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Had one more full day in Phuket to rest up and let the scuba gear dry. Logged onto the hotel Wi-Fi during breakfast and instant-messaged a few friends/colleagues. Went out for essential shopping: topped up the Thai SIM card with cash (now that it lets me receive data its usefulness increases), bought snacks for office-colleagues and snapped some more fotos of the new Singapore-style mall, JungCeylon.
Oh yeah it flash, it real real flash, bling bling bling.
Despite the tourist-downturn the mall is popular. Fortunately for me the mall has an enormous Carrefour outlet with lots of interesting snackage: Thai-tourist-boxed chocolates (nice pix of the Grand Palace on the box), bags of local peanuts/sesame candy and dried jackfruit which is damn good.
You can tell it's Chinese New Year from this array of yellow/red/gilded plastic stuff and stuff.
JungCeylon = games + food + shopping. They have a bowling alley...
This giant bowling pin is a dead giveaway.
But in case you miss the hint, here's a massive banner advertising the bombardment of hapless pins with heavy spheres.
Gun range (paintball-splat or live-ammo)...bang bang bling bling.
Mega Force Gun Simulator. I like the mall reflections at left.
They have a cineplex. And escalators.
And did I mention it was Chinese New Year?
The Sino Phuket walkway, lined with coffeeshops/restaurants/shops...
The "Cash Cow" banner: a triple-entendre of Chinese astrology, wishful thinking and Western slang.
Stroll on in.
And here's another killer English shop name.
JungCeylon is chockfull of those carts found in Thai malls selling Hello Kitty kitsch or sunglasses or whatever. Seems the Eurozone is getting serious about busting people found with counterfeit goods back home, so if you get popped in Switzerland for a 199 baht Fakeucci trinket, don't come crying to me.
Relax back at the hotel and head out for another Thai massage ("you want strong, medium, or..." "STRONG!" They get it...).
Wander Patong Beach..
Of course they're big on big iced seafood here. Prawns the size of kittens.
Lobsters...may put a dent in your mortgage payments.
The "no insurance" jetskis: don't rent these things. They put just enough gas to let you get out half-a-klick then come out and "rescue" you...an expensive stunt. For you.
One palm tree silhouette shot...shame about the giant concrete seahorse.
A branch of Coyotes "Mexican" food...we have an outlet in Hong Kong, and as it's above a branch of Watsons (a chain owned by HK tycoon Li Kashing), maybe this is the "Hong Kong block"...
I grab more street food: a Muslim woman sells me grilled chicken on a stick, the sort of thing made with pork all over central Thailand, along with a pack of sticky rice: it's even better than the pork-variety. Some noodles and a coconut-dessert-thing, Pack up most of my gear, gotta shower and get up early to get to the airport, a 50-minute drive from here.
Phuket still not my favorite place in Thailand. It takes 3 hours to get to the pier and an hour to the airport, creating a cabal of gypsy-cabs: the van-guy told me they pay 2,000 baht monthly to the gendarmes for the privilege of overcharging Europeans-without-shirts.
That said, it's close to some of Southeast Asia's best winter divesites.
It's not easy to time these trips, but while I'd dive the Black Manta again (in the same spots, oh yes I would), it'd be good to arrive at the airport and go straight to the boat. You can't fly right after diving though: need about a day for the nitrogen-levels in your blood to dissipate. There's always something.
Oh yeah it flash, it real real flash, bling bling bling.
Despite the tourist-downturn the mall is popular. Fortunately for me the mall has an enormous Carrefour outlet with lots of interesting snackage: Thai-tourist-boxed chocolates (nice pix of the Grand Palace on the box), bags of local peanuts/sesame candy and dried jackfruit which is damn good.
You can tell it's Chinese New Year from this array of yellow/red/gilded plastic stuff and stuff.
JungCeylon = games + food + shopping. They have a bowling alley...
This giant bowling pin is a dead giveaway.
But in case you miss the hint, here's a massive banner advertising the bombardment of hapless pins with heavy spheres.
Gun range (paintball-splat or live-ammo)...bang bang bling bling.
Mega Force Gun Simulator. I like the mall reflections at left.
They have a cineplex. And escalators.
And did I mention it was Chinese New Year?
The Sino Phuket walkway, lined with coffeeshops/restaurants/shops...
The "Cash Cow" banner: a triple-entendre of Chinese astrology, wishful thinking and Western slang.
Stroll on in.
And here's another killer English shop name.
JungCeylon is chockfull of those carts found in Thai malls selling Hello Kitty kitsch or sunglasses or whatever. Seems the Eurozone is getting serious about busting people found with counterfeit goods back home, so if you get popped in Switzerland for a 199 baht Fakeucci trinket, don't come crying to me.
Relax back at the hotel and head out for another Thai massage ("you want strong, medium, or..." "STRONG!" They get it...).
Wander Patong Beach..
Of course they're big on big iced seafood here. Prawns the size of kittens.
Lobsters...may put a dent in your mortgage payments.
The "no insurance" jetskis: don't rent these things. They put just enough gas to let you get out half-a-klick then come out and "rescue" you...an expensive stunt. For you.
One palm tree silhouette shot...shame about the giant concrete seahorse.
A branch of Coyotes "Mexican" food...we have an outlet in Hong Kong, and as it's above a branch of Watsons (a chain owned by HK tycoon Li Kashing), maybe this is the "Hong Kong block"...
I grab more street food: a Muslim woman sells me grilled chicken on a stick, the sort of thing made with pork all over central Thailand, along with a pack of sticky rice: it's even better than the pork-variety. Some noodles and a coconut-dessert-thing, Pack up most of my gear, gotta shower and get up early to get to the airport, a 50-minute drive from here.
Phuket still not my favorite place in Thailand. It takes 3 hours to get to the pier and an hour to the airport, creating a cabal of gypsy-cabs: the van-guy told me they pay 2,000 baht monthly to the gendarmes for the privilege of overcharging Europeans-without-shirts.
That said, it's close to some of Southeast Asia's best winter divesites.
It's not easy to time these trips, but while I'd dive the Black Manta again (in the same spots, oh yes I would), it'd be good to arrive at the airport and go straight to the boat. You can't fly right after diving though: need about a day for the nitrogen-levels in your blood to dissipate. There's always something.
What?
Haven't even photographed any food?
This is not the way to build regular readership.
Tim
Re: What?
been blogging for work since March 4. all other info has been sent privately via email.
wasn't much of a regular readership to start with, but as i used my real name on this blog, it won't be updated. that's how bad cybersecurity has gotten in the last few months.
other stuff continues, check yr mailbox soon.
s