Freewheelin’ in S.E.A - Day 37: Dead and Breakfast

15.11.12

Our breakfast dining area

I jolted upright in our huge comfy bed and quickly jumped out. There are few things that can make a man act this way upon waking, one of which is an all you can eat breakfast, which is exactly what we had coming. I looked out from our balcony and heard talking, so I knew some of the others were already down in the poolside dining area. I shook Sarah like an excited kid does to his mother on Christmas morning, throwing clothes at her, then rushing downstairs to have my hung-over hunger satiated. James, Andrea and Taijahna were already seated at a round, rotating table which had a variety of cereals, croissants, pastries and juices. One of the staff on hand came straight over to take our order and we asked for the full works to help steady our heads. A few minutes later and we were delivered plates with sausage, eggs, bacon, hash browns, mushrooms and toast. Half way through I asked for more bacon and hash browns, which were cooked up swiftly and brought over as I continued to gouge away, adding various baked goods to my plate. Richard arrived looking slightly faded, with a fresh faced Aimi beside him, then the bride and groom arrived, wearing matching robes that had their names embroidered in the back, which the resort had made especially for them. We sat chatting and admiring our beautiful surroundings, wishing we could somehow stay there for longer, but we only had the place until 4pm so we returned to our suite to make the most of the big bath, and sat soaking, staring out across the sea in a state of bliss.

The view of Heaven  from down on Earth

As much as I enjoyed the comfort of staying in such lavish dwellings, where everything is taken care of and everything you need is to hand, I couldn’t help feeling slightly like an imposter, like a hobo that had drunkenly stumbled through a back door and somehow ended up being served dinner in Buckingham Palace. I’m sure most of this places guests didn’t stroll in with over-stuffed back packs and joints hanging out of their mouths, but what can I say, that’s how I roll, no need to put on any airs when you’re already flying. So fresh and so clean, clean, we fell together onto our bed and christened it as the most expensive bed we’d ever had the pleasure of making dirty, proudly rolling around and making the most of it, before our forthcoming evening spent trying to sleep in a bus seat all night. We packed most of our stuff, then returned to the poolside, where Alexa’s mum Karen and her brother Easton had joined us to swim and sunbathe for the afternoon. Sat in paradise, catching rays, is definitely not a bad way to waste a day. Unfortunately the sands of our hourglass had all but fallen, and a cab arrived to take Sarah and I to the bus station. We thanked Alexa and Hayden, wishing them all the best for their honeymoon and said goodbye to our temporary family of friends, whom we had both greatly grown to love. The doors closed, and we were on the road again. After forty-five minutes we reached the bus station, bought two tickets for the night bus to Bangkok, then waited an hour in a little cafe getting some cheap, local grub from a serve yourself buffet. Our bus was ready to depart at 5.30pm, and we boarded, leaving our bags stored below. We amused ourselves doing arrow word puzzles until it became too dark, then I spent an hour or two tapping away at my keyboard, still ascending the mountain which you’ve been reading, until I became tired around 9pm. I popped a valium and it knocked me out. I was shaken back to life around midnight, as the bus jolted me upright in my seat, so I popped my second helping and faded back to black. An off switch to life is a tempting thing to have, however I’d tend not to opt for such an easy way out if I wasn’t stuck between two narrow chairs for 12 hours. Either way, needs must, and they worked a charm. No harm.

Relaxing beside our own personal infinity pool