You see, we broke from 1 of our rules of sailing conduct (in regards to meeting with visitors) which is "You can meet us wherever you like, or whenever you like, but not both." We promised to meet my daughter Lainey and her husband Tim on June 10th in Thailand but their arrival date had come too soon for us to make it up there with Sea Turtle. So, we decided to fly up and play tourist with them for 2 weeks.
So Jordan and I caught a bus from Malaysia to Singapore on June 8th, and less than 2 hours later, we landed in Phuket Thailand. It had been smokin' hot in Malaysia and we found it to be slightly cooler in Phuket, only 30°C!
This was my first time ever in Thailand but Jordan had been before so he was my own private tour guide!
We were immediately approached by several cab drivers, all demanding exorbitant fees of 1,000 Baht, equal to about $30 for what Jordan knew to be a 10-minute ride. We refused but finally settled for 500 Baht which was still too much. We were dropped off at Nai Thon Beach, a quiet seaside village where Jordan had stayed in the past.
Before finding a room, we got our bearings over our favourite Thai dish (Pad Thai) at a beachside restaurant as we were serenaded by the turquoise surf with the compliments of a refreshing breeze.
Adjusting to the Thai scene
We didn't pre-book any accommodation as it was not only low season, but tourism was down significantly because of the military coup of the dysfunctional government, We easily found nice bungalows for $25 a night and arranged for motor-scooter rental for $10 a day.
As we had arrived a couple of days ahead of our visitors, we took the opportunity to cross across Phuket Island to find our friends on Morning Glory who were working on their boat. After about a half hour ride, we met up with them and traded stories over yet another beachside restaurant.
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