*Warning! This entry contains Thai political rant at the very end.*
Here we are, another airport, another day. It’s Phuket International now, waiting to head back home to Bangkok from a 3-day of bliss.
So far it’s been a whirlwind trip. We landed in Bangkok on Saturday around 11:30. Later that evening, I went to Homecoming at my school, Mater Dei Institute. I met my friends at the gate while I was waiting for Tong. We went in, and all was good. Our class of 1995 had the most attendance and apparently we won an award for that. I’m sure that has a little bit to do with the fact that our class has a Yahoo! Group to spread the word.
It was like school all over again. Food was mainly being sold in the cafeteria from the counter just like old times. Our class took up 2 tables in the back of the cafeteria, a familiar practice. We actually had a table assigned to us at the basketball court, so we eventually migrated back out.
Kitty came to see me too! Apparently she was the only one from her class, but she was there with her mother. And by the way, when Kitty said her mom is really fit and looks really young, she ain’t kidding. Kitty’s mom looked as if she could be her sister.
Joy finally made her way in from the wedding she was attending at the hotel around the corner. A few miscommunications left her without her school pink shirt and her ticket. Wiley Tong and I sneaked her in. She DID pay, just didn’t have her stuff at the time.
More of our girls continue to show up. Many group pictures later, our class dispersed…before the award for best attendance was announced. Haha.
The next morning Brandon and I found ourselves on the plane to Phuket. We stayed at Sheraton Grande Laguna, one of my dad’s handy works. The next morning, we were off on the boat to explore sea caves in a canoe.
Oh yes, my friends. A canoe for two, paddled by a seasoned guide, in and out of these beautiful lagoons on these itty bitty islands. Then the usual tourist pit stop at Koh Tapoo or “James Bond Islandâ€. Man with a Golden Gun? Yep, that island. One more stop on a beach to relax, however, it’s been drizzly, cloudy, and rainy all day. The hour at the beach was a bit pointless. Overall, we had a great time.
I haven’t even changed one shade of color so we ran outside when the patch of sunshine appeared this morning.  We greeted the hotel baby elephants along the way.
So far, life’s been a beach.
ETA: We’ve landed safely at Suvannabhumi airport and left the joint before the PAD brought their chaos to embarrass the country in the world’s eyes once again.
*/rant on Thai political situation*
Seriously. What. The. Fuck.
It’s the beginning of peak tourism season in a downward economy and you guys decided to fuck this up for the entire country? I don’t care what your political stances are, but NOBODY should fuck with the future and the livelihood of the entire nation so that you can be right.
Folks in Phuket I’ve talked to said that they noticed as much as a 50% drop in their business. The van drivers haven’t picked up that many people. The sea cave canoe crew said their client lists thin out considerably. Even the hotel said the rooms have been somewhat emptied.
PAD’s move to the airport is hitting the country where it really hurts. And it’s going to continue to hurt for a long, long time.
Our cabby took this opportunity to try to cheat us on our ride home too. He turned off his meter, claiming the traffic…but there was none. (Thank god my brother helped me bluff him by reading off the guy’s license and plate number out loud to him on the phone.) But at the same token, he did report to us that at least 3 cabbies trying to get to the airport had been shot at.
He was talking to me in Thai but with his hand gesture of the gun and “bang, bang, bang!”, I had to translate to Brandon of what had happened. He did tell me he wouldn’t come over if the political madness was still going on. It wasn’t THIS crazy when we left, obviously. And now we pray that we can get Brandon back on the plane on Saturday with no problem.
Thanks a lot, PAD. I can’t believe I used to be on your side.
*/rant*
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