After an uncomfortable 12 hour bus journey we arrived in Phuket Town, we had a whole day to kill until we were meeting Pete's parents Avril and Michael, they were meeting us for a two week holiday. Phuket Town isn't really a nice place, it's a bit grotty, theres nothing there to attract people to it. Pete was hoping the rest of the island was as he remembered it when he came 6 years ago, beautiful. We spent the morning catching up on downloading photos etc. At about 2pm we'd had enough on the computers so we found a bus station were we could get a bus to the airport where we were meeting Avril and Michael. The tuk tuk's and taxi's here are run by the "Phuket Mafia", believe it or not and they set extortionate fixed prices. We were told that this was the only way to get around but we found this to be wrong.... proves you shouldn't always listen to what other people say. We got the bus which cost us 80 Baht each (just under £2) whereas a taxi was going to cost us 700 Baht! So we made our way to the airport which was at the other end of the island. Once we were there we had 3 hours to kill, this was done quite easily by playing UNO. Not sure if we've explained but we have a little bet on, by the time we play our last game (which will be on the beach in Bali) whoever has lost the most games during our whole trip byes the last meal. So as you can imagine, it adds a bit of competition to the game.

Finally out came a smiling Avril and Michael through the arrival lounge, it was so good to see them. They were all wrapped up in winter clothes, we don't think they were expecting what was waiting for them beyond the air conditioned airport......it was boiling! We jumped into our awaiting minibus to take us to the hotel and had a good catch up. We think the woman who picked us up was suppose to try and sell us tours but she couldn't get a word in edge ways so gave up.
It was a bit of a drive to the hotel, our hotel was on Karon beach which is right down the other end of the island. We finally arrived at our hotel, the Andaman SeaView and wow it was amazing. Our bags were taken care of and we were given some drinks and biscuits while we checked in. We were taken up to our rooms and they were amazing especially compared to the dump we were staying in in Bangkok, it was absolute luxury. After doing a full inspection of the room Avril came by with lots of goodies, dive housing for Petes GoPro camera, clothes for Kate and some other essentials (well luxury items) that we are unable to get while away. This was a very exciting day! After completely unpacking our backpacks we all went out for a later diner.

The moment Pete had been waiting for arrived, it was breakfast time! Breakfast was included with the room and we had read some reviews which said it was amazing, Pete was hoping not to be disappointed and he certainly wasn't. It was a buffet and it was huge!!!! It had everything you could think of cereal, fruit, waffles, pancakes, French toast, any kind of eggs cooked right in front of you, bacon, beans, potatoes, salad, cold meats, cheese, noodles, pasta, various types of fresh bread and pastries....the food was so good! We all managed a three course meal for breakfast.

After stuffing our faces we decided to check out the beach which was right on our door step. Michael stepped out of his room in shorts, yes we said shorts! This was definitely a first, you had to wear sunglasses to even look as his legs as they were that white. The hotel give you a clean beach towel each day along with a beach bag, it was great. The beach was lovely, white sands and warm clear waters and as it was coming towards the low season it was quieter so we were able to get some sunbeds, it was perfect.

Michael worked his way through the various milkshakes on offer and Avril the coconuts. It was a funny day, Avril eyeing everyone that was walking past selling things Michael sunbathing with his shoes on. That night we went out for a meal when the heavens opened, luckily our table was inside but it made it really humid. Pete was getting frustrated with his hair as he was sitting next to a fan, the manager noticed and came over with a hair tie for him. He tied his hair up which looked pretty silly, but to top it off a bit later the manager came over again and put and Orchid in is ponytail.

The next few days were spent relaxing on the beach. One night we ventured into Patong which is a beach a bit further up the coast. It's the party town and has one main strip called Bangla Road where all the bars, nightclubs, and lady boys are. We explained to Michael and Avril about the lady boys and said it sometimes is really hard to tell who was born a woman. So we grabbed a tuk tuk and headed to Bangla Road. It was loud and in your face with people selling ping pong show tickets (to which Avril and Michael asked Peter what they were.....haha). We found a quietish bar and sat outside. Michael was completely distracted trying to spot lady boys, Kate managed to point him in the right direction. All of a sudden Kate noticed some people dressed in festival like outfits, she guessed they would be lady boys and Michael was straight up there to have his picture taken with them.....hilarious! (You'll see this picture above) A bit later we headed to another bar where not so convincing lady boys pranced about on a stage. Some of them who were wearing tiny dresses and boobs out decided to show that they still had there man parts in tact......what a treat for the eyes! We all had a great night, Patong is definitely an experience!

A few days later, (still gorging ourselves on three course breakfasts), we booked onto a tour to go to the James Bond Island. This is an island that was used during the filming of Man with the Golden Gun. Our minibus surprisingly picked us up on time and we were on our way after a few more pickups. We arrived at the dock where we were given our life jackets, Avril got to experience an Asian toilet and least to say wasn't impressed. We boarded and made our way through some mangroves to the island. It was pretty cool but the bit that's famous is a tall narrow rock that come out of the sea just off the island beach. After a good look round and some photos we headed back on the boat, our next stop was a floating Muslim village where we also had lunch. We where seated with two young guys from Belgium as they brought the food out. After eating an old Muslim guy went up to the two Belgium guys showed them something, then they all walked off together, it was all very odd. We had a look round the village, Michael was amazed at how people lived there, it's completely cut off from the mainland. We got back on the boat and head back to the dock where we boarded the minibuses and went to a monkey temple. The temple was in a cave and had lots of Buddha statues and a monk offering blessings. Pete and Michael took a walk further up into the cave whilst Kate and Avril wondered where the monkeys where. Suddenly we heard this crash and we looked up, a monkey had thrown a rock at some people, we quickly made our way outside where we were greeted by loads of monkeys of all sizes. One monkey had managed to get a packet of crisps off someone but as he held the packet and climbed the side of the wall they all fell out. After saying goodbye to the money's it was time to head back to the hotel.

