After Hamish suffered through the humidity and rain of the half day tour, I thought it might be a good idea for us to each pick an activity we might like to do for the last three days of the trip. Hamish chose Andamanda Water Park – Rod and I didn’t really choose anything other than getting in as much beach time as we could (weather dependent).

Tickets to the water park were not too expensive, but I decided $75 for me to blob around the wave pool was probably a bit unnecessary, so Hamish and Rod went. I found discounted tickets with transfers for them which dropped the overall cost of the day and reduced some stress for Rod re: finding transport.

I ‘suffered’ at the beach for a few hours, before returning to the room to watch a movie on my laptop in the aircon before the boys returned.

Rod and I went for a walk to the Kata Seafood Restaurant and Ska Bar, had a few beers and shared some “spring rools” before walking back along the beach and up the steep hill to the resort. Hamish stayed in and talked to some friends online. At the Ska Bar, we decided we would return for dinner on our last evening – which we did last night.

Andamanda Water Park, by Rod

Belinda has arranged for discounted tickets to Andamanda, the giant water park. The communication with the ticketing agency is a bit hit and miss; the download of the emailed voucher vanishes, as does the email itself, but I luckily took a screenshot of the voucher. Needless to say I lose some sleep worrying about the arrangements before our pick up at 9 am. Howver, everything went smoothly; they arrived on time, drove at the usual breakneck speed, to arrive at the amusement park just as it was about to open.

We arranged a locker and headed to some of the scariest slides, before the crowds arrive. I do not have a great head or stomach for such adventures these days and was most surprised to find I had stumbled into a “drop slide.” I did not know such things existed. Feeling like I was in a spy movie, I looked suspiciously at the floor beneath me as the attendent closed the door. Whoa! I plummeted to what felt like a certain death before I felt some form of wet plastic behind me. I’m still feeling queasy whilst writing this and mentally revisiting the death scene.

I do not want to burden Hamish with my failing health, but surreptitiously try to slow the pace down and suggest we try to explore some of the other “lands” of this park. The lazy river slows things down suitably, as does the wave pool (before the waves kick in at 2 pm.)

Some lunch and gentler slides (and the arrival of the 2 pm waves for Hamish) see out the day before our pick up (again a smooth transition) at 3 pm. Hamish has had a gtreat day and I still have a (slightly elevated) pulse.

Last Day.

The weather has been just gorgeous the last few days and we’ve taken advantage of this by spending lots of time at the beach. I am a teency bit sunburnt today, or as Rod elegantly puts it “there’s just a hint of red” At the beach there are a few street food stands, which we’ve utilised in the past few weeks. We are keen for a fruit shake and Hamish orders two: one mango and one coconut. The lady making them is very sweet and after he’s paid, calls him back: “Hey boy! Here – for you boy!” and gives him a banana. Cute.

We have lunch in the hotel with plans to head to the Kata Seafood Restaurant and Ska Bar, which we found yesterday. We have also found another café called “A blanket and a pillow” which is just 500m from our hotel. Rod and I go for a little explore in the afternoon and find this beautiful place. It’s a multi-tiered, bamboo platformed, bean bagged paradise and it is not lost on anyone there. We order a chocolate frappe and enjoy sitting with our legs dangling over the edge of the bamboo structure. Gosh we’re lucky. I still don’t want to go home! Home is appointments, treatment, work, responsibilities…we have none of that here. I’m feeling a bit emotional sitting there with Rod and just give him little pats every now and again. Life can be unfair.

We head back to the hotel and relax a bit before heading to the restaurant for dinner. The views and the food are incredible and we talk about how much this meal and ambience would cost back in Australia. We pay a total of $55 for our entire dining experience: 3 x main courses (2 of which have seafood) 1 x mango sticky rice for dessert and a couple of rounds of drinks each. The trip home is a fun ride in a TukTuk – the first since we arrived here (we have hired a taxi, an uber, ridden in mini busses and done lots of walking!). The trip is about $10 – we’d hardly make it home from The Gateway in Wangaratta for a tenner!

We travel well together. Hamish has ‘lost it’ twice in nearly two weeks and he apologised both times for that (he said he was hangry). There’s not much to get upset about over here. Our pace has been slow and Rod has reminded me a few times it’s OK just to “read your book” – which I have. Over the past few years I’ve really struggled to read, so I hope this is the start of my quiet mind again.

