Iberia Rant 2

Awake at 6:45am after a good 3 and a half-hours kip. Sleepwalk down to the breakfast room for a cup of dishwash coffee and stale bread. The coaches arrived on schedule to take us back to Barajas at 7:30am. Maybe the coach company should take over Iberia airlines?

Another queue to join, as we have to go through the security checks again. Alarming news on the flight information screens. Our flight was listed first “20:00 Venice. Scheduled to depart at 19:40”. Surely some mistake but with it being Iberia, nobody was taking any chances so another massive queue had formed at the Iberia Information Point. As we queued I took another look at the monitors to see that another flight with the same code had been scheduled for a 9:50am departure. No other information was offered. We soon found out after more screaming that the flight had been delayed until 10:57am.


19:50! Would we ever get to Venice.

The mood amongst the passengers was ugly. It seemed that a riot would erupt at any moment. It seemed that Iberia staff had the same feeling. The shutters were down around the information centre, leaving only one side open. The attitude amongst the few Iberia staff hadn’t improved either. Their response to the continuous questions being asked of them was to phone the Guardia Civil. Soon there were more security guards and Guardia officers than Iberia staff.


Another crowd of passengers for Iberia to ignore.

At 10:00am the gate was announced for our flight, H3. This is the furthest gate possible from the information centre. It is also next door to a “Guardia Civil” control point, where a few guards were already stationed. A “Comet Air” plane is standing at the gate and some activity is seen in the cockpit and on the ground. Two Iberia staff arrived at the gate and once again a large queue formed ready for boarding.

10:36am and no sign of the boarding process starting yet. Tempers fray and the crowd start shouting at the Iberia staff again. More Guardia Civil staff appears. Looks like more bad news is going to be announced. A few minutes later and bags are seen being taken off the plane. The mood isn’t improved when the gate screen changes the departure time to 11:10am. Its now 10:50am and its clear to everyone in the queue that we weren’t leaving at that time.


Bags being unloaded from plane.

More shouting and an announcement was made by a Guardia Civil officer. Anyone in an agitated state will not be allowed to fly. This prompted loud shouts of derision and made matters much more heated. The Guardia officer decided it would be better not to repeat his announcement. An hour later and we finally started to board the plane. The assigned seats on our boarding cards were useless and it was a free for all. We managed to find two vacant seats at the back of the plane.

12:15pm and all the passengers are on board. The captain announces that a couple of passengers had failed to arrive at the gate so there baggage was being located and removed from the flight. Then we would be off on our 2-hour flight to Venice. 12:30pm and the cabin crew close the doors. 1pm and we are still on the ground. Passengers were getting restless and we demanded more information. None was forthcoming. Finally, the plane began to taxi to the runway at 1:15pm.

We landed at 3:15pm at Marco Polo airport. We had the lost the day but would soon be in Venice for a late lunch. Iberia still had another nasty little surprise for us. Our bags were not on the belt. Another queue at the lost and found desk formed. We were told to check the next flight arriving from Madrid. The next flight arrived at 3:45pm and still no sign of the bags. The queue grew bigger as passengers from the latest flight also had not received their bags. Finally, our bags were located in a backroom of the airport at 5pm. No explanation on how they got there or why they hadn’t been put on the belt. Monica swore that this would be the last time we flew with Iberia. We have to get back to Málaga with them first. A trip we both weren’t looking forward to.

Lost and Found. Great another bloody queue!

Iberia Rant

A Christmas in Venice. We had specially booked with Iberia instead of the usual stopover in the UK in order to have more time in Venice. We booked flights for the Friday Afternoon to arrive at Marco Polo Airport at 10pm. That would give us an extra day’s holiday. A great plan until Iberia ballsed it up big time.

The first flight from Málaga to Madrid was delayed an hour. Would we make the connecting flight at Barajas? The expected arrival time would give us 15 minutes to make the connection. The Captain announced the gates for all the connections. The Venice flight was ominously missing. It turned out that the flight had been delayed 2 and a half hours, now leaving at 10:37pm.

At Barajas we received a free meal coupon and went to “ARS” for a meal. We had a 3-course meal with a beer courtesy of Iberia. Things were not too bad. We would arrive just before midnight and Roberto was going to pick us up. Should be safely tucked up in bed by 1am.

