I’ve been a bit of a lazy ‘blogger’ of late … so here I am with a catch up of the last 7 days in Phuket.  As I write the heavens have opened​ and so we’ve vacated the sunbeds temporarily (life IS tough in Thailand)!!  The rainy season is supposed to have ended but we’ve had 3 or 4 heavy downpours this week, followed by increased humidity.  Still, at least it gives us Brits something to talk about!!  To be honest sometimes it’s a welcome relief … my fear however is snakes (what’s new?)  apparently heavy rain can bring snakes down from the mountainous rainforests that surround us – I’m trying so hard to be a brave girl. 

I ended the last blog saying that we were heading to Phuket Town for the evening market.  What a fascinating place, as beautiful as we had read it would be … and a great market too.  Linda and I had a real spending spree while Steve and Eddie, at first, faithfully followed and then decided a local bar was a better waiting alternative.  

After returning with our purchases, we joined Pete and Sue at the Beach Bar for a delicious meal and endless dancing on the sand and in the sea – Sunday night is live music night and so we partied.  Met many lovely people including a Canadian lady who was celebrating her last night of travels – like us she had recently retired and had been travelling for 10 months.  The drinking, singing and dancing continued back at the hotel and the fun and laughter continued into the swimming poool.  Absolutely fabulous night, so much fun  ….. sore heads in the morning!!!!​

Each day has been so relaxing and we love the remoteness of our resort.  The girls are happy to drive us anywhere if we want to go the beach or to a restaurant.  Steve and I have acclimatised well though and love to wander around the village – such a mixture of old and new – have learnt the local greetings and feel we are blending  well into this humble and friendly community.  

Steve braved a cut and shave at the local barbers yesterday.   He got to wear a stunning apron and have ‘An Chan’ rubbed into his bald patch – the barber explained to me that in 3 days time his hair will grow!

On Tuesday night we had a last night party for our friends – Pete, Sue, Linda and Eddie and it was a sad farewell as they left Wednesday lunchtime.  We had the best time – boy do they party!!  The rest of Wednesday was spent in ‘’recovery.’  Miss you guys so much. ❤️

On Thursday afternoon we headed out, with Mr. Lec, to Patong – beautiful drive up into the mountains, beeping the Buddha as we passed by, and down into Patong – quite a shock as you turn the corner and see this sprawling city – such a contrast to our tiny village in Cape Panwa.  Weather not so great today but we had a good hour on the beach (extremely crowded beach) and enjoyed the warm waves.

The rain unfortunately persisted – we hit the markets and shops for a while but then took solace in some good ol’ Western culture – the Hard Rock Cafe.  Loved the live music – a Phillipino band and an Indonesian band, as well as Happy Hour and burgers (you have to treat yourself sometimes)!  Our spirits revived, we hit the Bangla Road – quite something – we marched our way through this party land, dodging the many invites into ‘Ping Pong’ shows – then had a romantic stroll back along the beach, meeting up with Mr Lec for our return journey.  

And so our relaxing retirement continues … meeting wonderful people, experiencing this most tranquil of cultures, sampling local delicacies and fully appreciating the simplicity and beauty of our local beaches.

And … it’s only 4 more sleeps till Alice and Marc will join us in this, our little pocket of Paradise …. how excited are we ❤️