2 halos and a backpack.

Earlier smugness due to being able to watch the neighbours' 'Lost' series on DVD turned to despair as it turns out the final 2 discs have bugger all on them. Since when could you not trust DVD pirates?

Checked out of resort and went to check emails at volunteer centre. Which is not very interesting in itself, but whilst there an insect/bug/animal/whatever was spotted crawling around the kitchen floor which was the size of a ladies' size 5 foot. Fortunately a one-legged rhino could outpace it so fuss was kept to a minimum.*

*Turns out it died a day later which would explain the sluggishness. It's now used as a comedy prop by a slightly unhinged Canadian.

Scorchio. Beach. See below. :o)

Enjoyed breakfast served by Thai girls in school uniforms (Vic/Roffey, you'd have loved it) followed by general lounging and shell-collecting type activities.

The bungalow:

Cool Buddha waterfall by the pool:

Sab's birthday! In her usual style, she rips through Jamie's piffling offering of 3 pressies and a card in just over 7 seconds. She is however, much more enthused at the sight of smellies and clothes from J's mum and sis. Later, Sabs gets her toenails painted pretty colours and Jamie gives himself a 'Thai tattoo'. Unfortunately this is not a beautifully intricate local design, but a nasty burn from a bloody hot moped exhaust. Apparently they are as common as Geordies in T-Shirts but boy do they sting. Still, he's able to put this aside and treat Sabs to 3 nights at a beach-front resort 20 mins down the road.

A Thai Tattoo:

Continuing his meteoric rise in the construction industry, Jamie finds himself laying concrete floors. A team of 'mixers' provide the grey slop, and he expertly coaxes it into beautifully level(ish) floors. As this is happening in dark shells with no windows, we can safely approximate that he loses 1.73 pints of sweat per floor. Sabrina introduces the pup to the office team as a distraction from the fact that she has quietly shuffled the less-than-useful reception girls off the rota.

Mood: Itchy
Listening to: Building site next door

We think Xmas might be coming, we are  not too sure....

Anyway, if it is, we have run out of mozzy repellent (proper stuff), Bodyshop Honey shampoo and conditioner (Jamies' favorite), flees collar and worm tables (Jamie's treats), Digestives, pizza and cheese.

Dara gets a bath as she's a bit pongy and we suspect she's never had one before. As such she wriggled and squealed in protest, but thanks to 2 years as goalie in the all conquering fussball combo with Thiago, Jamie provided a sure grip. Then the ladybird-sized ticks were prized from the paws and one happy, clean pup emerged. In the afternoon, 3 DVDs were purchased from a dodgy 'round the back guvnor' type shack for 100 Baht each. That's about ฃ1.25, which would possibly get you a bag of popcorn from Blockbusters. As inexpensive as french fries.

Stop shivering....

Dara was taken to the beach, where Sabrina enjoyed dipping her in the water just to trigger the in-built paddling instinct that all dogs have. Jamie chased crabs for reasons only known to him. Seems like the pet-adoption thing is getting trendy as J & S's neighbour Anna decides to take in a small white kitten. Her boyfriend Ben continues to reference the left-over pup in vain.

The beach what we went to:

Two become three. Following a fairly short day at the site, Jamie is home early and enjoying a swing in the hammock. His contentment is temporarily interrupted at the sight of Sabrina wandering towards him with a puppy in her arms. "Look what we've got" she beams. Turns out that the poor pup's mum had been run over 10 mins earlier and the couple that cared for her desperately needed people to step forward and look after the pups. She's called Dara for no logical reason and she spent most of her fist evening nestled on Jamie's podgy belly.

Away from puppy news, Jamie's journey home was made more interesting thanks to same erratic driving by Andy the Thap Tawaan project manager. He managed to reverse off a perfectly straight road! See below:

Jamie and Sabrina enjoy a foot massage in the evening. However Sabrina is slightly embarrassed at the sight of Jamie actually sleeping through his, and disturbing the otherwise quietness of the room with intermittent snoring.

That last sentence contained a small mistruth. Jamie actually drunk 7 beers, 2 vodka red bull and and vodka sprite. He rises way too late for the van to work and finds himself hitching to work along with another late riser spotted down the road. The vehicle that eventually stops is a very old Kawasaki motorcycle ridden by an even older man. So there's Jamie, hung-over, sandwiched between rider and fellow hitcher with no where to plant his feet, trying desperately to maintain some kind of balance and very much looking forward to another 20 mins of his right leg being further burnt by the exposed exhaust pipe. Digging holes suddenly seemed quite luxurious.

