We returned to Bridgetown just before the New Year, helped our friends with some of their house renovations and hooked the van back up for a fortnight stopping at Margaret River, Busselton and Freemantle, with a day trip out to Rottnest Island.
To add a bit of a mix into the travel, we are now in Thailand for a month, celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary.
We left on Friday 27th February. It was a three hour trip back to Perth and we allowed plenty of time in case of the unexpected. The only slight hassle was huge roadworks around the airport with the road we wanted to turn into closed off. It was a long detour around to then take a flyover across the road we had been on to gain access to where we wanted to go.
Our flight left on time, if not a little early. It was a Virgin flight and when you book you get to choose your seats. I took a gamble and booked window for me and aisle for Jim, hoping if it wasn't a full flight, no one would want the middle seat. It worked and we had an empty seat between us. The flight was direct to Phuket and took around six hours. We were served quite a nice meal and Virgin have an interesting entertainment system. You use your own device, download the app before you leave and then hook in via wifi to their system. It worked very well, and Jim watched a couple of movies.
The flight was mostly uneventful, with just a few big bumps two thirds of the way through. I think after all the recent crashes everyone is a bit more nervous and Jim admitted to not enjoying that part. The woman across the aisle from us even threw up. I didn't think it was that bad.
Getting through the airport was a breeze, and unbelievably our bags were the first ones out. I had organised a taxi with our accommodation, and with the chaos outside it was wonderful to have someone with a sign and your name and not have to negotiate where to go. The airport is a fair way from Patong where I had booked our accommodation and even with the quiet roads at that hour, it still took about 3/4 of an hour.
Our accommodation is well situated being in a side street, so away from the noise but still close to everything. It's a good size room with a king size bed, typically Asian hard but comfortable once you get used to it. There is everything you could want, fridge etc, even a small balcony, so a bargain at just over $30 a night. The only downside is that we are on the top 4th floor and no elevator so lots of exercise for us. Our room looks out directly onto the rooms of the swanky Novotel.
It was around 9.30 pm when we arrived, which was quite a few hours from the meal on the plane. So despite the hour, and as we weren't that tired, we headed out for some supper. At the end of the street we could see lots of roadside eateries on the other side. The road is oneway, but the streams of traffic are endless, so we started walking down our side instead. After a while and we couldn't find anything suitable, we took our life in our hands and crossed the road. We had lovely meals of noodles and seafood and rice and seafood. They had a choice of serving size, and the small was quite perfect. We continued walking around for quite a while, just enjoying the hussle and bustle of the night life.
Saturday morning we headed out for breakfast around eight. It took a while to find somewhere as there isn't much happening at that hour. We finally found Nicky's Handlebar, which I think never closes, and we had their American Breakfast.
We both had dental appointments at 11.30, so we spent the rest of the morning walking, walking and finding our way around the town. One of the reasons for choosing Thailand was that we knew that Jim probably needed a fair bit done, and I had researched carefully before choosing a good clinic. I had booked a clean and a check, and although he found no cavities he did say that I had a numberof exposed roots which should be filled - ten of them!! I'm a firm believer in don't fix if it isn't broken (as well as a confirmed dental coward), so I chose the option of just the clean please. He said that in the future they could get sensitive, so I'll worry when that happens.
Unfortunately as expected, Jim didn't fare as well. He had a badly broken tooth which he had been told in Melbourne couldn't be saved. However, nothing can be done for that as an implant can't be done for at least six months, as well as a couple of other problem.
We left the dentist with an appointment to return at 5 for Jim's clean and polish, and had lunch and a look around the nearby large shopping centre and many markets. Unfortunately the markets are just full of the same knock offs of bags and t shirts which got a bit boring after a while. The shopping centre was also disappointing as we discovered there was little that was cheaper than at home, even those with half price sales. By the end of the day I had found a few bargains. So we made our way back to our accommodation for Jim to have a massage nearby before the stress of a return to the dentist.
The return to the dentist was uneventful except that they found some cavities which they suggested filling. Poor Jim might not have great memories by the time the week is out. We left the dentist and decided to walk on further down where we hadn't been before. After a little while I was quite excited to see a pedestrian crossing. This was where we had our best laugh for the day. We dutifully pressed the button, the lights changed, and not a single vehicle stopped! We eventually ran between vehicles to get across. I had to check then that the lights were actually changing. So we stood on the other side as the next lot of unsuspecting tourists pressed the button, and yes, the light definitely changed to red, and again not one vehicle stopped.
So lots more walking as we made our way back along the other side, and then down the infamous Bangla Road, which was just starting to warm up for the night. On reaching the beach at the end of the road our breath was taken away at the sight before us. It was just on sunset and the colours were amazing, one of the most beautiful I have seen, and in the last twelve months we have seen some beauties.
We continued walking along the beach road, just enjoying the atmosphere around us. We came across a great little area with many food stalls and a central eating area which even had live entertainment. It was lovely food at a great price and we enjoyed the time there, especially the Thai dancers. The tip we gave when they walked around later must have been OK as they offered to have a photo taken if we liked. It was surprisingly late by the time we got back to our room.
playing with fire
Sunday is our 40th wedding anniversary, and of course one of the reasons for coming here. This time we were prepared for breakfast as we had discovered a nice place just on the corner that we hadn't noticed the morning before. After that we took the short walk to the beach for a swim. So many people under umbrellas on the sand, but that didn't interest us. The water was lovely and after a shower it was time to go exploring for lunch. We found a very nice, tiny little cafe at the entrance to a hotel in a side street. Jim is now having a two hour massage at another place in our street while I catch up on this blog, then it's the 1.5 k walk again for his next dental appointment.
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