A week of vacation in the lovely beaches of Thailand and sure life's a beach! The following lines of the song really talk to you especially when you simplify 'Cause I'm young and in love' to say 'Cause I'm on vacation...
I get ready, I get all dressed up
To go nowhere in particular
I get ready, I get all dressed up
To go nowhere in particular
It doesn't matter if I'm not enough
For the future or the things to come
'Cause I'm young and in love
I'm young and in love..-Lana Del Rey
(Meeting the conditions of the song is quite a stretch of imagination when you are on the other side of 30s..lets admit that.)
We were in Southern Thailand, exploring the beaches of Phuket & Krabi around Andaman sea. Island hopping tours are a popular activity to explore the distant island groups of Phi Phi and Hong island. There are hundreds of speed boats flocking to these gorgeous waters, with thousads of tourists in tow. The islands are incredibly beautiful, soft white sand and clear green waters reflecting the tall limestone rocks surrounding them. Sometimes the shade of the waters turned a darker shade of green & blue with the shadows of the corals beneath. It was ethereal and at the same time quite an impersonal way to experience the beauty around. Everyone was trying to escape the crowds to get a perfect Facebook worthy photo of themselves in the allotted time on the beach before we head to the next island destination.
The real opportunity to commune with the waters and the tall cliffs came our way when we took our sea kayak to navigate through Ao Thanane’s mangrove forests and sheltered lagoons. It was a delight to escape the spluttering sound of speed boat and long-tail boats in the quite of the kayak and just get mesmerised by the beauty and the quite sounds of the mangrove forest. It was perfect, except the husband and I were warring at each bend and every jutting mangrove root-right, right, right.....bam! We were the drunk bumbling bees of the kayak group. Only when we were out of the mangrove forest and the waters opened up, peace was restored in our part of the world. Despite what I described, would recommend to take the kayak and explore around.
Lastly we stayed put at Kata beach, for two days. Kata is the quieter cousin of the famous Patong beach in Phuket. This was really our true beach time, lazing around in the sand and waters for the greater part of the day. In between the dips and reading on my kindle, I really got to reflect that everyday is different on the beach. One day the sea can be perfectly still, the next full of waves. Merciful cloud cover one day and none the next. The breeze changes angle.The color of the sea changes all through the day and also between today and tomorrow. The only constant attribute is the saltiness of the sea water.
Moving on to matters of food, the thai green/red curry served everywhere was on the salty side ever. Papaya salad is the only way i like the papaya. There are way too many Indian restaurants in Krabi and the food is absolutely authentic. 'Vegetarian food' is not an alien concept, we were able to find decent food choices everytime. Coconut ice-cream with tender chucks of coconut is the best. Having a dinner of tropical fruits is totally legitimate, after trying some roadside pancakes. Dried fruits on the contrary is just unhealthy sugar disguised in attractive fruit-packaging-beware!
Keeping me company on this trip was a book on Genes by Siddhartha Mukherjee, it is an odd choice for a beach read. Yet the expansive scope of the book is well enjoyed over glances at the immense waters and the recurring waves. The gist of the book from a NY times review is quite spot on: "The gene is, and is not, the determiner of our identity. It behooves us to accept this paradox and understand it".
Ah! the complete delight of lying in a hammock in a quite private beach(in Krabi), gently rocking in the breeze and reading my book. The beauty of the moment was that it could make you feel 'young and in love'..
For the future or the things to come
'Cause I'm young and in love
I'm young and in love..-Lana Del Rey
(Meeting the conditions of the song is quite a stretch of imagination when you are on the other side of 30s..lets admit that.)
The real opportunity to commune with the waters and the tall cliffs came our way when we took our sea kayak to navigate through Ao Thanane’s mangrove forests and sheltered lagoons. It was a delight to escape the spluttering sound of speed boat and long-tail boats in the quite of the kayak and just get mesmerised by the beauty and the quite sounds of the mangrove forest. It was perfect, except the husband and I were warring at each bend and every jutting mangrove root-right, right, right.....bam! We were the drunk bumbling bees of the kayak group. Only when we were out of the mangrove forest and the waters opened up, peace was restored in our part of the world. Despite what I described, would recommend to take the kayak and explore around.Lastly we stayed put at Kata beach, for two days. Kata is the quieter cousin of the famous Patong beach in Phuket. This was really our true beach time, lazing around in the sand and waters for the greater part of the day. In between the dips and reading on my kindle, I really got to reflect that everyday is different on the beach. One day the sea can be perfectly still, the next full of waves. Merciful cloud cover one day and none the next. The breeze changes angle.The color of the sea changes all through the day and also between today and tomorrow. The only constant attribute is the saltiness of the sea water.
Moving on to matters of food, the thai green/red curry served everywhere was on the salty side ever. Papaya salad is the only way i like the papaya. There are way too many Indian restaurants in Krabi and the food is absolutely authentic. 'Vegetarian food' is not an alien concept, we were able to find decent food choices everytime. Coconut ice-cream with tender chucks of coconut is the best. Having a dinner of tropical fruits is totally legitimate, after trying some roadside pancakes. Dried fruits on the contrary is just unhealthy sugar disguised in attractive fruit-packaging-beware!
Keeping me company on this trip was a book on Genes by Siddhartha Mukherjee, it is an odd choice for a beach read. Yet the expansive scope of the book is well enjoyed over glances at the immense waters and the recurring waves. The gist of the book from a NY times review is quite spot on: "The gene is, and is not, the determiner of our identity. It behooves us to accept this paradox and understand it".
Ah! the complete delight of lying in a hammock in a quite private beach(in Krabi), gently rocking in the breeze and reading my book. The beauty of the moment was that it could make you feel 'young and in love'..
