Reed in Asia
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Our new lifestyle in the tropics
The next day we arose quite late, it was almost lunchtime when we left the hotel room, but we still wanted breakfast. We had decided that today we would go to the beach, we had been in the Far East for three days now and we thought that we would have our first day of sunbathing and splashing around in the sea.
Trying to plan ahead a little, after breakfast we wandered along the shops nearby and bought a cool bag, some beer, soft drinks, plastic cups, a bottle opener and some ice to keep everything cool. In the room again, we then packed a carry bag with our swimwear and two large towels and we both set off for Changi beach. It was mid-afternoon when we got to Changi and the sky had become a little overcast, it was still very warm though so we changed into our swimwear on the beach and ran into the sea. We played around in the sea for a long time until we were both absolutely exhausted, we had never had the chance to do anything like this together before and we were acting just like overgrown children.
Eventually we lay down on the towels on the beach, the sky was still overcast and there was a little sea breeze, so it was quite pleasant and we both dozed for a while. When I awoke a little while later, I opened the cool bag and made a cool shandy for me and a lemonade and ice for Myra. It was very pleasant sitting there on the beach watching the sun start to go down, we felt very lucky to be here, it was still winter in UK then, so nobody there would be doing what we were doing that day. Changi beach was very lovely, there were some coconut palms that separated the beach from the nearby road, there were very few people around and it was a really nice setting, I had brought the camera with us, so I then started taking a few snaps to record it all. When I was dressed again, I told Myra that I was going to check out a building that I had spotted a couple of hundred yards away and wandered off down towards it. When I arrived at the building, I could then read the signs on it and it was exactly what I hoped it would be, it was a seaside restaurant. I quickly checked the menu and the prices and then set off back down the beach again to Myra.
The light was just beginning to fade then, so time for a beer for me now 
I told Myra about the restaurant and I knew that she would be hungry because I was now too. A little while later the sun started dropping to the horizon so I finished my beer, packed our couple of bags and dropped off any rubbish that we had in a bin near the road. We then walked slowly down to the restaurant and it was very pleasant in there, there was a roof but the sides were open and you could see the sea. When the waiter arrived, I had already decided what food we would try that night, so I ordered the seafood steamboat for us. When it arrived, the first thing placed on the table was an aluminium vessel with hot charcoal in the centre and a channel around the perimeter that contained water or stock, the seafood was presented on separate plates with spices, vegetables, sauces and some boiled rice. What you do with steamboat, is you place exactly what you want to eat and mix in the aluminium channel to boil in the liquid there, so basically you cook yourself at the table and you decide what you want to cook and eat. Being an amateur chef myself, I just took care of it for both of us, I ordered some beers for the chef (ME) and we just relaxed and ate at our leisure. The food was excellent, the taste of the mixed fresh seafood cooked and mixed with spices, sauces and vegetables was wonderful.
Because we could cook the steamboat at our leisure, we just took our time and spent most of the evening there. A little while later though, Myra complained that she had a headache and was feeling hot and a little nauseous. So I paid the bill quickly and we went outside to get a taxi back to the hotel. We got a taxi quite quickly and we were back at the hotel just twenty minutes later, Myra was still feeling unwell and she looked a little pale, so I put her to bed, found a couple of aspirin in my bags and gave them to her. I asked her if she thought that she needed to see a doctor, but she said that she probably just needed some sleep, turned over in the bed and slept quite quickly. I was still wide awake then, so I just went downstairs to the outside dining area, got a beer and started thinking about what to do and where we could go the next day. Apart from Myra feeling a little unwell at the end, we both had a very good day at Changi beach and the sunset we saw whilst sitting in the restaurant there was marvellous. But I couldn't really make any plans for the next day whilst I was worried about Myra, so I just quickly finished my beer went back to the room and joined her in bed.
'Our new lifestyle in the tropics'
Asia7: Settling in the tropics
The Legless Blog
My first published book 'Legless in Thailand'
My new novel that I am still writing
Some of my true short stories
Royal Air Force tribute page
St Helens: My home town
The Ship Inn: a great British pub in Bangkok
The Blue Diamond Hotel: my favourite place in penang
Legless Pics Page: A page of amusing pics for viewing
Legless in Hat Yai: When I was stuck in Hat Yai unplanned
Legless in Vientiane, Laos: My first trip to Laos very recently
I shall be adding to this site over time, so if anyone is interested then please have a little patience and call back here from time to time. One of my very few pleasures in life these days is beer so I shall be occasionally referring to beer, I just wish that beer was the only reason that I am legless all the time 
Thanks for viewing my site, cheers for now, Legless 
If you wish to email me: legless@reedinter.co.uk
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