Author: hereandthereclaire

Thursday

Well today has been a proper lazy one! 

Once again the weather has been pants, very rainy all day.

I sat by the pool for an hour or so in the morning, but it was spitting and breezy and to be honest a little chilly!! (28 degrees!) 

I’ve definitely started to acclimatise, I even turn off my air-con during the day and have it set to 23 at night instead of my original 16!! 

What has become of CryogenicClaire? 🥶😂 she best make a swift return when I get home, especially with the bloody Energy’s Crisis! 

I haven’t even been for a swim today! 😬 As the pool is pretty shady and with all the rain it is also a little chilly, also I just wasn’t feeling it today. 

Tomorrow I shall begin again, and try once more to submerge my overthinking head into the water. 

I spent the day chatting via WhatsApp to the fabulous Nikki & Jenna, both of whom are away from home at the moment. 

I finished reading another great book; “Sorrow and Bliss” by Meg Mason. Another recommendation.

It’s a pleasure to be able to have the time and headspace to read books that require a little more attention and concentration. 

With that in mind Grantley will be pleased to hear that I’ve downloaded 11.22.63 by Stephen King. 

I think before I leave Thailand I will do you guys a little list of my favourite reads! 

This is why I love my Kindle so much as it allows me to have access to as many books as I want! 

I would have really struggled if I’d relied on the usual Hotel book library’s, I seen quite a few with lots of books, unfortunately most of them aren’t in English and there isn’t one in my current hotel, or at least I’ve not found it yet. It’s also a lot simpler and lighter carrying round my Kindle. 

So not really much to tell you guys today, all a little boring! 

Friday 

Had another relaxing day today, just chilling by the pool. 

Swam 8 lengths today but couldn’t face any underwater attempts, I thought about it for a bit, looked at the water for a bit then got out of the pool!! 😂

Also spent a good part of my day checking my phone for news from Newquay and the possibility of someone’s early arrival, but it wasn’t to be. (More on this later!)

As I was sitting on my balcony reading I noticed a guy perched on the ledge of the building opposite, part of the hotel. He is obviously fixing something, the thing is he has no harness or anything on and he is on the 6th Floor!! WTAF! There really is no concept of Health & Safety! It made me anxious just looking at him.

Tonight it’s the Night Market at Boat Avenue, which is supposed to be good so I’ve booked the shuttle bus and am going to check it out. 

There are quite a few stalls, especially food stalls, it’s bigger and fancier than the other more local Market I’ve been to with Rebecca & Chris. This also means it’s more expensive!

As I’m walking around I can see why it’s more expensive. There are a lot of very well dressed western tourists/residents around, as well as a large number of Thai Nannies with their little Charges. I haven’t really seen this since Bangkok. 

But this area around Boat Avenue has lots of new high end developments, Villas, condominiums and that’s reflected in the Shops & Restaurants. 

I grab myself a cocktail, some spring rolls, an outside table and indulge in some people watching! 

There is an American guy next to me with his Thai Girlfriend/Wife/ who is stunning, but looks about 12! He’s banging on, very loudly, to his friend about the fact that she can’t play golf, seriously!? She’s barely out of fucking puberty! What a total douchebag. 

There are some extremely gorgeous outfits around, although I’m not sure 7 inch heels are the best option for walking around a night market, but perhaps I’m just jealous!! 

I think it’s a case of Promenading! 

I’m so busy watching everything & everybody that I lose track of the time and miss my shuttle home, I’m not worried as it’s a pretty short walk, I have another wander around, buy some little bits, including some amazing, local aromatherapy bits. Then start to walk back, and manage to catch the Shuttle just as it arrives for another pick up! Handy. 

Saturday 

I’ve decided I’m going to go for a walk this morning, regardless of the weather! I’ve got a brolly, so it’s not a problem.

I’ve missed my daily walks. 

I head out and take a right turn at the junction, left goes to Boat Avenue and I’ve been that way. I’m pretty sure right takes me into the little town. It does! It’s much closer than I thought. 

The weather has cleared and it’s bright & Sunny, which is good and not so good, it’s obviously Midday! The perfect time for pale English Women to be walking around! 🙄I am wearing factor 50, so hopefully I’ll be ok. 

I stop at the local Lotus to grab some water, as I forgot mine. Then continue on my stroll. I’m going to do a circular walk back to either the hotel or the beach depending on what I fancy.

It’s actually really lovely being out and strolling with some shade. Once again I get to listen to the Adhan, which is lovely. I tried to record it but it didn’t really pick it up. 

As I was strolling I spotted a snake on the road!! It was very small and unfortunately very dead. I think it had very recently been run over. Before I realised it was dead I tried to shield it from an oncoming car, I also tried to move it with my bag, but it didn’t respond, which is when I realised it was not alive. Such a shame. Poor little thing. 

I decide that the hotel and the pool is where I’m heading! I’m so hot I just want to jump straight into the lovely cool water! 

I do exactly that and it’s heaven! 

I have a leisurely swim, 6 lengths. I also put my head under water, but sadly with my eyes closed and holding my nose! 😂

Its now early morning in the UK and I’m waiting to hear news.

The news is that lovely Nikki is going to be having her little Baby today!! 

This was not planned, unfortunately she has had Placenta Previa and now needs a Caesarian Section. This will be 6 weeks early, but all the signs look good, although that doesn’t stop me from worrying!

I spend the day messaging back and forth and checking my phone constantly. 

In the evening I head to the lovely little Indian Restaurant that I’ve been to before, it’s a 5 min drive and I know they have good wifi, so I can stay reachable.

I have a yummy dinner, then head straight back to the hotel, I go up to my room to wait for news, by now it’s around 3 1/2 hours since Nikki was  supposed to have gone down for her C Section, still no news. I’m sitting in my room dementedly checking my phone, then I decide to call Tish which is when I realise I have no Internet connection! WTF! I rush down to reception, reconnect and Wham! All the messages come through at the same time. 

The utterly gorgeous Herbie Victor Homer Grant has arrived in the world, weighing a stonking 5lbs 12oz!! 

Nikki and Herbie are both doing well and all is good! 

I go out to to the little kiosk to get a celebration Cocktail, as I’m waiting, it’s a long wait, as they have run out of Rum and a girl jumps on her moped to go and get some!! I’m standing in the street crying happy and relieved tears.  I end up accosting a lovely German couple to explain the tears and share the baby news! They are so sweet. My cocktail arrives and I toast the arrival of Little Herbie. 💙

What a wonderful day.

Monday 

Today I’m going to have a walk to Boat Avenue, just for a bit of exercise, and to see how far it is! 

It’s actually a pretty short, 15min walk I timed it well and managed to avoid the rain! 

I spotted a laundrette on the way which is great, as I’m not happy paying the ridiculous amounts for laundry at the hotel, 120Tbt for a top! 

I’ll add laundry to my itinerary for tomorrow! 

Boat Avenue is very quiet, I think I must come at the wrong times, I guess it would be busy in the evenings with all the bars and restaurants. I may give it a go one evening. 

I find a little gallery and have a look around then stop for a coffee I choose an Almond Flat White, which is not great and cost a bloody fortune! Really miss my beautiful Georgia’s Caramel Oat Flat Whites!! 😍

I grab a couple of bits from the supermarket and head back to the hotel. 

I bag a sun bed, jump in the rather chilly pool and have a swim, another 6 lengths! Then I chill watching a lizard enjoying the sun by the pool. 

