Chiang Mai - February 16, 2018

I love live music. I do. Last night was our last night in Chiang Mai. We walked to the Riverside Restaurant. It had been recommended to us. The food was just fine, but the music was great. First we heard two Thai guys singing nothing but Simon & Garfunkel - some of the songs on their playlist were ones we all know . . . some we never heard before but were unmistakably, Simon & Garfunkel. Then came the old guy rock stars. Some members of this band were expats from Great Britain. They played Tom Petty. Woooo- boy! I was in heaven. Note to our friend, Outlaw: I did my thing with the camera. You know what I mean. I sat on the floor and caught their music as they played it. What a nice way to close our visit in Chiang Mai.

Phuket? Hmmmm. I'm not forming an opinion or a solid impression yet but all I can say is that Phuket is big and busy. The drive from the airport was about 90 minutes - with a stop at a Tesco to pick up some wine for our room. This is a busy, busy place and most of the commotion is due to tourists. Everyone wants to come here. The streets were busy; traffic was awful and the stores, massage parlors and shops along the streets looked extremely commercial but a bit tired and dusty. Once off the big boulevards, the streets are small and crowded. We saw throngs of tourists on narrow sidewalks with their straw hats, sunglasses and linen cover-ups walking, sweating and looking a bit frazzled. Yikes!

Then we arrived at our hotel, the Villa Royale. It is literally slung upon a hill bordering a rocky shore, overlooking the sandy Kata Beach. The hotel is on multiple levels with pools and gorgeous gardens on each. On every level, the view is the beach, sugar loaf mountains rising out of the water, boats and the sea.

We sat on the rocks watching the sunset. The sunset was not remarkable, but the greater sight was magnificent. We saw beach and mountains to the left; simply knock-your-socks-off aqua sea dotted with sea-going vessels to the right. This may be the most beautiful waterfront Stan and I have ever seen in our lives. And we have seen a few.

I cannot wait to dip my body in that blue bay. I think we are going to like this place.

Oh my Lord! --- Stan just tuned in a local TV channel. It is a live sports channel showing a rooster fight!! A real one!! Good grief! It is just unreal.