Pronounced Poo-ket!

Trip Start Sep 21, 2009
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Trip End Apr 10, 2010


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Flag of Thailand  ,
Thursday, March 11, 2010

So, true to form, we landed at Phuket airport to the welcome of rain. A myriad of transport options greeted us as we exited the terminal, and after opting for the slightly cheaper option of a minivan, for which we would have to wait for another 6 passengers wanting our destination before departure, we waited, and waited, and eventually gave up and joined another waiting couple in a taxi. By that time it was dark but the rain had subsided. We journeyed for an hour to the main Phuket town, a journey that included a stop at a travel agent's who jumped into the car, asked us various harmless questions, and then left, leaving us perplexed as to the purpose of the stop (one theory is that our driver needed directions). We arrived at our accommodation with a plan to explore other places to stay when the next day dawned. Our room had no windows and so we missed the dawning of the next day. We emerged into the sunlight, with some bewilderment, about mid-morning. We wandered the town until we happened upon a songthaew bound for Kamala - our 1st choice beach destination (a songthaew is basically a covered truck with benches in the back)
Arriving
Arriving
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The journey to Kamala took about an hour and was a brilliant way to see Phuket. I was immediately struck by the lack of signs baring a recognisable alphabet - most were written in the Thai script. We were dropped off at one end of the beach and made our way passed various food stalls and massage beds to the other end.The beach was populated mainly by large, red Europeans indulging in a little luxury. The picture that came to me then was from the film Wall-e - lots of fat lazy people having their every whim attended to by fastidious robots. That picture is probably a little unfair but it did make me laugh. We found somewhere to stay the following night and booked a fan room for Gem and I and an air-conditioned room for soon to be arriving Tim (it was very hot). We stopped for another very tasty bit of food before heading back to the main town. Nothing more worth noting springs to mind from that day. The following day we headed back to Kamala, this time with heavy bags in-tow, and checked into our perfectly adequate room. That day we did nothing. Gem was feeling unwell and didn't want to stray too far from the toilet. Tim arrived late that evening after a day of travelling and we stayed up for a little while, catching up and discussing plans.

Tim's first full day in Thailand involved extensive periods of lying on the beach, reading and eating the tasty tasty Thai food (all very necessary when trying to reconcile oneself to new surroundings and timezones).

Next stop Koh Phi Phi (pronounced Pee-Pee). See you there ...   
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