Dogs, Fines, Paris……Nice!

Well a lot has happened over the last 2 weeks so where do we start!

Dogs

As we have mentioned, we have become quite fond of Seamus and Weekly and it was a ghastly shock for Patrick when he witnessed Weekly perform his usual escapade of chasing the 4x4 but this time it didn’t slow down and in fact whacked the poor dog on his rump! After witnessing this, Patrick was out of the villa like a bullet out of a gun, making off in the direction of the dog to check it was ok and being such a wannabe detective he also made a note of the car registration.  Although Weekly was making a lot of noise, with Seamus offering support and growling at anyone who approached his mate, he did seem able to limp, somewhat painfully to his owner’s house.

However, Patrick was incensed that the driver of the 4x4 did not check on the dog and set off to find out where they lived. Needless to say, he managed to find them the next day and confronted  the driver who meekly responded with a “I thought it was ok” anyway the main thing was that a few days later the dogs were back on the street….although their appetite for chasing 4x4’s seems somewhat reduced.

Fines

As we were leaving Phuket, we encountered a slight problem at the immigration counter. In our delight at staying for an extra week and re-arranging our schedules, we had overlooked the fact that our visa was for 30days. So we were informed that we had to pay a fine of THB 8,000 in cash to be able to leave, as we had overstayed our welcome. The excuse of being British did not cut it and it was cash or accommodation of their choice!

Though, we felt like a complete pair of numpties, we were able to relax over a glass of wine courtesy of Malaysia Airlines. Yes – we chose them as they were a) available and b) cheaper than everyone else.

The calm before the storm (or Paris)

It was an excellent set of flights to Kuala Lumpur and then on to Paris. The Paris flight was on a new Airbus 380 (and we were lucky enough to have seats upstairs) we had so much space, a lovely selection of food for dinner/breakfast and free champagne, Patrick was so chuffed I don’t think he slept at all!

Paris

6.30am on a cold Thursday morning, we arrived and made our way to the Hertz desk to pick up our voiture. This wasn’t quite as smooth as we had envisaged, no surprise there! They sent us off in an upgraded car…..or rather a 7 seater bus!

This made for some interesting driving as we exited the airport during rush hour! Unfortunately, the directions we printed were useless and as we missed our turning, we had to rely on Ms.SatNav! Fortunately, she knew where we were and how we should get to Beaune (for our overnight stop).

Beaune was lovely, a very pretty town and we enjoyed dinner in a local wine bar!

The next day we completed our journey to Nice and whilst the bus was great on the motorway, the narrow streets and bollards of Nice were not to its liking and this coupled with the lack of parking spaces saw the re-emergence of Basil Meldrew!! ( Basil Fawlty meets Victor Meldrew) which was not pleasant, so it was a relief to reach Helen’s so she could park the bus in her very tiny garage.

Nice

It was lovely to see Helen and the boys and our first day was spent walking around Nice under clear blue skies and 21c which felt very pleasant.

However, the next day, we were treated to thunderstorms and lightning and plenty of rain! Still it made for a good day as we were able to stay with Helen and have a Raclette – which was a great way to sample typical French cuisine!

Patrick’s birthday was on the Monday and Helen, Thomas and Arthur had arranged a cake with a nice big 46 on, but Thomas gleefully changed this around to 64 which he thought more apt!

After some deliberation, Patrick and Helen realized it was the first time they had been together on his birthday for about 24 years, so we decided that was a cue for another bottle to be uncorked!

Unfortunately, the days went very quickly and before we knew it, time to leave, so on the 11^th November – a public holiday in France – our French adventure began for real!

Last week in Phuket

So we are into the last week here in Phuket and apart from dodging the showers, it has been a relaxing time, either cycling to the beach, looking ‘sophisticated’ on our moped or checking out the areas we had not yet discovered.

Last week, we booked a speed boat trip which took us out to four small islands and lovely unspoilt bays, including the James Bond Island – Phang-nga. The day was overcast which was a shame for the photos but good for the skin…..I think it would have been roasting if the sun had been out, although Patrick still ended up with a red face!