10pm and people were beginning to queue at the gate. An Iberia staff member was mumbling something into the PA system. No one had a clue what he was saying. A crowd had gathered around the desk to find out what he was on about. Apparently the flight was over-booked. If you had been assigned a seat number you were guaranteed a place. We had been given seats 35A and B so no problems.

10:30pm and still no sign of us boarding. The mumbling Iberia staff man went down the gate towards the plane to find out what was going on. We saw him leave the plane 5 minutes later. Even from this distance he looked a man who was going to break bad news to us. He took a few steps closer to the gate, stopped and thought better of it. He took an exit door from the covered walkway and was last seen running away from the gate along the tarmac. What was going on?


Flight Crew abandon ship.

10:50pm and no information was available. The disappearing man was nowhere to be seen, nor any other Iberia staff member was at the gate. Then the crew was seen leaving the plane. They boarded an Iberia minibus and were taken away. This was a bit too much for some of the passengers on the flight, who abandoned the queue and headed for the nearby Iberia information centre.


Passengers mob info centre.


Staff abandon info centre.

The passengers had a large Italian contingent. Let’s say that their temperament is not the most stable in these situations. It wasn’t long before shouting was heard. If the Italians have something of a short fuse then the Spaniards can only be described as not liking it. They must have taken the shouts of “Manos arriba. Esto es un atraco!” (Hands up. This is a hold-up) literally and headed for cover. The Iberia Information point had been abandoned. The passengers’ mood was not improved when the flight information screens displayed “new information at 23:59”. We hadn’t been given any information at all never mind bloody new!

Midnight came and went with no information and no sign of the crew returning to the plane. The screens kept incrementing the “new information” message by 10 minutes every time the new deadline arrived. A few Iberia staff had decided to brave the storm and had retaken their posts at the info centre. Their manner was not helpful. Rather than being sympathetic to the abandoned passengers they took a more confrontational approach. “Its not our fault!”, taking the abuse directed at Iberia in general personally. They soon abandoned their posts and hid in the back room again.

At 12:45am the Iberia staff finally gave us the information that had become apparent hours earlier. The flight had been “postponed” until the morning, when another company would provide a plane to leave at 9:40am. We were to be taken to a nearby hotel for the night. That was it. No apology, no further explanation, nothing. They didn’t even send an Iberia staff representative to escort us to the hotel. It was left to the coach company employed to take us to the hotel. The chaos soon moved to the foyer of the hotel lobby. A mass of weary travellers trying to check-in. At least they had the good sense to allow passengers with young kids to go to the front of the queue. Well, I suppose allowing the crowd to organise things was better than seeing if Iberia could cock it up. We did the honourable thing and allowed people to check in before us. The bar was open!


Queue to check-in at hotel.

From our vantage point at the bar we could see the queue to the check in desk. Why was it taking so long? Surely Iberia could have faxed through the passenger list and it would be a simple task of handing out keys? Obviously not as it was 2:45am before the queue had cleared and we could check-in. Breakfast at 6:30am. Coach leaves at 7:30am.



F**K it lets have a beer!

P&H Christmas Party 2008

Its December already and that means its time for the annual Platt and Hill party. This was held at the Bower hotel in Chadderton, a popular venue, as it was the third time we had been here. Probably because it’s the only place in Oldham that would have us.

As usual, too many beers were drank and most of the night is a blurry haze. Still, in comparison to other years this one was on the tame side. Alison performed her acrobatics on the dance floor. Nick showed is cross-dressing tendencies by trying on Al’s shoes. Miraculously, Teresa remained soberish and managed to last until the end of the night. The boss made it 14 straight parties in a row where she managed to make me blush with her lewd comments. Darren failed to keep his trousers up again, performing what now seems to be an annual strip for the girls.


The boss never fails to make me blush!


Andrea and Paula leave the kids at home to party.


Al's usual floor display impresses Darren.


P&H girls on the floor again.

There were only the hardcore that stayed over for the night. By 2am the lightweights had long since departed. The remaining few ended up in Karen’s room for a few more drinks. Lights out at 4am. Until next year, Merry Christmas!


Teresa and Paula relatively sober for once!

