After one hour and twenty five minutes we arrived at Phitsanulok at 10:20 in the morning for a fuel stop.
This time the fuelers were quick and we were airborne again at 11:08 enroute to Bangkok.
It took exactly two hours of airborne time to fly to Bangkok - Don Mueang where we were parked out on the exposed tarmac between some visiting Bizjets.
35 litres of 100LL were pumped into the tanks, and we tied down to some heavy rubber chocks and a concrete fence base.
Thailand has not cottoned on to the idea of an FBO to service General Aviation visitors. You have to visit disparate and often confused offices, and this time 2 ½ hours were consumed before we got out of the airport.
In the flight planning office we filed a flight plan... Here, they put the first stop in the destination box on the ICAO flight plan form, and the route of flight in the [Remarks] box... I considered this unsafe and nearly made myself unpopular by suggesting that everywhere else I have done this the route of flight went into the [Route of Flight] box together with the time on the ground for each fuel stop. I even suggested we file individual flight plans for each of the legs to avoid confusion if they wanted to put just the first stop in the [Destination] box.
A request was put into the [Remarks] box for clearance to land at the military airfield at Prachuap, this would give them 20 hours notice... A telephone call there and then would have been a better idea.
I was not happy about the flight planning, I saw dangers in the way it was done, but I am in Thailand and they often do things differently here.

We walked out of the airport to the nearby bus stop and got into a taxi. It's a lot cheaper if you avoid using the airport terminal taxis.
The Pinnacle Hotel in Bangkok's Lumphini area is a very gay place to stay... There were two pairs of blue slippers and two blue dressing gowns in my room. I inspected the bed linen.
I dumped my stuff and took the underground to Rama IX for a meeting at SGA... It was hot on the street and I was glad of the glass of cold water the receptionist gave me.
Back at the Pinnacle, I showered, and by now I was very hungry... I'd had little to eat since breakfast.
In the lift an asian man with dyed red hair eyed me up and down with his intense eyes like he was looking at a tasty meal.
Then I ran into him again as I was looking for a place to eat... I walk quite fast though and disappeared with proper haste!
I ate in the Night Bazaar while live music was played on a stage and a Canadian girl at a table next to me talked endlessly into a silent man's ear... The same stuff I've heard so many times from disenchanted divorced politically correct media believers.
I enjoyed my Tiger Beer and Chicken & Rice while taking in the smiles of the happier Thai girls, living their lives without media effluent.

24th April

Poor Ed had not had a good night, he'd suffered from food poisoning and considered a packet of chocolate biscuits he ate at Phitsanulok was the likely culprit.
We met for breakfast at 06:00.
Don Mueang:
As usual the paperwork, paying the landing and parking fees, and then them trying to charge us for the previous visit's parking when we had parked at SGA's facility...
A security manager told us we should go in and out of the Domestic terminal, about a mile from the old International terminal where all the paperwork, and flight planning offices are. Walking a mile each way between terminals, plus a mile and a half each way between the airport parking area and the Domestic terminal in the Bangkok heat is not a desirable proposition.

Our bags were scanned and we took the stairs down to the exit with a quick visit to the loo on the way...
Thai society is the same wherever you go. Ladies sit for breakfast in the Wat or in the field, so why not on the floor of the old terminal?
The security guard was confused but then let us out for the walk across the apron to the aeroplane.

