Got up yesterday ad while it was still cool, put on the second patch over the first patch on Puff. Let's hope this one does the trick. I'd love to see her stay inflated for more than 24 hours.

We walked up to the car rental and picked up a nice Honda for driving around town. Lots of papers to sign and copies of passport and my Pohnpei Drivers license. Off we went on the wrong side of the road. Over lots of speed bumps before we even got to the main road into Phuket town. Stopped at one of the Tesco grocery stores to get a few things and found such a meager selection that we had to go farther into town to one of the shopping centers with a good market. Had lunch and rushed out to the airport. What chaos!!! No where near enough parking so I dropped off Tracy at the terminal and started circling the lot for a place. Out here, if you find a space to park you might be blocking a person in but hey, it's a space my car will fit in so you put your car in it and don't set the parking brake. When the other person wants out, they simply puch your car out of the way, get in their car, drive out and then push your car back where it was. I've seen it done and just about every crowded lots we have been in. Some have security guards that will push the cars around for you.--CRAZY. Any way, I found a taxi about to come out so I parked myself in the lane wand waited for them to come out. For some reason, they got called back tothe terminal but I wasn't about to give up my chance for a space so I just waited ticking off the cars behind me. One guy came up and told me to move. I heatedly refused. Another came up and told me those space were reserved for taxis. I again refused to yield my claim to the space and when the cab finally pulled out, I pulled in. In front of me was another Honda and in front of him was another car. We were three in a row. By the way, If it was reserved for taxis, there were no taxis any where around me. The Phuket airport gets over 9 million people passing through it every year. It's sort of organized chaos with hoards of taxi drivers or their agents hovering around the main exit accosting travelers when they come out to use them. They were in your face big time.

Matt and Szonic came through with no problems and were never questioned about all the parts in their luggage. Our new toys were alright. We all piled into the car and took off for the marina where once settled in, we went tothe bar/restaurant for a drink and then headed out to find a local restaurant along the longest beach on Phuket Island. It's a seventeen kilometer stretch of sand along the western side of the island. With maps and Matt's smart phone in had we had a great time, finding a beautiful beach with warm water and a wonderful family owned restaurant where Szonic--a chef--could see how things are done out here. A great evening but the two of them had burned the candle a bit to much so we headed back to Zephyr where they promptly crashed.
Today, we are heading back into Phuket city to explore. This time, Tracy isn't going to sit in the front seat. With us driving on the wrong side of the road, to say she was nervous was an understatement!!!! Grunts, groan, yells and shreaks were the sounds that filled the car as I drive down the road. I even got beaten one once with a map when I got to close to another car and her screaming didn't seem to get me farther from the other car. AH, the joys of driving around in a land full of crazy drivers. The journey continues!!