Day 7: Chiang Mai to Phuket "Yielding...yielding...yielding....MERGING!"

We had a lazy morning since I stayed up late looking at Phuket hotels and flights. We thought about getting another scooter and driving into the countryside, but it was raining, and we didn’t think that was a great idea. (You're welcome, Mom.) We did need to buy flights, so K & I headed to the AirAsia office nearby (on the scooter, of course!). It was said to be open at 9, but it was still closed at 9:45, so we just drove around for a bit and created this lovely video to display our scootering skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn3TMyKmujo

Afterwards we headed to the women’s prison to try out their massage. Yes, you read that correctly. Now before you get in a huff that ‘Locked Up Abroad’ will have a new story to tell, let me explain. The women that are due for release within 6 months are taught job skills and can earn money for savings, and clearly massage is a good job to have in Thailand. So similar to getting your hair done at beauty school, you can get a massage at the prison. I planned on getting the real deal – full Thai body massage. If you’re going to get a beatdown, who better to give it than an inmate?! Unfortunately they are pretty popular (thanks a lot, Lonely Planet!) and were all booked up for the whole day by 12:30 pm. Since we had a flight to catch, we won’t be able to tell what no doubt would have been an awesome story. Sorry, folks.

The rest of the day was spent waiting in airport and planes. "Chiang Mai, you will be missed!" We got to Phuket around midnight. I booked our hotel off latestays.com to get a resort deal (about $60/night), and Kata Palm Resort is pretty nice. The Kata beach across the street is nice also, but the town itself is a bit crappy. We're pretty much here to get in some SCUBA, so that's ok. Since we were traveling all day and turned down at the prison, we did not get in our daily massage. Thus, I have no report. I know this is disappointing to everyone (including the usual participants), but it will be ok. We'll just pick back up where we left off tomorrow. Over and out.