Phuket - everything is somehow different here ...

Check-in the night before at the Naiyang Park Resort went smoothly. A staff member brought our suitcase to the bungalow. We were not allowed to touch the bags. Even the taxi driver from the airport had forbidden us to lift the bags into the car ourselves ... it felt foreign to us; we could have done it ourselves ... but no, we were not allowed. And this was despite the fact that the fare had already been paid as a fixed price. However, we had no cash, so we couldn't give a tip either.

The next morning, we gathered for breakfast on the terrace. The first glance over what was offered startled us a bit. About 10 types of rice with stews in various Thai-flavored variants, which were quite spicy, were available. Such a lunch or dinner is not what we are used to for breakfast. There was bacon and eggs and sausages, but the sausage was boiled and the bacon was very crispy, practically uncuttable with a knife.

Cereal seems to be completely unknown here. No selection, just cornflakes and milk in mini bowls. How often should one walk back and forth until one is full? Additionally, there were two types of bread with two jams: strawberry and pineapple. After that, we weren't really in the mood for the meal times that lay ahead of us ...

Regardless, one finds something to eat, and we will get full.

By the way, we are here in an absolutely Russian company. There are a few Germans in the complex and on the beach, but 95 percent of the people here speak Russian. Where else should they go ---???

After that, we went to the nearby beach. The weather was a bit gray, but if you only have to cross the street, it isn’t much of a journey. The water was pleasantly warm and there were small waves.

For the afternoon, we had signed up for a neck and back massage. It was quite cheap, and we thought that after all the driving in the car, it could only be good for us. We both had tensions and figured that for just under 10 euros, one could get a 45-minute massage.

When we arrived at the agreed time for our massages, the ladies first raised their eyebrows. They were only expecting one person, and that person was supposed to receive a foot massage. However, since we were two and wanted back massages, there was a big question mark in the room. To make matters worse, except for one of the three ladies, no one spoke or understood English. And the other one only did so very rudimentarily. They explained to us, using unclear Thai words and gestures, that only one person could be massaged first. Okay, that wasn’t really a problem; one would just come back to the 'Massage Harbour' after three-quarters of an hour ... I was about to leave when one of the women followed me, armed with two towels and a small suitcase. She tried to make it clear that she wanted to come with me and would massage me in our bungalow. Oh, it was so embarrassing; I actually didn't want her to come ... I felt all the glances from the people we passed on the way to the bungalow were wishing me 'lots of fun' ... they had no idea what kind of massage I had wished for ... but that was certainly just in my head and not in the minds of the people here at the resort.

The massage turned out to be good as well. I don’t know how it must have looked, but the woman was practically climbing on my back and was really working me over ... yes, one could say that. At times it really hurt. But I thought that it must be like this, that it should hurt ... so I let it happen and in the end, it felt good.

Thorsten had the same experience; we then exchanged our experiences and what had been done.

We ended the evening at the resort's restaurant with a pizza and a large Singha beer. It was really delicious.