Another lazy day in paradise! We started with breakfast on our balcony and had a lazy start. But - I messed up this morning, because I thought Gunilla was arriving today and I sat in the lobby waiting for quite some time. Finally decided to call her only to find out that she was still in Stockholm and thus not arriving until tomorrow! How could I make such a stupid mistake!~
There was a lot of interaction with the elephants today. Kim had the opportunity to swim with the smallest elephant living here at Marriott. He is about a year old and adorable. Then of course Jumbo came by twice and we fed him bananas. Later on in the afternoon the baby came back and I took a short movie of him that I will include here.
Shortly before sunset we went to the large mirror pool by the lobby where a sunset dance is performed every eveing. I did film the whole ceremony this time and will include that too. However, the sunset movie is about 12 minutes long, but quite nice.
After the sunset ceremony we went back to the apartment to shower and change. We had made reservations to eat dinner at the Thai restaurant here at the resort. Being out in the hot weather and basically doing nothing is tiring! We were all yawning and went back home to go to bed.
The upload of the movies failed. I have to try another day.
During the night there was a tremendous thunderstorm. When the first crack came it was so loud and so sharp that I thought that someone had been shot! But when it then started to flash and thunder plus rain I did realize that it was a storm. We didn't get to sleep in in the morning, because at 7 am first the phone rang and then the door bell. My suitcases had arrived! Yay!
We went to the Siam Deli for breakfast and then we went to the tour desk and booked some excursions. I will be writing about them as they happen. Other than that we stayed by the pool and just relaxed. I am happy that Jumbo, the baby elephant, is back. Last time we were here (2010) they did not have an elephant on the premises. Back in 2007, the last time Roger and I were here, they had a baby elephant less than a year old and also a big one. People missed the elephants so now they are back. Jumbo has grown quite a bit and has also learned some tricks so that he really poses for pictures! He walks up and down the beach twice a day and you can also swim in the ocean with him! He is so funny - he loves to get fed bananas and other fruit. The bananas he eats with the skin, but he likes his oranges peeled. If you give him money he gives it to his mahut (the guy who takes care of him). I will take pictures of him maybe tomorrow.
After the pool we had a late lunch at the Deli and then Kim bought a dress in one of the little beach shacks. After that it was time for Happy Hour at Out of the Blue Bar. Unfortunately it was cloudy so no pretty sunset tonight.
We are now back at the apartment and it is thundering a bit. We are soon going back to Turtle Village for dinner and also do a food shopping at the supermarket there. Much cheaper than the Siam Deli. We will be having breakfast at the apartment so that's the kind of stuff we need to get plus some snacks.
Well, even my computer is acting up now. I had written everything about today and before I had a chance to click save, the damn thing turned itself off to make updates! Grrrr! Anyhow, we finally took off from Chicago an hour late. 14 hours 45 minutes in the air. There is nothing good to write about the food and the comfy level in the seat was not great either. I did, however, watch 6 movies: Footloose, Contagion (where the bug originated in Hong Kong and was maybe not the greatest choice), Ides of March, The Debt, In Time and London Boulevard. They were all decent films. The last hour or so I played solitaire mahong because my ears were hurting from the headset watching all those movies.
Finally arrived in Hong Kong. I had to check in at Dragon Air for my flight to Phuket. First the lady said I should go to Hong Kong Air. I told her that my boarding pass said Dragon and she said OH! Now they could not find my luggage. I was told to wait 30 minutes and she would again call for my luggage. After waiting 30 minutes she came running and said I had to hurry to my gate because it was a long way away at the other end of the airport! and for those of you who know, this is a very big airport. So it was down the elevator, take the train, up an escalator, running through the terminal, then security (which of course had a long line), running again, down an escalator and on to a bus! Then up an escalator again - passing by a Starbucks (boy did it smell great, but I had no time to stop) and on to the plane as one of the last passengers. Phuh! After that the flight was uneventful.
At arrival in Phuket I was met by a sign with my name on it and led to the counter for lost luggage! My suitcases never left Hong Kong. They are supposed to deliver them sometime after midnight. Now I REALLY need a vacation!
We walked over to Turtle Village for a bite to eat. Bedtime!
Good morning! Well here I am back in the same chair as yesterday. Thought they would have a nice breakfast for us here but no! It is the same damn food as yesterday - looks like it really IS the same. Stale rolls, dried up cheese and crappy ham some watermelon and cookies. As I mentioned yesterday - not impressed at all! American is much better and the best is Cathay Pacific if you are going to travel to Asia! Well, those are the other airlines I have used and I am in no way fond of United. I hope I will not have to travel with them again. I am somewhat restricted as I am travelling on miles.
I hope that next time I write something it will be from Hong Kong!
Well, what seemed to be a positive thing turned out to be a disaster. I was sitting in the first class lounge waiting for the flight to be called. When it was 15 minutes to takeoff I went to the desk to ask if they hadn't started boarding yet. The girl at the desk was busy playing with her telephone and had forgotten to call me! Now she had to call the gate to wait for me and I had to run 10 gates down the concourse. Crap! So I did get onboard and we pulled away from the gate and stopped. And we waited and waited. After maybe 30 minutes the captain told us we had a faulty switch so we couldn't change fuel tanks when needed. On a flight to Hong Kong you definitely need that. So they changed the switch. Still didn't work. They changed the switch again . . . still didn't work so after 2 hours (!) they said we had to go back to the gate and deplane. We would not go until the morning. Luckily I was given a hotel room at the Hilton and some food vouchers. I was lucky - I got 2 food voucers of $15 each. But dinner still costed me another $30 for a sallad and a steak. Later found out that they should only have given me one voucer! Hopefully all will work out in the end.
Finally found a connection! The trip didn't start so great. My flight from Chicago to Tokyo was going to be delayed by 5 hours and I would miss my connections. So the whole trip had to be re-booked. The plan now is to fly via Hong Kong which is fine with me, because I will get a direct flight from Hong Kong to Phuket and eliminate the stop in Bangkok. The only drawback being that I will arrive in Phuket at 2 am! Oh well, it will still be paradise and a night in the hotel lobby isn't really that bad. I might get a room, who cares!
I was not very impressed with United's first class. Lousy food - something like an Egg McMuffin, a soggy croissant and some fruit. Now I am in the lounge and the food here is not great either. It looks as if it has been sitting out for quite some time. Hopefully the long flight to Hong Kong will have better food.
Next post from Hong Kong!
Just brushing up on my skills updating this blog as I am leaving on a trip to Thailand in a few days. I will start reporting on Wednesday February 15. I hope there will not be any weather related delays. The trip is long enough!
