As the taxi delivers you to the entrance to the hotel you can still feel the anger boiling in the pit of your stomach. This holiday had been planned for months and at the last moment your sister had pulled out. In the back of your mind you had always suspected that Sally would, and this only stokes your anger. It had taken ages for you to convince her that you both needed a break. You got her to agree that somewhere tropical would be nice. You suggested the island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand and she went along with your suggestions. Sally had even picked out a hotel that she had heard good reports about. You booked the tickets and she offered to pay. Her high-powered job meant that the money was nothing to her but you insisted on paying your share.
Then with two days to departure "an urgent and important" contract needed closing and she was not going to be able to "get away".
"Fuck her" you mutter to yourself.
Perhaps not quite to yourself you realise, as you catch the quick glance the bell-boy gives you as he unloads your cases. You tell yourself, for about the thousandth time, that you have made the right decision to come by yourself. You remember Sally's reaction when you told her of your spur of the moment decision to go anyway, without her. Her look of amazement had been almost comical. You remember the rage that grew when you realised that she expected you to cancel as well. She had just assumed that you would not be brave enough to go by yourself. This realisation had caused a whim to become a concrete conviction - you would go anyway, by yourself.
Now as you stand at the check-in desk you can feel your conviction flowing away. Perhaps this was not such a good idea after all. Drawing yourself up you decide to make the best of a bad situation and try to enjoy your week. The formalities complete you follow the bell-hop to your room.
The Boat House Hotel looks like any other luxury hotel in the world; from the front. But as you wind your way through the gardens you begin to see the first of it's hidden charms and surprises. The 'premium' rooms, closest to the beach, are actually boats. Traditional high-sided Thai boats, made of teak, have been converted to palatial cabins or suites.
You stop for a second to marvel at your boat/room, standing in a steel cradle that is concealed by tropical greenery. You follow the bell-boy up the short flight of stairs to the door that has been cut into the hull of the boat. You tip him and send him away quickly. You don't want him to show you the room; you have always enjoyed exploring for yourself. Locking the door behind him you begin to examine your new surroundings. The entrance foyer opens into the large, airy bedroom. Bright sunlight streams through the portholes retained in the boat and falls on the king-sized four-poster bed, looking slightly out of place in these surroundings. A large ceiling fan slowly circulates the air but the cool temperature is due to the efficient air-conditioner that you can just hear humming somewhere.
The bathroom is startling in it's sumptuousness. Huge mirrors, cream marble and porcelain everywhere. A big stack of luxurious fluffy towels - even a small spa bath. A small sitting room opens from the bedroom and leads onto the patio. As you throw open the curtains and the sliding doors your senses are almost overwhelmed by a flood of visual input. The patio to your room overlooks a scene straight out of a tourist brochure. A stream, dammed up by the beach, has formed a beautiful lake. The bright refection of the sun from the water causes you to shade your eyes as you continue to examine the vista.
The seamless blending of God's hand and an army of gardener's has created a riot of tropical foliage. You notice hibiscus and bougainvillaea growing amongst the palms. As you watch a large, silver fish leaps from the water once, twice and then a third time, before disappearing - leaving only a series of expanding circles on the calm surface. You laugh with almost child like delight at the sight and feel the tiniest bit of big city tension ease from your shoulders and neck.
The light breeze carries myriad scents to you across the lake. You can smell the perfumes of the flowers, somewhere a barbecue is cooking, but mainly you can smell salt. The elemental call of the sea fills your mind and you swap the idea of a shower for an immediate swim, to wash away your travel weariness.
Zipping open your suitcase you hunt for your bikini. Finding it brings back some of the anger you had begun to lose. Sally had always been the confident one and wore the skimpiest swimwear at the beach, often going topless with out any trace of self-consciousness. You had envied this and when you went shopping for the holiday you had been pretty daring with your swim-suit. The bottom half was a g-string style with high cut sides. The top was only a couple of triangles of colourful material that would struggle to contain your breasts. When Sally was going to be with you felt that you could carry it off, now you are not so sure.
With a sudden rush of holiday "devil-may-care" you strip, leaving your clothes in a heap and put on the bikini. You examine your reflection in the floor to ceiling mirrors on the wardrobe, pleased with what you see. The extra work you put in at the gym before the holiday has paid off. The bikini is revealing but feel that you can carry it off. If you change your mind you can always buy something more 'modest' in the hotel shop later you decide. Despite this surge of confidence you throw on the beach-robe hanging in the bathroom before grabbing a book, a towel, sunglasses and some suntan lotion and heading for the beach.
The path to the beach passes the pool and as you walk the sight of your fellow guests causes your spirits to sink again. A first glance makes you realise that the hotel's clientele can be summarised in just a few words - rich, old, fat, in couples and mainly German from the snatches of conversation you hear coming from the sun lounges around the pool. Not much chance of romance here you conclude gloomily.
But as you hit the beach your heart soars. It is postcard perfect. Gleaming white sand is shaded on one edge by she-oaks and coconut palms and lapped at the other by tiny blue-green wavelets. The beach is totally deserted and overcome with abandon you pause only to throw down what you carry and strip off your robe before racing for the water with a whoop of delight. The first splashing of the water on your calves and feet feels deliciously cold but you continue to run, forcing your way through the incoming waves. When the water is thigh high you take a deep breath and throw yourself forward in an arcing dive.
As you body passes through the plane between air and water you feel an almost mystical experience of change. All your worries and cares from the "real world" seem instantly washed away by the caress of the sea. As you surface for air you feel like a new person, more alive in some way, capable of anything.
After swimming a few hundred yards you make your way to shore and stride out of the water to your towel, feeling like a goddess. A combination of the warm afternoon air and your towel soon have you mainly dry. You position your towel for a little sun bathing and open your book but cannot seem to get interested. The sensual, languid tropical air seems to have permeated your body. Tossing down the book you suddenly sit up and strip off you bikini top, something you have never done on a public beach before. But it would seem that all the other guests, inexplicably, would prefer to crowd around the pool than enjoy this beautiful beach, so no-one is around to see.
Careful to avoid sunburn to your creamy, D cup, globes you rub suntan lotion into your breasts and rosy nipples. The tropical mood that has invaded your soul continues to motivate you and your mind drifts of into a reverie as you massage the oil into your nipples. You snap back to consciousness when you notice that your nipples have crinkled and become hard -- 'standing out like organ stops' you think to yourself. In addition your pussy is ever so slightly damp and sticky. You wonder at the change that has come over you as you lie down on your back to bake.