13 March 2016. Life is tough here at JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort, Phuket, Thailand

We have now settled in really well and can confidently say this is a beautiful resort with the all inclusive deal that we have used via Luxury Escapes.  The resort is some 75-90 minutes from Phuket International Airport. 

It is in a spectacular setting, with a beach and pure white sand stretching for miles.  The rooms are 5 star with all mod cons and Superb air conditioning which works well in the extreme heat and humidity. We can walk directly out onto our balcony and just step into the pool, which feelss like bathwater.  This is the largest and longest pool in South East Asia stretching some 3,000 metres in an elongated E shape throughout the resort.  It is quite simply amazing and perfect to swim in.  Ken has been in between 2 and 3 times each day. He prefers this to the beach, which has quite a strong undertow and gets pretty deep quite quickly. 

There are hundreds of beach deck chairs out front in the beach area and on the grass in front of the Waterfront Restaurant and with white beach umbrellas it looks so picturesque with the palm trees swaying in the zephyr breeze.  But we find it too hot even under a beach umbrellas. 

The majority of people are Russian German, Swiss and Austrians with a sprinkling of English and Irish, no Americans and very few Aussies and Kiwis. 

For  the first 3 days we slept from about 10.30pm tthrough until 8.30am and that really reflects how tired we were after the wonderful but tiring Tauck - Portrait of India tour over 18 days with 2 additional days added at the end.  Our body clocks are now back to normal and we woke earlier at 7.10 am this morning. However, Jeanette is still not sleeping well with quite an interrupted night.  As a consequence she is tired during the day.

Breakfast is served inside or out at the Waterfront Restaurant and is one of the best buffet type breakfasts you can imagine. 

Lunch is also served there or out by the beach and is a mix of European and Thai / Asian food. 

For dinner we have the choice of several restaurants, we have now tried all three themed restaurants being Sakura, the Japanese Restaurant, then Olive the Live Mediterranean Restaurant with excellent nightly entertainment and Ta-Krai the superb local Thai restaurant.  We have enjoyed the Olive and Ta-Krai restaurants the best.  Tonight we will go to the Mediterranean buffet in Olive Restaurant.  Drink prices are steep with an average bottle of wine costing between A$70-110.  Beer is between A$8-12 per stubby and spirits between A$12-15 per glass.

The gym facilities are just superb very like the set up on a cruise ship.  The spa is a hive of activity.

Tonight they bring in local shopkeepers and set up a local market from 4.00pm - 8.00pm.  We will attend as Jeanette wants to look and purchase some items if the quality and price are reasonable. 

The wearher over these days has been remarkably consistent with clear blue skies, no wind and temperatures of 94-95 F degrees and 90% humidity, but no rain or any threat of rain.  This morning there are light cirrus clouds.

we were delighted that our stomachs behaved throughout the whole of our Indian itinerary, but there are some minor stomach issues here.  Again bottled water is the go. 

We also found out that we now leave here on 16th March arriving home mid- late morning on 17th March after a shortened stopover in Singapore one of our favourite cities.

Earlier we talked to Chris and Peita and briefly to Oliver, but not Seb.  We do look forward to seeing them toward the end of this next week. David is away playing tennis with friends in Euroa and we have had messages from him.   

Important news from our architect and builder our new home is progressing with lots of activity.  We look forward to seeing it and catching up on the detail on our return home. 

This beautiful resort has been a terrific place for some R & R before returning home.  We are fortunate in so many ways