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Your faithful reporter here, in Bang Saphan. Actually found free wireless internet at the hotel restaurant. Wow.
I'll tell you what I'm looking at right now (other than my wife's fine ass as she digs around in the breakfast buffet).
Tranquil waves washing in on the shore. Nothing like the big rollers we get off the Andaman. The water is murky and the sand is still wet from this morning's thunderstorm. We've had a noisy one every morning at around 5am, so I've not made it out to Koh Thalu for snorkelling (rainstorms=cloudy water).
The centerpiece of this little resort is a nice-sized free-form pool. Big enough to do laps. Right next to it - I kid you not - is a legal-sized boxing ring with ropes and mat, sitting right out where most resorts would place a little flowery garden or a bowling lawn or outdoor spa. Which makes this a good romantic retreat for wife-beaters (or husband-beaters - I'm not a chauvanist). No one's gone at it since we've been here.
The gardens themselves are great. As most Phuket resorts SHOULD have done, they've left all the old-growth trees and there are some really amazing plants. Lots of giant butterflies too - the kind that send eccentric British dudes in khaki shorts into ecstatic frenzies. Next door is a coconut plantation and yesterday we saw men chasing trained monkeys up to knock down coconuts.
The lodgings are a bit rustic for the price (1-3000 baht), though our only real complaint is the smell of the septic tank which must have backed up due to the rain.
My wife wants me to put in a word for Noo, her massage lady. Best to listen to her too, as she's quite the massage connoisseur. Noo works in a hospital and was able to tell my wife all sorts of things about her physiology and psychology, just from an hour's massage. Significantly she said, "You should stop worrying about your husband - he's a good man." Don't know how she got this from a backrub, but who am I to argue?
The best thing about this place is the food. The resort is French-run and most of the patrons are French as well. I've never had bad food at a French resort. Probably because they know French customers can get noisy if the food sucks.
Another good detail: they play Thai music. I really wonder about resorts that play modern pop in their restaurants. Who comes to Thailand to listen to Britney Spears and Crazy Frog?
Haven't been into town. Haven't been off the reservation, frankly, as there's nothing much out there. A stroll down the beach and you'll see real fishermen with real nets (the kind they don't let onto Phuket beaches). I haven't been in the waves - too many giant jellyfish on the shores for my liking.
All in all, a nice quiet stop between Phuket and Bangkok. If you're making the drive, Bang Saphan is a perfect break. Bring a frisbee.
- Mr Lucky, roving reporter
[I've not named the hotel as the moderators might object to the free advertising - but it's not hard to find. It's the only one in Bang Saphan with a pool.]
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