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Planning our next adventure to Hong Kong, India and Sri Lanka in Dec 2014 - Feb 2015.

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Epilogue - Sat June 8 - The Journey Home

Flight to Sydney was very uneventful. A bit late leaving and a Flight time of 8hours 20 minutes, arrived Sydney time 9:30. All four of us managed to get a reasonable sleep though sitting in Sydney transit area feeling a bit weary.  Six and a half hours before our flight to Auckland so we had a coffee, had a few hands of cards, browsed the Duty Free shops, no purchases they seem to be very overpriced.  

 We have all agreed to stay awake to try and adjust to the time zones..... Kim suggested she might snooze on the plane. No says Russell, you have to stay awake so we can have a good sleep tonight...... 10 minutes later......

    Russell NOT sleeping at Sydney airport!

Only a couple of hours to go.  We are all very much looking forward to seeing family and friends.

Day 50, Fri 7 June - Our final day in Asia

Well the last day has finally arrived. It was time for last minute shopping and swimming. Kim and Russell had cheese and jam on toast in their unit, Les and Brent had no cheese, bread or jam so went down to the Absolute restaurant and had brunch!

Then it was time for a morning swim, Brent at the beach and the other three at the pool.

Kim and Les decided that there was no point taking Thai money home and there was a few square inches in the bags so headed off towards the Big C shopping Centre.  The boys, having had enough of shopping (can't quite understand why?) decided a cold beer at the Halfway Inn was more their style so girls and boys split for a couple of hours!

Shopping done the girls went back to make sure it all would go in the cases and in triumph headed down to the pool.  The boys arrived shortly after and at 4 pm it was time for the final swim.  Next was a bite to eat and final pack, AND into our travel gear and shoes!!! After 7 weeks it was a bit of a shock.

Taxi arrived at 7pm and an easy hour to the airport. No problems with check in or customs, and three got through immigration easily however ........

Lesley, being friendly when advised that she was leaving on the last day of her visa said "yes, I love Thailand, its lovely and warm and NZ is really cold" Immigration officer says - "ah do you want to stay in Thailand?"  I laughed and said yes that would be good..... Hmmmmmm she started checking and re-checking the passport (other three intrepids are standing pn the OTHER side, waiting, laughing).  Then a senior officer is called over, "you want to live in Thailand?"  Les chuckles and says hmmmm no I must go home but it is lovely over here....... "You have bought HOUSE in Thailand?"  No, no, no,  I am going back to NZ oh dear!  They stamped my passport but didn't look entirely happy.  Note to,self, next time just say nothing!  Intrepid four were in the departure by about 8.30!

Spent the very last Baht on beers and sammies and boarded on time at 9.45pm..... Australia here we come.

Day 49, Thurs June 6 - Packing, playing and preparing to leave....

Today with less than 48 hours to go it was time for the test run of packing the bags, no more hypothetical discussions about whether it will all fit. Turns out both parties have sufficient space and can even squeeze a bit more in..... Shame we are down to the last few Baht.

    Brent and Les are looking good!  Ooooops forgot to put the Suit Bag in the photo!

   Kim and Russell are getting there..... Even room for the biscuit tins!!

While the trial pack was going on it was a chance to sort out any excess items that would not be making the trip back to NZ. We ended up with quite a pile.... From vegemite to face masks, from instant noodles to coconut lollies and instant coffee to novels. While we are not happy to give money to beggars we decided to put the booty into bags and give them to a couple of people on the street when we went out in the evening. 

About mid-day we went back to Song Pee Nong and had a lovely brunch then spent the afternoon reading, swimming and generally enjoying the last of our summer. About 7.30 decided it was time to go to the Barefoot  Beach Shack restaurant (for the third time!!!) for our last official dinner in Thailand. On our way we came across one Mum and toddler on the side of the road and deposited one bag with her.  She looked really pleased and the little girl was straight into it to see what she might find!

   Walking Street...... it gets closed off at night and the bars rage on till the wee small hours.

We continued on to the Restaurant, it was busy tonight but we were more than happy to sit in the cool of the evening having a cool drink while we waited for our delicious meal.

