Electricity

Image thanks to sustainablog

I once heard a story from an old man about a Dutch village in the begin of the 20th century.
In those days they did have electricity which was mainly used for light since there were not many other electrical things around the house like radio's or TV's. The electrician in the village was in charge of the generator and faithfully turned it on every morning at around 6 and turned it off at about 9 in the evening, since at these times the villagers were more or less supposed to wake up and go to bed.
The only exception was on Friday's, when he used to drink in the local pub and after a few beers wasn't too concerned about his job and turned the generator off after he finished drinking at 11 or later.
Almost everyone in the village knew when the electrician was in the pub, since they had some extra hours of light and so by the courtesy of the electrician they could stay up a bit longer as well.

Nowadays access to electricity belongs to basic human rights, however not everyone in the world takes that for granted.
Here on Coral Island the generator is turned off roughly between 9 and 12 in the morning and 3 and 6 in the afternoon. No wifi internet during these times, the only thing modern one can still enjoy is DTAC phone reception via a solar powered mast.
Most guests like to believe the cuts are done for ecological reasons, and some told me it made them feel closer connected to the environment, since you're more or less forced out of your room.
In fact only the eco-part is true, as far as it is used in the word economical. The bulk of the electricity is used for airconditioning and this measure cuts 25% of the fuel costs, where for idealists it contributes to a greener planet as well.
An exception is made on rainy days when people stay indoors, spend time watching TV or use internet in the lobby.
Another exception is when large groups of Chinese visit the resort, since according to some of the staff they seem to show little understanding towards the eco part.
Today we had no rain in the daytime nor any Chinese, but for unknown reasons power was only cut off for less than an hour in the morning.
So now, due to the courtesy of the island's 'electrician', I got some extra time to tell you this story.