Thailand

I was listening to “Just the way you are” on a Billy Joel CD yesterday and remembered a cute story that I wanted to share with you.

We went on a holiday to Phuket, Thailand in Sept 2006 and stayed at a gorgeous hotel on the beachfront with a gazillion stairs leading up to our floor. Yes, I’m serious. Look...

I have never eaten so well on holiday before (have I mentioned I’m fussy about healthy food?!) and the only reason I returned home at the same weight? Those 6 flights of stairs up the hill!

Back to the food…Thailand was where I fell in love with Chicken Mussamen Curry (yum, yum and some more yum) and also where I learned to be more adventurous with my stir-fries.

How far can you go wrong?!

Anyway, our days were typically wake up and run down to breakfast (we’re late sleepers). Drag ourselves up the hill (only 4 flights this time) to either get ready for an organized tour or get book, suntan lotion and water for the pool. We like to alternate on holidays – day out, day lazing, day out, day lazing. Otherwise I feel exhausted when I get back and then I need a holiday from the holiday.

Have lunch…. More lazing….and reading….very low-key as the heat is not conducive to running around like a holiday in a colder place.

Around 4 – 5pm, we’d go to the room, shower and get ready for the evening. Everybody on the island (looked like) went walking in the streets looking for a place to have supper – there are so many great places that it was an adventure every night to try something new.

After the feast (it also helped that this was the one place where our currency (Rand) was stronger than the Baht), we’d walk the streets some more, shop a bit (souvenirs and such) and then go for a massage (again, stronger currency – worked out to about R40 – R50/ $5 - $6 for a one-hour massage) and then back to the hotel.

While climbing the stairs one evening, we heard live singing. I’m a sucker for live anything J so we went to peek into the dining area.

Turns out the guy was just about finishing and there were only about two other couples left lingering.

He spotted us and asked me, “what’s your request?”

Since the setting was all low-lights and romantic, the first thing that popped into my head was Billy Joel’s, “just the way you are” since this is one of our top 10 romantic songs.

Well, he did it BEAUTIFULLY – it was soooo great. A man singing just for us.

I was DELIGHTED (I am easily delighted by small things!) and tipped him well!

So now whenever I hear that song I think about that beautiful, warm evening in Thailand.

*sigh*

(I got an email from Flight Centre last week with a flight special to Phuket and I was THIS close to booking – crazy thoughts!)

Can you guess some of the other songs on our top 10 list?

(I'll post the full list later this week)

What’s on your top 10 romantic songs list? Do you even have a list?

P.S. If you want to see some pics of our Thailand holiday (and a much thinner me), go here. I’m actually amazed this story’s nowhere to be found. That and the fact we were so obviously in the infertility denial phase and simply having fun!

P.P.S. I'm trying things out so I posted this from email - hence different font :)