That afforded Elaine the opportunity to actually bake something again, so a breakfast of freshly made crumpets, accompanied by sliced banana and fresh pineapple, yoghurt and honey was enjoyed before we tackled our high level itinerary for the remainder of our stay in Thailand, including where we wanted to be for Christmas and New Year, as well as dovetailing that with another haulout that we have no choice, but to do; just a tad infuriating, since it’s an expense we could do without and it’s backing up to the festive season, but it’s the only slot we could get to coincide with a high tide and where we can sit on the trailer for 24 hours before being splashed again.
We also took the time to decide on our menu and the associated provisioning list for our Indian Ocean crossing and finalised the logistics on the best possible way to provision, given the lack of easy dinghy access facilities to load everything onboard.
Then, while Elaine uploaded our latest video to our website and started to collate our detailed passage provisioning list, Roy finished up a few odd jobs like checking the fuel polishing system on the starboard fuel tank, only to discover the reason that it wasn’t running anymore was that the recently purchased timer had stopped working for no apparent reason other than expensive poor quality, which, of course, now requires a new one to be ordered. Other tasks included configuring the Victron Multiplus for the lithium batteries, cleaning all the shower filters and sealing a water leak around the windlass; we have never had so many niggly water leaks in the 10 years we’ve owned Paw Paw, but with the volume of rain we’ve had since our arrival in Thailand and the intensity of it, it’s no wonder really!
With our day coming to a close, we dinghied ashore to enjoy a nice walk on the beach and then continued our gastronomic adventures at At the Beach restaurant, where we ordered a takeaway dinner of Ka-Na Rad Nam Man Hoi (Scalded Kale with Oyster Sauce), Gai Phat Met Mamuang Himmaphan (Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts); this was the best we’ve tasted thus far, and Goong Pad Makam (Prawns in a Tamarind Sauce), enjoying a sundowner while we waited on our freshly cooked meal before dinghying back to Paw Paw to savour our selection.
Yesterday we woke to a beautiful cool, sunny morning, so we dinghied ashore again, for a long walk on the beach, returning to enjoy breakfast in the cockpit; a treat these days with the particularly dreadful weather we’ve had these past months.
Roy then got busy topping up the fuel tanks and finished tying off some loose ends on the lithium battery solution, while Elaine pottered around and completed a number of bits and bobs that had started to mount up.
The highlight of our day was a phone call from Keenan on his way home from work, followed by a video call with the family, all of whom were dressed up in their various outfits and very excited about Halloween. Having their cousins over added to the excitement, but I can’t imagine what chaos reigned in taking 7 youngsters around the neighbourhood. Regardless, they were all having a blast, including the parents.
Today we were up early with the alarm to collect the hired car, only the staff at the rental service didn’t show up, although we’d reserved the car for 0800 so as to be back onboard before the forecast afternoon thunderstorms. By 0845, though, we’d managed to secure a car at another nearby rental service before setting off to Dean and Deluca at Boat Lagoon marina for breakfast. We were, however, very surprised to see how busy the restaurant was. For months we’ve been the only couple in the place with one or two other couples at times, but today, every table, both inside and out on the patio, was occupied.
After a delicious breakfast, albeit later than originally planned, we drove to Ao Po Grand marina to see Derrek and finalise our haulout, as well as collect a few more parcels and the FedEx delivery from Keenan that we were expecting. After a nice chat to Derrek and learning that the Port of Call restaurant had been closed again for the past fortnight due to another COVID-19 infection detected, we started our trek back to Paw Paw, stopping to purchase two new engine starter batteries, a few passage provisions and some fresh produce. Fortunately by the time we got back to the Chalong Pier, the weather was still bright and sunny, so our dinghy ride across the bay to Panwa Bali was uneventful, thankfully!
Being back onboard by 1400 made for a far less stressful day, since we didn’t try to cram too much into one outing and we’d decided to forego a tourist attraction. The forecast thunderstorms arrived late afternoon, but fortunately skirted us to the north and the south, making for a cool, pleasant evening onboard. Cooler temperatures at last!
