The Way Around the Island

When you board a vespa and set off around a tropical island, a feeling comes over you. Beauty. Peace. Rolling hills. Ocean breeze. A cute boy leading you through the island paths. It was perfect.

Stéphane, his parents and I vespa’d around the island to explore town and the tourist-y areas – and to pick a good place to have dinner for New Year’s Eve, coming up the next evening. Every home – every business, especially – had a miniature shrine outside. They were all shaped like the larger ones at Wat Plai Laem, with trinkets and candles.