29th Jan to 9th Feb
The small hotel is just over a path from the beach which
shelves very gently so it provides safe swimming. Our room is on the first floor but we have a
roof terrace which is some 6 metres above the ground, sitting up there you seem
to be distanced from everything below, you might even think safe. That is until you realise that when the
Tsunami struck 8 years ago it was 10 metres high and it is only when you are sitting
at 6 metres you realise how terrifying that must have been. This resort was virtually wiped out and has
since been rebuilt. However given the
building standards you can’t really tell as much of it already looks very worn.
At least the tsunami escape route are
well marked although no-one has said how you know if one is on its way!
The hotel is run by Muslims and the service is
exceptional. While the service here is
generally very good it can be a little “in your face”, however the staff at the
hotel seem more discrete and polite. On
reflection I think the word I am looking for is subtle! Given that it is Islamic there is no pork
products for breakfast and no alcohol sold on the premises. But there are bars to the right, bars to the
left and bars behind so we are not feeling deprived. The ladies who serve breakfast ‘sing’ the
breakfast order as they serve it….…..
Orange juuuuuice, pineapple juuuuuuice,
fresh fruuuuuit!
This has been the lazy part of the trip and so we have done
very little except relax, eat and drink.
The whole purpose of coming here of course was to meet up with Dan and Kym
and Kym’s Australian family and friends.
This has meant long lunches, long dinners on beach while hi-jacking the
music system and long intellectual academic debates over the merits of the
different Thai beers. The Australian
party consist of Kym’s two sisters, her father Ian and step-mother Marion, her
mother Marianne (yes it’s complicated keep up) and Matt & Tom, a young gay
couple. All but ourselves and Marion and
Ian are in a large villa just in the hills at Nakka, a twenty five minute walk,
up a very steep hill, it is not called Nakka for nothing. We have all decided that it a taxi up and
the stagger back.
We went mob handed to the local version of Disney. To see the attractions and take in the
Circus, the show was OK but it’s strange how distasteful it now seems to see
performing animals. A visit was also made
to Patong to see the bar scene, the show was alright but it’s strange how
distasteful it now seems to see performing females!
The food here has been wonderful, lots of seafood and good veggie
dishes for Carol, this makes her a really cheap date as on average a veggie
meal works out at about £4. We have
however treated ourselves to two better meals, one at a seafood restaurant and
another at a really good Thai. Spaghetti
with a Thai seafood sauce is a must, while Carol’s rice and vegetables served
in a hollowed out pineapple was one of the best looking dishes you could see or
taste. We both got used to vegetarian
food whilst in India and Carol is finding herself continuing to choose the
veggie option.
Drinks are also very cheap, it’s possible to get a cocktail
for 99 baht (£2), but wine is quite expensive and often costs more than the
meal. You can get a full body massage
for 300 baht and laundry is ‘dirt’ cheap at 50 baht per kilogram! Our washing today cost 140 baht, the same as
one ice-cream!
There is very little hassle on the streets, here at least
they take no for an answer. That is
except for the tailors who are not convinced at all by the argument that now I
have retired I don’t want three suits and a dozen shirts.
9th Feb We are currently waiting in Bangkok Airport for our flight to Delhi where we are staying for one night and then it's onto
Kochin in Kerala tomorrow to begin the third leg of our trip. We feel as though we have been away for ages! Our indian visa was regarded with some suspician at Phuket airport earlier today so we are hoping that they will let us back into India otherwise we will be home sooner than expected!! Will post some Thai photos asap.
View from our room
Having 40 winks on the balcony
Our rooftop terrace
The team!
The James Bond Villa Naka Hills
No comments:
Post a Comment