Hey Blog Fans (Lesley your last message made me laugh. i was like the zoo inspector that day)

Being on a tropical island it was only right for us to go and explore its beaches. in Chaweng as you have seen on the pics is a long yet thing stretch of white sand and blue sea. Deckchairs are dotted along the shore but mostly people just lay their towel on the sand. Every few yards there is a small, bamboo shack where the massages take place. This is just one of the things that all the beaches have in common, the other being speedo clad Europeans.

Cheongmon was our next beach to examine although we had stayed here 4 years past so knew what to expect. the actual complex has been newly developed and now houses a swimming pool; and an apartment block with gym. The beach itself seems the same. Small and a little more personal than Chaweng. this time there are no deck chairs or towels on sand but beds and the sea is still an aqua blue colour but calmer than its neighbouring waters.

Our 3rd beach was Lamai, a little south from chaweng and smaller. Its beach is a beige, shingle with a rocky shoreline and the day we went there, the sea seemed to spit out its waves over the shore. Massage huts are sparce here compared to the other beaches and there are also less beds and towel space.

Beach 4 was a private, tropical dream and beautifully named Crystal Beach. Again its white, sandy shores paved way to a clear, green, blue sea. it is small,personal and overlooked by the infamous elephant rock with its beige and brown colours encrusted within the green of the jungle behind it. Only 1 or 2 massage huts have set up here and 2 eateries also which give to its personal appeal. Private bungalows scatter the walkways to the beach. the perfect retreat for an unintrusive holiday. it was here that i had the perfect people watching moment.

A young Frenchman with seven of his friends paraded the beach like he knew it well. they were posing for pictures in the sea, having lunch and generally having a good time. When he wanted anything like a picture, he simply whistled for his Thai girlfriend to appear. When she was lagging behind him and his friends he whistled for her to catch up, when he was having his lunch, he whistled for her to join them (eventually). All the time she smiled and obeyed, sometimes even acting a little coy. When he went for a walk with the boys, she curled up on the sand and waited patiently for him to return. And all this time i sat and observed trying to understand her. Here she was doing anything to try and leave this paradise and here was me watching thinking of ways I could stay in it.

Lifes funny that way