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Days like these …
We have both been ill with some kind of bug for the past couple of days. Joanne had a really high temperature this morning which worried me so I told her to stick an ice cold bottle of water under her armpit and keep out of the duvet until I came back from the shops (I know, Nurse Rached could learn a thing or two from me!). We’ve been having such a good time that sometimes I forget what Joanne has been through. She’s been very stoic but I think things have got the better of her today. She’s not well and her psoriasis is playing up and I can…
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Hard Rock Cafe is a swizz …
There is a beautiful seafront bistro on Patong Beach Road called ‘Hern’. Me and Jo were in a ‘go slow’ mood today so we escaped the heat and entered this beautiful, cool establishment. I ordered a Watermelon Rose Tea which was utterly delicious. We sat and chatted and people-watched which is sometimes all you can be bothered doing when you’re on your hols and we’ve been pretty much non-stop since we landed in Thailand. We liked the cool, luxurious surroundings so much that we ordered two more drinks and lunch. ‘It’s probably going to cost a fortune,’ we mumbled to one another but Joanne’s favourite saying is, ‘Dunt matter, we’re…
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To infinity pool and beyond …
There is the most beautiful infinity pool on the roof of our hotel and every morning I go for a swim there. I find swimming really therapeutic, almost a form of meditation, especially when you’re swimming in the heavens towards a view of the ocean, so I shook off last night’s icky feeling and prepared to start the day with a fresh outlook. Joanne needed to investigate her boxing classes, leaving me to my own devices. I had a wander around but couldn’t find my groove at all. The beach was too hot and crowded so I decided to go shopping for some cooler clothes but none of the dresses…
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I’ve had better starts to days.
My psoriasis was being a little nasty bastard and last night’s teacups of wine were holding me prisoner in bed. Donna went to the pool whilst I got more sleep, but hunger eventually trumped rest and we stepped out into the mucky sweaty heat of Phuket. I had the idea to go to Caron Beach, which in my head is where people who think they’re posh stay and say, “we don’t go to the tourist traps. We like to pay a bit extra and go where it is more exclusive.” Like going to St Anne’s instead of Blackpool. We hailed a taxi over the hill to our destination and went…
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Donna Day Twelve
We travelled to Phuket via Koh Phi Phi on yet another mode of transport today. We took a ‘ferry’ to Koh Phi Phi, though this was little more than a speedboat. After quite a rough journey, the boat stopped in the middle of the ocean and Joanne and I were told we were transferring to another boat as we were the only travellers going to Phuket. So we (along with hand luggage and suitcases) has to hop onto another, larger boat, in the middle of the sea. It was all rather exciting. I’m undecided about Phuket…. it’s the biggest and busiest place we’ve visited so far. I loved the craziness…
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We were …..Cosmopolitan
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I don’t like travel days and really wasn’t looking forward to this one.