The hotel is doing a special on Pizzas so I decide to try one! It’s very good, but very filling, I have half and save the other half for my dinner later. 

Tuesday

I’m up reasonably early, listening to the rain! It’s another unpredictable weather day. 

I gather all my laundry and walk down the road, between showers, to the laundrette. It costs 20th to use the big machines, a bargain! 

There are several empty carrier bags around, which clearly show that some Brits have been doing their washing!! See the pic 😂

Todays swim is 8 lengths!! I’m impressed. Later I watch a young girl

swimming and she puts her head under water, this makes her style look much better and more fluid. I need to learn how to do this. Tomorrow I’ll try putting my head underwater when I’m swimming! 

After my swim I just relax and enjoy relaxing and reading my book. I’m reading another fabulous book, “The trouble with goats and sheep” by Joanne Cannon. It’s laugh out loud funny in places and set during the 1976 drought in the UK, so is also very nostalgic. I would highly recommend it. 

I grab some chicken fried rice from the restaurant, it’s good, but not the best I’ve had. 

The rains come again, so I spend the evening chilling in my room reading and watching rubbish films on Netflix! 

Wednesday 

The weather is looking more promising today, so I grab a towel and go and relax by the pool. I swim 6 lengths, then have a go at swimming with my head under the water. Yep, that didn’t go well!! A couple of issues, 1. I can’t seem to open my eyes underwater. 2. when I swim a couple of strokes underwater I come up in a panic, and have to stop and stand up to breathe! 

I stand in the pool and attempt to just put my head under with my eyes open, but I just can’t do it! It’s so silly, I’m just standing here staring at the water and can’t bring myself to put my head under. 

I’ll try again tomorrow! 

For now I’m going to go to the beach and visit my favourite little bar; Silmie, for some lunch. 

I take the shuttle and then have a nice walk along the beach, the tide is low, so the walk is flat and pleasant, no wonky walking! 

It’s so lovely to see everyone, they all wave at me and come over and chat. 

Luckily I leave to walk back up the beach with plenty of time before the shuttle pick up because the weather starts to change and it gets dark and ominous! I make it back to Almora just as the rain arrives. 

When I get back to the hotel I decide to try a cocktail from the little kiosk outside the hotel, 125tbt! I opt for a Long Island Iced Tea, Wow!!! It’s so bloody strong, delicious but potent! 

A bit later I have another one, not sure if this is a good idea, but I also grab some fried rice from them and take both back to my room! The rice helps mitigate the effects of the cocktail, but only a little 😍 Definitely the most squiffy I’ve been since Rebecca & Chris left!! I listen to some music, drink water and have an early night! 

Hopefully my head will be ok tomorrow!! 

Night all. 🤣😜

Stay chilled people. 

Saturday 

I’m up early and sitting outside feeding my little feline friend the last of my kibbles! She’s taken to sleeping outside my room on the sun bed! 😻 

She’ll be fine when I leave, she’ll just transfer her affections to the next gullible softy that comes to stay!! 

I have a nice final swim and then I’m off to my next hotel.

This hotel is further down the beach but still in Bang Tao, it’s a resort hotel and looks a little bit fancy. 

My taxi arrives, accompanied by The Tiger King himself on a moped, just to check everything is good, fantastic service!! 

It’s a short drive and then I’m here. 

The hotel is lovely. My room is great, a bit like a small bedsit with a kitchenette, table & chairs a sofa area and a balcony! Nice. 

The bed is good but a little hard, but not as hard as the ones I’ve slept on the last 3 weeks 😬 

The hotel provide soft mattress toppers if required, I definitely require one! I’m excited to go to bed tonight now. 

The hotel has a restaurant, gym, sauna and a huge Olympic sized pool, which is wonderfully shady. 

They also provide a shuttle bus to both the beach and to Boat Avenue, where all the fancy shops and supermarkets are. 

I decide to go to Boat Avenue first to get some food supplies and some cash. 

I stupidly came in the middle of the afternoon when you can’t buy any alcohol, so no beer/wine for me today. I grab some provisions and head back to the hotel. 

The pool looks pretty quiet so I go for a swim and manage to do 6 lengths, 120 strokes per length without stopping! This is great! I don’t think I could have done 1 length when I first arrived in Thailand, so lots of progress, I’m a bit slow but I’m OK with that. 

As a reward I have a Margarita, it’s Happy Hour so it would be rude not too! 😂 

The restaurant tonight is doing a ‘Beef Wellington’ night, which I don’t fancy, so only a limited choice, I opt for a Tom Kah Gai, Chicken in a Coconut & Lemongrass Soup. It looks and taste delicious 😋 I only have one small problem and that is the huge amount of lemongrass left in the soup, which is inedible and has to be fished out! Otherwise it’s lovely. 

I got to meet the owner, Joe, I’m not sure of his nationality as his accent is odd, I’ll confirm later. He is very nice and is the first person (apart from English people) who has heard of Cornwall! In fact he is visiting at the end of September. 

After this I head back to my room and read, finishing a really good book called ‘Black Cake’ by Charmaine Wilkerson. Excellent read. 

I’m just about to nod off when we have a power cut, this knocks out the aircon, which I’m not that bothered about it makes everything so so quiet, it’s lovely. It comes back on after about an hour, so my provisions in the fridge will be fine. 

I can confirm that the mattress topper does it’s job, a wonderfully soft, comfy bed! Bliss 😴

Sunday

After a soft and comfy nights sleep, albeit with very odd dreams. 

I get up and have tea and some fruit & biscuits. 

I decide after a quick swim to head to the beach, I’m going to take the shuttle today just to see where it drops off & picks up from. But I think In future I’ll walk, as I’m sure it’s not that far. 

It drops us at a Beach Restaurant & Bar called Almora.

Rebecca & Chris, it’s the one we had Pina Colada’s at, with the lady on her Walkie-talkie! 😀

I have a little wander along the beach, it’s looking a little stormy out at sea. Then the weather starts to come in and I walk back to the restaurant, which has an inside area arriving just before the rain & winds hit! And boy does it hit! 

My plan had been to walk back to the hotel but the weather is so unpredictable that I don’t fancy getting soaked, I know there is a shuttle coming at 2.10 so I decide to chill and wait for that. 

It’s great people watching, plus I have my Kindle. 

I go back to the hotel and have a swim, only 4 lengths today! I’ll aim for 7-8 tomorrow. I think I’ll have a bit of a sunbathe on the very comfy loungers (at last ones that are a decent height to get on and off! ) unfortunately the weather had other ideas! 

I’ve checked the weather and it’s not looking great for the coming week, lots of rain & storms, not ideal. 

It’s lucky I’m in this hotel, where I have space and a comfy room to chill in, so this is what I do. I end up watching a film, (gotta love Netflix)  and watching the rain! 

I have dinner in the hotel again, they have their full menu tonight, so I opt for a Pad Thai, it’s really good, must remember to ask for no tofu! Devils food 🥴 I then go completely mad and have a dessert, something I rarely do, I just fancied something decadent & sweet! I have a Chocolate Fondant, with Ice cream and honeycomb OMFG! A-Mazing! 

Then back to my room and it’s belly full, eyes closed! 

Night All! 

Friday

So today I’m going on another day, a tour of Phuket sites. 

I’m being picked up between 9 – 9.15 so I’m up ready & waiting by 9. 

The Mini us arrives at 9.05, as before I’m the first pick up the tour is due to start at 10.30, so a few stops to,go.

