Yippee... finally I’m on holiday! A long-awaited holiday! Currently I’m in Phuket, however I arrived in Bangkok yesterday morning (Tuesday 27/10) but I flew again today to get to the southerly island of Phuket.
The first leg of my flight was not that great as The Qatar Airways aircraft was not one of the newest in their fleet. The In Flight Entertainment (IFE) was slightly defective and my window seat had a fairly big metal box (something to do with the IFE, so I’m told) placed right underneath the seat ahead of mine, which meant that I could not stretch my left leg at all. This worked wonders for my already dodgy left leg...
The in-transit area of Doha airport is nothing to write home about but luckily the 3-hour stopover went relatively quickly as I had a good book with me (Starting Over by Tony Parsons).
The second leg of my flight went even quicker as I took full advantage of Qatar Airways’ superb catering and gurgled two (small) bottles of wine with my dinner. In other words, I had barely managed to finish my food that I was already in the Land Of Nod.
No matter how many times you have been to Bangkok as a visitor, probably you will never get used to the hustle and bustle of this city. The traffic is atrocious at almost every hour of the day and night with all those cars, motorbikes and tuk-tuks competing against each other for the next square inch of asphalt with scant regard for the road rules. Yeah, I know, a bit rich coming from an Italian...
In the afternoon, after visiting my favourite tailor and buying far more shirts than I really need (histiry has a penchant for repeating itself...), I opted for a good massage to see if they could alleviate the pain in my left leg. Knowing only too well what sort of comments my mention of a ‘good massage in Bangkok’ can raise, I’d like to stress that ‘good’ means a massage not of the dodgy variety! In this city it’s much easier to get a massage with a few extras added on (wink wink.... and the letter I can be replaced by an A) than a traditional massage for the infirm and the needy like yours truly.
I’m pleased to report that – in time-honoured fashion whenever I’m in this part of the world – the seafood and the coconut industries got a bit of a boost last night. Had an early night as I was rather tired due to the flight, plus this morning I had an atrociously early Air Asia flight to Phuket.
Got to Phuket about 9am and I was (once again) quite surprised by the pace of change that this island is experiencing. Every time I get here there are new buildings being erected, new roads being built.... maybe a bit too many? I wonder if Phuket one day is going to experience a Spanish-style economic bubble.
Patong (the main town in the island) is busier than I thought. Reading some reports on the Net, I would have thought that I was coming to a ghost town but this is far from the truth. Sure, there are ‘Vacancies’ sign almost everywhere but seeing how busy some of the streets are you wouldn’t think that we are in low-season (and in the midst of a recession!).
Back to my Guest House now as the heavens have opened big style. So today in Phuket we have seen clouds, heavy clouds, sunshine, hot sunshine, rain and heavy rain - all in the space of few hours. It’s just like being in London, innit.
The first leg of my flight was not that great as The Qatar Airways aircraft was not one of the newest in their fleet. The In Flight Entertainment (IFE) was slightly defective and my window seat had a fairly big metal box (something to do with the IFE, so I’m told) placed right underneath the seat ahead of mine, which meant that I could not stretch my left leg at all. This worked wonders for my already dodgy left leg...
The in-transit area of Doha airport is nothing to write home about but luckily the 3-hour stopover went relatively quickly as I had a good book with me (Starting Over by Tony Parsons).
The second leg of my flight went even quicker as I took full advantage of Qatar Airways’ superb catering and gurgled two (small) bottles of wine with my dinner. In other words, I had barely managed to finish my food that I was already in the Land Of Nod.
No matter how many times you have been to Bangkok as a visitor, probably you will never get used to the hustle and bustle of this city. The traffic is atrocious at almost every hour of the day and night with all those cars, motorbikes and tuk-tuks competing against each other for the next square inch of asphalt with scant regard for the road rules. Yeah, I know, a bit rich coming from an Italian...
In the afternoon, after visiting my favourite tailor and buying far more shirts than I really need (histiry has a penchant for repeating itself...), I opted for a good massage to see if they could alleviate the pain in my left leg. Knowing only too well what sort of comments my mention of a ‘good massage in Bangkok’ can raise, I’d like to stress that ‘good’ means a massage not of the dodgy variety! In this city it’s much easier to get a massage with a few extras added on (wink wink.... and the letter I can be replaced by an A) than a traditional massage for the infirm and the needy like yours truly.
I’m pleased to report that – in time-honoured fashion whenever I’m in this part of the world – the seafood and the coconut industries got a bit of a boost last night. Had an early night as I was rather tired due to the flight, plus this morning I had an atrociously early Air Asia flight to Phuket.
Got to Phuket about 9am and I was (once again) quite surprised by the pace of change that this island is experiencing. Every time I get here there are new buildings being erected, new roads being built.... maybe a bit too many? I wonder if Phuket one day is going to experience a Spanish-style economic bubble.
Patong (the main town in the island) is busier than I thought. Reading some reports on the Net, I would have thought that I was coming to a ghost town but this is far from the truth. Sure, there are ‘Vacancies’ sign almost everywhere but seeing how busy some of the streets are you wouldn’t think that we are in low-season (and in the midst of a recession!).
Back to my Guest House now as the heavens have opened big style. So today in Phuket we have seen clouds, heavy clouds, sunshine, hot sunshine, rain and heavy rain - all in the space of few hours. It’s just like being in London, innit.
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Thoroughly enjoyed reading your latest blog! You didn't actually say whether the dodgy massage worked for your leg!!! Hope it did something for you anyhow!! (He he! only joking!) Your English is fantastic! Looking forward to the pics preferably the less clothes the better! :o) Hx
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