I haven’t posted in some time; I think my last contribution to the blog was from Koh Phi Phi and so I thought it about time I piped up with thoughts from a Clairabella angle. My quietness has not been due to reluctance or laziness I hope you understand, no, it’s been mainly due to Phil’s enthusiasm to post on his new air AppleMac. The words have been quick and easy for him, and well who am I, to curb his writing; in my opinion while it’s flowing, let it flow. I have to say that this trip has done Phil the world of good and it’s been lovely to see him get some of his old fizz back. Although I am biased of course, I have to say some of his postings have been quite entertaining and his photographs taken on his camera have been fabulous. Well done Phil!
As usual with most of our long trips, not a lot of thought and planning went into Malaysia. What, with one thing and another, there was just no time. We were busy doing up the CF and moving in Harriet, plus we had oodles of stuff to sort out with Sally our Solicitor with our imminent house move and then, there was the impulsive decision to buy and move into a caravan. Normally I would say lack of preparation and almost no research is a bad thing but I am not sure this time round. If I had realised that this time of year was monsoon season in Thailand I would almost definitely have not agreed to revisit in low season but I am so glad we did.
I won’t lie and pretend that 5 days of storms and heavy rain and being hotel bound in Phuket didn’t depress me, because it did, not just a little bit but a lot and I was all set for flying home. Anyway in hindsight I was pleased that I persevered and stayed on because I would have most certainly regretted leaving Phil home alone and the weather did pick up once we reached the Thai islands. I had a good time in Phi Phi and would go as far to say that I enjoyed it much more in the low season than in the high. The boat trip was fabulous and Phi Phi has a vibe whatever the season.
Koh Lanta was good too; somewhat quieter than Koh Phi Phi and of course we had the luxury of Escape Cabins which certainly helped. Lanta is quieter than Phi Phi but it was one of our favourite islands when we visited in 2007. Last time we came in high season and stayed in a hotel by the beach. We did the elephants and the waterfall and a great day trip on a speed boat. At night we would have a cocktail and watch the sunset go down then trip (or is that stumble) down the beach to eat at one of the lady boy restaurants, which I loved but Phil wasn’t so keen, they made him feel nervous. The beauty about low season is that hotels and restaurants are much cheaper, okay you take a chance on the weather but the roads are quieter and I prefer it when it’s less busy.
I can’t say that I have fully made my mind up about Malaysia. KL was busy, noisy, dirty and congested, great to spend time with Tom & Youngja but only one night so maybe I didn’t give it a chance. Maybe next time round, which should be in about a week. I did end up liking it in Langkawi, although not at first but it grew on me.
When we sailed into the port of Penang and got into the taxi in Friday rush hour traffic and saw all the high rise constructions, I turned to Phil and simply asked “why Penang”? He said he fancied Penang because of the curries but that was about all he could offer in way of an explanation. Our hotel, the Copthorne Orchid is okay; tired and weary and a bit rough around the edges, external of the hotel is plain ugly but it gets better once your inside. Best of all though is the rate which is cheap. Our room smells stale and damp, but the bed linen is clean and it’s good to have a western bathroom with a proper bath. Copthorne Orchid has been slated on Trip Advisor but I am no princess, even if I sound like one at times and I do know a good thing when I see it. You just need to look behind the surface, literally. We are paying less for this hotel then what we paid at Senari Bay Resort and when you think of the facilities at Copthorne Orchid, then really, is just doesn’t compare.
Actually we have stayed in some fairly good accommodation since we left home, paying anywhere between £8 and £30 per night. Okay, all bar the Nap Patong, which was an expensive but all together not an unpleasant mistake. Not like some of the dives that we normally end up staying in. Of course, as all my good Facebook friends will know, it hasn’t all been plain sailing since we left the UK, far from it and I have had a couple of fairly public wobbles along the way. The first was in Phuket; just one week into our journey which I think was due to a combination of lousy weather and hearing some disturbing news from home. That situation thankfully blew over quite quickly but not without its consequences and is still not quite forgotten. Only time will tell on that one.
My second wobble came when we got to Langkawi and I'm not sure why it really came about. Maybe the rum (I don’t handle spirits well), also I wasn’t too sure about Senari Bay resort at first, but if I am to rationalise, I think it was just plain old home sickness. For the latter I make no excuse, it still hits me in waves here and then and however much you try and make it go away, you can’t, home is home, especially when you are about to lose yours and become a person of ‘no fixed abode’. Our survey has been done and we have received an email from our agent to say, all being well, contracts are about to be exchanged and we should complete at the end of the month. On hearing this news I have written a timescale project plan to the time-lined to the hour but I am still not sure how I will accomplish everything. Sometimes I wish I could chill and be more like Phil and go with the flow, ‘relax-be-happy’ but alas I cannot; at the end of the day I guess I am a worrier. My trouble is I am not a procrastinator, I am a doer and I find it difficult to sit on a beach or in a bar/hotel room, whatever the weather, idling away the hours when then is so much to be sorted.
The brilliant, mostly free Wi-Fi which we have had on this trip have been a live saver for me; email together with FB and good old Skype have kept my spirits up. I am not sure I can say the same for Phil though; his spirits have been mostly kept afloat with cold beer, rum and gin and tonic! Two months of mostly abstinence whilst undergoing radiotherapy I guess and sod the technology! For me though, it all about staying connected.
And so, in 8 days no 7 we are homeward bound but not that I’m counting. Please don’t think I’m complaining though my friends, because I’m not, just one of those occasional moments of homesickness surfacing again but this time I am letting it ride over me and not making it a big deal. I know I am a lucky girl as Phil tells me every single day! The best thing about this holiday, my feelings aside, is that Phil is thoroughly enjoying himself and at the end of the day, that is all that matters.
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