I don’t mind being the first pick up, I get to have an enjoyable drive through the various places, Surin Beach, Kamala, through the mountains, it’s lovely. 

We get to Patong and our first pick up at 9.40. It’s a very fancy Resort, our guide, Yew, jumps out to collect the new people. I sit and wait, and wait and wait! After 15 mins Yew comes back and apologises profusely unfortunately the people aren’t ready, I get out and go and wait in the lobby. Another 10 mins go by and they finally appear (their pick up time was 9.30 – 9.45) I am really miffed! I hate people being late it’s disrespectful and rude. They don’t even bother to apologise. 

We head to our next pick, now running late, once again we wait 15 mins for these people to rock up! The next pick up is another 20 minute wait! WTAF is wrong with people!! I’ve now been sat on this bus waiting for people for over an hour!! It just makes me pissed off. 

Poor Yew, keeps apologising to me, I think because I told her after waiting 20 mins the first time that we should just leave without them! 

Eventually everyone is on board and we head to our first stop Kata view point, this is high up in the hills overlooking the beaches and bays around Kata. 

It is a stunning view, made more beautiful by the clouds. We have a good walk around. The only blight is the person there who has a gorgeous, huge Fish Eagle and a Fish Hawk which you can have photos with. I just hate seeing this, those birds should be free to fly. 

After this we are going to see ‘The Big Buddha’ again high up on a hilltop, it’s a massive 45meter high white marble Buddha, that they started to build in 2004.

In order to get to the Buddha we climb up the mountain on quite a bumpy twisty road, which is great until the small child sitting next to me starts to be sick!! Joy. Late, kids and puke!! Yeah, fun days out…not! 

I’m still irritated by the lateness! The family are very apologetic and are also being very chatty to me, so I forgive them. 😃 

The Big Buddha is very impressive as are the views, it’s not too busy which is great. You have stunning views in all directions. It is gorgeous.

I stop on the way down to grab a banana and a Liptons Lemon iced Tea, I feel so much better after this, possibly I was a little Hangry earlier! 😬😬

I get back on the bus feeling much more benevolent towards my fellow tardy passengers. 😇and we head down the mountain. The next stop is apparently to have a photo taken with a baby elephant. Again I find this horrible and cruel, I saw a few Elephant Trekking places on the way up the mountain, and an Elephant chained on a precarious sloping piece of hill! I am glad to say that nobody wanted a picture, we all said it was cruel. I hope that this sort of practice becomes illegal soon. The poor baby elephant looked distressed. 

Our next stop is Chalong Temple, or Wat Chai Thararam. This is the largest and most revered Buddhist Temple in Phuket.

It is so lovely to see a Temple again! I haven’t seen many since Chiang Mai! 

The grounds are stunning, lots of flowers and trees. The whole place is a beautiful calm oasis. I really loved walking around. It would have been nice to stay a little longer, but we had our obligatory 30mins then on to the next stop. 

Next we are going to visit a cashew nut place! 

So, apparently all Cashew Nuts are shelled by hand, as the nuts are all different shapes and sizes so machines can’t do it! It looks like a long process, the nut grows on the bottom of a fruit, which is then picked the nut taken out, the outer shell pierced then cracked and the nut removed, at this stage it is inedible until it is roasted. No wonder they are so expensive. There is so much work involved. 😳 

We get to try some different flavours, the seaweed one was nice! We then have time to look around the shop and buy stuff. I don’t, as I’m not a huge fan of cashews.

Next stop a Honey Farm. The place we go to has a few hives, but their main production is on a farm in the mountains. We get to see some bees, taste some honey, the flavours are markedly different depending on the flowers etc near the hives. Again we get to shop, again I buy nothing! 

Back in the bus and now we stop at a Gem Shop! I look around, try on a couple of blue topaz rings(Gorgeous) but buy nothing! I’m clearly not their ideal client! 😂 

Then we have a stop in Phuket Old Town, I use the opportunity to grab a coffee and some yummy coconut pancakes, have a wee then it’s time to go. 

The lovely family next to me ask if they can have a picture with me! Not sure why, but Hey Ho. They call me Miss Claire, cute. They also take my telephone number, they are coming to live in London for a few years in September, while the husband does his MA, so perhaps they just want to have a few connections. 

After this it’s home, I am last drop off, obviously 🙄 

All in all an OK day, some highs and lows but great to see more of the area. 

I grab some dinner then off to pack! I’m moving hotels tomorrow.

😘❤️😘❤️

Wednesday 

After my action packed day yesterday, I woke up this morning with a few aches & pains, especially in my hands & knees, from gripping the railing and scrambling back onto the boat! 

I have a swim which helps loosen things and also cools me down.

Not sure what the weather is up to today but I decide to go for a walk, along the road behind my hotel that the minibus came back down yesterday. It’s an area I haven’t been through. 

After the first few shops and bars I think it’s actually a more residential area, and more local as well, if I follow the road all the way it will lead into Bang Tao town, not sure I want to,go that far as it’s extremely hot & humid. 

There are some lovely flowers and smells along the way, also another Tsunami Warning Sign. They make me anxious, and I’m always trying to be aware of the safe routes or the highest building! This area was devastated by the Boxing Day Tsunami, so the fear is not unfounded. 

Anyway, I’m enjoying my walk, and take a turning which I think will lead back towards the beach. Again it’s mainly residential. 

As I come round a corner there are loads of people, mainly men gathering and arriving on mopeds, I’m initially no sure what’s going on, then realise there must be a Mosque here. As I walk on I start to here the Call to Prayer, It’s such a beautiful sound, very evocative and haunting. I stop and listen for a while, everything else is so quiet. It was very peaceful. 

I am correct about the road coming back towards the beach, I pass the Posh Hotel I sometimes go to almost pop in for a coffee, but don’t, this is a mistake as around 2 minutes later the heavens open and we have torrential rain! I had bought my umbrella, which is small and pretty useless against this downpour! I run and shelter under a shop canopy and hope it’ll stop soon, it does. I carry on walking but am a little soggy. I stop to have a drink and decide on a Hot Chocolate with Coconut milk, trying to avoid dairy milk. My drink is delicious 😋 very creamy and yummy, unfortunately for some reason it just doesn’t agree with me and when I get back to my hotel, which luckily isn’t far the whole thing goes right through me! 😬I’m hoping that it’s because it was too rich and not that I’ve now got another upset tummy ☹️

I chill in the room, it’s still,raining so no big loss. After a while, some water and a few crackers my tummy feels ok. 👍 

I have another swim, read for a bit and go for an early, light dinner, just some vegetable rice, with a fried egg! 

Thursday

Another chilled day today, swimming then a walk to the beach, again it’s a massive high tide, so not much beach. 

I sit at Arinara beach for a while and have a delicious iced tea. 

Then a walk along the beach and back to my favourite spot, a bit of lunch, read, chill and then head back to the hotel for more swimming! 

Imago to the Indian for dinner and have Butter Chickem it is so so good! Their Indian food is gorgeous! They are always very busy, especially at the moment as there are lots of tourists from India here and it has a great reputation! 

Tomorrow I’m going on another day trip, just to see some sights around Phucket. Not such an early pick up, 9am, nice! 😍

That’s it for now. 

More on the day trip next time! 

❤️❤️

Today is the day for my visit to The Phi Phi Islands, the Phi Phi Islands are an archipelago of 6 Islands, with 2 main islands; Phi Phi Don & Phi Phi Leh. 🏝 

It’s an early start for me as I’m being picked up at 7 – 7.15, feels like the middle of the night tbh! 

