BITTEN AND BURNT

Another day and another bus. This time it was a night bus to Phuket. The buses in Thailand are great. They specailise in VIP buses. Some of them have bars, hostess trolley services and karaoke. We, however, struggled to get much sleep on our bus, despite the pillow and blanket they provided. Our insomnia was largely induced by the only other Westerner on the bus; some French muppet who delighted in talking on his mobile at all hours and talking to himself. We assumed that he was probably drunk or high - I can't think of any other explanation for someone using the word 'yo' to answer their mobile phone (how 1983!). We are staying in a lovely place called Kata. The beach is wonderful, really chilled out. We've befriend a local guy who gave up his job in a Bangkok bank to hire out loungers on Kata beach with his brother-in-law. He's generally refered to as Jack Sparrow (or Captain Jack, by us) due to his penchant for a red head scarf and his Johnny Depp like facial hair stylings. Having a great time despite the budget looking more crippled than Tiny Tim. Our funds seem to be suffering from the pincer movement that is a pathetic exchange rate and prices that have doubled in the last two years. Still, we've made up a fair bit of our earlier overspend so we won't be sleeping rough just yet. The only other probem we've had to contend with is my allergy to mosquito bites ( I looked like a stunt double for the Stay-Puft marshmallow man the other day) and my newly developed photosensitivity (thanks to my anti-malarials). I'm now using a factor 50!!! Still, can't complain when the only other stress we've got here is deciding which beach to hit each day.

Next stop Krabi…