Anyway, here in Phuket life is tropical and green. It's a shame I will not be going diving though :( I guess that means I need to come back. Some of the best diving in the world is here. I did however miss the giant snowstorm that would have trapped me in New York, and I missed a large earthquake in the Andaman Sea with is right outside my bedroom window here. And some unfortunate place in Canada hit -49. I won't mention then that this is my upper limit for heat here, the humidity makes a gentle walk create a raincloud around you. Sweat, heat, but oh God, those mangoes!
View from hotel cafe.
My hut in the foliage with partial sea view.
My hotel is a little wacky, to say the least, perched on a hill side, with no beach, the staff I am sure have been swallowing my tranqs as they seem so damn mellow, I should yell FIRE! And see what happens. I didn't mind so much when I was going diving having no beach but as things turned out it would have been nice, my original plan was to stay at a cheap shack on Kata Noi beach, maybe next time. Nice views of Karon beach and Le Meridien hotel from here, which you all will have seen time and time again from the tsunami videos from years back. There is good snorkelling off the rocks at the bottom of the property apparently.
I went in the afternoon on a long taxi ride into Phuket Town, where Ken and Katy are, don't they look happy and healthy ? Ken says he would love to go back to help shovel snow, and Katy is sick and tired of the sea and cheap food... I agreed they looked totally worse for their experience here, but was too kind to mention how ill they look with all the sun and heat...
They are off to Kuala Lumpur soon, I tried to talk hem into stopping off in Tokyo too, since they pass through on the way home. If you are going to be there K&K, I am at the Best Western Astina in Shinjuku March 2-5. Shinjuku is handy for the NEX train to Narita airport, so 2 mins in cab from station to hotel.
Phuket Town is an odd place, a person dressed in a panda costume, and must have been dying in the heat, was asking me to enter what I thought was a restaurant, as I raised my line of sight I see it's a massage place. So a panda suit?
Anyway, I spent and hour looking for the perfect backpack and for 900 baht found one that I hope will do for a while, I chewed them down from 1400, but I have to say, unlike other places in this region, including Thailand, they really are not bothered about haggling here. It was Chinese New Year too, so on the taxi ride home fireworks were shooting all over the beaches as we came back up the hill.
Anyway, I came back to the hotel, pretty tired as it turned out, I got a phone call from Mana in Bangkok, which was kind of him, and then it was time for bed.
Tomorrow, I am not sure what we will do.... I have to book a trip to see somethng somewhere since I cannot dive. OK, good night!
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