Patong - A change for the worse

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We have safely arrived in Phuket (Patong Beach). My-oh-my what happened to this place?

When I visited Phuket with my backpack it was a long time ago and the Patong that exists now is virtually unrecognisable from it's original version. What a shame.

It was a cute little town with a few bars a bank and great simple food. The other beaches and bays were deserted. Safe to say, they are no longer. Everying is developed and the place has suffered a great deal. It is still a beautiful island but the need to know when to say STOP and I suspect that moment has come-and-gone. Cheap and tacky and difficult to recommend as a place to retreat to on holiday. Avoid Patong Beach like you would the plague. In saying that, there are some great restaurants (hidden away) and some great beach resorts, but if you are backpacking out this way DO NOT COME HERE!

We have still managed to get out-and-about and today we spent a gret day at Surin bay. Beautiful spot with great "junior breakers" for the kids to try out surfing a wave. Tomorrow we go Elephant riding and on Christmas Eve we intend to go on a long-tail boat ride to some remote island.

Still having a great time but the change in Patong was a bit of shock to Lamud and my systems. A shock that has taken a couple of days to come to terms with.

Our apartment is cool and Lamud's brother has arranged a permanent taxi service in the form of Ocean Divers pickup truck. There are some many folk from Jantamlah (Lamud's home village in Issan province) that it would appear they all jump on the bus the minute they are old enough to leave school and head towards Phuket to cash in on the tourist boom.

They have been great and Alex is so happy to meet up with his cousing "Men" again. What a pair of tear-aways they are.

Louisa is a bit under the weather and not eating very well but I'm sure she will be excited about the Elephant ride tomorrow and the boat ride on Christmas Eve.

Keith is spreading his wings a bit more and is now out having a few beers with some folks he met in a bar.

We are all having a great time. Will update the blog next week after the Elephant and long-tail boat adventures.

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Photos

Taxi for the Crawford's
Alex getting in Ocean Divers pick-up bus thingy under the watchful eye of "Men's" granny.

Ferry to paradise?
Long-tail boat and Alex. His career path is all set out.

Sunset over Surin bay
Beautiful!

Comments

[Keith Marshall]

Tracked you down
Hi Roy Good to read the blogs. Wondered what had happened to you. How long are you in Thailand for? Lisa and I loved Thailand but never got to Phuket. Maybe that was a good thing. We are now living in Sydney and trying to get used to the every day grind of earning a living. There is not a day that I don't miss travelling. Keep in touch and Merry Christmas Cheers Keith

[Robert]

Christmas Day in Scotland
Christmas Day here is very like Thailand not ! Sunny - well we saw the sun but not for very long. We have just had Christmas dinner (no snake's heads). Just the old traditional grub. Obviously you guys are having a whale of a time and it will really be bringing back the memories. Pity there will be few jobs in "Computing " etc All the best from the rest of the family in bonnie Scotland. See you soon, Rob

[RoyCrawf]

Good to hear from you.
Well, that was a surprise! I love this travelling lark. I have missed it all these years. Spent the last week and a bit snorkelling. My bro-in-law is a qualified dive-master... I need to get into that stuff I love all that coral and fishes stuff. Keep in touch!!