We arrived in Phuket by plane from Panang on 23rd December. Unfortunately, Sabina was hit with another 24 hour food bug, and suffered on the flight a little. We were booked into a hotel in the middle of Patong, which is the busiest and biggest resort on the island. The hotel was newly refurbished and a little bit of luxury for us for Christmas.

Christmas (and my birthday) was very different to the usual. It was spent on the beach in mid-30 degree heat. The beach was as I remembered, with fine white sand and crystal clear water. The number of sun beds seems to have increased so it feels a little claustrophobic. We bought a Frisbee, which Haynsie and I have now become quite proficient at!

We were determined to find a traditional roast dinner on Christmas Day, so headed for one of the many Irish bars. We were in luck, and the food was very good. Portion size was enormous, and what with me helping Sabina out too (who was still not up to her usual eating amounts), meant that I left the bar very full indeed. The two deserts I had with brandy custard were very good though!

The next few days in Patong were spent on the beach, and Haynsie and I had one game of golf. Evenings consisted of visiting a number of different bars. Sabina even dragged me to an R&B club one night, which I was only tempted into by the 20 baht vodka and tonics. Obviously they tasted like water, but still very cheap. Another evening we decided to view one of the many ping pong shows. The infamous art of girls hiding ping pong balls and other things in rude places is a strange experience, but it goes down as a “tick the box” item. The strangest object to appear was a live bull frog. Sick!

We moved from Patong to Kata, a resort about 5 miles down the coast on the 29th December. It is a bit quieter than Patong, but still has numerous bars and restaurants to keep us amused. We found a hotel in a good location, and have extended our stay about 4 times now. I’ve done quite a few hot yoga classes, so feeling a lot fitter and healthier than I have for a long time! (I would highly recommend trying it, even I was sceptical at first!).

For New Years Eve, Sabina and I went out on our own and found a nice restaurant. This was followed by a bottle of cheap champagne on the beach at midnight. There were loads of fireworks and lots of people were lighting giant lanterns that float away into the night sky.

We’ve hired a scooter a few times, and Sabina has been fine on it, although was reluctant to give it a go at first. They’re a great way to zip around the island and we’ve had a couple of half day trips to see different beaches and cruise around. One cultural visit was to ‘Big Budha’, a giant statue of Budha that sits on top of a hill. It’s a work in progress, but when finished will be the largest Budha in the world. Another couple of things we’ve done is go on an elephant ride, and we’ve also hired jet skis. We’ve been to the cinema a couple of times (Sherlock Holmes was good), and I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the driving range.

Neil left on 13th January for Northern Thailand, whilst our plan is to is to fly to Bangkok soon to meet Nana, one of Sabina’s mates.