After all the hard work of the past week in getting our lithium battery installation completed, Sunday was a quiet day onboard under overcast, rainy skies, but, fortunately, slightly cooler temperatures and calm seas.
That afforded Elaine the opportunity to actually bake something again, so a breakfast of freshly made crumpets, accompanied by sliced banana and fresh pineapple, yoghurt and honey was enjoyed before we tackled our high level itinerary for the remainder of our stay in Thailand, including where we wanted to be for Christmas and New Year, as well as dovetailing that with another haulout that we have no choice, but to do; just a tad infuriating, since it’s an expense we could do without and it’s backing up to the festive season, but it’s the only slot we could get to coincide with a high tide and where we can sit on the trailer for 24 hours before being splashed again.
We also took the time to decide on our menu and the associated provisioning list for our Indian Ocean crossing and finalised the logistics on the best possible way to provision, given the lack of easy dinghy access facilities to load everything onboard.
Then, while Elaine uploaded our latest video to our website and started to collate our detailed passage provisioning list, Roy finished up a few odd jobs like checking the fuel polishing system on the starboard fuel tank, only to discover the reason that it wasn’t running anymore was that the recently purchased timer had stopped working for no apparent reason other than expensive poor quality, which, of course, now requires a new one to be ordered. Other tasks included configuring the Victron Multiplus for the lithium batteries, cleaning all the shower filters and sealing a water leak around the windlass; we have never had so many niggly water leaks in the 10 years we’ve owned Paw Paw, but with the volume of rain we’ve had since our arrival in Thailand and the intensity of it, it’s no wonder really!
With our day coming to a close, we dinghied ashore to enjoy a nice walk on the beach and then continued our gastronomic adventures at At the Beach restaurant, where we ordered a takeaway dinner of Ka-Na Rad Nam Man Hoi (Scalded Kale with Oyster Sauce), Gai Phat Met Mamuang Himmaphan (Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts); this was the best we’ve tasted thus far, and Goong Pad Makam (Prawns in a Tamarind Sauce), enjoying a sundowner while we waited on our freshly cooked meal before dinghying back to Paw Paw to savour our selection.
Yesterday we woke to a beautiful cool, sunny morning, so we dinghied ashore again, for a long walk on the beach, returning to enjoy breakfast in the cockpit; a treat these days with the particularly dreadful weather we’ve had these past months.
Roy then got busy topping up the fuel tanks and finished tying off some loose ends on the lithium battery solution, while Elaine pottered around and completed a number of bits and bobs that had started to mount up.
The highlight of our day was a phone call from Keenan on his way home from work, followed by a video call with the family, all of whom were dressed up in their various outfits and very excited about Halloween. Having their cousins over added to the excitement, but I can’t imagine what chaos reigned in taking 7 youngsters around the neighbourhood. Regardless, they were all having a blast, including the parents.
Today we were up early with the alarm to collect the hired car, only the staff at the rental service didn’t show up, although we’d reserved the car for 0800 so as to be back onboard before the forecast afternoon thunderstorms. By 0845, though, we’d managed to secure a car at another nearby rental service before setting off to Dean and Deluca at Boat Lagoon marina for breakfast. We were, however, very surprised to see how busy the restaurant was. For months we’ve been the only couple in the place with one or two other couples at times, but today, every table, both inside and out on the patio, was occupied.
After a delicious breakfast, albeit later than originally planned, we drove to Ao Po Grand marina to see Derrek and finalise our haulout, as well as collect a few more parcels and the FedEx delivery from Keenan that we were expecting. After a nice chat to Derrek and learning that the Port of Call restaurant had been closed again for the past fortnight due to another COVID-19 infection detected, we started our trek back to Paw Paw, stopping to purchase two new engine starter batteries, a few passage provisions and some fresh produce. Fortunately by the time we got back to the Chalong Pier, the weather was still bright and sunny, so our dinghy ride across the bay to Panwa Bali was uneventful, thankfully!
Being back onboard by 1400 made for a far less stressful day, since we didn’t try to cram too much into one outing and we’d decided to forego a tourist attraction. The forecast thunderstorms arrived late afternoon, but fortunately skirted us to the north and the south, making for a cool, pleasant evening onboard. Cooler temperatures at last!