La Resinera

A cool and grey weekend on the Costa. Perfect weather for walking although not too great for enjoying the views. We picked a walk from the “Wild Walks” guide, “Aerodromo forestal”. The guide reads as if it is close to Ventas de Zafarraya. Its at least another 30 minutes drive from there, passed Alhama de Granada.

After a few wrong turns and plenty of cursing the Author we eventually arrived at La Resinera. This is an old resin factory that is now turned into a base for exploring the Parque Natural. Our walk was a 10Km trek through the Parque up to the airstrip used by fire fighters in the summer.


Memorial Cross in the woods.



Crossing the ford.

The walk is quite easy. There is only one uphill section following the stream up the hill. From the top you would have spectacular views of the Sierras. Not today as the clouds covered the peaks. On a clear day you will see the peaks of La Chapa, El Lucero and Navachica.


The Airstrip.

After walking along a large firebreak you reach the airstrip that appears to be abandoned. The gate was closed but not padlocked so we had a cheeky look around. Then it was a long descent down back to the factory that can be seen in the distance. The walk was a comfortable 3 hours but it wouldn’t be one of our walks unless there was a bit of drama. It looked like we would finish this walk incident free until we reached the car park. A rather large, menacing looking bull was guarding the car. A few others were not far off either. There didn’t appear to be anyone around. As the bull strolled over to the others we chanced it a crept towards the car. They appeared docile enough but we didn’t want to get too close and test the theory.


Secure parking at La Resinera.

Day 14 - Suan_Lum Night Bazaar

Our last night in Bangkok. We decided to go to the night market and see what was happening. Instead of walking we opted to take the Skytrain and then connect to the underground that stops right outside the market. The underground system is just as impressive as the Skytrain. Just as cold too as the Thai’s must set the Air-con to minus 5 degrees as standard.

The Suan-lun night bazaar is a strange mixture of market stalls selling all the fake brands, massage parlours and a huge entertainment area that features a stage with live music. One side of the entertainment centre is occupied with bars and the other by food stalls. Monica decided I would have to earn my food and drink by doing a little more shopping.


Suan-Lum Night Market.

We discovered the perfect way of haggling with the vendors. I made the mistake of looking at a watch. Not a bad copy of an Armani watch that I had been after. The vendor told me it could be mine for the princely sum of 1200 Baht. That’s a bit steep. The old calculator comes out from the vendor who was keen for me to put a figure in. The obvious mistake is to put half the amount in. “I can get that for a fiver in Turkey. I give you 250 Baht”. The vendor counters with 800 Baht. That’s still £16 for a fake watch. I played the game and typed 300 into his calculator. His next offer is 600 baht. Wow! A full 50% discount in two minutes. I never wanted the watch anyway so we politely declined and began to walk off. “OK Mister 400 Baht for a sale”.


Band plays at night Market.

With nothing bought again we headed for the entertainment centre for something to eat. The band was playing and the area was quiet busy with a good mixture of young locals and tourists. The band weren’t great but the atmosphere was. Waitresses buzzed by from competing bars trying to sell their wares. Early flight tomorrow so we kept away from the local stuff and called the Heineken lady over. We were tempted by the ingenious beer cooling system they had, but thought better off it.


Ingenious beer cooler.

To end the night we headed back to the Sukumvit area and found Cheap Charlies. This is a great shack of a bar which was packed. 70 Baht for a bottle of beer. Charlie shut the bar and started to clear things away at midnight. So our holiday in Thailand was brought to an end. A great first trip. Surely there will be more to follow.


Cheap Charlies.

Day 14 - Shopping Shopping Shopping

I could delay it no longer. It was time to head to Siam Square to hit the shops. Our mission was to find a Ralph Lauren polo shirt for Cipo, amongst other things.

The first shop stop was at the Siam Paragon centre. This is a huge complex with at least 8 floors. It was packed full of designer stores like Gucci, Chanel and Armani. We trawled all around and could not find any sign of Ralph Lauren. Then we tried the Siam Centre building next door. This was equally as big but our search proved just as fruitless.

The Siam Centre.

The Siam Centre connects to another massive shopping centre, the Siam Discovery. Something was happening here. We could here the distant shrieks of teenagers as if at a pop concert. The nearer we got, the louder it became. On arrival at the centre the place was packed. Nobody was shopping. Everyone was hanging over the railings glancing down at a stage area below. A red carpet was out and it seemed like some kind of reward ceremony was taking place. The crowd of teenagers would shriek every time somebody new arrived. The latest Thai boy band had just arrived. No idea who they are.