The trip included canoeing through the caves and having lunch at the “Floating Village”. It was very interesting with stunning scenery. However, it was an organised tour and we both decided that we really prefer discovering places under our own steam, though luckily the people we met and shared the experience with were mainly really nice and as always it’s interesting to hear other people’s experiences and stories as to why they are there. We were the only English, which we are quite used to here, most of those that speak the same language are Australians on holiday with, it seems, Russians and Chinese being predominantly here to purchase a property!

For those not familiar with the history of the James Bond island. It appeared in the 1974 film – The Man with the Golden Gun – for about 3minutes in a scene with Roger Moore and Scaramanga. However the actual beach is about 30feet long and now filled with tourist souvenirs (to be polite). Still they have made a living out of it for nearly 40 years so fair play!

One of the other challenges when on a tour with many people is contending with other tourists who want to be the centre of attention and in everyone else’s photo’s. Still with the art of the English language and Patrick’s ability to utilize his very own form of sign language, i.e. a not so subtle arm movement and Paddington stare achieves the result of being able to converse in their language. Effectively, “you’ve had your time now bugger off” and let others take their photos in front of that famous rock.

The speed boat ride was really exhilarating, although in amongst this natural beauty you still can’t escape the rubbish man leaves behind….. on 2 occasions the boat had to stop after the engine started to emit a bleeping sound, due to plastic bags being caught in the propeller!

Vouchers

When we came to Phuket in July, we were approached by the Laguna Holiday team to listen to their presentation for 90 minutes, with a view to receiving some free vouchers, which we knew was obviously Time Share re packaged, so we declined at the time. However now we had been back for a month, we thought we might as well check it out……oh my word!....

The presentation was effectively a time share scheme, no surprises there, but on the face of it seemed a pretty good deal, until you get into the nitty gritty…which really uncovers the fact that  not much has changed over the last 30 years, the sales team are still very economical with the detail, until you probe and then discover it’s not such a good deal really.

Needless to say, we didn't part with anything other than 3 hours of our time!

It was hard for Nina not to tell them she was once sitting in their seat ……but hey there is no such thing as a free lunch and Patrick didn't want to miss out on the vouchers!

Still at least we know how the club works now and more importantly know it’s not for us even though this is a really nice part of Thailand we would rather be free to choose where and when we spend our money.

Sun bed saga and salvation……

When the weather has been good, we have been to the beach and after the Dusit Thani experience decided to try another hotel for a couple of days, which was good, the sun-loungers were provided and some local ladies came by with drinks etc – so all was well. Until the other day, when another jobsworth decided that our towels were the wrong colour and not from the Angsana Hotel – so although he did let us stay for the rest of the day, we had to find another place. Luckily salvation was literally next door at the Xana Beach Club which had recently been re furbished and included a background of funky club music so Patrick was in his element (although Boney M didn't feature)!! As they were very welcoming, albeit the drinks were more expensive, we decided to return Friday evening for a cocktail and Seafood Buffet.

Both were superb….the buffet was excellent and the Green Curry with crab fried rice was the highlight, although the fish wrapped in banana leaf came a close second, along with the salmon, just a shame we couldn't fit a desert in!

There was also a fire eating display on the beach in front of us which was pretty amazing – the photos below are not very clear but you can get an idea. It was so close you could smell the fuel and feel the heat. The atmosphere was very relaxed and there were a few children who were mesmerised by the fire display, especially one little Asian lad who didn't quite understand that he needed to move back, not sure where the parents were but as the flames were getting closer and closer Patrick had to step in and move him back, but the look of confusion on his face was quite a picture.  Luckily no irate parents appeared to say anything!

In order to get to the club, we did take our Scoopy which was fine for Patrick in his shorts but a little problematic for Nina in a dress! This was resolved by going “side-saddle”. See what a month does? There is no way we could have done this on the first day of riding Scoopy but on the quiet roads it was possible to salvage ones dignity and look elegant…..well as much as you can on a 125cc moped!!

We are going to make the very most of the next few days, before preparing for France. We've already had to make changes as our flight home was cancelled less than 48 hours after booking it, so we will now be going home via ferry! Another mode of transport ticked from the list!

Au revoir, mon amis.

p.s.Also meant to mention who you have to share the beach with in Phuket.....here he was coming back from his swim - but it was funny beforehand as he ran to the water with his mahout pulling his tail trying to stop him....obviously the mahout failed and it was too quick to get a picture.

p.p.s Look who also decided to make themselves at home on our patio - Seamus and Weekly....