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Published: October 5th 2009
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Phew, what a week! We have been very much looking forward to this holiday for such a long time and it has not disappointed. When we were invited by our friends, Ian, Bing and Chloe, to join them on their annual trip to Phuket, we had no idea how lovely it would be. Ian's parents have a place here which is just beautiful and we have been lucky to have such fantastic hosts during our stay. Ian was kind enough to arrange our flights for us too and he got us a great deal....the sign of a very seasoned traveller!
We finished school early last Wednesday and were in a taxi by 4pm, in a very soggy Shanghai. The typhoon that struck the Phillippines just caught the corner of China and brought lots of rain. However, the traffic we had feared was none too bad and we even managed to catch an earlier flight from Pudong, arriving in Hong Kong just in time for bed. I got a lovely feeling about Hong Kong and it seems Ian knew I would...much more English and friendly and clean. Sadly we only managed a 5 minute walk to our hotel room, a sleep
and then we were up again at 6am for the second leg of our trip to Phuket. On arrival in Phuket, there were a few clouds, but not half as bad as we had feared. Friends of ours had had to cancel their trip to the Philippines due to the floods and we had seen rain forecast in Phuket. The heat hit us as we stepped out of the aircraft, temperatures of 31 plus degrees have been with us so far.
2 bright blue Honda Jazz's awaited us and it has been fun driving again. We stopped off at a place called Black Cat for our first Thai lunch which was yummy. We were all extremely tired but it didn't dampen our excitement when we arrived at The Plantation, our home for the next week. Sitting here now, even with a few drops of rain, the peace and scenery that I can see just makes me feel calm. There were amazing towel sculptures on our beds, the Thai people, it appears, are very arty and creative, so cool!
We couldn't resist heading straight for the pool, we just managed to empty our case and find our swimmies and
then we almost ran there! I have to say how fantastic it has been to see the progress both Sophie and William have made in the water this week. Sophie is now quite happy to run and dive-bomb in the water with no aids and is swimming away quite happily with Chloe. William, with the aid of 2 noodles (see photo for clarification here, not the eating type!) is really rather confident swimming and floating...our task is to get him down to one noodle by the end of the holiday.
After our swim, we all went to Carrefour to stock up on our basics and had a quick peek at the shopping. I wasn't too taken, I am not here for shopping but sunshine and relaxation! We were not disappointed on our second day when we headed down to the beach at Kata. I have never swam in the sea properly and had a bit of a surprise when I got sucked under by the rip tide with the children. I never realised how strong the current is here, so much so that our plans for sea-kayaking have been scuppered sadly. We spent the morning at the beach....the kids
loved the sand and Ian was swimming in the sea, against the red flag warnings! After lunch, we headed to another, even more secluded beach to do some searching for shells and found some cool rock pools with crabs and all kinds of fish. Ian and I had gotten a touch burnt by this time, so we headed back to the condo for a refreshing swim.
In the evening, we went to a show called Phuket Fantasea. An amazing culture-filled show of singing and dancing. Elephants were performing alongside goats and chickens and doves. The kids loved it, although it was a late finish at 10.30pm! The next day was a little overcast so Bing and I decided to try a bit of girlie relaxation at The Hideaways Day Spa. Wow! We were shown to our little hut which opened out onto the green marsh and nature welcomed us! After a short time in the herbal sauna and plunge pool, I started with an aloe vera wrap to soothe my redness, then we bathed in ylang ylang waters, finishing with an aromatherapy massage with mandarin oil. We were so relaxed, it was lovely.
In the evening, I knew
that Bing's husband, Ian had arranged a bit of a surprise dinner for Bing at a great restaurant called Joe's Downstairs. Her sister and best friend, along with his parents were waiting there as a surprise for her upcoming birthday. She was thoroughly shocked but very pleased. We had a lovely evening with fantastic food and company.... I even sampled Lobster Quesadillas and Jumbo prawn!
Yesterday, we met up with the partygoers for breakfast at our local haunt, the Kamala bakery. It serves amazing full English breakfast, croissant, pain au chocolat or any mix of the above. We then all visited the hotel where they were staying and sampled their pool for the day. The kids were in the water for most of the day and we had to all but drag them out for some food! The sun was in full swing and we all added to our tans. The hotel is called Print Hotel and was so reasonable....about £25 per night we think. We would highly recommend it for anyone who fancies a visit to Phuket.
After a quick shopping trip yesterday afternoon to buy some souvenirs and for Soph and William to spend their holiday
money, Ian and I were able to go on a 'date night'!! Ian decided to take me to another restaurant called DaMaurizio's which was beautiful. We sat right by the seafront and it was just mesmerising watching the sea lap the water's edge. We ate delicious food and just relaxed - just what holidays should be all about.
So, today is a bit of a rainy day and it's time for the kids to do some of their mountain of holiday homework. Us adults are relaxing and catching up on some downtime. We are here until Wednesday morning.....more to follow soon.
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Clare
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I am very very very jealous!!!!!!!!