Paddle Boarding

Today once I got back from the full moon party, I simply slept so that I could catch up on what I had missed by being awake at the party. I slept so well and did not want to get up at 3.30pm when my alarm went off, but I knew I had too if I was to have any chance of sleeping tonight. Knowing earlier that it would be difficult to get up, I asked Jai to book me in for the sunset paddle boarding today so that I had a reason to get up. The other people doing it today were Georgia, Jack, Alba, Britt, Michella, Kirsten and Melanie. We all had to be there for 5pm ready to get set up and taught how to paddle board, so we left the hotel around 4.25pm to give us time

to walk there with no rush. When we arrived, there were 4 paddle boards laid out for us so that we were to go in two’s; me and Georgia decided to go together.

The tuition was very brief with the man only telling us where to stand and how to hold the paddle which left me worried that I would spend more time in the water than on the board, but it was easy. Due to the cuts on my knee, I could not kneel and paddle, so I opted to stand up straightaway and amazingly, I did not fall off. The way I would describe the sensation was simply like standing on a balance board. Everything was so peaceful and calm around me, I felt like this was the perfect activity after not getting enough sleep. I did not have to put much effort into paddling unless I wanted to turn, otherwise I just enjoyed the serene atmosphere along with Georgia. Georgia did have a go at paddling, but she preferred to just sit there as she found steering hard work, so it allowed me to spend most of the 90 minutes doing the paddle boarding, which I really enjoyed. Once it got past 6pm, we began to see the changes in the sky as the sun got lower and began to set. I could not imagine a more incredible way to see the sunset other than watching the fishes beneath you, the sparkling, clear sea as far as

the eye can see in front of you and a beautiful tropical island behind you. These are the moments that are worth living for, the pure peace that the land can bring you.

Once the sun had set, we had to make our way back to shore before it got dark so we slowly drifted in till we landed on the beach. Whilst boarding, me and Georgia had decided to go grab dinner somewhere on the beach. We invited the rest but only Jack agreed to join us and he took us to a cheap, yet nice restaurant he had found yesterday when he was by himself as he never went to the party. The restaurant was incredible, it was situated right on the beachfront and was lit with colourful lanterns that hung from the palm trees above. There was a nice mix of western and local food to choose from here, so I opted for spaghetti with a Thai green curry and seafood which only cost me £3. The curry was a bit spicy but it was filled with so much flavour and honestly, despite the tingle in my mouth, I just wanted more. This was the best dinner with the most beautiful view.

Despite only being up for 5 hours, I was already tired again as was Georgia and Jack had to do some diving homework, so we all set off for the hotel to settle in for the night.