    Ready to order our last beach meal of the trip.

As expected we soon had wee children coming to the table selling flowers.  We didn't buy any but the littlest girl became the recipient of the second goody bag..... it was a delight to see her face when she realised we were serious and she was allowed to have the bag.  The dear wee thing could hardly lift the bag but her smile spread from ear to ear!

    Brent and the happy wee Flower Seller with her goody bag.

Finished the meal and had a lovely walk back along the beach to "home".

Saying good-bye to Day 49......

Day 48, Wed June 5 - The Adventure is nearly done

As day 48 dawns the reality is sinking in. With only 3 more days and two nights on a wonderful Tropical Island the foursome start to reminisce about the wonderful 48 days.

Spent the day doing as little as possible except swimming and reading.  Didn't  even eat very much.... Kim and Russell had lunch at 3.30 and Brent and Les hung out till tea time at 8.30!  Went to Song Nee Pong for tea and it was another successful choice.  Unfortunately no photos today, the boys are going to get fired any day now! So here's a couple of favourites that didn't make it in to previous blogs, just to make it interesting...

    A self portrait in the lift at the Hanoi Guest House - Saturday 11th May

   Three and a bit of the travellers on the way to Hoi An, Vietnam, May 13.

   Beautiful Words on a statue in a Buddhist Temple in Siem Reap - Wed May 22.

   Angkor Wat (no words required) Wed, May 22

   The Fruit market in Phuket Town, Tues May 28

There's plenty more where these came from.  Might need to use s few more tomorrow if the boys don't get busy with those cameras!

Day 48 bites the dust!!

Day 47, Tues June 4 - No Thai Today

Well the Intrepid Four have definitely got into the groove of rest and relaxation. We didn't even make our own breakfast this morning. It had been agreed that we would go to the restaurant at the resort for brunch and have a standard Big Breakfast or Eggs Benedict! After nearly 6 weeks of pretty much Asian cuisine it was nice to have some familiar "kiwi" food. 

    Breakfast Al Fresco at the Absolute Sea Pearl

 After brunch it was swim time which saw Brent at the beach and Les and Kim and Russell at the pool.  We all are very aware that there is only 3 more days before the big trip back to NZ so are trying to cram as much R & R into our last few days.  The books are being read, the sun is being sought and in Russell's case the music is being composed!  

A few discussions today on whether there's enough room in the bags for the shopping so far or whether there is maybe space for more.....

The biggest decision of the day was ..... where to go for dinner????   The tailor has recommended an excellent Indian restaurant so we all agreed that we'd make today our non Thai food day and go for Indian!   

The food must have been good because we forgot to take a photo until after it was all gone!  

    Dinner (table) at the Indian, Parkistan, Arabic, Seafood Halal restaurant take your pick!

Kim obviously decided that there was 2 square inches of space in their suitcase and on the way home from dinner they stopped to do some negotiations.....

Day 47 closing fast.....!

Day 46, Mon June 3 - A Royal day of Rest

After the big night out last night it was a bit of a slow start to Queen's Birthday and the Intrepid Four didn't speed up very much for the whole day.

The wind down to the end of the week has begun in earnest and it was a day of swimming, reading, a bit of golf watching for one (probably no names necessary) and some composing as well as a bit of strumming.

Brent and Lesley favoured the beach while Kim and Russell preferred the calmer waters in the pool.  With the afternoon swim ending close to sunset around 6.30 Brent noted that it was one of the better sunsets of the whole adventure.....

   The view from the Atrium at the front of our resort.

   A local fishing boat in the sunset.

   Patong Beach at sunset.

The penultimate fittings for the clothes was followed by a stroll down to the beach markets in search of some real street food for tea!  

We all went for a Phad Thai, Russell had seafood, Brent had chicken and Kim and Les shared a vegetarian ...... the girls also had a deep fried potato twirl each!  We sat at a table right in front of the food stall and devoured our meals.

   Russell's seafood Phad Thai being cooked.

   Real food on the beach.

Kim and Les did a spot of market browsing while the boys finished their beers then it was a mad dash in the rain back to the Absolute Sea Pearl.

So long Day 46!