A Journey to Ithaka... It's not about its destination but about having fun on the way there...
Diners occupied as many tables as the restaurant could hold, we formed an interesting and impromptu family filled with members from all over the world. We shared a delicious dinner able to delight everyone’s palates.
Laugh, Rum Punch toasts, nice conversations with strangers and even secret Santa! We completed the magical night with a scenery full of light thanks to traditional “Khom Loi” – Sky Lanterns.
Here we leave you a few pics of some of our wonderful moments.
Double celebration (Xmas Eve and Robert’s Bday), more than 10000 km away from home. Of course it does not feel like Xmas time but it tastes so good. In the Koh Phangan Island the palm trees replace the Xmas tree, swimming costumes act as gloves and a scarf, the snowman is now a castle made from sand and the traditional turkey becomes Pad Thai. Our day goes wonderfully different. We wake up early with the murmur of the sea. It is time for a quick swim and breakfast, meditation and a bit of running to the centre of town where we buy or stuff from a local shop. Then dip in in the sea, water is 28 degrees. Shower will be the next step and we are ready to have a bottle of red wine… It does not come from France, Italy or Spain. In our case it is a Thai wine, and we have to admit it tastes surprisingly good. We propose a toast to all people we love. We miss our family and friends but no more that we usually do. We have learnt it by enjoying them in little doses every time we lived in UK...
We wish you a Merry Christmas…
Nuria and Robert
We are not surprised that King Rama the V choose Phrayha Nakhon as a place for resting and retreat. If I had some special powers I would conquest this place and declare it “Only mine”.
A beautiful and quite easy path by the coast drove us to a nice beach. We enjoy the breeze coming from the sea while contemplating the amazing views. From there we got to the mountain through a tiny forest under the watchful eyes of monkeys that suspiciously welcomed us to their territory.
The hike was shorter that we originally thought. After reading some reviews on Internet posted by some people who visited the place we thought that we were going to hike Mount Everest!
We got to our destination almost effortlessly. While we were still thinking that we needed to move our butts for a bit more to get to the cave, suddenly we saw it. In front of our eyes an extraordinary and breath taken rocky formation welcomed us and presented the Kingdom of light and magic. The sunlight shined thought an open hole in the ceiling and at exactly 11 am it illuminated the temple in the same way as shat of light shines on an artist on stage. The minimalist wooden construction and the force of nature together transformed the place into something completely mystic. No in any other place we have experienced such peaceful sensation as in Phraya Nakhon. We didn’t want to leave! And when we did, we resisted like a child whose hand is pulled by its parent from something it’s absorbed by and does everything to enjoy the moment for a tiny bit longer.
There have been so many places we have already visited on our journey to Ithaca but this one will strongly remain in our memory, without a doubt. Phraya Nakhon, you are unique!