I’ve packed my bag for the day, all the essentials, bug spray, sun cream, water, towel, sarong. 

I’m all ready and waiting by 7, my minibus arrives on time it appears I’m the first to be picked up. As we head off it starts to rain 😬 the weather has been beautiful for the last 10 days, bright and sunny every day, but today it changes! Frustrating. The rain get’s heavier and heavier, this does not bode well, if the weather is to rough the trip will,be cancelled or the crossing pretty unpleasant. All I can do is wait and see. 

We pick up our next lot of clients In Patong, a group of 4 large, loud men all wearing Panama hats. I say a cheery ‘morning’ get nothing back! 

The next group are 2 guys, they say Hi. Then 2 couples with luggage, I assume aren’t going on a day trip! 

It’s still raining. 

It takes 2 hours to collect everyone and get to Rassada Port, but it was interesting passing through the various places, Kata, Karon Beach, Phucket. On the road leading to the port, it seems like you pass through a very local, residential area, which again is interesting to see. 

At the Port we check in with our respective tour organisations and are able to grab some coffee, biscuits and fruit. 

Then we have a safety, information talk. They offer us sea sickness tablets. I opt not to take one as the last time I took one with Rebecca, Chris & the kids in Cairns it made me go a Doolally! 🤪  

I buy a pair of slip on surf/beach shoes which will be good on the boat and in the sea. 

Our party is made up the 4 Hatted guys, a group of 3 other big guys, the 2 guys who said Hi and 2 Families with older children and a couple, who I think know the crew. 

The Speedboat is smaller than I had imagined, but all good. I pop on my life jacket, grab a seat at the back (the least bumpy area apparently) 

then we head out. 

It’s still raining, and grey. 

The Ocean is actually pretty calm and the weather starts to clear as we move away from the Port. 

It’s a 45 minute ride to our first stop and it goes well, I spend the time standing up looking at the ocean and the few small islands we pass. Some of the passengers have gone a little quiet and green! 

The 4 Hatted guys, don’t want to wear their life jackets, and are still being extremely loud.

Our first stop is at Phi Phi Leh and Maya Bay. 

Maya Bay is where the film The Beach, With Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. Since then it has become hugely popular with thousands of tourists in boats visiting all year round. This had a devastating effect on the wildlife and the ecosystem. So in 2018 it was closed to everyone and teams worked to restore the area. This has been hugely successful. The Beach is being reopened in October of this year, but with lots of restrictions. 

I’ve added a link in this blog to explain it in more detail (never done this before, so not sure if it’ll work 🤞)

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/maya-bay-thailand-recovery-c2e-spc-intl/index.html

Our boat is allowed to stop at the mouth of the bay and we can take pictures. The bay is absolutely stunning, the colours are insane! I wish image a better camera as my little Samsung doesn’t do it justice! 

The beach looks pristine. 

We are allowed to move to the front of the boat to take pictures. The hatted guys, just push passed everyone to get tot he front, as do all the other guys! Such Dicks! I am the last person to go and make the mistake of not taking off my life jacket for the photo! 😁

This stop results in more people getting sick, it’s the way the boat is rolling in the waves I think. 

I’m fine, not sickness. 

After this we have a short run around to the other side of Maya Bay to see the new Pier and walkway built for future visits to the Bay then we are going to Pileh Lagoon for swimming. 

The Lagoon is gorgeous, such wonderful colours, which change depending on the depth of the water, from green to bright turquoise. 

It’s also amazing to see so much greenery growing from the rocks. 

There are a few boats in the lagoon, so swimming is limited to the area around our boat. 

At this point I need to explain that I have a huge fear of being in water out of my depth, this fear is heightened if it’s the sea. 

I also really don’t like the idea of being in just my costume in front of strangers. 

All of these things have been going round in my head as we traveled to this point. 

I make the decision that I am going to massively regret not getting into this beautiful sea, I ask Tor, our guide to take some pictures, I strip off and am the first to get in the sea!! 😍OMG! it’s so fabulous, the water is very deep but this just makes you more buoyant. I have a swim around, not to far and only get back onboard when all the guys jump in and start messing about. 

Getting back onboard is not easy but manageable. I am so pleased that I did it. 

We stay in the Lagoon for a while and it’s great just watching everything, I love the small wooden boats that some people are on, I guess they come from islands close by. 

After here we have a look at Viking Cave, a cave with some cave paintings and also home to birds; ‘Swiflets’ who’s nest are used in Birds Nest soup, the nests fetch around 150,000tbt per kilo (£3,000) 

The cave is now guarded day and night from pirates. 

After this we go to Nui Bay for snorkelling 🤿 

I was feeling pretty good about the swimming, but still very unsure about snorkelling. I’ve had some unpleasant experiences, and again it terrifies me. 

I decide to have a go, get my gear on and my life jacket and get into the water. Unlike the Lagoon, the water here is choppy and moving. I try to do it whilst holding on to the rope on the boat, but I simply panic. The it’s everything around my face, the water moving, the idea of being loose & untethered in the ocean is too much. I clamber rapidly back onto the boat. Tor speaks to me and offers to come in with me, I’m not sure, she might be holding me, but who’s holding her?? We are still untethered. She is so calm, lovely & reassuring that I agree to try again. 

We get in and I definitely don’t feel as panicky. We move away from the boat and the fish I can see are amazing 🐠 🐟 🐠 These little Yellow ones with black stripes come right up to you, the beauty of what I’m seeing helps me to calm down. We head quite far from the boat, I’ve still got a death grip on Tors hand! Then I come up and look around, we are far from the boat, but it’s still visible. I take a deep breath and tell Tor that I think I’ll be OK on my own. She swims away, I’m alone, untethered in the bloody ocean!! 

I put my head back down and look at the wonderful world below and just enjoy it. After a while I decide to go back, the boat is further away than before, but I reassure myself that I can now swim for a long while without stopping, so getting back to the boat will be fine, no need to panic. The current is strong, pushing you back, but I just keep going and then just before I get to the boat, one of the crew is there with a life ring, which I hold and we go together the last bit. I clamber back into the boat remove all my stuff and then have a cry! 

Im so incredibly proud of myself, this is a fear I’ve had for many years and have tried numerous times to overcome and never been able to. So go me!! I feel so happy!! 

After this momentous occasion, that nobody else is even aware of 😍 we go to Phi Phi Don for lunch and some free time. 

Phi Phi Don is the largest of the Islands and has hotels, shops, etc locals live here and it is beautiful. I have a little bit of lunch then go for a wander. There are lots of cats! 

We all get back on the boat, the 4 hatted guys, the 3 large guys and the 2 guys all seem to have now bandied together into a loud, rude, impolite homogeneous group, which I’m terming a “Twatage’ (ie a bunch Twats!) 

They push in front of everyone, don’t listen to instructions, shout, and generally behave badly. 

We are now going to Monkey Beach, which as the name suggests has monkeys on. Although the monkeys live in the trees and don’t always come down to the beach. The monkeys are Long Tailed  Macaques. 

We had been told not to feed, or bother them as they can be vicious. 

As we pull into the beach I spot 2 Eagles, one of which swoops down a grabs a fish! Wow! 

I didn’t take my phone/camera onto the islands as getting on and off the boat was tricky and I didn’t want to lose it. 

There were no monkeys in sight, so I walk to the end of the beach to sit in peace and watch the beautiful ocean, watching for monkeys or more eagles. 

