Lazy Days

'Remote' and 'isolated' aren't words I'd choose to describe the island of Koh Mak; although it's a one and a half hour ferry ride from Koh Chang, 'faraway shores' might give a better idea of what this unspoilt, uncommercialised little island is like. Unlike Koh Chang, Koh Mak is mainly flat, with coconut groves and rubber plantations rather than dense tropical rainforest.

Tourist facilities are in the main discreet; a handful of small properties here and there peeping through the palms which stretch their long trunks across the shore. We took a simple bungalow (just a room with a bed, fridge, kettle plus a bathroom) and a verandah overlooking the beach at a small resort called Lazy Day. The sea was like a rippling sheet of foil in the sun's brutal glare, and we placed our deckchairs in thick shade under the trees on the beach to avoid getting burnt to a frazzle.

The red earth roads around the island looked promising for pleasant walks (we desperately need some exercise!), except it was too hot to contemplate in the scorching heat. Instead, we began a strict regime of ocean aerobics, which began with a brisk jog of maybe fifty yards from our bungalow to the sea. Amazingly, there was rarely anyone else in the clear, bath-warm water, so we could swim and do our star jumps without attracting the wrong kind of attention.

The food at Lazy Day was excellent, and we had no difficulty sticking to our healthy diet of fish, vegetables and fruit. (Cutting down on the booze is another story.) To please the friendly manager of the restaurant we tried the Thai wine (Chenin Blanc can you believe?) and it was truly appalling almost to the point of being undrinkable. Brian gave up after the first sip, but I finished mine (waste not, want not) with the help of large quantities of ice.

Dusk each day found us on the verandah, beer in hand, supervising the sunset, before an hour's peaceful reading waiting for the stars to come out. There's not much in the way of light pollution in this neck of the woods, and I can wave to Betty, Marna and Sue (the Three Sisters) most nights unless it's cloudy.