A 7am transfer to the boat pier, 2 boats, and a transfer to the hotel in Phuket. Luckily each transition was very smooth, even the crossing from one ferry to another in the Andaman Sea. All very slickly done, and we were littered with coloured stickers so the guides and drivers could easily identify us. We arrived at our hotel just after midday dazed and half asleep, and dropped our bags off at the reasonably priced hotel (great location, nice room, fantastic shower) and set off in search of food and wine. That’s when things started to go awry. It’s hard to make good choices when you’re not quite with…
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I’m on my own, I’ve got a long long way to go. Hope I make it on my own …
Writing about my life is something I’ve been doing for over ten years. It’s my therapy. Loads of lovely stuff happened on day 11, and I’m sure Donna will fill you in. But I ended the day with a little reflection. I’ve had a thoroughly awful year and this holiday is my way of giving myself permission to, if not put the grieving to one side, distract myself so that I’m not drowning in grief. That’s so easy to do, especially when you’re around people who are familiar with your pain. You find yourself sinking sometimes; and that’s where I was when we booked this trip. Just about treading water…
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Donna Day Eleven
Well, the heavens opened today. Warm, heavy rain plastered the streets of Klong Nin as the majestic sea whirled moodily in the background. We were stranded in Rasta Baby where we’d popped in for some breakfast after Joanne’s Muay Thai boxing session. She’s a rum girl is that one: come rain or shine, hangover or dodgy tummy, Joanne never misses her boxing session. She’s a lesson in true grit and I admire her immensely for this. I met Jo at Rasta Baby for breakfast and that’s when the rain and thunder came. I ordered Pad Thai again, because I love it and it never gives me heartburn and Jo ordered…
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Hometown plan
Whenever I come to Thailand I’m always impressed by how quickly opportunities are taken. Take, for example, the hundreds of cannabis cafés that popped up before the ink was dry on the relaxation of cannabis use law. There’s such a ‘can do’ attitude. Whether by necessity, force of spirit of the Thai people, or much more relaxed planning and business laws, Thailand is always changing. Always growing. Always tapping into current trends. And each time I visit I want to take that special Thai mindset and eye for business and sprinkle it all over my home town of Accrington. Let me tell you about Accrington. It has never been an…
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Donna Day Ten
I’m learning lessons each day I’m here. I never thought of myself as an inherently vain person, but it would appear that I am. I never realised how much I fuss about my hair and my clothes when I’m back home but I do. I always wear a full face of make up, straighten my hair and spend ages wearing a coordinated outfit (coordinated in my head anyway!) Imagine my distress when I entered a country which instantly frizzed my hair, sweated the makeup off my face and was too hot for the matching khaki, black and white outfits that I’ve bought. It’s a hard thing for an insecure person…
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Where are we now? As long as there’s sun …
I’m not really one for planned excursions where the guides make you stop off at certain points and do as you’re told for a set amount of time, usually dotted with photo opportunities that you’re expected to grab and share and tag and show off with on social media. Some sightseeing is a must, though, and visiting the Mangroves is one of those. We’d chosen a half-day visit that involved a leisurely kayak ride and a stop to watch some cheeky monkeys from the boat. We were collected exactly on time and stopped off at a couple more hotels for other sightseers. They were all dressed for hiking in sturdy…
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Donna Day Nine
Whenever I imagined what going to Thailand would be like, I had two versions: one version would be a rustic , rainy place with blistering air, unnameable insects, dodgy water, strange meat dishes and a distinct lack of toilets. In short, in my most panicky moments, this was the image of Thailand that frightened me and made me want to back out of our holiday before it had even begun. And guess what? Thailand is hot! And rainy, and I’ve been bitten by various creepy crawlies, but there are toilets in every cafe, you just drink bottled water and there’s a plethora of delicious non-meaty food. I needn’t have worried.…
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Get me off the streets (get some protection) …
One of the marvellous things about Thailand is that most things are relatively straightforward and hassle free. I’ll use the example of logistics and compare with the UK: In preparation for our journey to Thailand, we had booked in advance and paid for train tickets to Manchester Airport. Then the rail workers announced a strike on the Thursday and Saturday flanking our flight day, so we had to find alternative transport as we were warned our train might be cancelled. I currently live in Rossendale in the UK and Donna lives in Clitheroe so other means of public transport were impossible without one of us catching four buses and the…
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Joe the Lion went to the bar. A couple of drinks on the house …
Literally drinking a bar dry of wine is great fun at the time, but not the next morning. And what’s really not fun is waking up the next morning realising that you booked a Muay Thai session for 10am and there’s no coffee in your holiday bungalow. I didn’t bother trying to waken Donna, as she’d stayed up having a bit of a party the night before; plenty of loud shouty swearing and the stamping of feet that I initially thought was caused by an intruder. When I ran round to check, I found that she was exterminating creatures with Avon Skin So Soft, which is an oily body moisturiser…
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Donna Day Seven and Eight
Joanne has been telling me how much I will love Koh Lanta – a little island just off the west of Thailand – but I have to admit, when we arrived here I was a little disappointed. It’s low season, many of the shops and restaurants are closed; the streets are dusty and basic, there are derelict, wind—torn buildings everywhere. And there are creatures here: lizards, geckos, ants, spiders, monkeys and chickens. But as soon as I’d unpacked my stuff in a lovely bungalow, all to myself, and settled into the laid-back vibe of Rasta Baby beach bar, I understood the magic of Koh Lanta. The people here are kind…
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Here we are, one magical moment, such is the stuff from where dreams are woven … tall in this room overlooking the ocean.