As I walk back up the beach a large Macaque saunters on to the beach at which point one of the ‘Twatage’ offers it some food! WTF! It rushes up at him, looks like it’s going to climb up his leg, he lobs the food away just in time. Why? Just why? I’ve see how big these guys teeth are you don’t mess with them. 

I manage to get a photo of the monkey when we are back in the boat. 

It’s really sad watching him pick up and try to drink out of an empty coke bottle. Perhaps they should close this beach for a while as well.

We now have a 45 minute ride to our next stop, Khai Island. 

We head out and it’s a little more choppy, big troughs, which you slam down into. The ‘Twatage’ have all gone a little green, which at least serves to keep them quiet! 

We seem to have been going for longer than 45 mins, but no stopping in site, I also realise none of us put our life jackets in when we re boarded.

The one of the guys at the back of the boat, next to the engines starts gesturing to the pilot/driver, quite frantic gesturing to be fair! The next thing we slow then stop, they guy lifts one engine out of the water looks at it then we continue. Odd. 

After another 5 minutes there is more frantic gesturing, then lifting a seat above the engines looking, shouting. The next thing, both guys at the back have plastic bowls, cartons in their hands and are bailing out water from the engine! WTAF! Everyone suddenly moves forward, grabs life jackets. There is more frantic bailing, Tor and the other crew Tao, are saying, it’s all fine, nothings wrong….Mmm I’m not sure that’s actually true! 😬

Luckily we arrive at Khai Islands shortly after this. 

Khai Islands, is not really my cup of tea, lots of bars, deckchairs, loads of people. I have a wander around, collect a few shells, have a paddle, watch some girls feeding watermelon to beautiful green/blue fish, pay 20th t for a wee then it’s time to go.

To get back on board you have to walk on a floating pontoon, seriously! 😂😂 Obviously my propensity to falling over is going to be severely tested. I make it without falling over, although this may have been due to having a crew member on either side of me! 😂 

We arrive back at Rassada Port without having to bail water, result. 

The ‘Twatage’ luckily get into a different minibus to me! I enjoy a peaceful, if damp (I’m still wearing my wet costume and sarong ) drive back to the hotel. 

I have a lovely hot shower and a couple of Rum & Cokes! 

All in all I’ve had an absolutely amazing, fun, exciting and remarkable day! I’m very happy indeed. 

❤️❤️

Sunday

Today I’ve organised to go into Phuket Old town to the Night Market.

I did this with Som’s Husband, who is better know as ‘The Tiger King’ 😁

He did me an excellent price on the taxi there and back. 

Im not leaving till around 2pm so spend the morning doing Yoga, Planks (😩) collecting laundry, writing my blog, swimming. 

I also got chatting to a young Russian guy who is staying here. He has previously lived for a while in Chiang Mai so we chatted about how lovely Chiang Mai is and also the issues he’s having with trying not to return home to Russia, if he returns he will be conscripted into the army to fight a war he doesn’t believe in or want. It’s so hard. He keeps renewing his visa but I guess at some point he won’t be able to do that anymore. Although the Thai Government are helping Russian & Ukrainian tourists by not charging to renew/extend their visas and offering accommodation and help to those who are running out of money. They have also promised not to deport anyone without their consent. (Take note Priti Fucking Awful Patel!!)

After our chat he then asked if I wanted to buy some cannabis, which is now legal in Thailand! I politely declined. I guess that’s one way to bring in some ££. 😁

I walked round the corner at 2pm to grab my taxi, Som spoke to the young lad who is always around, I assume her son. He quickly sorted keys and Som told him what was required: Drop me off at the Old Town then pick me up again at 7.30. 

As we were driving I asked him if he was Som’s son? His name is Boss, I thought he asked about my family so I told him about Georgia, Grantley and Rebecca the next thing I know he’s slowed right down and is handing me his phone and Som is on there asking if everything is ok? I explained that I was just asking about Boss and his family, and telling him about mine! I hand back the phone I guess she translates everything to him. I think he thought I was asking him to stop to collect my family! 😂 He is so sweet, he is always the one told to drive me whenever I need a lift, or get me water, find the laundry man who is missing, he does whatever is asked with a smile. He reminds me of Grantley and how wonderfully helpful he is! 😍

It takes around 30 minutes to get to Phuket Old Town, Boss drops me at a large Temple with a big car park. We agree to meet back here at 7.30. 

The Old Town is great, lots of fabulous buildings, bright & colourful. There are galleries, street art, boutiques, bars, ice cream parlours and the Night Market. It’s wonderfully vibrant. A few of the shops are closed as it’s Sunday and I guess the focus is on the Night Market. 

I am pretty peckish and the smells of waffle cones cooking makes me want something sweet! I stop and have a delicious Caramel Frappe!! And watch the market being set up and the people wandering by. 

The place I stopped at looked quite small and when I asked for the toilet they pointed towards the back, there were 2 large archways, which I had thought were the end of the building, but they were open to a larger area behind, it really threw me for a second, like I was walking into a wall or doing a Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4s ! 😂😂 The Café is huge and beautiful. I may come back later. 

The Market is starting to pick up now and my plan is to buy some street food and have a wander. 

There are so many food places, unfortunately for me the majority of them are selling sea food or pork based food 😕 neither of which I like. 

I grab some fresh mango and eat it in a shady little park, built for Thailands previous Queen SiriKit.

When I head back into the market there is a large group of young school  pupils collecting money for charity. One young girl is talking into a microphone asking for donations, she does such a good job, in English, that I stop and pop 20baht into the collection box at which point every single one of them cheer, and say thank you in unison! It’s so loud it makes me jump! Some guy takes a picture, another young girl shouts over the microphone “Thank you for your kind a loving heart’ everyone turns to look 👀 , more pictures are taken! Seriously, it was mad and very funny!! 😂😂 For some reason their response made me think of Minions!!

Whilst I’m here I also take the opportunity to look at a Hotel I’ve seen online. I have 3 nights not booked at the end of my stay, my choice is to either extend my stay at my last hotel or possibly move inland to the Old Town. The hotel is very pleasant, right in the heart of the Old Town. It has a small pool (a must for me, as I’m now such an avid swimmer! Plus it’s soo hot) the price is similar to the other place. I’m torn. Not sure what to do?  I think I’ll wait to see what my new hotel is like first. 

I stop to have a beer break as the sun is still out and it’s hot, hot, hot! 🥵

The Sun has dropped quite a bit now and the market is packed! I grab a couple of items, and just enjoy the hustle and bustle. They have a couple of great areas for children to make painting or candles. They are very busy. 

The food looks amazing, Rebecca would love all the seafood!! 

As I’m walking I spot a group of young guys all wearing great outfits, but particularly fab shoes! I love a group shoe picture, so I ask them if I can take one! They are all American and whilst looking at me a little strangely they are too polite to refuse 😂😂 I take the picture, say thanks and walk away leaving them looking bemused. 

I head back to the Temple and find Boss, it appears that he has just stayed in Phuket the whole time, I hope he did something fun. 

It was really fun going to Phuket, I loved being able to mooch around, need to remember this when deciding about which hotel to choose. 

I am starving, as I didn’t eat anything other than Mango, so head to the Siam Restaurant and opt for Thai Chicken fried rice, it’s nice but a little bland, wish I’d had the chicken biriyani or a Massamam. Hey Ho, there’s always tomorrow.

I read some more of my book, it’s the book club choice and it’s excellent and horrid at the same time; ‘American Dirt’ by Jeanine Cummins. I highly recommend it. 

