Phuket trip: Days 1-2 (23-24 Oct 2022)

Hey everyone,

I know it’s been ages since my last post and many of you know that I’ve actually done some traveling since then. However, I was just too occupied to update. I will however later on try to do at least an overview of my trip to the Bordeaux region of France

Catherine Viart (Friend and former colleague from Stonehill International School in Bengaluru and I near St. Astier in July 2022

and also my quick trip up to Dubai which was just a couple of weeks ago.

Annie, Kimmie and I taking a dinner break after the aquarium and before the dancing fountain in Dubai in late September 2022

For now though we are focusing on Phuket, where I went to visit with my dear friend and former colleague Elisabet Becerra. Elisabet and I worked together from 2016-2019 at DAIS school in Mumbai, where we both taught Spanish. I had previously tried to visit Elisabet and her husband Sergio in January of 2022 but the gift that keeps giving, COVID-19, once again put a wrench in my travel plans. At that time all three of us would have been free to travel and visit together, but it just didn’t work out. Nevertheless, I was determined to keep trying to visit as long as Elisabet was still happy to receive me.

My trip began at 7:30 PM on October 24th, with an 800 INR (9.70 USD) Uber from Purva Venezia in New Yelahanka to the Bengaluru airport which took right at 50 minutes.

Diwali decorations at my housing society had already started when I left on the 24th.

Due to reports of massive crowds in the previous days, I had wanted to make sure to arrive to the airport a full three hours ahead of time. Because of various drivers cancelling (which is incredibly normal in Bengaluru), even though the trip itself was relatively quick, I didn’t actually arrive to the airport until right at 9:00 PM. However, at least for international travel, the check-in process with Air Asia was very quick and there was also no line to speak of for security, so by 9:35 PM I was already at the entrance to the airport lounge. On that note, first special thanks to Dorothee Chareyron for introducing me to airport lounges in India and then to Ranmali Hapugalle for teaching me that I could always use my HDFC platinum debit card to get lounge access in India for only 2 INR, which is essentially free.

Perhaps the best reason to take advantage of the lounge pass is the buffet, especially if you have a wait longer than one hour. This was my first of two full plates of food.

I had the goal of eating a lot at the lounge so that I would sleep through my entire 4.5 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur which was due to leave at 11:25 PM. The seats on the plane were cramped and with a non-adjustable headrest, but I was jammed into a window seat where I could lean my head against the wall. So, I put on a sleep sounds app and was able to sleep about 3.5 hours despite the uncomfortable conditions. Upon arrival to KLIA at 6:00 PM security was quick, and then I made my way over towards my connecting gate area.

While the hall itself was very clean and reasonably comfortable, there just wasn’t enough to occupy me for a six hour layover.

While I had to admit that it was clever the way the bathroom mirrors were made to look like airplane windows, I nevertheless found it slightly disconcerting.

Considering the paucity of entertainment , at 9:00 AM I decided to cross the second security check to get over to the P gate area; I reasoned that maybe there was more to do on that side. In summary, I was completely wrong.

The gate area is exactly that and nothing more. There was nothing to do but sit and wait. There were a couple of very overpriced but simple eateries, one selling old pastries and instant noodles, and another selling slightly more presentable quick dishes. With nothing else to do, at 10:30 AM I bought a wonton noodle soup for 7.39 USD.

While I give them credit for at least attempting to make it more presentable, it was essentially just instant noodles with a couple of wonton thrown in. It tasted fine, but should have cost less.

Fortunately the gate opened right at 11:30 and the departure went smoothly with us taking off promptly at 12:30 PM. I was in a middle seat, and it was still incredibly cramped, but the flight was only 1.5 hours. As the flight was approaching Phuket, I had to admit that the view was amazing, with majestic small islands jutting out of the sea, and vibrant green landscape with plentiful bodies of water breaking up what otherwise could have become a monotonous green stretch of land.

Things went extremely smoothly with immigration and by 1:30 PM I had already withdrawn 3900 THB from the cash machine. I generally wouldn’t have bothered, but my friend Elisabet had warned me that many/most regular establishments in Phuket don’t take cards.

This robot cleaner was busy at work in the Phuket airport.

Maybe it’s just me, but I thought even the view from the airport window was quite beautiful with the vibrant green hilltop in the distance.

I was going to be staying with my friend Elisabet, and she would not be home until 4:00 PM, so I needed to kill some time before heading out of the airport. As I was also going to attempt taking the bus from the airport, per Elisabet’s instructions, I followed the signs to cross over to the domestic terminal. There were actually quite a few food options on that side, including a Burger King, but I opted for something more local since it was my first meal in Phuket.

Pork congee with soft-boiled egg and iced cappuccino 280 THB ($7.42 USD). It was tastier than it looks. I ordered it because I remember a character in a Thai drama I had watched was always eating congee.

I then asked around to see where I could get the yellow airport bus. It wasn’t “hard” to find, but you definitely won’t find it unless you are looking for it. Also, the bus schedule seems to be completely wrong. It was easy to pay the 100 THB (2.65 USD) in cash and tell the woman which stop I needed, and the seats were comfortable on the uncrowded bus. In contrast, a taxi would have been 650 THB direct from the airport or 450 if I were to have walked a bit away from the airport and then used a ride hailing app called inDrive. Of course taking the bus also meant I would have to walk some once I arrived, but I only had a light backpack so was fine with that since the weather was pleasant enough.

I had been warned that masks were expected on the bus, so I had mine available. Nevertheless I found it a bit silly that the woman went around checking our temperature five minutes after we had already departed. Still, I acknowledged that the ticket lady was “doing her job” well, since there was no obvious indication of the stops, and she made sure everyone got off where they had indicated upon buying the ticket.

I arrived to my stop by 4:08 PM and loaded up my Google map app with walking instructions to Elisabet’s house. The route was rather random and evidently not even the best way, but it was a nice walk with lots of interesting things to see along the way.

Woohoo! Together again with Elisabet Becerra after 3 years and 4 months!

After a leisurely 40 minutes I arrived and had a nice chat with Elisabet while getting settled into the guest room of her beautiful home. We went for a quick bite at a nearby restaurant, but we both agreed that the food although “fine” was uninspiring. Still, it was the company that mattered.

Tomorrow’s plan is to try to check out Phuket old town while Elisabet is at work, and then spend more time with her, exploring nearby after she gets home from work. Regardless of what actually happens, I’m sure it will be a great day. Thanks for reading along and feel free to let me know if you have questions about anything I saw or how to get around any of the places I’ve mentioned. I will immediately try to follow up with the next entries.