Sometimes the best things seem to happen unexpectedly. Yesterday afternoon the power went off, yet again, and was off for about two and a half hours. My UPS will only last about ten minutes with all my “toys” running, so I had to shut everything down. Then I fell asleep. I can’t recharge my UPS battery, but I can recharge my own.

This morning, feeling refreshed and merrily coding away, the power went off again. I never know how long it will be off. Sometimes only long enough for me to finish yelling a paragraph of expletives. Sometimes longer. I guess a half hour would be average.

After ninety minutes, I thought F—IT. I’m going to drive up to Khanom and buy myself a nice lunch. A brief argument ensued as my conscience tried to persuade me the power could come back on at any moment, but my common sense looked at the stunningly gorgeous weather and won the battle. My common sense also reminded me it’s an F1 weekend, and that I have no wine. Okay, no brainer.

So I drove slowly along the eight-or-so kilometer beach road, up to the very end, where I found the Italian Restaurant – Ciao Bella. I’d read good reviews on-line, and thought, “This will do nicely.” I must learn how to think that in Italian.

I was warmly welcomed by the owner, and within one minute I’d noticed some rally plates and photos on the wall. Plus, his logo, which I found on the back of his truck is rally-plate shaped…

So that started a long conversation about the sport, the discovery that we have many friends and acquaintances in common, oh, and it involved some food.

Well, I shouldn’t say it like that. It involved some really really good food. I couldn’t be bothered to read what looked like a comprehensive menu, so I asked Chef Umberto, as I now know him, to recommend something. “Pizza or pasta?” was his only question, and since I can’t eat cooked cheese, the answer was easy. Fifteen minutes later he appeared with this…

Pasta cooked in squid ink (he won’t be impressed with the fact I’ve forgotten what kind of pasta!) with lots of fried squid and other seafood mixed in. Stunning! But too much for one, although I gave it my best shot. And fresh mango juice. I know, because I was introduced to the mango.

The restaurant is open-fronted with great views across the beach, as you can see below. Those tables on the beach are part of the restaurant too, so it would be great for a cool evening soirée.

I hope I can pick a quiet evening sometime soon, as I feel we’ve only just scratched the surface of the rally stories. And rally stories need evenings, and wine.