Photos from Phuket Update

just need to share the gorgeousness of it all!

obligatory welcome flowers, cool towel and sweet water 

my own private outdoor bubble bath

a big bed for little me

my own private pool in my villa

the bridge to the beach

the main building

panorama of the white sandy beach 

the hotel pool was incredible that mazed all around the back and into the spa area

cocktails on the beach

sunset

Mossarium

my very eternally cool friend has started up a business.  she creates mossariums.  ive since discovered that it is not a unique idea but i still love it!  i bought "private beach" because it reminds me of holidays while i sit under florescent lighting tip-tapping away on my computer.  my mossarium started to sprout mushrooms as well and my friend told me it is a good thing as it means my little ecosystem is thriving.

now all i need to do is come up with the ultimate idea, quit my job and be the boss!

here are some snaps of my little world:

Paradise

i think ive mentioned, but i will again, that i have upaid days from work i am 'encouraged' to take and then couple that with very cheap flash sales by a major airline in the region and it equals paradise!  so, the haggis jetted off to taiwan for a stag do and i came to phuket to relax and get my chipped tooth fixed as medical tourism is very big in thailand.  i stayed at the most glorious banyan tree and had a wonderful time doing yoga, eating delicious food, reading, napping and swimming in their beautiful winding pool or in the amazing andaman sea.

after getting a new driver from the airport and therefor doubling the time it should have taken - upon check in, i received the welcome sweet water drink, cool towel and floral bracelet requisite for any tropical hotel in asia.  i gave the floral bracelet a sniff and thought if only i could bottle this.  in all my time, ive never smelled anything as lovely - not in a single bottle of expensive perfume or in any other country other than thailand.  then, i was told they upgraded me to a pool villa, not a jacuzzi villa.  oh the JOY!!!  and off i shuttled to my digs.  the villa was large with a big sunken bed, an outdoor bathtub and my own private pool!  i could not have been happier if only my wee haggis was with me.

over the next couple of days, i did yoga and pilates (offered free), had delicious thai food, went to the beach and relaxed by the pool.  i took long baths in the outdoor bath and swam nekkid in my villa pool.

it is not yet the busy season so it wasnt too bad.  a few koreans, japanese and mainlanders but by far, everyone was out numbered by the russians.  i think they could compete with the chinese for "worlds loudest tourists" easily.

anyway, i am still here waiting to shuttle off to the hotel and will post more photos but here is one of the main property (below).  i am looking forward to seeing the wee haggis whom i have not seen since thursday night, really, but it is a beautiful day and i am sad to leave this little slice of heaven.

Excuse Me?

look, i like kids (well behaved kids) but i dont understand where people get off just because theyve had one.

i got this email from work today:
NAME OF IRRITATING COLLEAGUE has decided that he would like us to buy him a high chair for NAME OF HIS RECENT OFFSPRING. Would you be OK with contributing $120? That way, we should be able to buy what he needs.

before you get upset, it is 120 hong kong dollars and the equivalent to 15 us dollars but it is not the money. if i liked this guy, heck, id give 120 us dollars but its the fact that people feel ok to say stuff like this.  and mind you, this is now the second colleague who has asked for a specific gift from the team in the last couple of months. i want to give something that people will use and want but i find asking colleagues for a specific gift that is quite significant a bit crass.

am alone here making a mountain out of a molehill or do you agree?