After that ...!

It's been a few days since I last posted but things have been pretty hectic here. There's been some horrible news affecting a few people - thankfully not my immediate family, but people I care about nevertheless - so I didn't feel much like posting. I wanted to write about the rest of my trip to Thailand before I forgot it, though, because, as I've said before, I want this blog to serve as my online diary for later!

So, I can't even remember which island I'm on at the minute but as they're all very pretty I don't suppose it matters much, does it! Anyway, on this day - whichever one it happened to be - we didn't have much planned, other than a morning trip into town to wander round the local market. And that was when I realized I had a searing pain running down my left leg. I could just about manage to walk, but trying to get in and out of the tuk tuks was horrendous. I remember thinking "hell, I turned into a little old lady overnight" and while I am indeed a little old lady I've never really felt like one - that is, until now. In the end I went to the local pharmacy and as the lady spoke excellent English she felt pretty positive diagnosing sciatic pain due to my massage - something which can apparently be rather common if you're not lucky! Anyway, she gave me pain medication which - according to the others - is only available on prescription in England (I'd never heard of it) and told me to take one or two a day. So I limped around like a big baby for another four hours, tried a few yoga exercises when I got back to my room, decided I'd take the medication later that evening, fell asleep instead and wouldn't you know it the pain had completely gone by the next morning!!! I've never known not taking medication to work so quickly but I felt like a real fraud at breakfast the next day!

The restaurant at this hotel used a cute little "vanity caravan" as their bar, so since it was so dinky I asked the staff if I could take a photo of them in front of it.

C, the Welsh lady who I had become very friendly with, told me that she'd been sitting by the bar earlier that evening when a young woman came up, installed her phone camera and proceeded to take "influencer type" photos of herself in front of the van (and the staff) - complete with "trout pout" and "come hither" poses. She'd walk back to check the photo and when she didn't like it she started over and must have taken about 10 all told! Now I would be mortified doing something like that (C said she was trying not to laugh) but I guess it just shows our age doesn't it - well that and my Hopalong Cassidy act the day before!

In fact tonight I discovered a YouTuber who dissects some of these "influencers' videos" where they show off their perfect, jetset lifestyles and she was so funny pointing out how they faked it. I was talking to my friend this afternoon and telling her that there is at least one place in the US (although I imagine there are loads more) where they have a set designed to look like a private jet and for about $80 per half hour you can take all the photos that you want inside "your" private jet, followed by posing up a storm next to "your" Bentley (or whatever floats your boat)! And you know what, I would love to do that because I think it would be a hoot taking pictures of me with my gammy leg and flipflops inside my private jet!

While she was still sitting there a man came down to the beach with a monkey on his shoulder (beats a parrot and a peg leg, I guess), put a leash on the monkey and it shot up a tree and started throwing coconuts down!!!! How come I missed all the best bits then??? The staff were telling her that these men treat the monkeys well, of course, and since the monkey is only doing what comes naturally they would appear to have it well sussed!

As we were all chatting later that evening R (the oldest of our group at age 80) showed us a quick video he was able to snap of a "giant lizard" (although I'm sure David Attenborough wouldn't call it that) just outside the ladies toilets on the way back to the hotel. Man, you get some real creeps hanging around the ladies' loos don't you!

Video curtesy of R!

We were such a mixed bunch but all got along really well so someone mentioned setting up a retirement home in Thailand where we could all retire together (despite the 60 year disparity in age)!!! I think they had something along the lines of The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in mind! Could be fun!

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel!

Anyway, it's almost midnight here so I'm going to have to wrap this up soon. I have to admit it was nice to be able to keep a remote eye on my home through my new security cameras and while I might not have been able to stop a potential burglary, at least I could see what the weather was like - and be glad I was still in Thailand!

And finally, I recently watched a video by a US comedian who I hadn't heard of before. She was saying how her generation - Gen X - were the toughest ever. Now I'd probably dispute that but some of the things she was saying they, as children, just took for granted made them as tough as it comes - no helicopter parenting there! It was obviously designed to make the older generation laugh and it surely did - but not nearly as much as the comments!

God we used to fly off the end of that
thing straight onto concrete! And yes it
really was as steep as I remember it!

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We used penknives!

Those things were lethal!

Click clacks!