Awards ceremony at the Siam Discovery centre.

We left the kids to it and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Nothing doing on the Ralph Lauren front. After hours of traipsing up and down shopping malls it was time for a lunch break. I was in need of a McDonalds fix. Plenty to choose from in Bangkok. We went to the one in the MBK Centre. Another bloody massive shopping mall.

On walkway outside the MBK Centre.

After lunch we walked a few blocks to the Thai equivalent of El Corte Inglés, a huge department store with every designer label you could think of advertised on the window. Except Ralph Lauren. "Can’t we buy him a fake one?" I pleaded. "No, he will know!". Monica had been given specific instructions on size, colour, and even the size of the logo. His friend bought one from Thailand the previous year and said that they were cheap in Thailand. That seemed odd as all the designer labels I had seen so far were just as expensive, if not more expensive than the UK. We asked on of the sales assistants if they knew where we could find a Ralph Lauren shirt. Apparently you can’t find Ralph Lauren anywhere in Thailand. Ralph Lauren is not licensed for sale in Thailand. So much for Cipo’s ability for spotting fakes.

Hours of shopping and the only thing we had bought was a McDonalds. We were dead on our feet but managed to find a bit of energy for a look around the Pratnum market. Still nothing bought. We admitted defeat and headed back to the hotel. Monica wanted a last ditch effort to buy something in a craft shop near the Nana station. It had allsorts of wonderful carvings and trinkets. We made up for lost time and bought loads of stuff including a reclining Buddha. We walk all over Bangkok and the only things we buy are in the shop at the end of the street. Bloody typical. I hate shopping!

Day 14 - River Boat trip

The last day of the trip. That meant another shopping day. But first I could waste a bit of time by travelling the public transport systems of Bangkok. We bought a full day pass for the Skytrain and decided to use it as a tourist. You get some great views of the city from this elevated position. Our first destination was the end of the line at the Riverboat terminal. On the way we saw the incredible sight of a golf course slap bang in the middle of Bangkok.

We decided to take the riverboat cruise and soon fell into the tourist trap. We paid 250 Baht for two all day tickets. That was the best ticket according to the employee at the ticket office as we wanted to get on and off at different places. However, we soon discovered that it was only 30 Baht each for a single trip. We will know better next time. We sailed up the river Mae Nam Chao Phraya seeing the sights along the banks. The highlights being the marvellous Wat Arum on the east side and the Grand Palace on the west.


Wat Arum.


The Grand Palace.

Our first stop was on the return leg to go and see the flower market. This place is unbelievable. The street outside are lined with fresh flower stalls on both sides. The streets are protected from the sun by street-long awnings that are used to hang freshly cut flowers. The colour and smells are at a complete contrast to the smoggy city streets that run through it.


Monica guides us through the Flower Market.


At the Flower Market.

To catch the ferryboat we decided to walk down to the next station through China town. A helpful Thai man pointed out the way but told us that it was the wrong time to visit. It was better to return in the late afternoon. Nevertheless we headed down the narrow streets of Chinatown that were filled with people. I would hate to see the place at peak times. It was all too claustrophobic for me and my mood wasn’t improved by an old Chinese lady behind who kept banging her shopping trolley into me to hurry me up.


Chinatown.

Thankfully, we made it to the ferry boat stop with both legs in one piece. We headed back to the main terminal and caught the Skytrain back to the shopping centres. Monica wanted to see what was at the end of the line. No problem, anything to delay the shopping.

Day 13 - Leaving Ao Nang

Today was leaving day. The reliable Pok had booked the taxi for 1:45pm. We decided to take a taxi instead of the bus as Pok gave us a special discount. The weather wasn’t great today. A perfect shopping day. We managed to buy a few souvenir T-shirts and gave one final go at getting the Buddha. The lady was still proving to be difficult. We had all but given up on the Buddha and switched attention to some lovely decorative wine bottle holders. We got a good price for these and were heading for the exit when the lady called us back and offered the Buddha for the price we had asked. The lady even massaged Monica's arm, probably trying to loosen her grip on her purse!

