Bananas can make a wonderful token of friendship.

I think it was due to yesterdays storm, but the dawn sky today was quite something. I took some pics at around 6:30am, while I was drinking my coffee. The big clouds, the pink skies and the light coming over the mountains really create some amazing imagery. On my walk along the beach today, I had decided to head up to a small market that is half way up the beach and up another road like mine that cuts across the island and towards the village. It is the main road which most of the people staying in the resorts use. Along the way, I came across a Thai guy who’s motorbike had crapped out. He was trying to push start it, so I gave him a hand by pushing while he tried to jump it into gear. We tried several times, but to know avail. He thanked me and then told me it was ok, and I continued up the road. I got “Koy’s Shop”, which was a beautiful little shop run by an Englishman and his wife(Koy, I guess). It had everything you could need for a little bit more than the market, but in a convenient location if you didn’t want to walk all the way in village. I needed a few items to get me through the 2 days until I hit the mainland, so I bought a few instant coffees, 3 postcards, 2 envelopes, and some cigarettes. I chatted with the guy for a bit, and then headed back home. Got back around 9am, and just as I was about to take the turn, Tee-ha’s auntie(who he has lived with since the age of 1, and calls Mom), calls out, and grabs a bag from her porch. I come into her yard and she hands me a bag of fresh bananas. I don’t know it they are Burmese bananas, but they look slightly different than the ones I here in the yard. They are thicker and stubbier than the ones growing around me. What a nice gesture! I thank her for the gift, and head to the house. Due to the rain yesterday and the 1.5 hr walk, I am drenched! Once home, I hang up all of my clothes and try to dry off. There is a family of Tokei’s living in my house, and I have tried to take a photo of them all together for quite sometime. I haven’t been successful until today. When I went up to hang up my shirt, there they were, all three relaxing. I ran down and grabbed my camera and took a photo. For the longest time, I thought I was losing my mind thinking there was a family. Last night, I saw the baby in the kitchen and took a photo, but I had never seen the parents together at the same time, and often convinced myself that I was seeing the same one, even though they look slightly different. Well, now as you can see, there they all are!. I think the white things are hatched eggs, as the female is always laying beside them, and 2 more that are still waiting to hatch. Maybe they are timed so that as soon as one is ready to leave home, the next hatches… more investigation is required! The rest of the afternoon was spent compiling a shopping list for the trip to Ranong, the market, and Tesco/Lotus. I also wrote a postcard to my niece Taylor(a weekly event, as she likes the pictures of strange places and people I think). I took a trip down to the beach at 2:30pm, for a beer run. I am trying to let my supplies get low before Ranong, and the shopping, so I bought a 6 pack of cold beer from one of the bars. Somewhat pricey, but convenient! Ate one of Auntie’s bananas as a snack, and it was great. Sweeter and firmer that the usual banana I have had, and had seeds like a Vietnamese banana. I will have to ask of its origins tomorrow. I decided to take a wee nap around 4:30pm, and ended up waking at 9:30pm. I had thought of taking a wander, but at this hour, there was little point. I headed back to bed. All was fine and dandy until 2am, when someone in the Thai family that lives about 300m from here, decided to watch some TV. Now, what’s the problem with this you ask? Well usually nothing, but when you have to start a generator to watch TV, there’s the rub. It’s like camping on a really quiet lake here. Any sounds from the people camping on the other side, carry right over to you… same applies here. So after an hour of watching one of the numerous karaoke music video shows, the TV went off and the generator stopped. Back to the sounds of nature and another few hours of sleep.