After a night in Bangkok I'm now writing this from the Mangosteen resort in Phuket... or 'Mangoteen' as the locals pronounce it! The pictures on the web are a stunning exercise in deceptive scale, meaning that the swimming pool isn't quite the lagoon it seems, but apart from that it is about as nice as expected. Very peaceful, great food and not enough villas for it to feel crowded, even in high season. I am of course the only single guy probably ever to have visited, apart from honeymooners and baby boomers, but they've got a cheap deal and it's well away from the tourist stuff. Perfect for winding down. Phuket itself is a lot bigger than expected and the journey from the airport at the north tip to Rawaii right down south took about an hour by taxi. You can do this for 450baht if you're prepared to wait an hour for a meter cab, but I eventually gave up and for 200baht more got a ride down in a private cab.
Pic 1. The Mangosteen Resort - Marketing Shot
Pic 2 - The Reality :)
Plan for the first half of this week is to chill out and do nothing but eat, swim, catch sun and sort things out for i-genius. So far I've done the first three... now on to something constructive!