The taxi ride to the airport was sheer luxury. It turned out to be the air-conditioned mini van owned by the hotel. What a difference to the overcrowded tuk tuk we had yesterday. We relaxed and reflected on what had been the perfect trip to the beaches and Islands of the Krabbi province. We even started to dream about a holiday home out here. Some of the villas we went past were spectacular. Maybe someday!

The flight to Bangkok with Air Asia was as good as the one coming here. On time and efficient service. Definitely worth the extra couple of quid for the Xpress boarding. We arrived at the International airport and headed for the bus stop. We were going to stay in the Sukumvit area this time. The AE3 express bus would take us down the Sukumvit road. We settled down and enjoyed the ride. That is until we hit the top of Sukumvit road. The traffic was a nightmare. We were sat in standing traffic for 15 minutes and no sign of it easing. We had a quick chat with the driver and decided to bale out and head for the sky train. All the other passengers decided to follow.

The Bangkok Skytrain is a great way of travelling about in Bangkok. The track goes all the way down Sukumvit road and our stop was 2 stations down. Within 10 minutes of getting off the bus we had purchased our ticket, got on the train and had arrived at the Nana station on Soi 5.
The area is smack bang in the middle of the red light district. That must be where the term "Nana" couples comes from. There were plenty of middle aged foreigners walking arm in arm with a young Thai girl, sometimes they had two in tow.

We headed down Soi 5 to look for a hotel. Monica had promised me a luxury hotel but found it hard to get out of the baht-pinching mode. She wouldn't even allow me to ask at the couple of nice hotels on the street. Feeling a bit weary and wanting to get out for the night we settled for a hotel off a side street near the Gulliver’s bar.


Meal at Gulliver's.

We had a quick bite to eat at Gulliver’s and then made the long walk to the Banyan Tree Hotel down the Wireless road. This road is very long and is lined with a number of embassies. We re-discovered that walking in Bangkok, especially at night is a little hazardous. Not that we felt in any danger being in a large city at night, more that you couldn’t see where you were walking in some places and there were potholes in the pavement everywhere. We passed a lively looking night market and decided we would have a look round there tomorrow night. Our mission tonight was to see the views of the city from the rooftop bar at the Banyan Tree Hotel.

View from Moon Bar at Vertigo.

The Moon Bar at Vertigo is on the 61st floor of the hotel. Finding it is a bit of a task as you need to walk through the small entrance at the street side, or walk down the driveway and take your chances with the taxis and the tuk tuks racing by. We opted for the former option and soon got lost inside. A friendly guard spotted us and immediately knew where we wanted to go. "Moon Bar that lift 59th Floor". The express lift shot us up in two seconds and we had to climb the last two flights of stairs to reach the bar and restaurant area. The views were spectacular. So were the bar prices, almost as high as the bloody building. Two small beers cost 540 Baht (Nearly £11)! And we didn’t even get a seat as the place was packed.


Standing room only.

After taking our time over the drinks and admiring the views it was time to head back to the Sukumvit area. We walked back to the night market and managed to negotiate a ride with a tuk tuk. He wanted to take us to a "Ping Pong" show. Monica was having none of it "Listen. Take us to Soi 5 or I beat you up!". We soon arrived at our destination with no more sales pitch from the driver. We settled down at a corner bar for a nightcap and watched the funny Nana couples walk by.


Bangkok at night.

Day 12 - BBQ Island

We set sail for the Island where we were to have dinner. This was a deserted island that was joined to a smaller island by a thin stretch of sand when the tide went out. This seems a common theme in the Andaman Sea. The view was beautiful. On landing on the beach there was time to explore and do a bit more snorkelling. An Australian guy had told me the secret of diving. You just let the water go into your mouth. I had a go but it will take some getting used to.


Off to Dinner.

Back on dry land and it was time to see another sun set in Krabbi. Another magical experience. The guides were busy preparing for the barbecue. A ring of cans filled with kerosene where set in the sand and lit. This would be how only source of light on the island. All we could do was sit down, enjoy the beer and keep warm near the heat of the fire.


Sand bank connecting the two islands.

Dinner was served in the pitch black. Another helping of Thai green curry and pieces of barbecued meats were on offer. All washed down with a nice cool Singha. After the meal the guides busied themselves in the rocks behind. They came back with dozens of different size crabs and other strange looking crustaceans which they dropped on the sand near to us more for their amusement than ours. We would get a similar shock when we went to collect our bags that had been left near the rocks. The larger crabs seemed to like these for shelter. A number of shrieks filled the night air as the crabs were discovered.


