.  It was a feast for the eyes.

After the show, we took a walk along the main street, and some picked up some souvenirs.  Hiustyn decided she needed a giant floating donut for the pool.

We enjoyed sharing the evening with great company.