Saturday June 22nd, 2013 – Nai Yang, Thailand 

After just over 24 hours of travel time (including stop over in Auckland), and one terrifying flight out of three (Christchurch to Auckland flight literally had me in tears), we arrived at our Nai Yang Beach resort around 1am on Saturday morning, and woke up in the morning feeling surprisingly fresh and ready to get into it. While we made our Bangkok to Phuket flight (which was touch and go after spending an hour on the tarmac in Auckland), our luggage didn’t. Unfortunately this meant putting my travelling outfit (including long pants and second day undies) back on in 30 degree heat… after breakfast, two trips to reception to check, and heading down to the local shop to buy some temporary sunbathing gear (1 x men’s singlet, 1 x men’s shorts, 1x bikini, 1x cotton dress for $60 NZD) our bags finally turned up. Phew.

First thing to do, obviously, was to hit the pool bar! Although Thailand doesn’t seem to be overrun with Kiwi visitors (certainly not like Fiji and Raro anyway), the first of two couples we chatted to during our stay were from Auckland and were planning on watching the All Blacks VS France game down at a bar on the beach, so after a few more cocktails in the pool, we headed down to join them at ‘The Beach Club’ for some chicken satays and a Singha or two. After another victory for the All Blacks, and with a combination of jet lag, lots of sun and drinks, we headed back to our room for room service (butter chicken and a beef burger.. not very Thai, I know) and an early night.