We got back from Thailand last Thursday after nearly a week in Bangkok and Phuket. We had a really great time visiting old haunts and catching up with old friends. While in Bangkok we stayed with Barbara and Udo who are mates from 2003-6 when we lived there. Since we saw them last year they’ve moved to a new apartment which has a glorious roof garden. There’s not many places in Bangkok where you can sit in the evening and have a barbeque, catch a waft of evening breeze and have a great city view. It was lovely.
It’s the end of the dry season there and it was really hot, probably not the best temperature for a bike ride around Bang Ka Chao . . . but it had to be done. Bang Ka Chao is one of my favourite places, it’s just across the river from the Bankgok Post and the old Thai Shell offices in Klong Toey. Often after work Barbara and I would take our bikes over there and go for a ride or a run. It’s basically a market garden area lying in a meander bend in the river. You need to load the bikes into a long-tail boat to get across and then there is a network of elevated concrete walkways which connects the kampongs and the temples to the few roads. It was interesting to go back and see what had changed, luckily not too much. There were a few more houses and possibly a few more motorbikes but it was sad to see the neglect in the central park area where some of the bridges were falling down. Anyway we had a lovely ride but possibly got a little too much sunshine hence my red then peeling extremities
We also caught up with another good friend called Shannon who recently moved to Bangkok from Jakarta. She’s helping the Aussies build a new embassy down by Lumphini Park. It was great to see her again and to introduce her to Barbara and Udo. They have been living in Bangkok for more than 10 years and are a fountain of local knowledge, particularly if you like biking, running or swimming. There you go, Shannon, looks like you’re going to get fit!!
On the Monday we flew to Phuket on the west coast which is the place where we bought Distant Drummer. Neil spent almost a year there working on the boat, getting her ready for the start of our grand sailing adventure. So we spent a couple of days looking around and seeing what had changed. The main change was the onslaught of Russian tourists! “In the old days” the Russians had restricted themselves to the Pataya area but I guess there must now be a direct flight into Phuket. Shops and hotels signs are all written in Russian and even the menus in some restaurants as well. Luckily Mama’s, one of our favourite restaurants north of Yacht Haven, has no menus let alone Russians, is was as welcoming and friendly as ever.
While in Phuket we met up with Mod, a Thai friend of mine, and her husband Mike. Mod and I used to work together when I was at Thai Shell and we’ve kept in touch ever since. We had a lovely day on the west coast of Phuket, we had lunch in Kamala and then we took a drive down to Kata. We were horrified by the haphazard re-development of Patong since the tsunami, tacky shops and cheap restaurants just across from the beach. A wasted opportunity to build a better planned, less tasteless place!
Suzy and Neil