I am currently sitting in the lobby of the hotel, having checked out at midday for a 2pm transfer to the airport. Our flight to Singapore leaves at 615pm (or 915pm AEST) and we have a bit of a long layover in Singapore before our flight leaves for Melbourne. We are due to arrive just before midday. Thankfully it’s coolish today and has rained a few times. Hamish is spending the last of his hours in the pool with Rod supervising. There’s an outdoor shower which he can have before chucking out his old rashy and baggy swimmers before getting dressed.

Thanks for following along on our winter getaway. Whilst I know you guys enjoy reading the blog, it’s such a good thing for our family to look back on. We often re-read it and talk about our past travels. I’m sure Hamish ‘remembers’ more than he actually does because of our reminiscing. We’re planning some more extensive European long service leave travels from September next year, so we look forward to writing for you (and us) and having you along for our trips.

Much love xx

Written by Rod.

It’s Monday and we have a half-day, “best of Phuket” tour, booked through Megatours. It all sounds promising! Our minibus arrives at our hotel before we head off to collect an extended family of 6 of the French persuasion from another establishment. Our guide then introduces himself: “my name is Tong … James Tong.” Just kidding, but it would have got a laugh had Tong introduced himself that way and, like most tour guides, he does like to get a laugh. Our first stop is at the Karon Lookout (which the locals know as the 3 beaches lookout, since … well, I think you can guess why.) As we are about to get back into our van, we notice a white-bellied sea eagle tethered to a bike parked next to said van. Not something you see every day. Naturally, they are after cash if you want a photo with the very impressive eagle. “Take photo, eagle on arm? 50 Baht.” We decline.

Why would you go to just one lookout when you can get to two? Windmill Lookout Is next on the list. There is a wind turbine here (just one) and, although it is windy, it is not spinning. I ask Tong “why?” and he replies they must not have “switched it on.” I could have quizzed him further about the whole point of wind turbines, but I let it go. Anyway, the views are stunning, despite the grey weather of the moment.

The road then winds its way to the Big Buddha. On the way up the long and narrow and winding road we see dozens and dozens of cottage businesses, mostly offering very similar products to god knows who. There is some foot, car and motorbike traffic along the way, but seemingly very few paying customers. We wonder how they all survive. But, they are industrious, these locals, always looking for ways to make a living. (We are most appreciative, though, that there is very little hawking and no begging. The locals are respectful and not aggressive salespeople.) The Big Buddha is something we have been seeing from many vantage points and now, finally up close, its size does not disappoint. At 45 metres tall, it could easily be called the Very Big Buddha. There is a lot here to see and we easily wander around for 45 minutes.

Wat Chalong is a stunning temple complex in many parts. Here the Buddhism is even more apparent, as many people are actively worshipping as well as admiring the architecture. We wander around, to frequent bursts of firecrackers. It is getting hot and still and humid and there are many steps here, so Hamish is starting to lose his cool. However, we reach the top of the 3 tiered Chedi (which has a splinter of bone from Buddha) and we get a bit of a “cool change,” with a fresh breeze and some rain. Hamish’s mood improves.

Next we head to the Cashew Nut Factory and here Hamish sparks up even more, as we sample 11 different “flavours” of cashews. We also see how cashews are liberated from their shell, one nut at a painstaking time, before buying up big in their shop.

It’s lunch time and we head to Phuket Old Town to what Tong declares is a “zero star restaurant.” It’s actually a little local food court with a lovely range of dirt cheap options. (Average price is about $2-50 per generous meal.) By now Hamish is positively ecstatic. After lunch we have 45 minutes of so to wander around the so-called old town, which looks quite a bit like the rest of Phuket. However, we get an unscheduled highlight when the local police accost some boisterous, motor-bike riding tourists. We are not sure why, but it is great theatre and the whole street stop to watch for several minutes. At least one motorbike was impounded. Just before this scene, we had to step aside to allow a young tourist sprint past us, as he called out “out of my way!” Were these two incidents related? You be the judge. As we are stalled in the street, watching this scene whilst keeping our distance, Hamish and I turn around and notice we are outside a French patisserie, which advertises croissants filled with coconut ice cream. Ooh, we both say. This serendipity is rewarded with a couple of these very tasty treats.

