We woke up to another gloriously sunny morning in paradise. By the time we actually got out of the bungalow to go find breakfast, it was about 10:30 AM and already HOT! We took advantage of the free WiFi at the restaurant to up-load some posts and then it was down to the beach.

Broiling sun over Long Beach.

As we were having a cool bevie at San’s Sunset Bar, we noticed a group of local Muslim women and a young boy arrive at the beach. Now, here we all are, on a beach advertised as one of the best for sunbathing and swimming. And this group, clad mostly head-to-toe except for for one obvious hussy who was tempting all the men with a wanton show of her lower legs and feet, wanders out amidst all the Farang women in their bikinis, tiny Brazilian-cut bottoms, and some even topless. It was an interesting juxtaposition of cultures and mores… both were extremes; just on their own particular ends of the spectrum.

The 2014 Collection for Islamo-Couture swimsuits.

You thought I was kidding when I said “swimsuits”.

Which beachwear is “inappropriate”.

This evening we decided to go into Ban Saladan to find a restaurant for dinner; it’s only about a 10 minute tuk-tuk ride. We arrive in town to find they have a Night Market too. Only their’s happens on the main drag through town. The stores and businesses on both sides of the street are involved and vendors set up their carts down the middle of the road. So, people (Farangs and locals) are milling about, going from the stores to the carts – and all this time the road is open to traffic… cars, trucks, and tuk-tuks are somehow trying to get through without smoking a pedestrian.

Food carts/stands set up on the middle of the road.

It may look like a pedestrian mall…

… but vehicles still drove through on both sides of the road.

After leaving the madness of the market behind, we found the relative calm of Ban Saladan’s “restaurant row” along the waterfront. Many of these restaurants are family-run affairs where the front or roadside portion of the business is the front of the family home. You actually have to walk through the home to get to the restaurant seating part – which is a roofed pier built on pilings that extends from the rear of the house and out into the harbour. We chose one of these, the “Bai Fern”. The view of the harbour traffic was nice, the food was some of the best we have had since Chiang Mai, and the place had a real rustic charm about it with it’s plank flooring and thatched roof… but it was hot, still, and muggy on the waterfront! The saving grace was that the restaurant had oscillating electric fans and they made the difference. Without the source of air movement, it would’ve been almost impossible to enjoy dinner.

Bai Fern Restaurant, Ban Saladan.

Quiet-time for a local on a pier next to the restaurant.

Then it was a 60 Baht ($2 USD) tuk-tuk ride back to the bungalow… on the most pimped-out disco-tuk-tuk we have seen. It had custom upholstery, matching padding on the roof supports, a matching custom roof, a “go-fast-wing” (rear spoiler), and flashing LED lighting tucked into just about every nook and cranny.

Blinged-out disco tuk-tuk.