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We arrived at the Ambassador Hotel at 3:00am on the 24th December. We were all very tired and couldn't wait to get to bed, so we could be refreshed for the day ahead. It was going to be a long day, with a candlelit ceremony in the evening to celebrate Christmas Day. Since it was dark, we were going to have to wait to see what the view out of the window was like... |
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The view from my hotel window |
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It was amazing. The sun glinting off the island off the coast, and the glistening water of the swimming pool - it all looked so inviting. I couldn't wait to get into the pool, and so after breakfast, most of the day was spent in the pool. It was here that I first found the Hertlands contingent, from my county, even though I was travelling with Anglia. I spent some time spashing around in the pool with them, and finally, the evening was upon us. It was almost Christmas Day. The greatest shock of the day came with the arrival of Rob, Dan and Tom, who had completely shaved their heads - Dan's new do was stylishly topped off with a blue sticking plaster ;) |
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The hotel room - floor 12 of Tower Wing |
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Christmas morning had finally arrived. Today we would discover what the surprise party was..but somehow, during the day it didn't feel like Christmas. We played in a volleyball match (losing 11-1) and in a football match (lost also) |
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Swimming in one of the 5 pools at the hotel |
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It didn't really help that none of us could play volleyball... |
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Later on Christmas Day our leaders surprised was with presents. We had already received stockings from the UK Contingent team, so getting pressies from our leaders was really nice. They had ordered silk products from Bangkok, and they were gorgeous. The girls all got silk scarves (mine is a sort of metallic purple) and the boys..well..the boys got silk boxer shorts... |
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The boys try on their new boxers - in the hotel foyer... |
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And then suddenly it was time to go to the surprise celebration...we all got dressed up in out best gear, and headed down to the hotel foyer, where outside the doors were hoardes upon hoardes of baht taxis, all decorated with balloons, waiting to take us to the secret destination... |
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