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Published: October 12th 2008
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Sawadee people!
Well its been a few days since i updated you all and what a couple of days its been. i flew from Singapore to Phuket a couple of days ago (i have lost track of time completely) and only had my accomodation confirmed by email a few mins before my flight took off! luckily they had free internet access at the boarding gate so i was able to get online and check hoping to god they had room! luckily they did and when i arrived at Phuket airport i had the pleasure of experiencing the taxi touts! if i thought these guys were pushy i was in for a hell of a surprise when i reached my destination! i managed to book into a backpacking lodge in a place called Karon which is west of Phuket town and basically small town situated on Karon Beach. i managed to get a deal on a mini bus seat taking my via Patong and onto Karon which took about an hour. The first thing that hit me was the standard of living, its very low, so imagine my surprise when we drove past a HUGE TESCO!!!
Karon Beach itself is beautiful. White
Message in the sand!
the message from Gale reads "good luck Lucy it was great to meet you love Jason and Gale" sand. clear blue sea and very very clean. The town however leaves a lot to be desired! i am staying at the back of the town, about a 10 - 15 minute walk to the beach in a great little place called the Karon Living room. Its marketed as a backpacker lodge but its exceeds those usual standards. I have my own huge double room with ensuite, a small balconey TV Aircon and fridge. The place is so clean you can see you face in the floor! The best part is that it is costing me only 8 pounds a night!
i booked this place not only because it was cost effective, but in the hope of meeting other travelers. so far i have not met anyone other than Arron the Gay Auzzie so i really wanted mix with other travelers and have some serious fun. Unfortunately it is very quiet here and i have seen a couple of people walking in and out of ther lodge but they have been couples, and its always very hard to approach couple for fear of invading their space. So by Day two i was feeling quite uninspired and a little lonely. The
15 min walk to the beach meant getting past all the touts for massage, food, taxis, sex and tailoring so if you are on your own you are a great target. This put me off a little but on day two i decided to head out for the evening and make my own fun! as i was walking down the street i asked for one thing that night.....i decent conversation! its amazing how being in your own company for 3 or 4 days can drive you to have full on conversations with your self! so in the fear of losing my mind i just wanted someone to chat to. For those of you that know me well, i love a good chat! so whichever lucky individual was gonna get me tonight better have good ears!!
i came upon an Irish Bar, somewhere i would never normally enter due to the fact that i am in Thailand, and such an act would be a crime against my cultural understanding, however i was quite clearly desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures! Having orderd a beer i sat at the bar realising that the pub was full of middle aged men,
again, not my usual audience and then the women sat next to me started speaking and well.........3 hours later we were new best friends! Gale was from Nottingham and is a PA to the MD of Expirian, here on a two week holiday with her new partner Jason. She was an angel in human form. Not only did dhe know her way round this place blindfolded, she made a point of introducing me to all the people that would keep an eye on me and help me get what ever i needed during my stay here. Its very difficult to know who to trust here so this was very useful and reassuring for me. We talked about everything and anything, she was a very spiritual person and had a wonderful inner peace that i looked up to in a way. We agreed to meet on the beach the next day and as i walked home i had a renewed energy.
On the day i arrived i went into the tailors here and was measured up for a suit and a few shirts. Many of my friends had encouraged me to take this opportunity as it was so much cheaper here
and made to fit.
So having met Gale on the beach for a bit i headed off for my second fitting just accorss the road. It took a little longer than planned so when i got back to the sunbeds Gale and Jason had gone to check out and get their taxi to the airport. We hadn't swapped details at this point so i felt quite sad that i would lose touch with her. However with no pen or paprer to hand, she had writted a note in the sand under my sunbed! i have a picture of this but i cannot upload anything on this pc for fear of crashing it!
The Beach was BOILING!!!!!! Too hot to be out for more than a couple of hours so i had to keep forcing myself into the sea every five minutes....i say forcing due to my extreme phobia of jellyfish. The sea is in fact like a bath! so crystal clear and just cool enough to keep your body temperature down. After a couple of hours an English child was stung by a jellyfish and i have never seen a child screm quite the way this one did. medical
The local temple
i spent some time just sitting reading here. attention was needed and she was halued off the beach. I figured that was my cue to head up for a shower!
yesterday afternoon i went for a Thai Massage, Manicure and Pedicure. HEAVEN! i didnt reaslise quite how much that back pack weighs! Not so long ago i paid 50 pounds for a Thai Massage in Richmond, so i nearly cartwheeled out of the salon when my total bill came to 550 THb. Thats 8 pounds 50 pence!!!!!
i am having to do all my washing in the shower (clothes washing i mean!) which is a very funny site as i am sure you can all imagine! i have then designed little washing lines with my hair ties to i can hang the stuff out on the balconey! this would have been a flawless engineering example had it not pissed with rain all last night and this morning! and when it rains here its like a bloody monsoon!
Its still raining now in fact hence the blog time! its about 7 hours ahead here so taken a day or two to adjust but all in all ok.
As i am sat here a guy from Norway introduced himself
temple
Part of it is still being built to me. we chatted for a minute and he said he must go get something to eat as he had "a woman last night" and so " didnt get much sleep!!!" great. thanks for that!
I wandered around town today taking pictures as the weather is tempremental, and now feel like a local! i am bullet proof when it comes to the touting and have got to know a few of the locals so feeling great. Tomorrow i catch the ferry to Kho Phi Phi. Google this place it is stunning! i have a bungalow booked at the Garden Inn and intend on partying with the other travelers for two days! i will hop over to James Bond Island and then head back to Phuket on the 15th for the night. i then Fly to Borneo and stay in a lodge in Kota Kinabalu for one night before flying an hour over to Sandakan where i will spend 3 days on my Nature watch tour. Very exciting!
i am now trying to book flights from there to Koh Samui for a week before heading to Bangkok and then to Melbourne.
Well, i must go rescue the washing again as
its monsoon time and dad just called so time for Daddy Daughter chats!
i will upload pics as soon as i can.
Thanks for all your messages and emails!
xxxxx
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Chief
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Thanks
Hey Lucy, thanks for the blog's they are always good reading. I know that conversation thing so well.... even been known to have arguments with myself in some of the countries where no english is heard at all. Glad you found people to talk to, looking forward to the next installment Love You xxxxxx