'Always room for one more' - Thailand wikitravel page

Patong Phuket

Today we leave Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi airport to fly to Phuket.

After approaching three cab drivers and asking if they would use a meter to take us to the airport, finally one driver accepts our request and we jump in.  Luckily we didn't accept the first offer of 500 bhat because the fare is just over 300 bhat including highway tolls.

PHUKET: Well boy oh boy where to start...

You land in the middle of a green jungle & literally walk out of the airport terminal into an onslaught of touts falling over each other shouting "Taxi Taxi where you going I take you cheap price, lucky, lucky good deal for you?" OMG, intense is an understatement.

Flustered & oh so hot we find a nice lady running a taxi stand who speaks English &
directs us to a minivan where the driver appears tired and possibly under the influence of yaba (Thai meth).
Uh oh..
He says nothing as he rounds up a young German couple & an Australian tourist who are confused about what is going on and where we are going.  We sit in the van while the driver jokes around with the other staff members in the terminal, we are on island time now.
15 minutes later the driver jumps in the van and we are finally off to Patong beach...

The drive is the scariest thing we have ever experienced, Bec is drinking rescue remedy by the bottle and we are both close to hyperventilating. Holding hands as the driver is passing on double yellow lines, narrowly avoiding countless scooters & an oncoming truck. Our knuckles are white as we grip the safety handles (no seat-belts, are you kidding?)

A little while later the driver suddenly pulls into a desolate layby with a makeshift travel center.
No explanation.  We wonder what is going on and the Germans are visibly rattled.
"We check hotel now." - driver.  In unison we all shake our heads & say "WTF?" We are all suddendly herded out of the van & Geoff grabs our bags from the boot just in case.
The interrogation turns out to be innocent but at the time I thought we would end up drugged, mugged & possibly organ shopped....
"Would we like to go to 'Fantasea'"? (famous tacky animal exploitation carnival)
"No I went there last year" I lie.  "Where you stay in Patong & how long?" "Um we are meeting friends @ sunset resort for a month ok".  "Can we go now (smile)??"
Relief washes over us as we are allowed back on board and depart this depressing spot in the middle of nowhere.  We bond with the other tourists who were also thinking; oh no, this is it, trouble in thailand!

The roads swell with traffic as we get closer to Patong.
I'll skip how we drove around for ages while we were praying for good fortune, untill the driver actually took
us to our hotel doorstep.  We think he smelled the fear and was playing on it.

Our 4 star hotel is a beautiful sanctuary from the outside world. We are greeted with a welcoming cocktail
which we gleefully accept.  Gone is the pollution and noise from the city - there is nothing but the sound and smell of the ocean, we feel lucky to be here.

The hotel offers a free shuttle into Patong town center.
By shuttle I mean a ute overloaded with about 15 tourists, Geoff is hanging on for dear life at the back.
Geoff prays.
A few days ago we were laughing at construction crews who travelled like this in Bangkok..
The strip is all neon & crazyness, only photos do it justice.  Everywhere you look there are touts, ladyboys & gogo bars etc plus the same same T-shirt stalls, of course.  We get supplies for the night and hurry back in a tuk tuk as it starts to rain, it takes three attempts to find one for a 100 baht.

During the day Patong is much nicer as everyone is asleep & nothing opens untill 11am, although the touts are still hanging around.
Rebecca has her first ever pedicure & the beautician is so sweet & lovely it makes our day.  In fact in general everyone is absolutely charming & it truly is a land of smiles as they say.

In the evening we eat & drink at the hotel restaurant for peanuts, its our first delious meal since we have arrived in Thailand.  Happy hour runs from 1 - 7pm, Singha beer 50 baht. 1 NZD = 23 Bhat, Good Times!

The entrance to our hotel in Patong.

A Ping Pong bar on the strip in Patong.

Breakfast at Sunset beach Resort, Patong.

The pool at Sunset Resort, Patong.

24 days off per year! when can I start?

Hydration

"Ok I think there is a loose earth somewhere..."

Citronella cocktail

Dinner at Sunset Resort Restaurant.