Water, Water,Everywhere!

…and not a drop to drink except in plastic bottles which of course doesn’t help the environment!

We were hoping for an improvement in the weather when we headed south to Hua Hin after our wet trip to Ayutthaya but it was not to be. It was as if the heavens were reminding us how unpredictable nature can be as the rain was relentless.

The tiny little stream at the back of our house turned into a raging torrent,

many of the local roads became well nigh impassable,

and all of this at the start of the ‘dry, tourist season’ !

Then, as if by magic – and just when I was about to panic about what to do with our first overseas guests in more than 2.5 years who were arriving soon – the rain stopped, the sun came out and Hua Hin began to smile again!

And that’s how it stayed for a few days so we were able to do some sightseeing with our friends Chris and Wendy. With all the recent rainfall, the Pal-a-U waterfalls were particularly spectacular

where our very fit guests trekked all the way up to the source.

Some easy to arrange recuperation from such exertions was necessary on one of the many quiet beaches in this area

where the seafood is plentiful and still relatively cheap

So all was going well until………

Whereas the rain in Hua Hin and its surroundings had decided to give up for the year, up in the mountains it had not, to the point where, we were told, a reservoir dam was about to burst its walls. To avoid this potential disaster, the dam sluice gates were opened which certainly saved the dam wall itself but caused mayhem further downstream! Our little stream which was already overflowing, gave up trying to move the water away from our area and proceeded to flood our entire garden

and all the roads leading to our house

With the help of sandbags and pumping,

we managed to limit the extent of the damage to our property and just as quickly as the flooding had begun, the waters receded and we were able to start ‘drying out’ and continue entertaining our friends.