Back on the bus and it’s back to the Novotel. More than half a day and an excellent value tour. We take it easy before a late dinner and another early night.

Tuesday (written by Belinda)

We are finally getting the hang of this holiday thing and eventually make our way to the restaurant for breakfast sometime after 9am. It’s definitely going to be struggle street when we get back next week and have to get up for work and school – and make all our own meals!

Breakfast is our biggest meal of the day and it’s a delightful array of Asian and Western foods. I have had soup and rice every morning, followed by tropical fruit, yoghurt, coffee and sometimes a sweet treat to finish strong. Hamish has something similar, but he usually has fried rice and curry, followed by whatever he can lay his hands on. He puts it like this: “I start out OK, but then everything goes downhill” Rod is more of a traditionalist and enjoys pastries or an omelette – sometimes he tries the soup. He has however, perfected the coffee machine.

Rod and I walk to Karon Beach and leave Hamish to catch up with his friends online. The weather threatens to turn and it does. We ditch the beach and sit in a café and share a pineapple shake for the cost of about $2. The weather still isn’t amazing, so we head back to Kata Beach via a Bamboo Mart for some beers and snacks.

Back at the hotel, would you believe the weather is starting to clear up! So we re-pack our backpack and head to Kata Beach for a few hours.

It’s back to the hotel for a very late lunch and pool time. We have a fun game of ‘piggy in the middle’ until Rod and I are done. I am reading on a very comfortable pool lounge when I hear Hamish yelling – “Can I order a fruit shake from the swim up bar?” Oh boy is he our kid or what! I give him a literal thumbs down. He does eventually get a fruit shake, but Rod orders it from one of the staff walking around the pool.

We’re about to walk into town to get a late dinner. The boys are heading to Andamanda Water Park tomorrow and I’m having a day of beach, shopping, reading and eating – which isn’t that different to most of the days we’ve had here. Not really keen on heading home, but we’re already talking about how/when/for how long we can return to SE Asia in the near future.

Friday afternoon

We headed back to Kata Beach with Hamish. Thankfully we did, as it has basically been raining since. We had been super lucky with the weather prior to yesterday; so no complaints, it just means we have to think a bit more carefully about what we’re doing.

Friday evening we had dinner in the Kata Beach “Walking Street” market. This busy little area boasts so many different options for food we did 3 laps before we decided on what we’d have!

Hamish – roast potato with cheese and corn

Belinda – roti with coconut and cheese (I think this was a dessert I accidentally had for my dinner)

Rod – fried seafood

We also got a few gyoza, but Hamish wanted to leave room for his mango sticky rice and Rod wasn’t feeling great – in fact “queasy” was the word he used, potentially from his deep-fried seafood and/or passionfruit juice combo. It didn’t stop him saying “yes please” to a Singha!

Saturday

Saturday saw some proper wet-season weather arrive, with constant rain, occasionally getting heavier. This day was already planned with some indoor activities, so we weren’t fazed. Rod and I had our Thai massages: I think Rod summed it up perfectly: “How can someone so small cause so much pain?” It was indeed painful enough for me not to get lost in my own thoughts during the 30 minutes, as all I could concentrate on was the next muscle/sore spot this tiny Thai lady was going to find.

Hamish went off to his pasta cooking class – the next paragraph is from him.

Hello, Hamish here!  I want to talk about the cooking class I had. I had the option of pasta, pizza, waffles or pancakes – I chose the pasta because I like pasta. I had to choose between a bolognaise and a carbonara sauce – I chose carbonara, because I like it. So I sat down in the restaurant on a chair and I was given a glass of water. I was ready to start. Luckily for me, the foods were already cut up! I don’t like cutting up foods because I cut myself once cutting up an onion and it really hurt! So in this cooking class, I just had to follow the instructions that the instructor gave me, such as:

Pour the pasta in here (the pot)

Shove the other ingredients in a frying pan

After about 10 minutes I was done and I got to eat it. It was delicious and I ate most of it, but I couldn’t eat it all, so the rest was delivered to our room. Mum and Dad ate the remainder of it and they loved it too. In fact, they can’t wait until I make it at home!

The afternoon saw us saunter back into town for a few unnecessary items, which is when Hamish got his curled ice-cream (he made a TikTok and I have posted it to my socials). A swim, then dinner basically saw our day out.