Sorry Rebecca, couldn’t face the Netflix thing tonight.

Monday 

Thought I’d have a chilled day today. 

Spent the morning in the pool and reading then thought I’d walk down to the beach, the tide is extremely high today, so no walking along the beach to get to my favourite bar, it’s a road walk. It’s actually really nice because so many people say morning and wave at me now! 

When I get to Silmie’s there is literally no beach, only a few tables out. It’s around 12.30 and the tide is due to turn around 1.30.

It was actually really sad, the amount of rubbish and debris in the water and being bought onto the beach is the worst I’ve seen. Unbelievable amounts of plastic in all shapes and forms, fishing ropes and nets, shoes, also plastic, bottles, bags, not to mention the micro plastic and nurdles, which get lost in the sea of waste. 

As the tides recedes I collect some larger items, which will just washed out again. It feels pretty futile to be honest. You could beach clean all day every day and not make a difference. 

The guys at the bar rake and collect all the debris in front of their place, but not either side, it’s done as a business decision, to make their bar more attractive, not because they want to protect the environment. I guess they have bigger issues, trying to make a living for themselves and their families. 

It’s really quiet at the beach today, I stayed till around 4.30 and very few people had stopped for lunch etc. 

it is the low season, and it is definitely busier at weekends. 

This whole area has been so badly hit by COVID restrictions and now again by the war in Ukraine, as Russian tourists have stopped coming. 

Things will pick up from October/November 🤞🤞 

I go back to the hotel and enjoy the pool to myself, again! 

The little cat I fed has taken to following me from the hotel to whatever restaurant I go to, miaowing all the way and drawing everyone’s attention. 😸😻 

She followed me to the Indian where I had a delicious Chicken Biriyani and finished my book, ‘American Dirt’ Probably not the best idea to finish it whilst in public! It made me really cry at several points. 

Early night as I have a day trip tomorrow to the Phi Phi Islands! ❤️

Big Love ❤️ 

Thursday

Today I’ve decided to head into town to Boat Avenue and have a proper look around. I’ve been there twice with Rebecca and Chris and both times it was absolutely chucking it down! 

It’s also a way of hopefully staying out of the sun for today. 

There is also a “Walking Street” which I’d like to visit. 

Boat Avenue is an area of restaurants, shops, bars and supermarkets that is quite upmarket and caters for all of the more wealthy locals and foreign residents as well as tourists. 

The shops are gorgeous but soo expensive 😬 I found another supermarket that is bigger than the one we’ve/I’ve used before, it has lots of imported products and a huge cheese room! 😃🧀 I spent a pleasant 1/2 hour wandering around in the cool! 

The only downside to this supermarket was the couple of young lads outside, manning the covid sanitation and temperature check area (this is optional ) I asked them if the knew where the “walking street” was and one of them said I didn’t want to go there, not good, I was like ok, thank you for your advice and opinion but I’d still like to know where it is and he just said no, I laughed, asked again where it was and he again said no! I said are you seriously not going to tell me and laughing he said no! By now I’m getting a bit pissed off tbh. He continued to refuse to tell me so I said, that’s fine I’ll go in and ask your boss and explain that you are being a dick! I marched into the store and searched for a manager, feeling irrationally fucked off, I found a manager/supervisor and asked them where the “walking Street” was, he didn’t really understand me, so I continued my search for a senior member of staff, which I eventually found and they did understand me, and told me where I could find the “Walking Street” by now I’m a lot calmer and I can see the guys outside have come into the shop and are looking a little worried, I chat to the manager some more, and look over at them, kind of point in their direction, they look more worried, I thank the manager and walk away, having not mentioned the lads and their dickish behaviour at all, but they don’t know that! 😂 I’ll just leave them to sweat a little; fuckers! 

The rest of the complex by this supermarket is very fancy, I went into an amazing Crystal shop which had some huge Geodes, but things that I’ve never seen before, I so wanted to take pictures, but I was being followed around very closely by the owner! 

I saw a couple of things/signs that really made me think of Nikki!! Who would love this shopping area. 😍

I had a really good look around everything, lots of great restaurants, cafes etc,  it sadly most of them really quiet. 

At my next hotel, there is a free shuttle to and from this area, so perhaps I’ll try more eating places then. 

For now I grab a few essentials from the less fancy supermarket, biscuits, bananas and Cat Treats!  Then go to a French restaurant I visited with Rebecca and Chris, I go here mainly because, I know the food is good, but also it’s busy and that makes for a more enjoyable experience for me, when I’m on my own, I can people watch. 

I am actually really hungry by now, and so end up ordering a Truffle Croque -Monsieur it arrives looking amazing! Loads of fab melty cheese, truffle, ham! 😋 

I only managed to eat 1/2 of it, it was yummy but so rich and as I haven’t really been eating cheese or dairy I just couldn’t manage it all, I thought about bringing it home, but knew that I simply wouldn’t fancy it cold later! 😬 annoying, as I hate wasting food & money!

I grab a taxi and head back. Just a word on the taxis, wow! They are super fancy inside, they are Toyota People carriers and inside are beige leather, with full air con, music, fancy ceilings!  And it’s a flat price, which actually is great if there are a few off you, not so great when you’re on your own! 

This is a another annoying factor to traveling alone, and why the Songthaews in Chiang Mai where such a great idea, cheaper and you could share the ride. 

Once back at the hotel I jump straight in the pool, which by late afternoon is in the shade. 

I don’t end up having any dinner as the lunch has left me feeling stuffed! Although I did manage to demolish an entire packet of biscuits…Caramel Palmiers (OMG my new favourite thing!) 

I watched a film on Netflix: ‘A Simple Favour’ with Blake Lively & Anna Kendrick, I read the book last week, which I kind of enjoyed but didn’t like the ending at all, so thought I’d see if the film was any good. It was, enjoyable, bit silly, but a much better ending than the book. 👍

Friday

Today started with a nice bit of Yoga! I’ve decided to try and start my morning with a Yoga Salutation, I do the Moon one as I prefer it to the Sun one. (Not sure if this is allowed? 😬) I have also started doing a Plank every day. I did this during Lockdown and got quite good. Then a nice swim in the pool, before the sun is fully on it! 

I’m going to visit the gym I spotted yesterday, not to,do anything you understand just to look! 😂 it’s a huge MMA & Mauy Thai gym, which looks amazing. I went, it is bloody huge and looks really professional. 

The gym is right next to ‘Arinara’ my ‘Day’ Hotel Handy. 

I did my usual thing, grabbed a towel, went to pay my 100bht and the guy asked me for a room number, I said I’m wasn’t staying there and he then said I had to pay 300bht to use the pool and spend on food/drink. I explained that I’d been coming for a few days and that I always bought food and drink anyway, he was looking over towards the bar and said that his big boss was there, when the big boss moved away a little he said, no worries just give me 100bht!! Yeah!! 👍

Spent a lovely afternoon by the pool, under the shade or sitting reading in the shade at the swim up bar 😍

It’s been around 34 degrees today, which is pretty much the same as parts of the UK, which is ridiculous and scary. 

I’m heading round the corner to book some trips with the guys that I’ve chatted to and used for taxis and Tuk Tuks. 

