Having made it through the night we awoke to minor devastation, the gentle hum of mopeds outside showed us signs of life and breakfast was served as planned. We donned our ponchos and mounted hotel bikes. The weather was much calmer than during the night but Nari's presence could still be felt. Within seconds we were surveying the damage, trees missing branches, gardens missing trees, houses missing roofs! Everyone and their dog was out in force already busy sweeping streets, hacking down fallen trees and repairing damaged roofs. It was at this point the chain on Martins bike decided to malfunction and within moments a passing moped had stopped, two locals jumped off, graciously pushed him aside and fixed the chain covering themselves in grease in the process, a gentle nod of acknowledgment and they were gone as quickly as they had arrived. Looking around what greeted us was not a picture of devastation after all but one of laughter and merriment, not a sad face could be found. We were met with smiles, waves and laughter at every turn. These were the most gracious, friendly and welcoming people we had encountered on our travels and we felt honoured to be part of the experience.

Continuing through the town we cycled around fallen trees and through knee deep water, Martin even managed a Baywatch style rescue of a drowning manikin much to the amusement of the watching crowd. We headed east toward the coast and 5km later we were stood on blackened sand. Joined by several locals with cameras we wandered through the recently abandoned beach front restaurants. The damage was severe, restauranteurs ducked and weaved through the debris trying to reassemble the scattered remnants of their former businesses. The atmosphere was not doom and gloom but gentle shrugs of the shoulders were followed by loud belly laughs. The buildings could be repaired but lives lost could not and that was what was important.

We continued cycling along the beach front completing a loop of the outskirts of the town, one last peddle through the old town, revealed little life had returned to the restaurants. We hung a left and parked up in Cafe 43! Where else! Admin, beer, admin, beer, admin, beer, consumed the next 3 hours for Martin while Emily slept. At dusk we took to the bikes again to explore the south side of the river by moonlight, to our delight the majority of the town was back on its feet, shops and restaurants welcomed customers, the lights were on and the roads free of trees, there was an energy and life about the town that was unique. We continued over the bridge and ended up in an abandoned bamboo restaurant on the riverside, with the electricity out on our side we were able to sit in darkness and enjoy the twinkling lights of the town across the river we greeted the night with smiles and headed one last time to Cafe 43 a great end to a great couple of days.