Castaways.

Back on the boats in the pitch black and our next stop would be for a nighttime swim. The captain dropped anchor and everyone looked at each other as if to say "whose going first". It appeared that nobody wanted to take the plunge until the Aussie stood up and dived in. The phosphor in the sea lit up with every movement he made. It was an amazing sight. Soon we all jumped in to see the phenomenon as we moved through the water.

After a 10-minute dip we climbed back on board and shivered as the cold began to bite and the rain once again fell. The breeze had picked up causing the spray from the waves to crash over the side of the boat. We all got soaked and became colder as the journey back to Railay became more unpleasant.


Night time on the Island.

On arrival at Railay Monica turned her attention back to how we would get back to Railay. Two other guys from the boat also were promised a lift back to Ao Nang. The captain told us to wait in the office. There, we met a new guy who knew nothing about the promised trip back to Ao Nang. One of the guys who was in the office early told us not to worry as he had to get back to Ao Nang so something would turn up.

In the end we got back on the same Long-Tail boat with our two companions from the trip and the scuba diver instructor that lived in Ao Nang. The captain set off and seemed to be heading in the wrong direction. The scuba diver instructor had a quick word with the captain and then told us that we were going to another port on the other side of Railay where they would get us a taxi.

We docked at a huge concrete pier and scrambled off the boat. It was a long 10-minute walk in the cold rainy night to the office. Our taxi back to Ao Nang turned out to be a motor cycle tuk tuk, for five of us. How the driver managed to get the small 50cc bike to get us all the way to Ao Nang is still a mystery. To do it in the driving rain with zero visibility through the plastic sheeting that was surrounding the frame of the tuk tuk was incredible. He dropped us off at the McDonalds, which was about a 5-minute walk to our hotel. We couldn’t get out of the thing quick enough!


Taxi home.

Day 12 - Sunset Snorkelling

Woke up with a slight hangover. Not Chang beers fault this time. It was the 5 big bottles of Singha at the Smile Bar. Well, we couldn’t leave the fun of playing connect four behind. No problems as today’s activity was a planned "Sunset Snorkel" tour that didn’t start until 4pm. The idea is that all the dive boats leave all the best areas for the day and we get the area to ourselves. Plus the added bonus of snorkelling in the pitch black. Don’t know how that is going to work.

We went to the dive shop on the main beach road to book the trip. Unfortunately we were told that they had to cancel as the scuba diving party went out late and wouldn’t be back in time. The guy was really nice and phoned Railay Divers for us as they did a similar tour. Our luck was in, they are heading out this afternoon at 3pm. Monica asked how we were going to get back from Railay as it would be late and we didn’t want a repeat performance of yesterday with the boatmen. No problems, they will drop us off at Ao Nang.

So another Long-Tail boat to Railay and time to visit the Flame Tree before setting off on our tour. As a little exertion was required, Monica opted for the young green coconut shake. I went for the Mango and Orange shake. Both were absolutely delicious. Feeling refreshed we headed for the dive shop to pay for the trip. Monica was a little worried about arrangements for getting back to Ao Nang. She asked the lady at the dive shop who confirmed that there would be no problems.


Back at the Flame Tree.

The only problem we seemed to have was the weather. It started to cloud over, similar to how the storm started yesterday. Our group of two Long-Tail boats set-off to the first dive point. On arrival at the first island it started to rain heavily. The tour organisation seemed to go awry as nobody seemed to know what to do. One of the attractions of the tour was the supposed tutoring on how to snorkel the professional way. We were handed flippers and the facemasks and that was that. One of the guides said that we would have to wait for the rain to subside, so Monica headed for shelter. Some of the guests didn’t like that and headed for the water. The guide then thought sod it and went in after them. By the time Monica had got back to the beach the group had made it out to the rocks.

The so-called tranquillity we were promised only seemed to apply to other divers. The sea where the group went was full of speed boats and Long-Tail boats zipping to and fro. We decided to stay near the beach and practice using the flippers. It’s not as easy as it looks. I couldn’t walk in the damn things. We soon found out that the easy way was to put them on when you were in the sea, and then it was still a challenge to swim with them.


