Oh, Phuket.

 Despite the rain, which had been promised all week, and was now lashing down on the plane, the islands below looked enticing and I felt excited when I got to Phuket for the last bit of my journey. This was always going to be the most alone bit of the journey as I would not have any formal trips or support in theory and I would be with families and couples lying on the beach or swimming together, but knowing it was going to be like that meant it was okay. Indeed I was looking forward to lying on the beach and just dipping into the beautiful sea.  However, all week the internet was warning that the weather was going to be terrible and the continuous rain en route to the hotel confirmed that the storms had arrived.    It took so long to get from the airport to my hotel it was too dark to venture forth to see the sea, and I had really hit tourist Thailand, so I ate at the my hotel restaurant and just had soup.  But what was odd was that the restaurant was not in the hotel it was out front in the car park area and much of the restaurant was taken over by a fun corporate event with karaoke and games.  It made for an entertaining end to the day.  

 My hotel was very much in the mode of other tourist destinations much bigger and more impersonal than some of the places visited elsewhere and they immediately asked for my debit card and warned how everything and anything misplaced, or destroyed would be charged for. They have clearly had some charming visitors but my big room had a balcony and little gate opening onto a path straight for the pool so was passable.  I woke early on the Saturday morning and decided as the sun was out to head for the beach and was rewarded with stunning cloud formations rising above the sea.  I probably should have gone for a swim then, as it was both quiet and calm out to sea, but my happy reveries were interrupted by the first shower of the day and whilst some surfers stayed out all day virtually  no one was out swimming in the dangerous waters for the rest of the day as holiday makers dodged swirling showers, or made the most of the warmth when the sun appeared.   After a swim in the pool I walked to the next beach but could not find anywhere for coffee so walked back again and found a lovely place, very modern and instead of ordering coffee found myself tucking into avocado on toast with feta and pomegranate seeds whilst watching the American Indian family next door have an intense conversation about something.    Perhaps they thought I could hear as they asked if I was enjoying watching!  I explained I loved their animatedness, but perhaps should have reassured them that I could not follow what they were saying.   Sometimes hearing in restaurants is very impossible.    It was all very north London reallly rather than Phuket where the majority of the restaurants had huge menus in Russian and Thai and English which did not really appeal.  Luckily I enjoyed having Thai food for breakfast so I was still eating local style food. 

Phuket in the rain. 

It was raining again on the Sunday but luckily I had a fall back position so took the bus into Phuket Town.  It rained almost continuously whilst there but that made a good excuse to pop in for very good coffee in two places and to enjoy the little shops in the colonial style buildings the town is famous for.   I contemplated running down to the beach for a final attempt at a dip in the sea once back by the sea, but the rain fell even harder than ever to put me off.  I had a rather desolate final meal and finished my book at a local cafe.   Before going to bed early in readiness for my early flight.  However, at about 3 a piercing noise shook me immediately awake. Could it be a tsumami warning. My head said it does not sound like it should be but what else could it be, so I ran around the hotel trying to see if anyone else was up or panicking I went to the top of the building and interestingly the sound was much weaker but I could hear loads of frog sounds emanating from the next door hotel. Back in my room the sound was almost deafening, so I looked up deafening sounds at night in Thailand and the Tsumami warning sound and could not really find anything that matched the sound that was still going on,b ut in the end I had to conclude it was probably the frogs delighted that the rains had stopped and because I was in the base of the building, their noises were echoing around most alarmingly.  I fell back to sleep for about another hour and then flew home!.