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The consequences of an overindulgent summer were plain to see. We had put on weight and we needed to take action fast. We needed boot camp, but as this was Thailand, it would have to be “flip flop camp”.

We booked a long stay at a hotel with an excellent 30m pool and planned to swim twice a day, eat sensibly and cut down on the alcohol. A weekly weigh in at Market Village Shopping Mall on electronic scales which played ‘There’s No Place Like Home’ as they weighed, would track our progress.

So, six weeks later how have we done? Well, we did have a day off for Cheryl’s birthday – fry up breakfast at “Lin’s” (He’s from Blackpool, and delivered real bacon, Cumberland sausage & Tetley tea), a Swenson’s ice cream sundae and blue cheese with Ozzie white & red wine for dinner (not cheap out here but……she’s worth it!). We also shared the occasional whiskey. Neil swam approx 2km and Cheryl did about 1.5km each day.

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The results, whilst not as good as we had hoped, have been successful with Cheryl slightly edging it. It is 32 degrees out here and Neil’s finding it hard to say “no” to a cold beer. Cheryl has lost a little over half a stone and Neil just a bit less. We have cut down on the swimming but are walking more now we are getting accustomed to the heat.
It was so easy to put on the weight, and it’s been tough to lose it but we have proved – It Can Be Done!.

We are both feeling better for it and will continue to stick with it throughout the trip as gradual weight loss is better than a dramatic drop. Unlike India where you can rely on Delhi Belly for assistance in weight loss, we have to rely on our own inner strength.

Hua Hin itself is not too exciting in terms of cultural things to do. It’s a great beach favoured by wealthy Bangkokians who travel down for weekends. There’s lots of flashy condos and associated eateries and shops etc. One thing about it is very different from most of Thailand, it has pavements that you can generally walk on, there’s lots of trees & greenery on the major roads and it’s fairly clean of rubbish.

It’s actually not a bad place to long stay and have plenty of variety in terms of food etc.
The pictures you see are of The Sofitel where our posh friends Mark & Sally stayed when they were rich i.e. B. C. (Before Children!!). The grounds are quite beautiful and we walked quite a bit through them pretending that we too were rich folk! Just take a look at the giant topiary of elephants etc….stunning but we’re not sure that the gardens are worth $300/night!

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Today is The KIngs Birthday. It’s one of the most celebrated days in Thailand as the Thai people have a genuine love & respect for their monarch. There will be lots of things going on, parties and even a bikers ride through in Hua Hin. There’s rumoured to be around 2000 bikes, Harleys, Honda Gold Wings and more.

We move on today to an island on The Andamam Coast called Koh Chang, not to be confused with the much bigger island of the same name on the opposite coastline. Unfortunately, we have to travel by overnight bus which leaves at 11.00 p.m. It shouldn’t be too bad as it’s a VIP bus with only 24 seats which fully recline.

Our Koh Chang is small, with limited electricity even on a good day, no cars and just tracks for motor bikes to get around on. We’re really looking forward to our beach hut by the sea.

The luxury of Hua Hin ends today and the travelling to pastures new begins.