Escape from Bangkok by Tom:

After spending some time in Bangkok, Thailand and seeing sights such as the Emerald Bhudda in the Grand Palace and some of the other fascinating Thai historical areas available in the City of Angels. We decided it was time to head out to our next destination and get a bit of R n’ R on the beaches of Phuket. We took the mid-morning flight out of Bangkok and enjoyed the short but smooth ride. The aircraft itself was modern, clean and the service excellent. On this occasion we decided to be a little more adventurous than usual, that is; we had no hotel accommodation booked whatsoever. This daring deed for people like us in particular was against all advice of friends, Thais and others we’d encountered on our 2 months “Thai experience". We weren’t however all that flustered and we’d time budgeted for about one week on the Phuket resorts without going too cheap on the cash. We’d see how it goes and if we failed to secure hotel accommodation we’d sleep on the beaches a while and take it from there. This is all part of the experience.

The Pearl by Jane:

Flying into Phuket we were struck by how lush the island was. Green undulating mountains of lush vegetation stretching from one end of the island to the other. Now we realized why the Island is called the Pearl of Andaman. The light snack we received plus the complimentary purple orchid was a nice touch of service for this Thai flight. As the plane approached the runway, the daunting feeling of not having booked accommodation was slowly creeping in. With non-existent Thai except for “took" Cheap and “thao rai ka" How much? We were like the blind leading the leading the blind. We exited the airport easily enough only to be hounded by a men and women asking us if we needed a taxi or whether we had hotel accommodation. I said yes we do have a place to stay, but Tom stupidly replied no to which a young lady grabbed his hand as if to take him somewhere. I wasn’t having this. I tugged back at his arm and gave the girl an assertive look whilst waving a pointed finger. My experience on a recent trip to India taught me very quickly that revealing your intentions to strangers can not only get you ripped off, but could even put your life in danger.

Taxi to Patong by Tom:

I was impressed with Jane. She prevented a near kidnapping situation from a local girl-not quite sure what she wanted, but I’d heard of the sex-slave industry. “Phew!" After saying “no" to about a hundred taxi touts. We picked on a homeless looking elderly man to take us to Patong beach, he had been squatting by his car, smoking and chatting with other codgers and since he really seemed disinterested in work in general and didn’t ask us any questions about hotel, cheap bars and souvenirs we decided to use him. The trip to Patong was quite away, we hadn’t anticipated the number of housing projects and golf courses on this route. But we enjoyed the sights anyway.

Patong beach by Jane:

The driver remained silent the whole journey except for when I prevented him from smoking. I warned him (with gestures) of the dangers of smoking but not sure if he understood. Tom also bravely tried to explain that what with the amount of smoke pouring out of the exhaust he must be polluting the atmosphere. Other than that, the journey went smoothly and our driver dropped us off (quite hastily I might add) in the middle of the bustling resort of Patong.

Jane’s wong by Tom:

The resort of Patong wasn’t quite what I expected, for a start it was really bustling and we both felt out of place here with our long pants, heavy clothes and suitcases, but at least no one bothered us. This was Tha wee wong road, I remembered the name since I enjoyed teasing Jane by saying things like “no you are wong this is thoroughly Tha wee wong" (well you had to be there!)

A light on the horizon:

We walked for what seemed minutes, in the searing heat of midday Patong. Tom annoying me with his word play jokes. I told him to just shut the h*** up in no certain times. Then by some god’s miracle there it was, the most delightful resort spa type hotel. The Horizon Patong Beach Resort and Spa handed to us like a gift from god. A Shangrila of the most beautiful gardens and hotels set on acres of lush rainforest and set back away from the bustle. Two shimmering swimming pools, countless cuisine restaurants; we were lucky, we’d arrived! We spent seven glorious days at this resort (one night free!) and would definitely recommend to any one visiting Patong. By Jane and Tom. Oregon, USA.