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oh my goodness well where on earth do i begin with what we have been up to and what we have seen... i guess from the beginning would be a good place. so i met mum last wednesday, leaving the gorgeously sunny beaches (typical change in weather since i was leaving) of koh samui for the unorganized airport that was little more than a few thatched huts and flying to bangkok, where i waited and waited for my luggage watching the conveyer get emptier and emptier until it was totally empty - iv been away 7months and my luggage has been fine flying all over the world but would you believe on this one little domestic route they had put it on the wrong plane - but all was well as it was on a plane that had landed into bangkok about 10minutes before mine. then i went to sit in the airconditioned bustling airport of bangkok for 4 hours to wait for mum, well when she came out i hardly recognised her with her hair looking much lighter (blonde that is, not grey) but she saw me and nearly hurtled me and my big backpack over with the customary hugs, kisses and tears. then we went for a taxi into the centre of bangkok and to the other side of town away from the 'backpackers' area, i got ripped off in the taxi for the first time in thailand and i blamed mum for looking like a 'tourist' lol, even though i felt very out of place in our posh hotel with my backpack which they carried for me and they opened all the doors. the hotel was gorgeous, thats not just from me whos used to hostels mum thought it was nice too, the only thing i didnt like was the location - the end of town with all the hotels (not guesthouses) is the sex end and we saw so many thai girls with old men it was not too nice. that first night i didnt want to overwhelm mum with how busy bangkok was so i took her to the other side of town to koh sahn road where i had always felt comfortable- i realised my mistake when i saw her face, to me it seemed emptier, there was less tourists and the police had blocked the roads and closed some of the market stalls but to someone who isnt used to bustling places its a big big shock and thailand isnt very 'english' as mum said, anyway she enjoyed looking round the market and bought a load of stuff then we had a nice meal and headed back to the hotel - again being ripped off by the taxi driver. thursday we went to mbk, the shopping centre with seven floors, we got a tuk-tuk there and mum certainly had an experience - she got white knuckles from gripping on so tightly, she was laughing by the end though (If a little hysterically, lol) i bought stuff to fill another suitcase and mum bought stuff to fill 3 other cases! it was a busy day, felt very rushed and stressfull - lots of people pushing, so that night mum went for a pedicure and i got a face massage. friday was our last day in bangkok and mum decided she wanted to see the grand palace, which i have seen and didnt want to see again, so i sent her off with written instructions and a warning about the roads which she had declared several (million) times that she hated and all the taxi cons. well the first taxi she got in, tried to con her and take her to a taylors, she wouldnt get out so the driver threw her out, luckily she managed to get there and back in one piece eventually and we spent a nice evening together, settling early ready for our morning flight to phuket. the flight to phuket went very smoothly its only a short journey and we arrived here at a nice time and all the luggage came off the conveyer (and we were only slightly over weight requirements so noone said anything). phuket looked gorgeous and we arrived at out hotel on patong beach - actually on the beach it is divine the hotel is so so nice but the area is a different matter, in all iv read and heard about patong i didnt quite believe it, thought it was exaggerated and you really have to see it to believe it, it is so touristy even im scared of the roads here and the people harass and harass you its worse than bali. the first night we were walking around getting to know the area and right next to our hotel is a road, probably the most famous roas in phuket, at night it comes alive the bars are all go-go bars with strip shows and signs offering staff up for the night, its a big prostitution ring and it is discusting the amount of men that are here for one thing - mostly over 60s with young pretty thais, the young men that are here seem to be going in the bars where they can pick up a prostitute for one night - most of the prostitutes in these bars are ladyboys, whilst the old men have 'companions' for the week, in my whole time travelling i have never seen anything like this i was shocked at how blatent it all is and also slightly scarewd my first night when we went in what we thought was a cabaret bar and instead of seeing a drag show saw ladyboys stripping and dancing, then disappearing with men from the audience. the next night we found a nice irish bar to people watch from, even sat there it was so blatent. lmonday night we went to the simon cabaret which is a ladyboy show and was very good then yesterday we did a day trip round phuket island and saw how gorgeous it was, looking at the quieter more secluded beaches and going to a temple and to an elephant show, where we got to do an elephant trek - mum changed her mind at the last minute, then we went for an ox cart ride and watched a monkey show. it was a good day overall but very busy. the weather here has beeen beautiful but very humid, which means for the last two nights (only at night) it has poured it down with rain to try and release the humidity. spending most of our days at the beach though we are going into phuket town tommorow day for a change of scenery and thats about all my news for now. ash, shaz, lisa, sue, steph and danni (and any of the others that usually come out) im having a 'welcome home' drink / night out on saturday 27th, meeting at the hinds head in heaton chapel at 8- 8:30ish, bus number 373 goes there, email me and let me know if you can make it! see everyone soon (as mum keeps constantly reminding me). love always xxxxxxxxx
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