Sabrina survives a heated meeting in which the temporary front desk staff voiced their disapproval of her new induction process for volunteers. Which is strange, as it actually makes their lives easier. Sabrina returns home with the distinct feeling that she hasn't entirely left the mental health arena. Meanwhile Jamie stays up 'til 4 in the morning watching a dismal Champions League match between Man Utd and Lille without a single alcoholic drink.

In a welcome break from digging holes, Jamie finds himself part of a 20 man team attempting to drag a stranded long-tail fishing boat off a beach. It basically involved a lot of lifting of the boat onto rollers, pushing it 6 inches and it falling off again. Got there in the end though thanks to some motivation from boat yard manager Scott, who has worked 7 days a week for 6 months. What a lightweight.

Where sunday was spent:

Sabrina managed to electrocuted herself whilst attempting to wire up more fairy lights, and has a small blister to prove it.

A Honda moped is hired, and in due course the heavens open and riding is not too much fun. On the bright side, fairy lights, a gold silk drape, an intricate bead-throw thingy and hanging the hammock makes the bungalow feel a bit more homely. Oh, and next doors' table was stolen on account it was much nicer. Jamie's hairy shoulders are waxed, thus avoiding the obvious danger of kidnap followed by a life in a travelling Thai freakshow.

J&S get mobiled-up! You can reach us on 006650688184 (please bear in mind we are 6 hrs ahead of UK time, or 7 hrs ahead of Italy).

We also bought the best cups in the world:
(Slogans says 'What's a wonderful water!')

In just 4 days, Sabrina is compelled to slap an unusually unhelpful and miserable co-worker. In the spirit of volunteering, she holds off. Jamie finishes the hole from hell and starts, er, another hole up the road.

Jamie meets a bitch of a hole. It's lined with cement blocks every 4 inches, coat hangers, plates, cement bags, cutlery and finally a root the width of Roberto Carlos' thigh. It takes a team of 5 people 5 hours to get through it and down to depth. It's all worth it however thanks to a 20 min swim in the warm sea on a deserted 2 mile beach. Sabrina is not happy at the news an insists she be taken there on the weekend. The evening is spent painting murals on the 3rd floor of the office in return for 'sodas' (that's fizzy drinks to normal people) and pizza. Sabrina does a particularly fine job of a colourful parrot on a pillar. Various beetles, bugs, mossies and praying mantis complete the gathering.

Breakfast with villagers. The Tap Tawaan team are met by the monk who apologises profusely for the breakfast being late. Which it is to be fair - Jamie's starving. Other monks deliver a fairly lengthy address to the villagers that the diggers have joined. Restless kids squabble and giggle whilst puppies harass the pigs. Then the food comes out and everyone mixes and shares fruit, donuts, rice, vegetables and rice. Jamie is passed peeled fruit by an old women who's gnarly fingers he eyes suspiciously. What he didn't notice however was the enthusiastic compare that appeared from behind to thrust a microphone into his hand insisting that he say something to the village. Blimey. He duly stands and mutters an embarrassed thank you to a partly bemused and partly disinterested crowd. Things improve for Sabrina as, in the absence of anyone doing it for her, she carves a role coordinating the front desk. The bungalow is good enough for a long stay, and we negotiate a monthly rate of 6000 baht (ฃ80).

Despite some earlier sulkiness 'cos he wont be making furniture, Jamie arrives at Tap Tawaan village and is met by a wandering pig and gets the feeling he'll be just fine here. Sabrina checks in at the office and has to wait another hour and a half before anyone has suggestion for anything to do.

The welcome party:

After another 'stand up and introduce yourself' round, work begins at the village digging 2 meter pits for sceptic tanks. This involves hacking, shovelling, shaping and measuring. And a lot of it. Once the hole is deep enough, you reach the water table and battle with large concrete rings until they sit at the base. Then you get in the hole, knee deep in filthy water and use buckets to scoop yet more earth which sucks the ring down further. Then you place 2 more rings to make a stack. Oh, and then you do the whole thing again right next to that one. Only deeper. Back at the centre, Sabrina is underwhelmed by the lack of work and general confusion, but enjoys being followed and occasionally bitten by Chin Chin the office cat. Following a lunch prepared by the locals, the diggers meet 2 the village jedi Seawise. He's five-foot-nothing, eats cocoa leaves, is probably over 50 and is pretty skinny. Despite this, he does the work of 5 westerners all with a big toothless grin. Then an elderly monk, who speaks decent English invites the entire team to breakfast the following morning. See you there then...

Interesting picture of digging: