July 6th, 2018
July 6th, 2018-Blogging from the pool…..
So if I am blogging from the pool, it must mean I have a swimsuit, and if I have a swim suit it must mean I have a backpack and if I have a backpack it must mean that an airline must have eventually got their S&$T together and delivered said backpack to me! Yes, all the above is true. After multiple (4) trips to the front desk yesterday to check on the possible delivery of our bags, I had lost almost all hope! Several renditions of several stories we had been told, ended up with the final dramatic conclusion of the day being that âour bags were currently on a plane flown by âDragonAirâ that was circling the Phuket airport for the last hour being told they couldnât safely land due to weatherâ. AND, âOnce the plane could land, our bags would be delivered to usâ Â Ok…..
Iâve never even heard of this âDragonAirâ. Google tells me it is Cathay Pacificâs budget airline? Great. Another budget airline…..As Iâve now learned, Hong Kong airlines booked us on their budget airline for the Hong Kong to Phuket leg (WHICH apparently IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT COMPANY) and APPARENTLY they canât work together to take care of their customers.
Now the one thing I DO believe is that weather might cause problems with planes landing at the Phuket airport tonight. Mid afternoon, after the second disappointing trip of the day to the front desk to check on our bag delivery, we secured ourselves a driver and a red truck to take us on a three stop mini tour of the area, Big Buddha, the southernmost tip of Phuket and the âviewpointâ for 1,200 baht. So after a quick stop at a close by place for some phadThai and fried rice-we were off. Sunny, hot etc etc, a few fluffy clouds, nothing out of the ordinary. Exceptional view from the Big Buddha upon arrival.
Itâs a little breezy, thatâs about it! Then about 25 minutes after we get there the winds pick up significantly and we see a gigantic dark ominous cloud coming in. We just couldnât get ourselves off the Big Buddha in time as we get slightly sidetracked by a monk and we wanted to stop for a blessing. So by the time we do that it is full on monsoon with massive torrential waves of rain and wind. So we decide to âwait it outâ HA! Hereâs that supper time monsoon we told Anna about, but it gives us a few (30) minutes to explore the covered area in more depth than we might otherwise have. And for the girls to find the buddha for their birth âdayâ and deposit coins for their luck going forward.Â
We took a monsoon selfie đ¤Ł
After waiting until the bulk of the rain at least had passed, we decided to make a run for it through the winds, back to our faithful driver who we knew was waiting for us so we could continue on to our next stop.
To be honest Iâve never seen/felt winds like this in my life. We almost got blown away at both of the next two stops but oddly the rain had stopped completely. Just as it always does.
So the point of all this was to share that I kind of believe the story about the plane having to circle the airport due to weather because it really was windy!!
At breakfast this morning, Troy learned (through news?) that 18 flights had been rerouted away from Phuket last night! So eternally grateful DragonAir flight #savethebags2018 was NOT one of them!Â
Other points to note: we had our first massages yesterday. My goodness Phuket is expensive! 300 baht ($9.50 USD) each for Troy and Annaâs 2 hour Thai massage and my foot massage, and 200 baht for Rachaelâs pedicure. The girls just left for round two of massages today, after hitting the beach and stopping for garlic and pepper chicken.
Anna had also had her first banana pancake. So happy to share that experience. Sheâs a believer now!
We have our ferry tickets to Kho phi phi and will be picked up at hotel at 9am tomorrow for the next phase of our adventure. Hoping to find the Red Chair tonight. Itâs been a few years since we were here and visited our favourite Kata restaurant!  Praying  đ it is still there!!!!
TTFN
