The First Week of Suffering

Yeah..I know...you were all expecting daily bulletins. Well, I've been busy sorting stuff. You know how it is.

This week I joined the Rawai Game Fishing Club. This is the view from their HQ Clubhouse and Bar on Rawai Beach. It was a bit hard for me to stay there too long with such a tedious outlook and foul weather along with the incessant desire of the two charming bar ladies to bring me drinks and mop my fevered brow. Ah, well...I look upon all these trials as necessary to try and make life easier for you gentlemen when you come. You know, trying out local attractions etc..

And the advantage of joining the Club? Well, now I attend various fishy type functions and can bring everyone along as my club guests. And we get trips a bit cheaper on the boats. Tomorrow, I am taking part in a Club fishing competition on one of the lakes so will hopefully meet a few of the members. I understand a few of the lads have got their own boats...?????

By the end of today there will be 3 anglers here to stay for a couple of weeks...they are allowed to recover from Jet Lag etc tomorrow while I am away fishing and then on Sunday we set off for the first of our 3 day Similan Island liveaboard fishing trips. The last trip we did (in March 2011) was the final Blog entry before returning to Weymouth earlier in the year...take a look at the fish for an idea of what it's all about.



There's lots of little secrets to discover on Phuket. On my way back from Thai lessons one day, I stopped at a little roadside bar for a coffee and to try and descramble my brain after my two hour intensive language lesson and chatted to the owner. She asked me if I liked swimming. Thinking this was another of those 'come upstairs' Thai lady chat-up lines, I reluctantly forced myself to follow her across the road, into a small shopping mall and up some stairs. Thinking fortune was actually smiling on me for once, she took my hand and led me onto the top floor and showed me the view. A roof top swimming pool!! Immaculate. Big. Deep. Pristine water. No people. Bloody Hell!! (Person in pool is The Jai...I allow her to come sometimes).

And now, every other day I try to pound up and down the pool for an hour. I am assured by this week's chaps that they too want to try and do a few lengths (yeah, I bloody bet they do!!) before the day gets too hot.

Unbelievable, eh? I mean..just look at it. The only downside is the cost. It's a whole £1 but luckily you can stay all day if you wish until 9pm. Well, it is important to get value for money when such large sums are being handed over.

Lunch...yes...served on the Colonial Veranda...at £3. Drinks, ice creams, massage, Sir....yeah, if you must.

Funny how certain words and phrases come to mind as used by friends back home. I find I am often quoting Mr Chris Caines (he of Tiger Lily fame...and NOT happy at the moment.....b***ted boats). 'I'm pissed off being so happy'....ha; some of us are born to suffer. No doubt Jeff, Steve and Keith will be feeling just as depressed this time tomorrow.

The previous Blog featured ex-UK charter skipper John Pearce's new £1 million Game Fishing boat. I visited John a couple of days ago. He's moved to Phuket Boat Lagoon. It must be awful living at this Marina. The entrance to the Marina from the busy Phuket Town/Airport road has uniformed security staff who doff their caps or salute you as you drive in. The grounds are immaculate, lawns, scrubs, flowers...all being manicured by a team of uniformed Thai gardeners. There's a shopping centre, bars, marina side restaurants, sleek little harbourside boutiques, cafes...in fact, a whole little world contained within the marina boundary.

And the houses?? Serious dosh some of them...£$zillions. John's lovely 3 bed-roomed bungalow opens out onto the scene above. You can fish from your lounge or bedroom. These little canals lead into the main marina...so there's fish all over the place.

After a hard day's Game Fishing, you can leave your boat on the pontoon for the harbour staff to crawl all over with the fresh water and then polish, get into your tender and gently cruise back to your marina side dwelling...with the patio doors opening as you approach and the slender form of the house maid waiting with a G and T in her elegant hand as you disembark.

You know, this is a bloody terrible place to live. I don't know how I am going to put up with it until the end of March. I mean, as I sat there looking at this view, sipping my G and T, house maid (they're all expert massagers) releasing the tension from my neck and shoulders (yeah, yeah..I know what you're thinking), I found myself thinking of my fellow skippers enjoying gale force conditions and rapidly declining temperatures back home in Weymouth and wondering how my beloved customers were passing their day....

Yes, chaps, I miss you all dearly.