Thursday, December 19, 2013
We drove straight to Phuket Old Town where we’d decided to spend the night. After checking in we went for an evening stroll in the old town. Contrary to Ao Nang (and as it turned out the beach towns here on Phuket) the shops don’t stay open here at night, only bars and restaurants. So it was a nice, quiet evening walk. Will hopefully be back to have a look at the place in the daytime.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Traveling like this is a lot of fun but is also hard work. Spending 1-3 days in one place means we are constantly planning: the next day’s drive, accommodation, things to do,… So we’d decided to take a longer break here on Phuket and for the occasion we booked a vacation rental (aka a small 1-bedroom apartment). Checking in was a breeze and now we can really relax for the week. Being here for Christmas is an added bonus.
Stephen been contemplating doing a diving course (when in Rome….) so after settling into our accommodation we drove to PADI Phuket Scuba Club (found them online and been in touch via email). Everyone was nice, the atmosphere relaxed and he could start tomorrow. The diving course will take 3-4 days depending on how fast Stephen picks it up. Since he’s the only one starting tomorrow he’ll get one-on-one training.
After organizing all that we had some drinks with Kevan and Chantal and some of the instructors, and then went in search for dinner. We walked the 2kms back to our apartment, quite doable in the relative coolness of the evening.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Around 10am Kevan and Chantal picked us up to drive to Kata Beach. Stephen started his course and I went for a walk around Kata beach town. The place is inundated with tourists, mostly Russians, Brits and Germans from what I heard. Found a Starbucks and went in search of tailor to have one of my favorite dresses copied. I bought it in 2003 in Dusseldorf. More on that as it develops…
It is nice to have some time to do nothing! Well, I’ll be surfing (the net that is, as I am not a beach person) and walking and reading… and joining Stephen and the divers for drinks in the evening.
After his first day on the course Stephen came back to the flat and we went for a short drive the pick up some provisions at Villa Market at HomePro Village at Chalong Circle. Pure heaven for us Westerners! Huge wine selection, fresh produce, cheeses, meat, fish,…. Great place to stock up on some supplies. Then we joined the divers for beers in the bar/restaurant next to the dive shop. Home cooked evening meal accompanied with wine.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Stephen enjoyed the second day of his diving course. Some more theory followed by 1 confined and 1 open water dive.
This afternoon I went to the tailor I found to check on ‘the dress’. Not that it’s difficult to find a tailor around here mind you, every 5th shop is one, but to find one that feels good and that you can agree a price with, is the key. I didn’t really know what to expect (the only other time I had something copied turned out to be disappointing), so you can imagine the smile on my face (that I was trying to hide) when, on walking into the store I saw the new dress exactly as I’d hoped it would turn out: an exact copy of the original. Which sounds simple enough but with all the stitching and un-symmetrical lines was a tad more complicated. After trying it on, I let the smile break free and promptly ordered 3 more in different colors; a fit trade-off for the diving course I reasoned.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Final day of diving instruction with a boat trip to Racha Noi and Racha Yai. Perfect day!
Caroline headed up to the Big Buddha which is a massive 45m tall Buddha looking to the East. The Buddha is still under construction, but nonetheless is quite impressive. The evening was spent celebrating the day.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013 (Christmas Eve)
Today was a relaxing day.
We headed back to Old Phuket Town to pickup the extension for Sterlin, who is now allowed to stay 3 months in Thailand. We followed up with coffee and lunch at the lovely decorated Chicroom Cafe.
Since Stephen hadn’t been to the Big Buddha yet, we drove up there later that afternoon. The monks were praying and one of them was doing blessings. We also wrote on a marble tablet that will be incorporated in the construction somehow.
For Christmas Eve we stayed in and enjoyed a home-cooked meal, which is what we usually do that evening. We’d found some coiffable bubbly and Sauvignon Blanc to help celebrate the evening. I don’t think I’ll ever really get used to warm (read: hot) weather around this time of year. The decorations just don’t have that same ‘je ne sais quoi’ about them in the bright sunlight.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013 (Christmas Eve)
Around noon we walked into town to pick up the other copies of the dress and planned to go for coffee. Only to discover that we didn’t bring any money. Well, I had the exact money for the tailor but Stephen misplaced the small change for the day. So back to the apartment he went. We needed to buy gifts for the ‘White Elephant/Secret Santa’ game later that evening. Late lunch was enjoyed at the same beach restaurant we had our first dinner some days ago.
Around 5:30pm Kevan and Chantal picked us up and together we went to the Christmas Day Dinner spot. It was a lovely evening, spent in good company, with lots of good food (a very well cooked turkey amongst other yummies) and drinks.
Thursday, December 26, 2013 (Boxing Day)
After a week we had to pack again as we were saying goodbye to Phuket today. But not before a lunch time stop in Patong to catch up with Stephen’s cousin George and Chelsea.
Before truly heading north we backtracked a little, to Phang Nga.