Rain clears the beach.

The others soon returned to the beach and we headed back to the boats. Monica and I were ready for mutiny as were a couple of others. It would be no fun in the rain, especially the proposed BBQ on a deserted island in the pitch black. We decided against the mutiny as it was actually lovely and warm in the sea and the weather looked like it was going to improve. We sailed off to the next dive point.



Flippers take some getting used to.

The next dive point was off one of the huge rocks that jut out of the sea. The boats put down anchor and we had to jump off. Excellent fun. As advertised, the water was great for snorkelling and plenty of fish were visible. Maybe not as good as Phi Phi but given the weather the visibility was excellent.


Wonderful views under water.

The next dive point was outside a cave in one of the small islands off the mainland. The best site yet for diving. The water quality, the number of fish and the beauty of the coral was stunning. Swimming into the cave with all the fish was incredible. Some of the more expert snorkelers in the group where having a whale of a time. They dived deep down to the seabed and swam through caves and exited the other side. How the bloody hell do they dive without water going down the tube? Time flew by and soon we headed towards the island where we were to dine in high spirits.


Monica relaxs on the Long-Tail Boat.

Day 11 - Beach day at Railay

A relaxing day at the beach in Railay. No trips, no early morning wake up call, just pure and simple relaxation. The morning started off well. A lovely coconut and nutella pancake for 30 baht and then a coffee at Starbucks. Then I made the first mistake of the day. Why did I bother checking my phone? An urgent text from Mama. "Tsunami Alert! Stay away from the beach today!!!". After yesterday’s poignant reminder of the power of nature I had to be assured that everything was OK. 30 minutes of trawling the Internet to find that the news was 2 days old and the alert was lifted. Anyway, the earthquake that triggered the alert was thousands of miles away. Thanks mum! We’ve missed a good hour’s sun.


Breakfast being made.

The sun was shining and all was forgotten as we boarded the Long-Tail boat to Railay. No Kayaks today. Towel down, sun cream on, err damn we forgot the bloody sun cream! Mum’s fault. A quick trip to the store and problem sorted. Now for some serious sun bathing and chill out time.




Cooling off in the Sea.

The only thing that could tempt us aware from the beach was the lure of our favourite bar, The Flame Tree. That, and the fact that it was nearing 5pm and I was as red as a tomato. Nothing a cool beer wouldn’t cure and a bit of Thai food. We had positioned ourselves in a nice spot on the terrace with a perfect view of the beach, ready to take in another sunset. Our plans quickly changed as we noticed the locals give a few nervous glances at the sky and the next minute the rain started to bounce off the tables.


The Flame Tree at night.

We had our meal inside the bar and the rain started to ease off. The sunset was just as beautiful as before, even with the darkened clouds and the threat of a storm. As the darkness crept up we decided to see if we could get the last boat at 6pm. We arrived to find a German couple waiting for the boat. They had already been waiting 30 minutes. So much for the 6pm boat. There were several boats anchored with the captains chatting amongst themselves. "Wait for 2 more people". Apparently an Italian couple were also waiting and the captain would not leave until there were 8 paying passengers.


Grub up!

Another 15 minutes passed with no sign of any more passengers arriving. The distant rumble of thunder could be heard and the skies lit up with lightning. The captain approached me and said, "we go now for 800 Baht.". I countered with an offer of 250 Baht per couple. Easier maths you see. The captain looked at me, looked up at the sky and grinned "800 Baht or wait". Monica was chatting to the Italian couple and they agreed to split the costs. Our only stumbling block was the Germans. "We were here before 6pm so we pay only 160 Baht!". The storm of the century was just around the corner and they were arguing over a couple of quid. We sat and waited for another 10 minutes before the captain repeated is offer. By now it was pitch black and we were all miserable. In the end the Germans relented and agreed to pay more. Monica’s offer of the Italians and us paying 270 Baht and the Germans paying 260 Baht sealed the deal.

The threat of the storm never materialised and we managed to get back to Ao Nang trouble free. A quick shower and change at the hotel and we headed out for something to eat and a visit to the bar area. We ended the night at the "Smile" bar. They like to keep you entertained there. Free pool, free Internet and most importantly, free connect four! What more could you want from a night out?


Free Pool at the Smile bar.