Rain Rain Go Away

With his newly acquired state of the arc technology, Phil has been more than eager to update the blog, which is just as well really, because I’ve been severely jet lagged since we started out.  I always suffer with jet lag and normally take Melatonin 5mg which really helps, I ordered from Victoria Health last minute but they didn’t show up in the post before we left.  I think the jet lag has been worse for me on this trip because I was seriously stressed and knackered before leaving home.  Both flights with Sri Lankan airways were really good and made me realise what crap customer service we get with the likes of Ryanair & Monarch. 

With the aid of free red wine I did manage to get a fair bit of sleep, far more than Phil but on arrival at our hotel in Kuala Lumpar I still felt like shit, really light headed and not able to concentrate or focus.  I was worried that I wouldn’t be very good company for Tom and Youngja but a few beers sunk and we had a great night.  Tom had put considerable thought into making Phil’s birthday one to remember and he succeeded.  Both Shirley & Jim should be very proud of their son, he’s a great guy and we are very much looking forward to catching up with both him and Youngja in a couple of weeks.

I felt a little better on Thursday morning but the tiredness kicked in again late afternoon at the airport.  As Phil said, our AirAsia flight into Phuket was a little scary but all was well in the end, and the bonus was, that the hotel I’d booked, with little research, was great.  Phil was pleased with me but that didn’t last long but more about that later.  We slept like babies, enjoyed a lovely breakfast outside and then the rain started.  Great big lashes of the wet stuff and by lunchtime we thought our ground floor room may be in danger of flooding.  Tummies rumbling, we decided to brave the weather and armed with raincoats and an umbrella we went in search of a restaurant.  Within seconds of closing our door, way before we exited the hotel grounds, we were soaked.  And by the way Harriet, you were right, the raincoat that you so kindly lent me isn’t waterproof!

We found a local restaurant shack called Octopus, very basic but the food was authentic and very tasty, just a shame about the rain which was seeping into the restaurant in places.  Phil said that we were just unlucky but I did some reading before we came out and discovered that actually we are now officially in ‘monsoon’ season.   If I’d had time to do some research prior to flying, I wouldn’t have agreed to come to Thailand.  Having visited before, I know that the Thai are islands are great with sunshine but when you’ve got rain and lots of it, there is nothing much to do but stay in your room and sit it out.

It wasn’t so bad yesterday, after lunch we went back to our room and stayed there for the remainder of the day and night which gave us a chance to get the laundry sorted and just chill out.  The forecast is rain and storms for the next 10 days and I can see that we will probably head back to Malaysia much sooner than planned.  Our original plan was to hire a bike and then make our way down the coast heading for a boat to take us to Phi Phi and Koh Lanta.  But this is not practical for a number of reasons.  One, because it is not ideal riding a bike with a non-waterproof fat backpack a bike and also we’d need to return the bike to where we booked it from.  And secondly, with the flooding, the roads are barely drivable in a 4-by-4 let alone on a scooter.

So change of plan. Today we are getting a taxi and heading for Patong.  This is where most of the tourists head for and I am not expecting to like it much but we figure that whilst we are in Phuket we have to take a look for ourselves and see what the attraction is.  I went on line and using the same website that I used to book the Nai Yang Beach Resort which we got at a bargain rate.  The hotel I booked looked fabulous and had great reviews and really should have sounded alarm bells in my dizzy head.  I thought I had got it at another bargain price until I picked up the confirmation email and saw the price.  I had got my Baht conversion seriously wrong and nearly had a heart attack when I saw the price, even more so when I saw that the booking was non-refundable! And no my friends, I hadn’t had any red wine, not a touch had touched my lips! Of course, I admitted straight away to Phil my mistake and he really was naturally very unhappy with me.  Understandable really, but to be fair, he didn’t shout or get really angry. I won’t divulge the cost of the room because it will upset Phil even more.  I am just so cross with myself for my blonde stupidity and for not double checking. I suppose the only consolation is that if it rains in Patong, like it rained here yesterday, then at least we will be holed up in luxury.  I suppose it will be cock-roach infested back-packer rooms for me from now on until we return.  It’s no more than I deserve for my feckless, foolish f**k-up. I am not going to be beat myself up any more than I have done already though, that’s just life I guess, some you win and some you seriously lose, bit like gambling.