Sunday (today)

The rain has continued so we looked up “things to do in Phuket when it’s raining” – there are a few, but  we settled on a trip to the Jungceylon Shopping Centre. We got a ‘Grab’ (SEAsian version of Uber) there which was interesting, as we were able to suss out Karon Beach and the very large and bustling Patong Beach. Both places are way busier than Kata Beach and we are pleased we are not staying there.

The shopping centre is massive. It’s loaded with tourists (us included) and many western shops. No matter, the boys leave me in peace for an hour and I look around a combo supermarket/department store. It is called The Big C and is bit like ASDA in the UK.

I buy some souvenirs and other bits and pieces and meet Rod and Hamish for lunch. We have ramen which is delicious. I may need to dedicate an entire blog to food, but the ramen is tame in comparison to some of the spicy fare we have been eating.

We’re all back in the hotel waiting for a break in the weather before we go for a walk down to the beach – Rod tells me it’s high tide. I don’t know why this is important, but he’s obviously keen to venture down. Hamish says he’s got a headache, so we leave him with some Panadol to do its thing and wander down to the beach.

It’s not great weather, but it’s not raining. It seems most tourists (and some chickens) in KB have the same idea, as there’s lots of people around. We walk from one end of the beach to the other and back again; it’s a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Up the busier end of KB, we find some waterfront cafes which we aim to visit before the week is up. We have a quick swim and then relax with a couple of super-sized Changs on the beach for a total of $5 each.

Tomorrow we have a half day tour booked from 0830. Perhaps more beach time if the weather holds. We have entrusted our dirty clothes to a local laundry service (booked through the resort) – clothes washed and dried for $5 per kg, as the resort has no guest laundry. It’s tricky weather to dry things, so basically everything goes in the dryer…hope our clothes don’t shrink! Or it’ll be back to the markets for a bunch of stuff to get us back to Aus!

Thursday July 6

We started out intended ‘stay in’ day with an excellent buffet breakfast, followed by a stroll down the street for a trip to the 7-11. Whilst this might seem like an unlikely holiday activity, Hamish and I have been watching various TikToks about Asian 7-11’s and the cool things they stock, which we don’t stock in Australia. So we were pretty excited knowing there was a 7-11 within 1km of our hotel. The irony is not lost on me here; we’re staying in a lavish hotel, yet we’re spending our money at the convenience store…

The walk into town follows a steep and narrow road which at times, has a dedicated footpath. Rod and I have already made this trip, so we are aware of the road dangers and alert Hamish to them. He is quite possibly confused by our safety tips, as we hurry across the road to dodge traffic, in lieu of waiting ten minutes for a long enough gap in which we can saunter at our usual pace.

We stick to the slightly safer side of the street and come across some road safety maintenance, in the form of a red and white striped pedestrian crossing being painted (by hand) under supervision of the local traffic cop.

We find the 7-11 easily and enjoy our time there working out what some things are, what we’ve seen online and what we’d like to try – you may have seen the dedicated post on my socials. We walk back home and Hamish doesn’t complain about the steep incline; he’s doing well in the tropical weather and we’re proud of him.

The resort pool is next on the list. Hamish is keen to try the underwater scooter, which is, as our new American friend tells us, “…like a Navy Seals jet pack” – he is not wrong. That thing flies! Hamish challenges me to a swimming race – I beat him, but I suspect it was because he didn’t have it switched to the fastest mode: turbo. Hamish is the envy of other kids is the pool; he offers them to have a turn, but they’re too polite and or shy to accept. Hamish sets a trend though, as when his time is up on the scooter, other kids have persuaded their parents to cough up the relatively small price of $35 AUD for 30 mins.

Rod bails from the pool after a relatively short time, but is enticed back to the pool when I say to Hamish, “go tell Dad I’ve bought him a Pina Colada” Rod does a Phelps and is at the swim up bar in no time at all.

Rod and I return to the shopping area in Kata Beach in the afternoon, as Rod says he hasn’t packed enough clothes. I successfully haggle with one shop keeper for 2 x fans and 1 x bottle opener – which ends up being 200THB instead of 300THB. I wasn’t rude about it, but looked disinterested (some of you have probably seen this expression on my face) and ask how many for 2? (instead of the price for 1 fan). She does us a ‘special price’ – which as we’ve found out, is a key phrase.