The next day our hire car turned up so now we were able to do some exploring of the island. One day we took a drive up to the Buddha on the hill. It was a steep drive up but we made it. The views were amazing and the white Buddha even more so. It's being built completely off donations, and has a fair few years left before its completed. We bought a brick which they use to build it and wrote a message on it, this brick will part of the building one day. After this we took advantage of the view and stopped off at a cafe on the way down, Michael again opting for a milkshake. The afternoon was spent by the pool and indulging in afternoon tea.

Friday came and it was Avril's birthday, we had booked her in to have a massage and facial in the lovely spa at our hotel. She loved it, they even gave her a picture of Michael that they had taken of him the day before when he went for a massage (they take pictures of all clients at the end of the treatment) we think it was sort of a birthday present from them to her, what a treat ay Avril! In the evening we booked to go to Simons Cabaret which Pete went to when he came to Phuket 6 years ago. Obviously all the women in the show were lady boys, some where very convincing women some were just bloody scary looking. It was a very funny watching them prance around, it was all very camp, it made Kate question why Pete wanted to come back and see it again.

The following day was Songkran, the Thai new year. This is traditionally celebrated by cleaning your house starting the year a fresh and pouring water over the Buddhas hands. The water part of the celebrations have escalated over the years and is now celebrated by having a water fight. We prepared ourselves and headed out. As soon as we got to the main road people were firing water pistols. The Thai's were driving around in their pickup trucks, there would be loads of people standing in the back with giant tubs of water firing water pistols or just throwing buckets of water over people. People on the back of scooters where driving around firing water pistols. We decided to join in, Michael was upset that he couldn't get the supper soaker pistol, he was taking this very serious. We all had guns and headed out. People had set up stations by the side of the road where they would chuck buckets of water at people driving by on scooters, tuk tuk's or pickup trucks, it was all a bit dangerous but a lot of fun. Kate seems to get singled out a lot and ended up drenched very quickly. We made our way down the road to Karon town where it was all kicking off, we were absolutely drenched, people firing water guns at you, throwing buckets of water down your back, it was so funny, until you had an ice cold bucket poured down your back. We noticed a truck selling sacks of ice driving about selling it to people on the side of the road or in pick ups. We then noticed a fire engine driving slowly spraying people with the fire hose, it was absolutely mental!!!! Suffice to say we were soaked through (which is suppose to bring you good luck) and headed back to the hotel. That night we had booked to attended the Songkran celebrations at the hotel.

We were greeted by the hotel staff who seemed to take a liking to us, over the other guests, this may be due to the other guests mainly being Russian, and it appears that to be Russian means walking round with a face like a slapped arse, none of them are particular friendly. We were presented with Orchid flower necklaces and lots of the staff came to our table to have there picture taken with us, very funny! The entertainment was put on by the hotel staff, they were singing and dancing. We had managed to avoid getting roped into the first game but more pressure was added once the second game was announced, didn't help that they somehow new our names. Michael and Pete volunteered to take part in musical chairs and after some persuasion so did Kate, it was then that they announced you would be getting a bit wet. We wondered how that was going to work. It turned out not to be musical chairs as we know it. Six chair were put out in a row, we had to take a seat and pass a water balloon to each other over our heads. When the music stopped the staff we waiting keenly to burst the ballon above your head. Pete was the first one out, Kate made it to the final three and Michael got down to the final, unfortunately he ended up loosing to the Russian! Urgh! When we booked the table you had the choice of a complimentary bottle of champagne or vodka per couple, we got one of each. To our surprise it was a very large bottle of vodka and after a few tipples Michael was up dancing to Gangnam style, he had learnt the dance well. The staff were all very impressed at Michael's crazy dancing (don't worry we have a video so you can all witness it).

A few more days were spent on the beach, Michael indulged in some massages on the beach. The woman took a shining to him and popped by everyday to entice him back for another. Avril was building up a collection of things she had bought from the looky looky men/women, Pete was doing his best to haggle down the prices.

Our last full day together was spent on the beach, Michael made the most of it and splashed out on some more milkshakes, to which he later regretted, he probably won't be touching milkshake for a while. Avril and Michael treated us to a massage at the Spa at the hotel and Kate had the free foot massage we had won at the Songkran night. The massages were amazing.
Tuesday came and it was time to say goodbye, we were so sad to leave and to say goodbye to Michael and Avril, we had an amazing time. The hotel was incredible and staff more so. It was raining on our last day and one of staff said to Avril, it's not raining, it's tears as we are sad your family is leaving.

We had a brilliant two weeks and we really don't want to go back to our backpacker lifestyle!