Hurrah! The monsoon winds have at last died down and the sun is out, at least for part of the day. The water in the channel that weaves between the bungalows at Hutcha Resort, has dropped dramatically – probably by about three feet. The sea is much calmer and has receded so that more of the beach is revealed. The surf is still up on this part of Mae Nam bay, so swimming is not an inviting prospect. We have the bike for another two days and spend the afternoon exploring the north and some of the west coast. First stop is the northern end of Mae Nam beach which turns out to be much more sheltered, and hence calmer, than where we are staying. Just round the headline beyond Mae Nam we stop at Laem Na Lan which is an idyllic little beach, palm-fringed with soft white sand. There is virtually no development apart from a resort stretching up the hillside at the far end of the bay which cannot be seen from most of the beach. Onward to Laem Yai in the north-west corner of the island to an unspoilt white-sand beach. Signs of development in progress suggest that it may not remain this way for much longer. There is a startling amount of new resorts being built around the island and it’s hard to imagine how they will attract enough guests in the current economic climate. We ride on to the northern end of Tong Yang bay on the west coast. Here in a secluded palm forest, we come across a small Thai village complete with wat, a school and narrow stretch of beach untouched by tourism. There are signs that a large local market is held here periodically, but not, unfortunately, today. Finally we end up at a very quiet beach with three tables shaded by thatch roofs and we stop here for lunch, to chill and to soak up the atmosphere.
In the evening we try out the only restaurant in Mae Nam that is regularly busy on the theory that this must be an indication that it is good. Tonight it is packed and we just manage to get a table.
At this point we should have realised it wasn’t going to live up to expectations. The service is excruciatingly slow even by Thai standards and there seems to be a shortage of staff, which is unusual in a country where nowhere has two staff when four will do. When the food does arrive it is not very good although the portions are enormous.
On to the Lazy Coconut bar which has been advertising live music, more out of curiosity than any great expectations. But we find that we have to fight our way to the bar and are left wondering where all these people go the rest of the week. The Bob Color Band turns out to be rather good and they get the older crowd up on their feet with passable and energetic renditions of some old 70s and 80s rock classics. Between sets we’re treated to a Geordie ‘Elvis’ doing some early songs from the pre romper-suit period. It’s the liveliest night we had since we got here!