“This is going to be horrible. It’s horrendous. You’ll hate it.” “Oh god, I’m not looking forward to this. It’s gonna be shit.” “Fuck fuck FUUUUCCKKK! I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS!” Poor Donna was so stunned by my increasing sense of doom and despair that she felt the need to hide in the toilet trying to squeeze out any surplus fluids in case my fear of being caught short manifested itself in a long traffic jam in a jam-packed minibus with no air conditioning. The stuff of middle- aged lady nightmares. Yes, we were going on the road, and the sea, to Koh Lanta. I kept saying, “I’m hoping…
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Muay Thai training
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Donna Day 6
I told Joanne that today has been my favourite day so far, but that’s not true, because every single day has had its joys and there’s always been something to love. Today I had a foot massage and a facial on the beach. Joanne insisted we took a glass of wine with us because she’s done that before and felt like a lady of leisure drinking her wine and having her eyelashes done. However, what neither of us expected was to be told to lie down on our tummies while we has our feet softened and scraped. Quite an interesting, occasionally painful, experience. Our yelps and gurning faces made the…
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So you train by shadow boxing, search for the truth.
For the first time during our holiday we managed to get up early. For anyone who’s struggled to jiggle their body into a full six hours in the future, I’m sure you’ll understand what a milestone this was. We’d gone to bed to the sound of the Frog Chorus and woken up to the Dawn Chorus. As is my wont, I was regretting booking a Muay Thai session due to the wine and dancing session the night before. I did what I always do in such situations though and marched with purpose to the gym, pretending that I was in a movie. I find it helps. After a coke in…
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All we need is music, sweet music … dancing in the street …
Day five began badly. Bed refused to relinquish the pair of us, and when we finally emerged from our luxury cotton sheets and feather pillowed comfort, we were both a bit out of kilter and uncharacteristically quiet. There was important stuff to do though so I delegated. I would take the washing to the laundrette, book transport to Koh Lanta, and book a Muay Thai class for the following morning. Donna would proof- read and send the blogs and photos to be published and buy water. My jobs were easy. Donna couldn’t find the posts on my stupid i-pad, nor could she find the @ on my stupid Spanish keyboard…
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Donna Day Four and Five
There are so many things that I haven`t written about because I`ve been too busy experiencing them! After flying to Krabi, we are now in Ao Nang in the south of Thailand and I`m not exaggerating when I say that we are staying in the most luxurious hotel I`ve ever been to – Peace Laguna Resort. Our beautiful room has a porch overlooking a mountain and is surrounded by lush green trees and a lake. This morning I swam in one of the three pools and had the entire pool to myself. It cost us about 20 pound a night. Ao Nang is gorgeous. Today we had lunch by the…
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I’m only sleeping in my head and I can fly …
We made the mistake of having an early night and both felt like we’d slept for two hours and spent the rest of the night tossing and turning. I bored Donna explaining that I had dreamt about writing a dissertation on the history of the permanent wave, so I’m certain I did get some (very boring) sleep. Not much though. Maybe it was the anticipation of flying to Krabi. More likely it was the shaking off of the final crumbs of jetlag. Whatever it was, we took a while to come round. But come round we did. As Donna has been a chambermaid, we did the decent thing and tidied…
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We accidentally booked the wrong excursion
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Tuktuk life …
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When ladies get to that age where they wonder what they’ve done with their lives, then realise there’s a whole lot more life to live.