26 October
Today Mina left for Pattani. I got up at 6am and went to the balcony. I looked down at the black asphalt of the road outside my house. Ten Buddhist monks in orange robes were walking in single file below. The lush jungle closed in on both sides. It was an incredible and symbolic sight. I went to breakfast feeling as though the higher being had awoken in me.

I managed to upload my blog despite problems with my internet connection. I lunched at Pizza Firenze with June and then went to visit a mutual friend at Top Charoen, the local opticians.

In the evening, Dook and June went out, leaving me in blessed peace. I wrote my diary and listened to Mozart. Afterwards, I went to eat at Sriboya Tour restaurant on Uttarakit Road. A good meal there including coffee afterwards cost 90 baht. Plus you can choose from the vast selection of DVDs to watch a movie free as well. I saw the Beach. I had been to the location but had never watched the film. It was ok but not Leonardo Decaprio’s best performance.