Thursday, November 27, 2014

Tasty blood

It would have been all too easy to start this week's column by bragging about how fantastic the weather is here in Phuket. Whilst it has certainly been good, I have to confess the first day of the inaugural Beach Modern Pentathlon event was rained off.

As you might have guessed, the Asian Beach Games is composed entirely of sports which can be played on the beach; a slight problem when November marks the tail end of the monsoon season. It only seems to rain in the north of the island for an hour or so in the late afternoon. Unfortunately this is exactly when and where the event I'm here to commentate on was scheduled. After a sensible reshuffle we made the most of the guaranteed sunshine the next morning which resulted in a successful debut for Beach Pentathlon (shoot-run-swim). Maybe next year they can bring fencing and riding to the beach as well?

I decided to make the most of the long flight by extending my stay in Thailand. As soon as duties were over in the north I headed to the south of the island in search of sunshine but more importantly to distance myself from the rainforest and its mosquitoes. I love the food, the people, the climate and the beautiful clear seas but sadly the mosquitoes love me. I'll be coming home with a nice glow, that will probably fade in a few days at this time of year, so the only evidence of my holiday will be the bites all over my body. Believe or not, I actually don't mind the thought of returning to Dartmoor - there aren't any mosquitoes.