After a few days of lazing around we decided we wanted a bit of action. We intended to hire bikes but none were available so we decided to walk to Long Beach, the main resort town on the island instead. By the time we set off it was midday, so although it was not a difficult trek we got very hot.

Just short of Long Beach Tim spotted a good looking cafe. It was run by an Australian guy and both he and Tim recognised each other from somewhere but couldn’t remember where – strange! Maybe they were on a beach together somewhere thirty years ago. The cafe sold delicious cinnamon buns and iced coffee which were much appreciated after our hot walk.

We were now in the main strip of Long Beach which has many more shops than the beach we are staying at. I soon found one that I wanted to browse. Lucky we aren’t staying in Long Beach – if we were I would be in serious danger of blowing my budget! Both Tim and I bought some clothes to supplement our wardrobes.

By that time we were hungry. Luckily the woman running the clothes shop owned a cafe next door. I had been out of India long enough to be craving a thali and they provided a delicious one, plus a coconut smoothie.

I had a look at google maps. ‘I’m sure we should be able to get back to Rabbit Bungalow via a track leading through the sea gypsy village,’ I said. The route was not clear on google maps, but this is where access to the internet comes into its own. I soon found a blog that gave details of the route we needed to take and downloaded the map app it recommended to get us there.

We set off along Long Beach, still in the blistering heat. As the name implies it is very long. It also has the biggest waves on the island and surfboards can be hired. I had forgotten to bring my swimwear and we were now focused on our trek so we didn’t swim, but we aim to return.

At the far end of the beach there is quite a lot of rubbish and the sand turns to mud. We could see some sea gypsy boats anchored near the shore. We took a path inland past a last encampment of holiday bungalows. It led through jungle and patches of rubber plantation until we finally saw a sign for the Eagle bar. It overlooks the Sea gypsy/ mokken village. We stopped there for a beer. There were great views of the bay where we are staying. True to the bar’s name sea eagles circled overhead.

We walked down to the bridge back over the river. This leads to the beach where we are staying. Another bar is situated just before the bridge and we felt it was only fair to support the local economy by sampling their offerings. The bar owner also rents out canoes that can be rowed up the river and we debated whether to try this sometime. A cheeky sea gypsy boy chatted to us and managed to talk me out of half my packet of crisps. The bar owner proudly displayed a picture of his son who is in the Thai army on the back of the bar. Gentle trance music played as we lay beneath the obligatory hanging of Che Guevara.

As the sun set we crossed the river and headed down through the mangrove swamp that is impassable at high tide. When we got to the beach we headed for Gypsy Bar, which has become a favourite of ours. At every minute that passed the colours of the sky and the shadows cast by the trees changed colour and depth.

A great bar crawl Ko Phayam style!