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Published: January 28th 2012
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After packing up our new home on wheels, we flew down to Melbourne for 5 days for some work meetings for both of us and catching up with a few friends. It was a whirlwind few days and before we knew it we were sitting in the terminal at Melbourne airport waiting for our flight to Thailand, which was an event in itself.
Let's just say it was the 2nd day of a new discount airline called Air Australia taking to the skies so there definitely were more than a few kinks to be worked out. Signs were still being put up; we were in the very end of the airport in a wing I am sure had just been brought out of retirement; the flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours with no announcements because there were no loud speakers so instead everyone was asking the captian who happened to be standing and waiting along with everyone else what was going on; they had to rent a plane from a Turkish company as their own 2 planes were being used on another route. Once we finally got on the plane, the entertainment system didn't work for the whole 9 hour
flight, the Turkish crew were not the 'friendliest', only 1 of the 4 bathrooms worked, and it then ran out of toilet paper and a lady was told "Too bad" by the crew who wouldn't get more; and to top it all off we were stuck in the back with about 15 drunk guys that continued to drink their duty free whiskey on the plane and get absoluely hammered and all gathered in the back like it was a pub and proceeded to start arguing with other passengers which eventualy brought the captain out of the cockpit to try and cool down the situation. It was all pretty comical, although not so much at the time. 9 hours was a long time to be stuck with a bunch of drunks and no tv or anything to watch. Felt like we were on an episode of Airline! But it did save us $600 on flights.... Was it worth it? Would we fly them again?? Hmmmmm probably not....
Anyways, we eventually got to Phuket and since we had been to Thailand before 3 years ago, we had prebooked our accommodation at the same place we stayed last time and they had
sent a driver to pick us up. It was great not having to stop in a taxi so the driver "could check directions" which actually meant someone would come sit in the car with you while the driver did this and try and sell you tours and accommodation and no matter how many times you said no, it meant an extra 20 minutes before the driver came back "with his directions".
We were booked into Benyada Lodge in Surin Beach for 3 nites which is about 25 minutes from Patong Beach and the main touristy/bar areas of Phuket. Although it has grown and got even more touristy in Surin since we had least been there, it was still nice to be away from that whole scene a bit (and away from the people like the drunk guys on our plane)! And best part of it all was no work! Well not awhole lot of work anyways, as I did have a bit of work to finish up but at least I could go to the beach all day and then do it at night.
We spent the next couple days doing a whole lot of relaxing with some
beach time and swimming in water that was probably 24 degrees, some $9 hour long Thai massages, Pad Thai and green curry on the beach, and even managed to sneak in a couple super sweaty and humid Bikram yoga classes (yes we are yoga nerds now – who would of thought??!). It wasn't as busy yet in Surin as we would have thought leading up to Christmas as I guess the flooding up around Bangkok had affected tourism in this area even though there was no flooding at all and was a long way from Bangkok. Too bad for the Thai people, but we weren't complaining. It was nice being on the beach that wasn't too packed. The weather was great, with usually a pretty good tropical rainshower in the early evening which we managed to get caught in one afternoon on our scooter and just got soaked. Probably not the best time to be riding our scooter, but we were on our way back to Surin and already soaked so might as well keep going!
After 3 nights in the area it was time to move on and we were defintely ready to head to Koh Lanta where
we were going to spend the next 10 days. We decided to book a speed boat to get to Koh Lanta which was aprox $20 extra a person rather than the longer cheaper ferry route we had taken last time we were here. We booked at when we got to the pier and it seems alot more people must be taking speedboats as there were quite a few companies you could book with now whereas last time I don't remember any at the pier. A speedboat meant we got to Koh Lanta in an hour and half rather than 4 hours on 2 ferries (and one a bit more sketchy than the other), and not stopping at Phi Phi Island, and no touts on board trying to get you book at one of the hotels they get a cut from. We arrived in Koh Lanta and had a quick lunch at the pier at a spot we ate last time which has some of the best Thai food we have eaten (and cheapest) before our ride to La Laanta Hideaway picked us up where we stayed last time and loved it, and were going to be spending the next 10
days at and also where our friends Mike and Kari from Vancouver were meeting us on Christmas Eve. Still can't believe The Sock is coming to Thailand!
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jan & Edder
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Nice
Looks great guys and you both have that relaxation appearance. You deserve that break after the Port Macquarie projects that you both encountered. Looks like a very interesting place and glad that you guys had a nice holiday. J&E