Life's a beach!

What with living so close to the sea & enjoying the sort of holidays only experienced by teachers, I have long been thinking about getting up early one day & taking my dog Shandy for a walk on the beach before it gets too hot. Well, when my present holiday began, I checked the tide tables (http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/) & found that our local beach was probably underwater at the time I had in mind. However, tides change & when I checked the table for this weekend, I found the timing a lot more promising. So this morning, I got up before 6 & surprised Shandy by taking him out for a walk. Admittedly, the walk to the beach was a pain, as we had to contend with the curse of urban Thailand – soi dogs, the wild, noisy & bothersome creatures who are encouraged by stupid women who insist on feeding them – not cleaning them or giving them a home – to earn merit for the afterlife. Anyway, I’d taken a stick & so they kept their distance. It was worth the effort. The beach was almost empty & the sun was hovering just above the horizon -- it rises over the sea here on the Gulf coast, & sets over distant Burma. I walked for about 50 minutes, meeting an occasional fisherman or pale holidaying Bangkokian venturing out from one of the beachside condos. I was just breaking into a sweat when I headed inland again, feeling both relaxed & rejuvenated. Now that I’ve actually made the effort, I intend to do this at least once a week from now on. After all, why live near the sea if the one thing you never see is the sea!