Are this Blog's Days Numbered?

I had started posting again as a way of journaling our memories of Thailand while also keeping in touch with family and friends. Up until now, we'd had new things to talk about - but we did very little today, and I can't see anything changing in the immediate future. If we end up not posting for a while, don't worry, we have probably just fallen into the routine of getting up and going swimming, eating breakfast on the beach, reading and napping back at our house, going out for lunch, swimming, and then back to the house and playing cards until bedtime. That was our whole day and everyone seems fine to just repeat that pattern for the next 11 days.

This area is one of the most beautiful places we have ever visited. The dramatic limestone cliffs make it feel like we are walking around in a movie or a travel commercial. The water is bathtub warm and this evening we were out in the waves as the sun was setting and a breeze was coming off the water. It was such a perfect moment that we were all feeling a little giddy. I didn't have my camera with me which is a shame because of the missed photos, but is probably a good thing because it allowed me to play along with everyone. I had to keep a close eye (and hand) on Deacon because he wanted to stand up to his waist in the water and some of the waves threatened to knock him over.

Here's a not-great photo of a duke-gae that we have living in our house. On my mission some of our houses had these guys in them. You never knew where they were during the day but at night they came out and made their loud call of "duke-gae". In North America we know them as the "Tokay Gecko" probably also named after the sound they make, though not as accurately. I had been worried that the kids would not see one as, up until now, all we'd seen were the much smaller jing-joke house lizards and some spiney lizards out and about. Here on Railay we spotted a baby skink after getting off the pier, another spiney lizard, and what looked like a small member of the water monitor family on the pathway from our house to the beach. But the highlight came last night when Heather spotted our very own duke-gae on the ceiling.

She was in the bathroom, which doesnt have a roof but is open to the jungle and cliffs outside, when she called out that there was something on the ceiling. She is sometimes vague like that when she's surprised and it always causes a temporary panic in me until I can get more information. I was so happy when I saw this guy on the ceiling of the sitting room next to the bathroom. The kids had all been tucked in to their mosquito nets but we got them out of bed so they could see it. I had been telling them about these guys for a while and I also wanted them to know what it looked like so they werent scared when it started calling.

No sooner were the kids back in bed that Ella called out that they had one in their bedroom as well. She was a little nervous, understandable because these guys are much bigger than the usual house lizard and can be a little surprising. Sure enough, a second duke-gae had appeared from wherever they go during the day, and was sitting in the top corner of their room. Two in one house, how lucky are we? We could be luckier...as neither of these guys made a single sound all night long. I don't know why; maybe it is only a mating call, maybe it is seasonal, or maybe these Southern geckos are quieter than the ones I'm used to.

This is us at the end of our card game tonight, except now Deacon and I are both filling in spots on the benches. I have started to feel self-conscious about the coke bottles in our photos. We normally get pop with our meal once a day, just because it is basically the same price as the bottled water you must buy. We have found that because Railay is cut off from all roads, everything here costs at least three times more than it did in Chiang Mai. Because we have a refrigerator, we decided we could save a little money by not having any pop with our meals, and instead getting a larger bottle to share as a treat once a day. So as we played cards, we sipped it like sake from little shot glasses we found on a shelf.

Well there was our day. Tomorrow could surprise us, but so far the only thing I anticipate as being blog-worthy is if our shy geckos actually started singing tonight.

- C