Another day in Phuket

Its our hottest day yet. The sun has been out all day. It was 35 degrees in the shade and 30 degrees inside. A good day for a rest day. Later we're going out to what is called Dino Park. A mini putt course built around dinosaurs.

I went for a ride today. Made it back which is always great. I went north past Pa Tong and a couple of the other beaches. Beautiful beaches and a great road. Eventually it went slightly inland and over the hills. Straight over the hills. Near the top I veered off onto a small side road. It went up even steeper (good thing for Baldwin St this is not in the Southern Hemisphere), About 2/3rds of the way up I actually had to walk. Never done that on a road bike before. I thought I might get a nice view but having got to the top and a couple of hundred meters it just starting going down real steep. I wasn't having any of that so turned around and went back. You kind of lose the concept of false flats. It seems like I was either going 25Km or slower or 40Km or quicker. Its most disconcerting to be cruising along thinking I am going at 40Km/hr only to look down to realise I am going 50. That sounds great but I prefer to be going a little slower so I can react to whatever is happening on the road. I also found my focus starting to drift in the heat. Kind of like you get after a hard 100Km of riding. My total trip war 35Km, or about 1.5hrs.

Splash Planet yesterday was a great distraction from our earlier issues. This place is great. The price is supposed to be about 3900Bt but by ringing up we got a reservation and paid 3200Bt. This appears to happen all the time as it is off season. Catching a regular taxi would have cost 2000Bt but through our guest house it cost 1500 return.

The park itself is fantastic for kids under 13. Two very high rides called the Super Bowl and the Boomerang. Julia by herself may have been tall enough but was not heavy enough. She got stuck and needed to manoeuvre herself out. I went with Sue on the Boomerang and because of our combined weight we went shooting up real high on a near vertical side before flying back and almost capsizing in the stopping pool due to our speed.

The park is very well catered for and unlike the rest of Phuket all rules are adhered to rigidly. Some of us had heat stroke last night because of all the time in the sun. Its supposed to be thunderstorms and occasional sun. However, after the first couple of days its just been sun, sun and sun. I preferred the occasional rain.

Anyway off snorkeling tomorrow and I think the girls are going to have a blast.

Henry