The best laid plans
CuriousOyster
Steve & Trish Brown
Tue 14 Feb 2012 03:50
There are times when plans go awry no matter what you do to stop it.
Our plans to head off diving to the Similans went out the window when a
single visit to the dentist turned into a complete saga.
Having Delayed treatment while in NZ so that we could make the most of our
time there and with little time to hang about as we made our way around the
east and northern coasts of Australia it gave me little option but to wait
until Phuket in Thailand where there are many excellent dentists catering to
the hordes of tourists that come here. Another benefit is the cost of
treatment here, about a 1/5th of the UK.
Sadly the treatment continues and we will not have the time to make the
month long trip to northern Thailand and we will now have to make do with a
quick visit to our friends Alan and Noi who have a farm up north as well as
a quick trip across the border to Laos so that we can restart our month only
tourist visa that runs out on the 28th. And all for the sake of a few days
as Curious looks as though she will load for the Med around the 4th March.
OK....that's enough whinging!
Phuket is busy and touristy but less so where we are in Yacht Haven Marina
in the north of the island.
The south and west coasts are tourist heaven or hell depending on your
viewpoint and I despise the exploitation by western men of the young girls
from the poorer regions of Thailand and adjoining countries. There are a
large number of Russian businessmen here and the majority of the tourists
appear to be Russian as well, probably escaping the Russian winter.
2012_0121Thailand0077.JPG
While Phuket and some of its surrounding islands are over exploited for
tourism there are countless numbers of beautiful smaller islands that are
tourist free and range from small wooded dots in the sea surrounded by white
sandy beaches to the huge limestone Kharsts that this region is noted for.
2012_0121Thailand0074.JPG
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