Phuket, never again

After leaving paradise (Lanta) and coming to Phuket it was definitly going to be a different trip. We shopped for a couple of days and chilled really. Phuket didn't seem to grab us (too many Russians). (sorry to the Highfield family!) On the 3rd day we decided to go elephant trekking, which was alright but it only involved riding an elephant up a dusty trak and then down again, not the most stimulating ride I have had. The men that were on the elephants (controlling them) decided to try and sell some products to us for the elephants wellbeing which was more likely to go into their pockets so didn't really appreciate that much. The boys feed a baby elephant which was chained up so on another day I would not do the trekking as I don't believe it was a humane way they were being treated. The boys were keen so that was that. After that we went go karting, what a mistake! The boys didn't get a briefing and just went straight on. No seatbelt and these were really fast. First corner Liam crashes into the tyres and flips the kart and I think luckly gets thrown out. He was a real mess heaps of blood and had memory loss. I wanted to smack the owner as he was an idiot but Amanda put me in my place. After semi cleaning him up we went to Bangkok Hospital in Phuket where he had a ct scan for head injuries and xrays for possible broken bones. The owner was there and paying the bill so I give that to him, but I still told him what I thought of him and his business in the quiet of the hospital. Anyway Liam is on rest for 3 weeks and slowly recovering. We had a great taxi driver who also rushed on the track to help and assisted in cleaning him up. Stayed with us the whole day which the kart owner was meant to pay. He didn't so we paid him and we were very grateful to him. So if anyone needs a good taxi guy who is genuine I have his number.

Krabi and Koh Lanta

Well I have made through Term 1 and it has being rather busy. Amanda has won a touch tournament and the cricket team I play for had their first ever win. The boys have been trialing out for FOBISSEA which is a sports tournament this year held in Phuket so it is looking like both may be going which means Amanda is going (tough life for her!) On holiday for my term break in South Thailand we stayed in Krabi for 2 nights where we went on a 4 Island Tour. The water was fantastic. Krabi is very touristy so I am glad we left after 2 nights. While there we all agreed the food was really poor not what you would expect in Thailand. Presently we are in Koh Lanta where we are booked for for 4 nights, we may stay longer as it is really fantastic. Our first day we chilled and had lunch on the beach, food was brillant I had King Prawns for 150baht equates to about $6.50 NZ. We probably drank too much there and we were tired so we ate at our resort restaurant which is about 2 bars from where we had  lunch. Not as good unfortunately. In bed around 8.30. Today was our first full day here, Amanda and the boys went swimming in the pool and in the beach while I did my Uni Study. Once finished down to the beach it was, fantastic clear warm water and we had a lot of chilling out fun. The boys got a bit hot as down there for about 4 hrs so we went back to our bungalows and Amanda and I went to a tin shack restaurant 2 doors down. Really cheap delicious food, we had takeaways as boys wanted to chill. The boys still chilling which is what we have learnt with them while travelling they need their down time so Amanda and I went back down to the beach for a couple of hours. It is a tough life!