It's sadness...

Kia ora all,

After a bit of a break - funny - ok after nearly 6 weeks away I'm getting really ready to come home.

I miss my little nephews in England like crazy - I've got some of the coolest photos of them and every time I look at them I think, wow - I really want to pop around for a cuppa and a play in the park...

So, a very quick snapshot of what's what.

Well, I'm in Bangkok.

Flew from London to Helsinki - BA. Stopped in Helsinki. Finland looks lovely - the thing that struck me the most was the trees - there are so many and everywhere - huge pine trees that you see in postcards!

So stopped at the airport for a bit - not that anything happened - you know, sitting in an airport, hanging around, la la la la. Then on to the Finnair flight to Bangkok.

I'm telling you - business class rocks - and it's the leg room! I fairly managed to sleep for nearly 6 hours - maybe tired and maybe just cause I could stretch out!

But it was nice, chatted with the wonderful Emma from Australia who was on the same flight (she flew from Italy, to Paris to Helsinki to Bangkok - go figure!) and then arrived in Bangkok!

:)

Went to the baggage claim. One bag came through. Hmm... Odd that the other one didn't. Still didn't come through. Why would one make it and not the other? Why would the one with the nappies (yes, I'm bringing a bag of nappies back - go figure) make it but the one with clothes wouldn't? Yes. There's the nice lady from luggage queries. Yes, I've only got one bag and the other isn't here. Yes, here's the tag. Oh, you're looking it up on the computer. Oh, it never left London. I see. So two bags checked in at the same time, one got on the plane to Helsinki and then to Bangkok. The other had a little rest in Bangkok? (I didn't actually say those last two sentences to her!). They were really nice, could tell me where my bag was, gave me a little pack (so I scored a free Finnair teeshirt) and said that it was on a plane from Heathrow and they'd courier it to my hotel - which they did and it arrived about 9pm that night. So all up a very good thing - apart from my not having any shorts or sandles with me - and it's hot here in Thailand!!

Hung at the airport, Peter turned up, on the Thai Airways plane to Phuket (they still feed you on Thai Airways), Phuket airport (which was great for me - no checked luggage - the nappies are in storage at Bangkok) and then a taxi to the hotel. Checked in. A lovely refreshing drink, a cold towel. Then taken to our room, overlooking the sea - just wonderful!

I can so recommend the Amari Coral Beach Resort - it was just stunning. Two amazing pools, wonderful views, great restaurants, fantastic cocktails, a private jetty with a bar on it for drinks to watch the sunset, over the top breakfasts, more pools, food, drinks - it was just magical. And it was about 10 minutes walk from Patong (more on that later) so it's really close but it's really quite.

It was the low season so although there were a lot of tourists around, it wasn't too busy. Having said that, the Amari was operating at 85-95% capacity! It employs 282 staff, of which 29 are gardeners! Go figure!

But, let's see, what did I do in Phuket. Ate thai food, drunk caiprihias (or however they're spelt - and I can't pronounce them!), went on a day boat trip up to Phanaga (something like that) national park where we stopped at James Bond Island (which is really small, and full of little tourist shops selling shells which you can't bring back to NZ without a CITES certificate which, of course, they don't have!), then to two more island where we got in little three person canoes (Peter and I and the guide who paddled) and went into the islands - it was just amazing. The first he took us into this cave that I though was impossible (trust me, lie flat on the boat), the second island he took us into the inside of the island (it was hollow) and the entrance was so narrow I had to twist onto my side as my shoulders were too wide to get through the gap - and I don't have any shoulders!!). It was just amazing!! (oh, and on the way back out the tide had dropped so no probs getting back out). The second island (hollow in the middle) was so quite and peaceful - until some noisy louts arrived - don't know which country they were from but what tossers. It was a mangrove forest on the inside - just stunning.

Then it was lunch on the boat, followed by an hour on a tropical island having a swim and a play in the canoe. Most very very excellent.

The next day sat around the pool - a whole day of doing nothing - just great, and sunburnt.... Yep - I'm kind've red (it's toning down a bit) and waiting for the peeling to start - at least it's not as sore as it was!! Even here, when it's cloudy, the sun can be a killer!! Lol!

Umm, another day we hired a car and driver and drove around the bottom part of Phuket, past Karon and Kata Beach (nicer beaches than Patong but I think our resort was the best place to stay easilty), to the look out where I had a photo taken with a sea eagle - what a magnificent bird, the pistol range (fired a .45 - wow! Useless though - 57%!!), saw snakes (obligatory photo with a python), monkeys (obligatory photo with a monkey), then a jewellery shop (of course) and yes, if you ask nicely I'll show you my emerald earing, the cashew nut factory (lots of cashews - and it was interesting to see how labour intensive it is to produce them - and thus why they are so expensive) and finally the butterfly park (with insects - huge spiders which were icky but the butterflys were just awesome!).

All that for a price of 600 baht - which is about $30. The guy (in a brand new aircon car) said that as it's the off season we were his first job in 3 days - whether it's true I don't know but as you walk down Patong Beach all these guys ask if you want a taxi - so that's what we did - just got him from the beach. At 600 baht (which is nothing) we didn't even bother bargaining and actually paid him 1000 baht (we took an hour longer than we originally said) - which was a whole $25NZ each for Peter and I for 5 plus hours of personal tours. Poverty sucks, it's really hard here, I figure that people are only trying to make a buck and far out - $25 dollars for so much is nothing from the wealth of a western nation.

The nightlife/sex industry - I might write another blog entry about that. Let's just say:

1. Yes, I did go to gogo bars. No, they were completely cras and sad. In so many ways.
2. Yes, it's completely exploitive and just gutting that young guys, who have nothing but their bodies, have no other options or ways of eating, than to wear virtually nothing and parade around like cattle hoping to be bought by foreigners.
3. Yes, the "old white men" and the "young thai boys/girls" are everywhere - maybe I didn't notice it as much last time. Or maybe, having gone to some gogo bars, I'm just more aware of how something it is - I'm not sure how to describe it.
4. I'm not sure what the answer is though - but it's actually pretty sick.

Enough on that at the moment.

Went to some bars (ordinary bars), a very very good club in Patong - but it was empty as it's the off season, saw an amazing drag show, ate more, lounged around lots and didn't really buy anything.

Then it was off to Bangkok. And I'm here.

Yep - last night went out with Peter to the gay boy district. The whole sex industry thing is offputting - it's exploitation of disempowered people by wealthy foreigners. I do not accept the argument, which has been given to me, that it's consensual and the only that these young guys or girls can earn a buck. There must be a better way. Full stop.

Maybe, having turned 40, I'm slowly growing up. OMG - I'm 40!! Sorry - little panic attack there!! Ha ha!!

Went to a club - DJ Station - not bad, average music and although I got in in shorts and sandels (go figure) and being in a bouncy club (a nightclug like anywhere else in the world!) in sandels with lots of bopping people - not good!! I need sneakers!

Yes, I've ordered some suits - yes you can buy them very cheaply here (although I paid a bit more and bought some lovely italian material - assuming it's true what he told me), it's possble to get 2 suits (2 trousers each suit) and 5 shirts for about $900 NZ. Like I said, I've paid a bit more, but also am getting another shirt and an argyll jacket (for my kilt - they've got the picture of the jacket so who knows what it will look like when it's made!!).

I'm now mucking about in the hotel room, about to go for a walk, see a bit more of Bangkok (which is a lot hotter and "stuffier" than Phuket - no sea breezes) and maybe do a bit of shopping - it never ends here!.

Be good and be excellent!

Yah!! :)