Rod goes into a clothes stall and the lady there does him a ‘special price’ for a button up cotton shirt and one ‘rip off of a sport brand’ tee shirt. Does Madam want a dress? Madam does not. However, Madam is returning to the night markets tonight where she just may in fact, buy a dress. Rod doesn’t have cash, so she escorts us to the auto-teller a few hundred meters away. This would NEVER happen in Australia: Rod says there’s no way she was going to lose the sale. On our way back to the resort, we stop for a couple of beers, enjoy the warm afternoon, and plan the next few days:

• Saturday – 30 min massages (one each for Rod and I), Kids cooking class for Hamish
• Sunday – Potentially heading into Old Town for the once weekly night markets
• Monday – Half day tour: Big Buddha, Wat Chalong, Karon lookout and Old Town

The pool is visited again, where we have found happy hour with the promise of ‘buy 1 take 1” – we do. Buffet dinner and lights out by 930pm. We are tired having basically done not much at all for the day.

Friday July 7

After breakfast, Hamish is not feeling great. Possibly because when I said “for God’s sake, please eat some fruit” he came back with 2 x mini bananas and chocolate dipping sauce…after eating fried rice, red curry and some waffles…

We leave him to soak up the airconditioned comfort of our room and an anti-nausea tablet. Rod and I catch the resort shuttle bus to Kata Beach for a quick swim (he was perfectly safe Mum, I promise). Question: if a resort has a shuttle bus to local attraction, is it because: A) it’s popular, B) it’s too far to walk or C) A & B. The answer is A – it’s popular. The beach is a mere 600m from our resort and we feel slightly embarrassed for having caught the bus. Rod reminds me the bus will be sensational on the trip back. Of course, he is right.

Kata Beach is just beautiful. For about the 5^th time, I tell Rod I really don’t want to to go back to Australia: and “why can’t we just live here?” We didn’t take our phones as we were only going to be an hour, but I wish I had photo’s. The water is clear and clean. It’s cool without being cold. There’s street food, drinks and people politely trying to sell me a sarong/beach mat/shell jewellery. We’re heading back there this afternoon and will update another time.

Upon return to our room, Hamish is miraculously well enough for the next planned event of the day:  Neko Cat Café. I don’t know how I stumbled across this, but I did and I knew Rod and Hamish would love it. We hired a taxi, negotiated a price with Mr Somnuck and are whisked away in his well maintained and fresh smelling Nissan Tiida across the Island. Look, I’m not into it, but the look on the boys’ faces are well worth the trip. There are 3 little ‘Jessica’s’ already in the café having a lovely time, and another couple come in whilst we are there. It’s a cute, clean little place, although one of the cats tries to give Hamish a nip when he goes to pat it.

Mr Somnuck patiently waits for us and drives us back to the resort, telling us, “oh, you stay at Novotel, it’s very expensive” Rod tells him we got a special price, but he doesn’t believe us. He says, “ahh, but it’s an Accor (brand hotel)” Mr Somnuck is no dummy and I feel bad for bargaining down his return fare by $10 AUD. I am reminded of how very, very privileged we are to have the means to travel, but I also feel OK for supporting the local business out of the resort, so my conscience is settled.

Written by Belinda and Hamish.

Belinda.

The Buffet Breakfast did not disappoint, although Hamish said he’s had better. Where? we asked, Legoland, Malaysia he tells us as a matter of fact. At this point Rod and I realise we have a very spoiled 12 year old on our hands. Spoiled or well travelled, you choose.

Our mini bus picks us up at 0830-ish and a young Australian couple are going on the day trip too. There’s about a ten minute fast drive to the tour office, where we check in and are given blue wrist bands. Elle the senior guide (potentially her name is Al but we’re not 100% sure) gives us a very entertaining pre-brief/safety brief. She has a tattooed calf and is pretty cool. She unnecessarily apologises for her ‘not very good’ English, but jeez, I still can’t say hello (Sawasdee) or thank you (Khop khun) in Thai – her English is excellent. We walk to the departure area as a biggish group and are split up in half. There are 2 speedboats to take us to the Islands. May I just add here, that my new favourite way to travel is by speedboat with 3 x 250HP outboards and a full crew.

