Thailand Journal 10 – Sept. 1, 2019

Today was a day of R&R. We needed that rest and relaxation before beginning the final week of 

teaching and hard work on the farm. Most spent the day laying on beach chairs, and jumping the waves. Some of us walked into town and shopped around. For the past four year we have eaten at the Pad Thai Mae Hoi Pim restaurant before boarding the boat. They do
make some of the tastiest pad thai dishes. This is a shopping team, and we didn’t disappoint the proprietors (who own both the restaurant and the adjoining store). The lady (who remembered me from last year) also gave us some small souvenir purses. The sea was much calmer today, and the boat driver not as aggressive as the young buck who carried us on the joy-ride yesterday! We are now driving back the 4.5 hours to the University.  PS. The imposing statue that greets visitors to the island is a character in the epic, 48,700-line Thai poem, which took 20 years to compose (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phra_Aphai_Mani).