The lady who organises the trips is called Som, which means Orange, Jen the manager at the hotel told me her name and she was very surprised when I greeted her by name 😍 She is so lovely. She got very upset on my behalf because one of my trips charges an extra 100bht to collect from Bang Tao. She then discounted my day trip to the Phi Phi Islands by 800bht! Which is a huge discount, she says the trips are run by her friend. So kind. While I was sitting organising everything, her husband and son both bought me bottles of water, asked if I was ok? They are all lovely. 💖

So all the trips booked, everything should be great if the weather holds, I’ve checked and it all looks OK 🤞

I had dinner at the hotel restaurant, and ordered a Beer, when he bought it over, I said, sorry I didn’t order a Tonic Water. He explained that todays is the Thai Quuens birthday, so no alcohol sales allowed, so my beer has been cunningly disguised in a Tonic Water Can! Love it!! 😍😍

Saturday 

Not had a great nights sleep, the bed here is very hard, and I think lying on my side reading and sleeping makes my hip hurt 😞 

I also had weird dreams; (Adele and I are now good friends, and she’s doing a gig at the Coffee Shop!!! I bloody wish that were true 😂😂) 

I woke up at 1.30 and couldn’t get back to sleep for ages. 

Still not really much to complain about. 

Another morning Yoga and plank session, a swim and I’ve decided to spend the day at the beach.

I had a lovely chat with Nikki who was having a day of rest and relaxation! The chat was followed by a day’s WhatsApp banter, always hysterical, Nikki & Jenna really are a little bonkers, but like Alice said all the best people are!! 🙃

I also had lovely chat with Anne and WhatsApp catch-ups with Hayley and Sandra. 

I know I’ve said this before but the Beach Bar is so so fabulous. The guys all work incredibly hard. When I arrived the tide was very high, so very few tables, sun beds out. They rush around, flattening sand, moving tables, clearing rubbish, serving people! Tonight they are doing a Fire Show, which we saw when Rebecca and Chris were here, but due 

to the tides and the wind they are going to have to move the big wooden  double swing set. 

This involved 6 of the guys digging out the Swing, then digging 2 more very deep holes, one of which halfway down had lots of netting and wood buried, so then that needed digging out and clearing. They were using 2 old tools and a coconut shell, no measuring.

The holes were eventually finished, the swing hoiked out and lifted back 6ft where it fitted perfectly into the new holes and was then buried and voilà! I gave them a huge round of applause, they all took a bow. Impressive. 👍👍

I really enjoyed my day at the beach today very chilled and fun. 

I got some pics with Charlie one of the waitresses who is always checking I’m OK. ❤️ 

Back to my hotel and a lovely long swim in the pool. 20 Lengths. 

Dinner at the Indian restaurant, but I had Thai food, a yummy Penang Curry. Then I tried to watch more of ‘I just killed my Dad’ on Netflix but kept nodding off! Rebecca I will finish it in a day or 2! 

That’s it for now. 

Stay Cool, use sunscreen, drink lots of water! 

Sunday

My first day in Bang Tao without Rebecca & Chris, also my first night in my new hotel last night.

The hotel is fine, not brilliant and certainly not as lovely as the apartment, especially the pool area! However it is clean, cool, central and very reasonable. It also has a restaurant right next door. 

After Rebecca & Chris left yesterday which was emotional, I unpacked and got settled into my room, had some food and got an early night. 

This morning it feels weird waking up somewhere new and not with the guys. I decide to start my day with a swim then spend a good while updating my blog (posted on Sunday) it takes longer than you’d think! 😀

I’m in desperate need of a pedicure, I had one before I left, but I think the sun is making my nails grow extremely fast! I could just cut them myself, but as a pedicure is £5 I think I’ll treat myself. 

It was very pleasant, and I now have nails and not talons! 

I walk across the road and go to a Beach restaurant that we didn’t get to see last week; The Beach Cuisine, it’s pretty nice, has a good menu and it sells Minuty Rosè, another of my absolute favourites 😍 I’ll definitely come back, but for now I just have a coconut & mango smoothie and watch the ocean, or The Andaman Sea, it’s very peaceful. 

I decide against having lunch here as it’s a little bit more expensive, they  specialise in European food, particularly French, hence the Minuty. 

As an aside this whole area around Bang Tao seems to have a strong French influence, lots of French restaurants, French owned businesses, my hotel, ‘Ma Maison’ for example. We have met and heard a lot of French accents. I will try to find out why. 

I have a walk down to our favourite Beach Bar, the guys welcome me and ask why I’m on my own, I explain that my daughter & son-in-law have gone home, they share my pain! ❤️

I spend a nice few hours chilling at the beach, reading, eating spring rolls. Then take a walk back to the hotel. I get straight into the pool to cool off 🥵 

I’m going to just have dinner at the restaurant next door tonight, I feel really tired, possibly the emotions of the last few days. 

The restaurant is really quiet tonight which suits me perfectly. I have a yummy Pad Thai, I contemplated a dessert, but just before I asked they gave me a plate of watermelon 🍉, I forgot they do this, it’s enough to satisfy my sweet craving! 

Then it’s back to my room, read, I’m now on book 21! 

Then off to bed. 

Monday

I’ve spent the last few days just relaxing at the beach or by the pool.

The weather has continued to be great, lots of sunshine and no rain! 

The hotel I’m staying at ‘Ma Maison’ is absolutely fine, clean, comfy and cheap but although it has a pool it doesn’t get much shade during the day and it has no Umbrellas, which makes it tricky to hang around. 

There are a couple of nice big resort hotels nearby, which have much better facilities. One of them is called ‘Arinara Resort’ Rebecca, Chris and I had a look around, and I spotted that you can get a Pool towel for 100tbt ( around £2.30) this then means you can use the pools, the sun beds, the restaurants and bar, also their beach Sunbeds! Seems like a bargain to me! 😃

On Monday I’d decided that I’ve missed having a nice walk each day so as the beach here is around 8k I figured I could walk along the beach. 

I checked the tide times, as the beach is almost gone at high tide, the lowest tide was at 12.30 so I thought I could have a nice slow walk along the beach around 11.30/11.45. So that’s what I did.

The problem with walking on the beach are 3 fold. 

1. Walking on sand is hard work! But not a huge problem. 

2. The bigger issue is walking on sand on a big slant! Very tiring. 

3. By the time the tide is out the sun has also risen over the tree cover so you are also walking in full sunshine! 

These 3 combined made it bloody hard, hot, work! I managed to walk around 5k there and back, but the sun was fierce. I walked back to my usual/favourite Beach Bar ‘Silmie’ to cool off and hydrate in the shade! (I did have water with me) 

I need to think of a better walking option! 

Tuesday 

Today I’m going to try ‘Arinara Resort’

It was so simple, I just strolled in grabbed a towel, paid my 100tbt and off I went. 

The resort is not very busy so there were lots of Sunbeds available, although there were some with towels on and no people! 😂 

I got a lovely shady spot right by the pool and settled in. 

Another great thing about this place is it has a swim up bar 😍 I love a swim up bar! 

I order myself a nice iced latte, and enjoy the cool shade of the bar whilst reading my book. 

I had a great day, swimming and reading in the shade, watching all the families enjoying the pool. 

I stopped on the way back at ‘Silmie’ just to say hi and have a sneaky beer! The guys here are always so lovely to me, it’s fabulous.

Dinner was at a restaurant 1 minutes walk away a bloody delicious Chicken Biriani, something a little different. I got chatting to a couple from Newcastle, who are staying at ‘Arinara’ I’m not sure how they felt when I said I was staying elsewhere but came in to use their pool 😬

To be fair, I googled it through Tui and to stay there for 2 weeks costs more than double the amount that I’ve paid for ALL of my accommodations for the entire trip! 😁 (even after taking off the air fare) 

Wednesday 

Back to ‘Arinara’ again. More fun in the pool. 