As we walk along the beach and head to the boats young man is taking photo’s – I’m sure it’s for souvenirs and am keen for him to get a photo of the 3 of us. Like most things I’ve been noticing in the last couple of days, he is taking these photos at rapid speed. I am not entirely sure he IS taking photo’s it’s happening so quickly. He takes a candid photo of Rod and I make eye contact with him so he notices the 3 of us. We get our photo taken and forget about it until the end of the day.

Next part by Hamish.

I sat next to Mum and Dad sat alone at the back. It was hot until the boat started to speed up – then we were cool. I started feeling sick – Mum said to tell her if I was feeling sick but I didn’t tell her. The view from the boat was lovely, we could see out the front and both sides. The trip takes about 30 minutes and it was fun and fast! The Skipper kept finding more and more gears! We arrived at our first destination: Racha Yai Island. We swam and Dad bought us a fruit shake to share which was kinda like a fruity smoothy without milk. It was beautiful.

Oops, I forgot to mention the very wobbly floating jetty. The speedboat pulls up alongside it and we walk, as though in an earthquake, about 100m to the beach.

Then we came to our second destination; Elle had said we could stay at the beach or go snorkeling from the boat, just down the coast. We chose option B – snorkeling. And boy, was it beautiful. I do not regret it. We saw all sorts of pretty fish, like X ray fish and Dory (Parrot) fish. And dad even saw a feisty sea snake at one point. I saw the sea snake’s sad cousin, the sea slug. There were also clams, coral starfish and sponges.

Then we went to our third and final stop – Coral Island. Here we had lunch; believe it or not, another buffet. Swimming, dried off, went swimming, dried off, had an ice cream. Mum dropped hers in the sand and refused to rinse it off in the sea. What a waste. Went swimming, dried off before parasailing. (Go watch our Tik Tok, on Facebook, to see more.)

That’s me done! (HD)

OK, back to Belinda.

We’ve had a fab day, we’re writing this up at dinner tonight, but I feel like I’m still on the boat! Tomorrow will be a slow day around the resort, walk into town and make some plans for the next few days.

Oh, the souvenir photo? We bought both photos for the total cost of 200 THB ($10 AUD). Rod’s candid photo has Hamish in the background (and someone standing right behind him) – Rod perhaps not quite comfortable/ready for the photo. The photo of the 3 of us I reckon is pretty good. The little sandy outline of the frame with painted shell is quite kitsch, but we love it because of this. I am impressed with the young entrepreneur. The Australian couple buy theirs too – she doesn’t even have her eyes open in their photo so I think we are lucky.

By time you read this, we will be out on a boat trip to some islands; no idea what day it will be – feels like I’ve been on a continuous night shift! Here’s a detailed account of the last 36 hours.

Monday saw us finishing up lots of little bits and pieces:

• Washing & ironing
• Drop bikes off
• Drop dog off
• Bins out & fridge emptied – all the stuff you gotta do to get ahead of the post-holiday rush before work & school goes back.

We had a leisurely drive to Melbourne and before we knew it, we were checked in. Hamish, as you may have seen, swapped out some AUD for Thai Bhat which was fun! We got through customs quickly, but not until after Hamish’s backpack was searched for contraband in the shape of a mini tube of pringles. Won’t be packing those again…

We hung out in the departure lounge with a few hundred others and after a short-ish delay, we were on our way. The 787 Dreamliner was full and we had a smooth flight to Singapore. As mentioned, Scoot are the non-full service carrier of Singapore, but staff were great, our meals fine and somehow the 3 of us each scored a blankie!

Neither Rod nor Hamish slept, but I managed probably 4 x blocks of 30 mins which helped at the other end of the day. Once in Singapore we hit Starbucks for coffee, hot chocolate and just a couple of plain bagels, which predictably cost a mint! We made our way to another terminal and found our gate. I prepared a small sleeping space and managed another hour or so. Rod and Hamish said they tried, but were just unable to relax.

Our next short flight was from Singapore to Phuket (about 2 and a half hours). Hamish was asleep before we taxied to the runway. He said, “wake me for food” and that was it for a while. We had some delicious spicy noodles for breakfast and the flight was over pretty quickly.

Flying along/over the Malaysian coast and into Thailand was lovely, with plenty of islands, mountains, meandering rivers and boats to been seen from the air. Whenever I travel, I am both overwhelmed and so grateful of the experiences; today there were a few “I can’t believe I’m in Thailand” – type comments, not just from myself & Rod, but from Hamish too. He has the travel bug and has been keen to update his friends of his travels so far.

