Day 6 - Monday
Well my Georgia woke up with a worse sore throat and a fever, so it was off to the Doc for her and on antibiotics. She lost a whole day today and spent it in bed mostly sleeping, but me ... of course I went out here and there for some shopping and a massage on the beach! Dont worry my friend and I periodically checked in on her, so theres no need to report me to DOCS!
Today ... is the day I bought my bikini - SIZE XXL!!!!! I wanted to go for a massage on the beach, so figured it was easier to get an all-over body massage with a bikini on!!! By the way, massages at the Merlin were very expensive, I asked and they were about $60 per hour, whereas on the beach it was 300bt per hour, which is roughly $10, and every bit worth it! There are massage ladies all along the beach, between the pathway and the shoreline, and prices are all the same I think. So, once you find one you are happy with, you just keep going back to her! Also, on the beach pedicures and manicures are 200bt each. Some ladies will also paint beautiful flowers on your nails but not all of them are that creative.
Lunch was via pool service again. Georgia had no b'fast or lunch and we had room service for tea when she ate some garlic bread and icecream!
Today we did some shopping on Beach road, we found the stall holders there to be a bit friendlier and easier to bargain with than in Otop mkts. We also discovered the Ocean Plaza shops on Beach road which were cheap for your nibblies drinks toiletries and souvenirs, and also the Big One supermarket. Alcohol is sold everywhere. I bought my mandatory bottle of Smirnov Vodka at the 7 Eleven shop for $20AUD, which I thought was a bargain! Sad thing is that I didnt crack it open until day 4 - thats just not like me!!!

Day 7 - Tuesday - Fantasea at nite
The breakfast here at the Merlin is fantastic. Many many choices, from fresh fruit, cereal, toast, eggs done any way you want, hot food which changed daily like sausages, bacon, baked beans, hash browns and even chicken nuggets!
Georgia still on anitciotics, and now today my friends hubby has woke up with a sore throat, so he is off to docs and on antibiotics - so thats 3 down already!
We booked our Fantasea trip with our lovely lady "Apple" Prices on this trip were not as negotiable - I went to 3 different ticket booths and the price didnt vary greatly, but my Apple was still the cheapest! We paid 1600bt each (children same price unless they do buffet tea as well, then they are a bit cheaper) incl. transers, so still only $57 each, which I wd say is well worth it. There were only 3 of us that went, myself, Georgia and Riley and we had a gr8 time. We didnt realise that there is so much to do before you actually get into the show. You cd easily spend 3-4 hrs just on what is outside the "Elephant Palace", so if you plan to go, think of this. The show itself was amazing, not only the elephants which were gorgeous, but there is so much other stuff going on, sometimes you dont know where to look, from the cirque du sole style acrobatics to the chickens running across the stage to the magic tricks ... we were impressed! Late nite in bed by about 11.45pm (thats very late for me!) We had tea at the Banana Leaf again before we went. I had the most scrumptios prawn dish which cost me a whole $5!!!!!

Day 9 - Wednesday
My budget for the whole 2 weeks was approx. $200 per day, and amazingly, today was the first day that I actually spent under that $200!!!! I was so naughty, just buying everything in sight, all at gr8 prices! Today Georgia and I spent a few hrs at Jungceylon, which is H U G E!!! Its actually very confusing too and easy to get lost in. Its a series of circles, which actually dont join onto each other. We went in one entrance and came out so far away, I was so lost! Georgia needed shoes to do our elephant trek and I got some bargain Brooks one at one of the Sports stores in there.
Today I bought one of my sons an Ipod somewhere on Beach Rd. Its funny, the ipods they sell there look like real apple ipods, they have the ipod logo on them, but the shopkeepers will openly tell you they are not real ipods! If they didnt tell me this, I wdnt know cos I have no clue with things like that!!! Anyway, I got him a 2mg one for $53AUD, which I thought was ok. Now Im home, he says its good and he is very happy with it, but it took a lot of bargaining to get that price.
Did a lot of lazing around the pool today, and then I went for a beach massage in the avo - heavenly!!! We booked our Elephant Safari today with Siam Safaris, got good price on that with the lovely Apple.
Tea tonite was at Napoli on soi post office which is off Beach road. It was yummy italian food, expensive for thai standards but not australian standards. Dinner for 2 of us with drinks was 680bt, which is about $24. G had a pasta dish and I had calzone. I would recommend Napoli for a good italian fix!

Day 10 - Thursday - Drive down the south coast Phuket
Today we hired a driver from the Merlin which was well priced. For 4 of us it was only 1500 bt for 4-5 hours driving. Worked out to $13 per person. Itinery was: South to Karon and then Kata view point, which has a beautiful view of Patong and Karon beaches. Then to Nai harn beach for a stop and one hour swim. Quite big waves here, ab/fab beach, very postcard picturesque. G lost her brand new favourite sunnies while hit with a big wave and we then spend half an hour looking for them, but to no avail! Then to Promthep Cape lookout, to Rawai Beach, then Wat Chalong, where I encountered the only toilet I could not go to!!! It was filthy and smelly and I just cdnt bring myself to use it! We wanted to go up to see the Big Buddha but driver sd we cdnt so just saw it from the road. He said it is 45 metres high - amazing! Then last stop was a cashew nut factory, then home. It was a good trip and I wd urge people to do it. But ... it just made me want to see more and more of the island - so will have to be on my next trip!
G got her nails painted today and they are beautiful. Oh forgot to tell you she also got her hair braided on the first day at the Merlin for $20AUD. We later worked out it is a bit cheaper to have this done on the beach. We took her braids out today as they were very messy, and that took forever to take them all out!
Sad to say that tea was at Maccas again tonite ... please dont yell at me!

End of Part 2 - more tomorrow
Kitty