Craig's Big Day Out With Dad

After the long weekend at Baishawan a couple of weeks ago, Craig made no secret of his wish to return to the beach as soon as possible. So, Craig's Dad decided that a long motorbike ride was in order. Craig was warned that it would take a long time to get to the beach and that he would have to get up early in the morning but he didn't care. He was very excited the night before and had trouble going to sleep. But, on the big day, when he saw his Dad getting up before 8am Craig was out of bed in a flash. They departed at around 8:15. With his new sunglasses on to protect his eyes, Craig was still happy when they stopped 45 minutes later for breakfast about halfway on their journey.

Craig made short work of the three tiny pancakes and orange juice that come in a McDonalds breakfast. In fact, he was much happier than the photo below suggests.

When they arrived at the beach at around 10:15am they went up to the end away from the crowds. But, there were so few people on the beach it probably wasn't necessary. There was no crowd to worry about.

Craig and his Dad were all alone; even the lady that rents the little beach tents hadn't arrived yet.

After getting changed and putting on plenty of sunblock, Craig got down to business.

The dry sand at the top of the beach was very hot. So, every now and then, Craig ran into the water to cool off his feet.

Running away from the tiny waves become a game.

He was pretty happy to interrupt the game when asked to stand still for a photo.

And then it was back to building "castles".

It was a really lovely way to spend a morning.


The only small worry was that Craig seems to have lost all fear of water. This was amply demonstrated when Craig's Dad told him to stay on the beach while Dad went for a swim. But, seeing Dad backfloating 15 metres offshore, Craig decided to come and join him. The boy dropped his spade and bucket and walked straight into the water giggling all the way. Dad had to race back into the shallow water. Just as the two of them met, the water was up to Craig's armpits and a tiny wave slapped him in the face, surprising him. He didn't seem to mind, probably because he was picked up quickly and carried back to shore.

So then Dad decided it was time for lunch. Craig doesn't actually try to be cute but the waitresses at Hana's Cafe all seemed to find him irresistible. The two young women that took the order and then brought the food both tried very hard to get Craig to talk to them.

But Craig only had eyes for lunch.

After a long lunch that included two huge mango smoothies they finally decided they had missed enough of the midday sun. Back at the far end of the beach, the tide had gone out very quickly. The roped-off swimming area was barely wet.

Craig and his Dad dug a hole for Craig to play in. He was quite happy there for hours.

Craig got out a few times to get into the water. Once again, he was very careless about the depth and had to be told firmly to stop and come back a couple of times when it looked like he intended to walk to Japan. (The beach faces north.) Then, just when it seemed all the danger had passed Craig's head went completely under water. He was standing where the water was only up to his belly button but a tiny dog was swimming nearby. It wanted to be picked up and swam straight at Craig hoping that he would help. The boy was trying to turn away from it when a wave hit him at just the wrong moment. He fell backwards. Craig's bum hit the sand and the water barely covered the top of his head for a split-second. Fortunately Dad was only three steps away and effected a quick rescue but Craig still threw up a bit of seawater that he had swallowed. He recovered quickly but, after that, was happy to spend the rest of the afternoon in his little pond.

After a bath at their favourite hotel across the road from the beach Craig and his Dad started the long ride home. They stopped about halfway at a restaurant in Danshui for dinner. Craig amused the waiter taking the order by saying loudly in Chinese, "The waffle hasn't come yet." That's his way of asking for waffle for dessert.

He had no trouble finishing his dinner and then eating the whole waffle all by himself. The sea air must be good for his appetite.

The rest of the ride home was uneventful but they didn't get home until around 9pm. It had been a long day, and Craig needed to sleep.