Day 143 - Phuket = Party Town

Where the magic happens in Patong... kinda like Disneyland

Day 143 - 13th November

So we did the customary stop off in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. My legs were near clotted so I had to shake them out a bit to get the feeling back. The food wasn't up to much - cold rice and vegetables were a mistake. I did recover with a Cornetto so not everything was a disaster.

We re-boarded, me switching places with Dave who took up the brutal stint up front. Within minutes he was turning around with a face much to say, 'stupid idea.'

I managed to get off for a few hours with a number of wake ups before we reached the 'bus station' in Phang Nga province. We had cheap coffee and waited for the mini bus to arrive. Matt said he'd join us to Phuket. 

We boarded another bus with an extra 150 baht to drop us off at the beachfront. A small deliberation found that it was probably our best option. So off we went again, winding up mountainous roads and then down them again to the ocean front.

Patong looked like a haven - for British tourists. Bars offering cheap beer, ping pong showhouses, nightclubs, market stalls and tailors. So many tailors!

Matt and I sought a hotel whilst Kel and Dave waited with the bags. A drunk Belgian guy cornered us on the street and had us buying tickets for The White Room nightclub at 150 baht entry, a further 500 baht when we arrived for unlimited drinks between 10pm and 1am. It sounded like a good hustle so we chose to just go with it.

We found the Capsule Hostel - an underground, Japanese get up with 'capsules' to sleep in. I use the word capsule loosely because it was a mattress inside a cheaply constructed MDF box. But, give it it's due, it was comfortable, spacious and had a blind for privacy whilst you slept.

I dashed out to do my laundry in some peculiar backstreet at looked like something out a Tarantino movie, with men standing in suits and bling watching me suspiciously walk up the street with a Tesco Lotus carrier bag full of dirty pants and shirts.

When I returned, we took the short two minute walk to the beach. The sand was soft like flour, the water tangy with salt and the sun warm like an oven. In short, it wasn't a bad olde spot.

Matt reddened quickly and we retreated to an Aussie bar for hotdogs and burgers (and a cheeky beer of course).  

We booked two separate island tour for the next two days at a supposedly good discounted rate, I was down another 2900 baht thinking Thailand was rinsing my bank balance.

Showered and relaxed later, we headed out for dinner. That never happened. We went to a side street bar and had beer whilst nailing nails into wood for fun with the waitresses. I won my first bout with four consecutive, and accurate I might add, blows. A second attempt went horribly wrong and I lost heavily. 

The waitresses were friendly enough, I suppose buying them 200 baht drinks after games of connect four help too! But all part of the experience I suppose.

We moved over to The White Room and the promises of Swedish women was as false as some of the women in there. It was full of ladyboys and western backpackers. We drowned our sorrows for 500 baht but it was definitely not a place we wanted to return to.

Not a bad start to Phuket. Looking forward to the island tours.

Day 114 - Final changes, Semi Finals and night buses to Phomn Penh

Still suffering. 

Day 114 - 15th October

So an omelette started my day before I headed to the office to borrow a computer so I could adjust the indentation on my novel. Yes, Word for iPad does not have this feature unless you want to upgrade for a crazy fee. Nice one Apple and Microsoft!

Instead of spending an hour as I originally planned, I sat at a desk for six hours, undoing all the formatting the Word app chose to do for me. SIX HOURS.

The only saving grace was having a few conversations with Vith. He was asking me if my book could be as successful as Harry Potter. I tried not to laugh too much and politely explained that by 2008, JK Rowling had sold 400 million copies of books from the Harry Potter series (I had to Google this).

We then had a discussion about how I come up with my ideas which is always fun to talk about. I like Vith, he doesn't shy away from asking anything on his mind and always has a chirpy laugh when I give him obscure answers.

So feeling dehydrated, hungry and whatever other feelings you feel when you've done nothing but sat at a computer for six hours straight, I left to go back to Bou Savy and pack for Phnom Pehn. I've got my chest X-Ray for my Australian visa due and that is the closest place with a medical centre approved by the Australian immigration.

Then it was semi final time! Two giants going head to head for that prestigious first place in the final next week. Big Willy F.C in Argentina stripes v.s. Team Deejay in sky blue. Already I wanted to beat them because of the City similarity.

The rain was lashing down and water logging the pitch but we knew what we had to do. No messing around, if in doubt, kick it out and any sight on goal, shoot.

By half time we were 3-0 up. Pommers had bagged the opener with a cool side foot in the corner quickly followed by Yanni's long range drive and then Simen's delightful run across the back post flick into the roof of the net. We were in dreamland!

Straight after the break, Alex made it 4-0 before they clawed a goal back. It was nerve racking for a few minutes with some iffy tackles going in from their side and even a blatant handball that should have seen a straight red card. 

They've last me eight weeks. Farewell old boys! 7 games, 6 goals and one own goal isn't a bad return!

Pommers popped up with a second to secure a 5-1 victory and a place in next week's final. My notable contribution was my trainer sole falling off mid game from the wet. Safe to say, I was running around with a shell around my foot with no bottom. Will lent me his boots, top lad, and I continued my defensive duties at right and left back.

I didn't get the two goals I promised but I'm getting geared up for the final. My last week in Siem Reap. Hopefully I go out on a high!

I headed back to Bou Savy, grabbed my stuff and jumped on the night bus to Phnom Penh. Can honestly say I do not miss these, plus I'm not travelling with my Vietnam gang so double blow.

An Italian woman spoke with me on the transport to the main bus, telling me how much she disliked Siem Reap. She said she couldn't wait to get out of there. It takes all kinds I suppose.

I was sharing a bunk with an Eastern European girl who liked to take up the space but she was kinda cute so I let her off. When someone falls asleep on your arm, do you push their head away or just let it go. You all know what I did.

The bus bounced along in true form and in a few hours, I'd be back in Phnom Penh.