Just A Day At The Beach
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
As I mentioned previously, we fell into the most amazing schedule of eating, lounging, swimming, enjoying massages (only $12/hour at a reputable place with NO "happy endings" offered), and hanging out at the beach. Charlie and Lola couldn't decide which they liked better, the beach or the pool. Both were equally as fun and different enough to have their own individual appeal. At the pool, we had water "sploosh" balls to throw at each other, trying as hard as we could to hit each other's faces. We were delighted to realize that these balls could be skipped like flat rocks on the surface of a lake. Naturally, a family competition began to see who could skip the balls across to the length of the pool. At the beach, Lola spent most of her time dealing with sand relocation.
I spent most of my time reading. My nose was constantly in a book, much to my husband's dismay as he didn't have any books so he was forced to interact with the family while I disengaged into the lives of fictional characters. "Completely luxurious" is my description of the ability to experience the joy of reading without interruption. Of course, I did manage to peel my ever-expanding back-side off of my lounge chair to actually play with my kids. Charlie and I love jumping through waves. As luck would have it, Charlie got stung by a jelly fish while he was standing right beside me. I didn't get touched at all. This picture was taken just after he had collapsed and clung to me from the pain and I was heroically taking him back into shore:
That's heroics in action right there, that's what that is.
As the welts began to swell on Charlie's feet, his daddy talked to a local person working at a nearby massage shack. She called over another guy who came up with a jerry can of some sort of clear, magical liquid and a handful of green leaves. Dousing Charlie's feet with the liquid, the man then crushed the leaves with his hands and placed them over the welts. He instructed us to leave them in place for 15 minutes and assured us that by the next day, Charlie would be as good as new.
This man's word was not rooted merely in hopeful whimsy, he knew what he was talking about. Within 15 minutes, Charlie was feeling much better, the stinging pain alleviated somewhat and by the next day he was ready to return to the beach, albeit tentative to enter the waters again for fear of meeting up again with a jellyfish.
I had never considered myself a beach person before but Phuket has definitely left me a changed woman. I will always remember my time there fondly. The people were warm and friendly, especially thrilled at the sight of children. The food was delicious and fresh. The weather was splendidly humid, leaving my skin soft and smooth. I will definitely be escaping mentally to this scene many times in the months to come:
Goodbye, Phuket. God willing, our paths will cross again.
