Day 68 

Wednesday

I had a reasonable nights sleep, the air-con still isn’t great but better than nothing.

I’m going to go downstairs to the little coffee shop for a tea and to write my blog. 

The Coffee Shop looks really cute, lots of comfy seats and loads of plants. 

Unfortunately it also has quite a few Mossies!! Little buggers get me a few times, so annoying, as I’ve had hardly any bites this whole trip! Luckily I have my magical white tiger balm, which most certainly stops the bites from developing. 

I shall spend the rest of my time in the Old Town in long trousers! 

After a nice cup of Tea I’m going to do a bit more exploring. 

The Old Town isn’t very big but it is very interesting! 

The buildings here are Sino Portuguese, also known as Peranakan Style, which is a mixture of Chinese & Portuguese architecture. This style was created when Portuguese immigrants who came to Phuket employed Chinese workers to build shops, houses & Mansions. 

Before Phuket became a tourist industry it gained wealth from Tin Mining. The Mining industry attracted Chinese & Malay people to the area. The Mining trade was dominated by the Chinese until the 20th Century when European companies were bought in. 

This mix is what makes the area so different and interesting.

The building are amazing, and deceptively large, going really far back, with living accommodation usually on the upper floors. 

After a lovely walk and stopping at a few fabulous little galleries I was starving, I walked back to a place I’d seen the first time I came for the night market, I wasn’t sure what they made I just remembered that it smelt delicious 😋.

The place is hugely popular so no room inside their tiny café, but I order a take away. 

This place makes “Burnt Butter Toast topped with Various things! OMFG! The smell is insane! 😍

I order one topped with toffee ice cream and honeycomb. I can’t even begin to tell you how gorgeous it is! Honestly, it’s one of the best things I’ve eaten, very sweet but sooo Good! I can see why there is a constant queue. 

I munch on this whilst walking around. I stop for a cold drink in a cute little cafe, which is also a B & B they opener shows me around, it’s fab, I also get to have a nose around the upper floors of one of the buildings. 

On the way back to the hotel I decide as it’s my last few days here I should have a final Foot Massage! The place I call into is packed and I think they are mostly locals on lunch breaks, they make a call and after 10mins another lady appears and off we go! 

These massages are so good. They use very strong ointment that smells like red tiger balm and makes your skin hot. They also massage your arms, hands and finish with a little neck rub! Heaven. 

I’m going to spoil myself and book an aromatherapy treatment for tomorrow. 

My feet feel fabulous and I decide to treat them to a lovely cooling swim! 

I counted the number of strokes for 1 length of the pool, then did some complicated maths in my head and figured I need to do around 24 lengths to be equivalent to just over 7 lengths of the last pool. So that’s what I do. There is no one else around, the pool is cool, although very shallow at one end, which I think makes it harder to swim (I must check this out) 

Then I chill on my balcony in the sun reading my book. 11.22.63 which I’m really enjoying.

I head back out around 5.30 and find a few more Galleries. 

I wander in to one, drawn by the sleeping cat! The art is good, there is also another cat! The Owner/artist is head down on a table fast asleep!! I have a good look around, the Cat follows meowing incredibly loudly, the guy sleeps on! It’s so funny. He is still fast asleep when I leave. 😂

I have a good look around a beautiful Hotel called “The Memory at On On Hotel” it is stunning! apparently, Leonardo DiCaprio stayed here whilst filming the beach, or perhaps it’s in the film, one or the other. 

I really feel I ought to watch this film, now I’ve seen a few of its locations!

I stop at a fab looking Turkish Restaurant for dinner. They invite me in, the guy says there are no tables at the front, although we walk past 1 that is empty, and takes me further into the restaurant where it’s quite warm and offers me a table with large velvet chairs, I say it’s ok, but I would really like to be seated in the main part, he says he’ll try. 

I look around, there are no other customers in this part of the restaurant the only other person is a young child doing homework, I assume she is a staff members daughter. 

I sit and wait, staff go past with food, they come back, they go past again. Eventually someone takes my order. A Falafel wrap & a Lemon Iced Tea. 

Again I sit, customers from the restaurant go past to the toilet, they come back, staff go by with more food, they come back & repeat! Eventually after 20 mins I ask for my drink. They disappear, 10 mins later I ask again. I’m now a little pissed off not to mention hungry and thirsty! 

I stop a staff member and explain that I’ve been stuck out here at the back and basically ignored, I would like my drink at the very least. 

After this several people then come and ask what I need, they apologise, the manager comes over, she apologises, then they send a lovely lady called Mai,  to be my personal server! She gets my drink, my food appears, she brings, sauces, water, stands and chats. She is so sweet that I can’t be irritated anymore! 

Although this wasn’t among my best dining experience’s compounded at the end when I go to the toilet and have to walk through a completely discombobulating Mirrored passage! Seriously! Who thought that was a good idea!!

Back to the hotel, read then I end up,watching a few episodes of “Selling the OC” pure trash! Love it! 😍❤️

There are lots of photos with this post, sorry but there is so much to see! 
I’ve had to do 2 separate posts to be able to get all the photos in!!