Karon, Phuket

29/03 had to set the alarm so didn't sleep in again for our flight to Phuket, everything went smoothly apart from an unexpected second security check just before the gate?! Panic sations. Short flight to Phuket. Pete and E sat next to Spanish guy who is travelling NZ and Asia. E is so good at talking to adults. So mature and forward. Karen and Gav surprised us at hotel in Karon! Sooooo good to see them. Very thoughtful with gifts of cheese, gin, tea, marmite, etc. Apartment with two bedrooms is amazing for £14 a night and even closer to the beach than Goa! More expensive than Goa in bars near here but street food

right on our doorstep which is cheaper than Goa and very good quality. BUT Phuket itself is very tacky and has a sleezy feel to it, Karon is supposed to be one of the less sleezy places too. We’re missing the unique Goa vibe and the friendly Indians! The beach looks nice, but there’s no shacks on the beach like in Goa.

30/03 Brunch buffet mid morning then hit beach afternoon. Pete walked to town centre and back getting provisions. Bought snorkels, quite hard to use. Street food again, dinner for £6!! Pete had drinks with Nik (owner) and Patrick (manager). Said he is losing money. Political scientist quit his job in Sweden at 41 to run this place. The girls loving the apartment. Hours of just playing and doing their dance

routines, over and over again.

WEEK 27

31/03 KG very hungover so went to Eat for a burger, deliciousiaso (as Clo would say). The sea looked so inviting, clear and calm but we were all getting nipped. Turns out there’s something called sea lice in there - not enjoyable and such a shame. Sandwiches for tea.

APRIL 16

01/04 bus to Phuket then cab to Visa place. Easier process than Goa, took a few hours to get extra 30days. There was a huge big Mama from US, who told Chloe off, poor Clo in tears I was

about to kick off but glad I didn’t as she ended up being really helpful and entertaining. Fabulous Thai food nearby, very cheap. Went to Saphan Hin park where there are life size diggers for kids to play on. Other than that it was pretty rubbish and we were super hot. No taxis or tuk tuks around. Walked miles. Dinner at Sofia, was ok. Had red curry, girls loved theirs, all there was a Disney on tv, so we got another beer.

02/04 Got bus to Chalong to go and see K&G went down different road, nightmare trying to get cheap tuk tuk ended up walking most of the way, girls were real troopers, sun was beating down on us. It was lovely jumping in the pool. Girls loved it. Gav is so good with them. They were well chuffed as he took them for a spin on his scooter. KG came over to ours

for dinner at Two Chefs in Karon. Girls were so good. There was a band on, E&C wrote them a note to say how much they liked the music. Ended up having a very late night!!

03/04 We were all a bit jaded. Very lazy day, pad Thai x2 please! Shells practically read a whole book. Inheritance by Nicholas Shakespeare – brilliant!!

04/04 Afternoon at the beach. The girls met an Indian family from the UK, lovely to see them playing, they’ve missed having little buddies. There’s lots of Russian kids but they just don’t want to socialise. Very different to the European/ Indian culture. Dinner at our hotel. Girls obsessed with Nick the Thai singer – but is he 16 or 60 Elodie?

05/04 Walked about 2 miles to kata beach and the children's playground. Gawd it was sooo hot (again), must be 40+. Park, very upmarket, far superior than anything we’ve seen in India so the walk was totally worth it. Girls played with two Thai girls, sweet. Went to a cheap restaurant for lunch. Food fine. Whilst sat there Shells noticed loads of eggs in Ellie’s hair, arghhhh, the kid has head lice, sugar puffs. Did a little video for Jess’s birthday. Bus back and then cheap dinner at cafe

across road for noodle soup.

05/04 Walked about 2 miles to kata beach and the children's playground. Gawd it was sooo hot (again), must be 40+. Park, very upmarket, far superior than anything we’ve seen in India so the walk was totally worth it. Girls played with two Thai girls, sweet. Went to a cheap restaurant for lunch. Food fine. Whilst sat there Shells noticed loads of eggs in Ellie’s hair, arghhhh, the kid has head lice, sugar puffs. Did a little video for Jess’s birthday. Bus back and then cheap dinner at cafe across road for noodle soup. Supposed to see K&G but they cancelled.

06/04 Got a tuk tuk to patong to go to the kids club soft play in

promenade mall. Excellent soft play. Dinner at another cafe opposite hotel. Amazing green curry, the best we’ve had and so cheap. Big open kitchen,girls loved watching. Shells fell asleep with girls in there bed. Woke up to a Cockroach landing on her, horrible experience. Pete manage to kill it.

WEEK 28

07/04 Another lazy day, too hot to venture out on the beach, too hot to do anything much really. Shells spent about 3 hours going through Elodie’s hair. Must have picked out a hundred eggs. Nik had the room checked out for any more cockroaches. Shells still couldn’t sleep thinking about it – ugh! Pete went for a walk with Clo and S went with E to break day up. Back to the cafe for amazing green curry again. Girls are loving noodle soup and egg and rice. Elodie loves the pork.

08/04 Met karen and Gavin for a drink then went to the beach. Met a Swedish DJ who plays in Patong clubs. Quite funny, we

got his life story in about 20minutes. We're waiting for K & G for ages only to discover they were waiting for us down at the beach. Went to a bar for a beer, it wasn't nice at all. How I long for Goa and the places we love, the shacks on the beach Baba au Rhum, even Fisherman's Cove or Mango Grove, anywhere in Goa has more character than all the places here put together. While were have a drink an ugly, fat, bald man came and rang the bell, we assumed he was buying us all a drink but it was just the Thai girls. He's clearly the type of guy that has to buy it. Left a bad taste in my mouth, I was glad to go. Street food again for dins. Yum!

09/04 Lunch At the cafe again. Met the same Polish family for third time there! Bus to Karon temple had a look around the

market. Supposed to be party night but K and G cancelled, girls gutted! Had dinner at guesthouse and chatted to Nik. He gave us£40 vouchers because of our troubles with fridge and cockroach. Very generous.

10/04 Met K & G for lunch at our fave cafe Pa Wan (Auntie Wan & Pia). Then off to Friends House to use their pool. Skyped Mum, Dad, Jase, Jules and Oscar. Lovely to see them all. Dinner at guesthouse. Early night.

11/04 Great last day but boy was it hot. Dino Park Mini Golf in Kata on the morning, really good fun but sweat literally dripping off us. In the afternoon we sneaked into the Orchid Resort where they have massive water slides – girls very happy. Final dinner at guesthouse. It’s been a great place to stay and Nick’s (the owner) been brilliant and Nick (the singer). I'll never forget the girls sat watching him intently at the front - how they didn't put him off I don't know. We've had lots of fun, however, I doubt we’ll ever come back to Phuket. It feels way over commercialised and touristy. We’re hoping we’re wowed a bit more by our next destination – Koh Lanta here we come.