Phuket or bust

Today we were up and at it early as our car to the airport is picking us up at 7:30 am.  Travel days suck generally but we are off to Fuck-It (Phuket) for a week at the beach so whatever it takes.  Grabbed a quick bite of breakfast and paid our bill.  You take a second look when your hotel bill is millions but in the end not that bad for the week we were here and the tours to Sapa and Halong Bay. Loved this hotel and the very attentive staff.  Worth a look if you're heading to Hanoi.  

Our driver arrived at the scheduled time and we proceeded to fill pretty much every nook and cranny of the car with luggage.  Mainly my fault.  Lol.  What will I do when Ken and the extra room in his suitcases are not coming on the same plane with me?   Our driver was in no hurry to get to the airport but we had loads of time so no worries there.  The check in process was painless and there was no extra charge for the box from the aborted posting of cheap tat yesterday so I'm $150 ahead of the game.   Sadly, no place to change our VND so we will remain millionaires for the foreseeable future.  

We had tried to upgrade but it was too expensive.  Nice surprise that even coach on Thai Airways is a treat.  Friendly, efficient service on a big airy plane.  They even fed the great unwashed a box-lunch containing a shrimp salad and a coconut pie-like dessert.  We were connecting through Bangkok which was a bit confusing but we managed to make it through immigration and find our connecting gate.  Another airy plane for the short one-hour flight and another box lunch; this time with little sandwiches and a weird red, pasty dessert.  On both flights managed to provide food and drink to the back of the plane (300+ people) in twenty minutes.  Very impressive.  

We arrived on time and so did our luggage.  The customs guy wanted me to open the box of souvenirs; not sure what he thought I had in there but he was disappointed.  Next off to find transport for the two of us and our excessive baggage to our home for the week, Kata Villa.  We found a service and hires a SUV to get us to the hotel.   The drive was very long as the roadwork added considerably to the time required to reach our destination which is quite far anyway.  The drive was relatively calm as the horn was used only intermittently.  

We are staying in Kata Beach.  The hotel is small (20 rooms) and modest/basic but there is a pool and it's just across the road from the beach.  The price is right ($60/night including breakfast) and since I intend to spend most of the time at the beach it's okay.  We drop our bags and change into beachwear and we head to the bar across the street to have a beer since we are both parched. 
Big bottle of Singha for me an even bigger bottle of Heineken for Ken.   We arrived just as the sun was setting.  Wow.   

After the first round we ordered some dinner.  Ken ordered his old standby chicken with sweet and sour sauce but didn't like it much.  I ordered the Pad Thai with prawns (aka shrimp) which was quite tasty.  Both meals were washed down with our second round of drinks.  

Shrimp Pad Thai

After dinner, we went up the road to get some water.  One of the biggest inconveniences on the trip is not being able to use tap water to brush your teeth.  It's easy to forget especially when you are cleaning the toothpaste off your brush.   Fully stocked, we head back to the hotel for a last drink and then unpack so we can hit the beach early tomorrow.  Can't wait.