Saturday, 13 December 2008
Friday, 12 December 2008
Beach slap
Patong can only be tolerated for so long, so we headed out to Kata beach for a while, relaxing on the beach there. After Kata beach got a little boring, we headed out to Kamala beach to stay in bungalows just near the water. Strangely the pool here was just as wonderful as the white sand beaches.
We hired a few scooters and wandered around the island a bit, bumping into elephants, seeing waterfalls and visiting gibbon rehabilitation centres.
At night we would eat at restaurants on the beach and watch people light small hot-air balloons made of rice paper that floated out into the night.
Sometimes being on the same beach can wear you down, so we switched again to Laem Singh beach and then switched a fourth time to Nai Thon beach. Since getting bored of beaches was our biggest problem, we felt fairly happy with ourselves here in Phuket.
Nai Thon had a little island out in the bay, so we hired a long boat and went snorkelling until sunset. Happy days.
We heard there is a recession going on which sounds scary. Luckily we don't have to deal with that right now. The only thing destroying my economy right now is Singha and Chang beer.
We hired a few scooters and wandered around the island a bit, bumping into elephants, seeing waterfalls and visiting gibbon rehabilitation centres.
At night we would eat at restaurants on the beach and watch people light small hot-air balloons made of rice paper that floated out into the night.
Sometimes being on the same beach can wear you down, so we switched again to Laem Singh beach and then switched a fourth time to Nai Thon beach. Since getting bored of beaches was our biggest problem, we felt fairly happy with ourselves here in Phuket.
Nai Thon had a little island out in the bay, so we hired a long boat and went snorkelling until sunset. Happy days.
We heard there is a recession going on which sounds scary. Luckily we don't have to deal with that right now. The only thing destroying my economy right now is Singha and Chang beer.
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Thai Kick-boxing
Blood sports are the only ones I find interesting. If a man is willing to get knocked unconscious for his honour, then that deserves respect. And so we went to Thai kick-boxing, one of the hardest of the boxing sports. We couldn't resist going to watch a match live and there was a European line up that I was hoping to see get a pasting by the professional Thai boxers.
We saw a few knock-outs and one really unprofessional knee to the crotch which made the Thai boxer drop to the floor, and worse, the English 16 year old opponent almost cry because of the poor form and the booing. It was fabulous!
We saw a few knock-outs and one really unprofessional knee to the crotch which made the Thai boxer drop to the floor, and worse, the English 16 year old opponent almost cry because of the poor form and the booing. It was fabulous!
Phuket and Patong
We took the train & bus down to Phuket from Bangkok, avoiding the protests at the airport.
I forgot about the old Thai comission scams until now. In Surat Thani, a switch-point between the train and bus, there were touts-a-plenty, full of lies and ready for business. After the third comission scam was being played on us late at night in the mini-van to Phuket I had had enough. I got the entire van of tourists so het up that everyone refused to move out of the van until the driver did what we wanted. A small victory against the backhander.
Phuket is where we met up with some good mates; Keely, Rob and a friend of Keely's, Kev. We went to the usual haunts of Phuket. Patong was a favourite for looking at whores, strippers, go-go dancers, lady-boys and iguana pushers. A good thing about this tourist sweat-hole is that you can usually go to a bar and they will let you play any music you like - so we rocked out to our own (slightly dated) tastes.
I forgot about the old Thai comission scams until now. In Surat Thani, a switch-point between the train and bus, there were touts-a-plenty, full of lies and ready for business. After the third comission scam was being played on us late at night in the mini-van to Phuket I had had enough. I got the entire van of tourists so het up that everyone refused to move out of the van until the driver did what we wanted. A small victory against the backhander.
Phuket is where we met up with some good mates; Keely, Rob and a friend of Keely's, Kev. We went to the usual haunts of Phuket. Patong was a favourite for looking at whores, strippers, go-go dancers, lady-boys and iguana pushers. A good thing about this tourist sweat-hole is that you can usually go to a bar and they will let you play any music you like - so we rocked out to our own (slightly dated) tastes.
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Bangkok
We flew to Bangkok for a mini holiday within the big holiday. Staying near the Khao San road, eating banana pancakes and doing a good bit of nothing. This is great.
Still a little bit of sight seeing done though. We went to the emerald Buddha, Wat Po and the reclining Buddha. Then some of the more traditional sight seeing like Patpong and a ping pong show. Strangely not a ping pong bat to be seen though.
We went to the floating market and then went to see a cobra show where we watched a cobra fight a mongoose. Not sure the RSPCA would approve. At one point they had a jumping snake that got away from the snake-guy and it came shooting towards the crowd. It was part of the act a little bit; at least we think so. When it happened a young guy in the front row, ran up the stairs faster than a whippet with its bum on fire. It was hilarious, but we had to say that we would have done the exact same thing.
They milked a cobra of its venom in front of us and told us a guy died doing the show a few years ago. The final act was a guy being attacked by three snakes at once, grabbing two with his hands and then catching the third with his mouth. Freaky.
Night markets, thieves markets, floating markets, China town, poolsides, banana pancakes, pineapples, wats, monks, hippies, sun, flip flops, protesters and freaks. Bangkok has it all.
Still a little bit of sight seeing done though. We went to the emerald Buddha, Wat Po and the reclining Buddha. Then some of the more traditional sight seeing like Patpong and a ping pong show. Strangely not a ping pong bat to be seen though.
We went to the floating market and then went to see a cobra show where we watched a cobra fight a mongoose. Not sure the RSPCA would approve. At one point they had a jumping snake that got away from the snake-guy and it came shooting towards the crowd. It was part of the act a little bit; at least we think so. When it happened a young guy in the front row, ran up the stairs faster than a whippet with its bum on fire. It was hilarious, but we had to say that we would have done the exact same thing.
They milked a cobra of its venom in front of us and told us a guy died doing the show a few years ago. The final act was a guy being attacked by three snakes at once, grabbing two with his hands and then catching the third with his mouth. Freaky.
Night markets, thieves markets, floating markets, China town, poolsides, banana pancakes, pineapples, wats, monks, hippies, sun, flip flops, protesters and freaks. Bangkok has it all.
Monday, 17 November 2008
Disneyland
After my family left Hong Kong on their own travels, we decided to cheer ourselves up with a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. I love Disneyland and made sure Nicci set the alarm so that we could get there from opening time until the park closed. The funnest place on earth!
Engagement Ring
Hong Kong has an enormous selection of diamonds and seems to be paved with them, so we took the chance to get the main engagement ring while we were here. The proposal ring seemed to be getting a little rusty in the ocean air (ahem).
I can't say I share people's enthusiasm for little shiny rocks. They don't do anything useful and I can't ride, drive, surf or fly using them. But seeing how happy Nic was when we found the perfect ring makes it all worth it...
The man at Chow Tai Fook, a famous jewellery chain here, helped us immensely with the selection and smiled each time we came in to see the ring again. If we visited the shop any more times, I think we would have to take him out to dinner. He was great and so was the service here...
I can't say I share people's enthusiasm for little shiny rocks. They don't do anything useful and I can't ride, drive, surf or fly using them. But seeing how happy Nic was when we found the perfect ring makes it all worth it...
The man at Chow Tai Fook, a famous jewellery chain here, helped us immensely with the selection and smiled each time we came in to see the ring again. If we visited the shop any more times, I think we would have to take him out to dinner. He was great and so was the service here...
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