Thailand is a busy mix of chaotic traffic, old buildings, bountiful electric wires, run down shop fronts and progressive establishments, such as the hospital (see pic). There are no road rules, well, there are, but our mini-bus driver did not care to follow them as he turned a predicted 90 minute trip from the airport into 60 minutes. Impressive. At one point, Rod and I discussed if Thailand used the metric system, as the driver chose to ignore all speed limits. Lucky we were so overtired as to not be concerned for our safety. It was a wild, wild ride – constant lane changes, last minute braking & talking on his mobile (hands-free of course…). Hamish slept through this.

Incidentally, there are many (what appear to be) legit weed establishments on every street. I’m sure one of you may be able to enlighten me on this, what seems like a contradiction. Oh, stand down. Rod has just enlightened me: the laws have changed and now marijuana has been legalized and the emphasis is on the rehabilitation of drug users instead of the death penalty or life imprisonment. Looks like Rod can go into that little bakery we found today after all!

Our hotel is just beautiful. We arrived and decided a swim, followed by a sleep were probably our best idea. Rod and I walked into the town area late this afternoon and got a few supplies from the Bamboo Mart: water, a couple of beers, two small wines (well we’re not sure exactly what they are, but Rod has already drunk one…) a couple of cans of fanta and some other Asian treats. I bought a hat and the shop owner told me how I’ll need it because it’s hot in Thailand.

We walked back up the hill to the hotel and saw a sign my mother would be happy to see. We (that is, our hotel) is the Tsunami evacuation site.

Hamish’s thoughts on Thailand: “What a great place Thailand is. It started off as cool inside the airport, but then when we went outside the humidity just hit. My sleep was good on the mini bus. The food is great.”

Rod’s thoughts on Thailand: “Nothing to add, you’ve said it all…”

Friday saw us still disorganized, but not stressed, in fact, we had a pretty relaxed day. In sub-10 degree weather we caught up with one of Rod’s Uni (and life) mates Phil and his wife Natalie. Lunch out then into work for me for a few hours. The pile of clothes on the suitcases in our room grew, but still nothing was really packed. I know I keep going on about this, but you know me…I’ve usually done a practice pack and repack by this stage. Oh, Rod also had to pop into work and he photocopied our passports. We looked up which type of power adapters we need to pack, and searched up the weather in Phuket – 30 ish degrees, humid and rainy. Yup – it’s the wet season. I may have tried on swimmers…

Saturday we actually packed. It’s strange packing for tropical weather when it’s 10 degrees outside! Hamish and I are sharing one suitcase (as per tradition) and Rod has a rolling duffel bag with his stuff plus shared travel items, such as toiletries, a few cotton beach towels and his and Hamish’s shoes – which incidentally, are the same size. After lunch we were basically 90% done. We’re trying to eat up leftovers – so lunch consists of a ham and cheese toasty & cold roast lamb (Hamish), roast veggies (me) and chicken casserole (Rod). Rod and I both have a bike ride in mind as even though the weather is cold, it’s clear and not raining. We have a big ride dodging floodwaters and Kangaroos (as it turns out). Rod perfects the day by making – ironically – Thai fishcakes. They are incredible and we settle in to watch the first stage of the Tour de France.

It’s currently Sunday evening. We’ve taken advantage of the break in the weather and mowed lawns, washed bedding and squeezed a ride in. Multiple pieces of tech are currently being charged and charging cables are labelled (I know this seems OTT, but trust me it’s easier). Other than not being able to check into our flight online and a few other stressful moments (I couldn’t find our booking, then I joined the Singapore FF programme and mistyped my name “Belfinda”, so then I couldn’t add my new FF number to the booking because Belfinda Dunbar doesn’t match my booking, the Scoot website not loading – shall I go on?) we’re all but ready to go.

Tomorrow sees a few last minute appointments before we head to Melbourne at 3pm. I am dropping two of my bikes off to the bike shop for some TLC whilst I’m away and Rod has his immunotherapy treatment at 2pm. We’ve made multiple trips to the chemist/supermarket today like a couple of rookies who’ve never travelled! And to be honest, I can’t guarantee there won’t be another tomorrow. Goodness me – 10 days…hopeless 😊