On the way there I passed Mr Mike the tailor, who made Chris’s suit. His wife has a shop next door selling dresses and beach clothes. 

I only have 2 long dresses with me and some beach/pool coverups, which are great but not really suitable for walking around the streets, a little short. 

I called in and asked if she had anything, she did, they were 300tbt. I tried one on, it was lovely, just what I needed. She sold it to me for 200tbt, approx £4.70!! 😍 so sweet. 

Now the weather has changed my long Thai trousers aren’t always the best, especially in the day time. 

I also seem to have avoided getting bitten much the last week. Which makes me very happy. I think it’s all the Thai food I’m eating!! 

After I left ‘Arinara’ I stopped at ‘Silmie’ for a late lunch, spring rolls and some water. Then as the tide was right out I had a walk along the beach, not far just down towards my end of town. However even in that short space of time I have caught the sun on my back, the area I can’t properly reach with the sunscreen ☹️ it’s not bad but it is a little red! 

Another small issue when you are travelling on your own! 

I think I’m going to book some day trips out for next week. 

I’m going into Phuket old town on Sunday for the Night Market and to have a look around. But I might book a day trip to The Phi Phi Islands, and a tour of Phuket. 

That’s all for now. 

Have a great weekend everyone. 

Newquay friends, enjoy the Boardmasters frenzy 😍😍

Saturday

Apologies for the lack of posts but I’ve been spending all of my time with Rebecca & Chris.

We have had an absolutely fantastic week.

Tuesday 

we spent the day chilling at the apartment and in the pool, it’s been pretty Rainy again today.  We then went for a meal at a restaurant just near the apartments. A Chicken Massamam for Chris and I and Stir fried beef for Rebecca, we also had our first taste of stir fried Morning Glory, which is delicious! 

The restaurant is really cute, a small little family run place with very eclectic crockery! We had a fab little Christmas plate! 

When we got back to the apartment we played a great Dice Game, it’s a game I’ve played before in Australia with Becca, Chris, Georgia & Grantley. It’s such good fun! We played 4 games, I won 2 (Yes!) and Chris won 2!  It’s a pretty simple game but really good fun. 

An iced relaxed, chilled day. 

Wednesday 

Today the weather has certainly brightened up! 

We have breakfast then head to the pool. The pool area at the complex is so lovely, really quiet and relaxing. 

It’s a pretty large pool and I have been cracking in with my swimming. I’ve been doing at least 10 – 12 lengths a day, which is a round 10 more than I could have done 6 weeks ago! 😁 I find it very calming. 

We walked into the small town and went for lunch at the beach. 

The beach bar we visit is a great family run enterprise, they offer, food, drink, massage, jet skiing, surfing it’s s always busy and the guys are so friendly and helpful. A great people watching spot! 

We couldn’t stay late as we are all off to Patong at 5.30 to have dinner then go to another Mauy Thai Stadium!

I thought I would also check out Patong to see about moving to stay there from Bang Tao for a change of scenery.

The drive there is only 25mins, over the hills and along the coast, very pretty. We even saw a few Elephants, proper working ones, moving logs from the forest. 

Patong is sooo busy! The busiest place I’ve seen since Bangkok! We get dropped off at the Stadium, which is in the middle of town then go for a wander. Wow! Busy, bustling, loud, bright. Lots of massage places, with extras, sex shows and clubs, huge karaoke bars! Very different from Bang Tao. 

It doesn’t take long to decide this wouldn’t be the place for me! Great to visit, just not to stay in. 

We have a nice meal then get to the stadium for 8.45. This stadium is much bigger than the one in Chiang Mai, and it gets packed! There are going to be a couple of proper big fights for Belts.

It was bloody brilliant, brutal but great! The fights were amazing, started young but moved through the ages. Excellent fighting. The last fight was a championship belt fight between an American and a Thai. The Thai guy won by knockout in round 5! 

The whole experience was great, expect for 2 small issues; the depth of the steps up to the seating, my knees did not appreciate this! And taking a large slug of my beer and finding my mouthful of a bloody huge wasp!! 😬😵🤢 Luckily it was dead, or pissed and didn’t sting me!! 

A wonderful evening, and so good to have shared it with Rebecca & Chris, who also absolutely loved it. 

Thursday 

More chilling by the pool, a late Brunch as we are off to town later to go to the night market. 

The market starts at 2pm so we grab a taxi (Adnan, our go to Taxi man) at 3pm, Adnan is a little disappointed as he thought we were heading into Phucket town, a nice long drive, instead of the 5 min drive to Bang Tao! 

The market isn’t very big, and as we arrive some stalls are still,setting up, but it does have a good few street food stalls, which Rebecca had been really keen to try. 

Rebecca & Chris are much braver than me when it comes to trying food. They bought some chicken, which I tasted and it was so good, also they had pork kebabs, which I didn’t try. We grab some stir fry’s and they were also delicious! 

We had a good old mooch through all the stalls, Rebecca bought some stuff, I got a couple more small items. It’s interesting to see the difference in price between here and Chiang Mai, everything is more expensive! Not massively but enough. I guess it’s down to this area being much more of a tourist spot. 

More mooching, then we spotted a little stall/bar doing cocktails for 100bht! That’s a bargain! We are all hot and thirsty so we stop and have a Mojito. Yum. Then we try a Mai Thai. Yum. Then we try a Pina Colada! 🍹😂 The drinks were quite strong. We were sitting in a grass verge, on the smallest camping stools known to man!  Rebecca befriended all the local dogs, possibly because she was also eating a big fresh mackerel. 😂 It was so much fun!! 

We ended up getting a Tuk Tuk back to the beach as Chris had to collect his Suit from Mr Mike. The cocktails meant he ended up buying another shirt. The suit looked fabulous! 

We stopped to have some beer and French fries then headed back and played “Shit Head” (a card game) I won a few hands!! 

Friday

The weather was great again today so we to the beach, after our swim!

The beach at Bang Tao is really long, approximately 8km but when the tides in you can’t always get past the various beach clubs and hotels, as they have rocky breakwaters protecting their bit of beach. 

This isn’t a huge problem as we just go back to our usual spot! 

It was nice and busy today, lots of people in the water, swimming, surfing. 

Chris had a Thai Massage on the beach which he said was amazing and sorted his hangover right out! 😁Rebecca was happy because the lady doing the massage was about 70! But bloody strong apparently. 

Another fab day chilling with guys! Trying not to think about them leaving tomorrow! 

Saturday

So todays the day. This most fabulous part of my adventure, seeing and spending time with my girl & Chris is coming to an end. The only thing that stops me being completely heartbroken is knowing that I’ll see them again in 6 weeks. 

We have a last swim, then sort out the apartment. Then we all come to my new hotel, which we have visited during the week, and also made friends of the restaurant manager, Alex. 

Rebecca & Chris are leaving at 5 so we store their cases in my room and all go off to have a massage. Rebecca and I have foot ones and Chris has another Thai massage. It’s lovely and makes us all feel more relaxed and less stressed.

We have our last lunch, Khao Soi, play a last few games of Dice, drink a last Pina Colada, then it’s time. 

It’s just incredibly sad for them to be leaving, I’ve missed them so much and to have had this week together making memories has been unbelievably wonderful. 

Thank you Rebecca & Chris for the best time. I love you to the moon & back. ❤️❤️