"..turn right two five zero, climb to four thousand five hundred feet, contact approach...".
Climbing to 4,500 would take us through cloud.
I wonder about Thai PPL holders with no instrument training being expected to obey ATC instructions to climb through cloud. Asian ways are obedient, and ATC does not know that you don't have an IR in a properly equipped aircraft.
We levelled a short time at 2,000 feet and then climbed in a big hole to 4,500 feet above the scattered clouds.
Hua Hin requires a week's notice for private flights, the King's palace is nearby. We flew by at 4,500 feet and 15NM offshore.
I spotted Norman Livingstone in his Mooney flying below us inbound to Hua Hin.
Prachuap military ATC asked us to confirm that we had permission to land there... It turned out that the flight plan remarks had not been acted on and we had not been granted permission... We were allowed to land though and Ed was able to stretch his legs. Later we found out that a complaint had been made about these two farangs landing without prior permission, to the Chiang Mai Flying Club. This was then smoothed over and we were invited back to visit again... Thai ways! Two bottles of whiskey were purchased for the return trip, English way!
We continued down the coast at 1,000 feet to Chumpon, a well staffed airport with a marble palace terminal VOR, ILS, and almost no traffic!
A member of the airport staff gave us a lift into town to buy petrol for the aeroplane, and for lunch. Thai airports are all friendly and helpful, (Don Mueang lets them down a little).
The final legs into Phuket took two hours of airborne time... We flew along the coast at 1,000 feet, then climbed to 2,500 feet as we passed Surat Thani and circumvented the large CB west of the field.
There was fantastic lift along the ridges and so we picked up some free speed.
Phuket told us to hold 5 miles from the airport so we slowed down, then they told us we were number one after all and an Airbus was on 25 miles final. We sped up and aimed to land ¾ of the way down runway 27.
The tower asked us our position as we passed their windows! ATC was looking down a long 3 degree slope and not on our steeper approach angle that took us slightly above the tower's windows.
Our expedited landing and departure off the runway meant the Airbus had no problem whatsoever.
We were parked at spot 23, exposed on acres of open tarmac, tied down to concrete blocks.
A little aeroplane like the Tecnam could easily be parked in any number of sheltered spots on the airport... but they don't know.
We refueled the aeroplane, it had burned a consistent 17 litres an hour at something over 90 knots cruise for the whole trip.

25th April

I had slept well, I was staying in a Dome Bungalow near Kata beach. The banging of nails in the construction site across the road woke me.
I walked to the beach and then into the town to explore a bit, and to delete a load of spam messages off my e-mail inbox.
Supaporn who owned the internet booth also did tourism and car rental and so I rented a Suzuki Jeep from her.
I had to pick Mod up from Phuket Airport and the taxi would be 650 Baht each way so 700 Baht and 300 Baht's worth of petrol was a bargain, plus I could go where I pleased.
Car rental in Thailand is often with the fuel gauge firmly on [E] and so the first kilometres to the petrol station are a little worrisome.

I took the coast route along Karon, Patong and Kamala beaches, and then the twisty turny, up hill, down hill, (some of them steep), fun road to Nai Thon and Nai Yang beaches. There were construction trucks here and there to be aware of.
I arrived in time for a little lunch at the airport. Chester's Grill charged me a few Baht for rice and chicken, but 60 Baht for a bottle of Oishi green tea that costs 20 Baht everywhere else! I objected!
I drove Mod back along the same roads I had just travelled, the scenic route. This was probably the first time she had seen the sea except maybe a trip to Bangkok when she was ten.
Later we went swimming off Kata Beach... I thought about renting a jet ski but at 1,500 Baht for half an hour these are more expensive than aeroplanes!
In the evening we ate pizza in Patong, and then walked down the bar street which was the loudest place I saw on Phuket.
Pop music competed across the street between bars, and ladyboys were present everywhere.

26th April

I had perused a few brochures with boat trips to the islands and settled on a trip to Phi Phi that included several places enroute.
This trip was priced at 2,950 Baht, but this was off season and so I got it for 2,200 Baht per person.
The minibus was early; we were still eating breakfast at 08:00 when it arrived.
There were many people huddled in Island Hopper's building on Siray Island; a large CB was dumping rain on the place and the outlook was miserable.
People were becoming disenchanted, but we told the boss we'd still go and then couple by couple and one by one eight others decided to go in spite of the rain. Most of the others either accepted a repayment or decided to go another day.
Normally these boats carry 23 people, but we had only nine, a much nicer number.
As soon as we left the shore the weather cleared up beautifully and it was a brilliant trip.
The first stop was Khai Nok Island where we tried snorkeling for the first time. I managed to swallow only a gallon of so of sea water... Mod didn't like the flippers, but I did. It was easy to glide over the reef and go a long distance using them. Floating in a tropical aquarium.
We fed the fish bread, and some left over rice and chicken from the excellent lunch we were served on this island... Those colourful Parrot fish have sharp mouths so my finger tips got bitten!
I noticed a french woman from another group who had not taken notice of local custom. She was topless!

After lunch we took the boat to Maya Bay on Phi Phi Lae Island where we could walk to the other side where a small hole led to Loh Samah Bay. In places the sand was very hot under our feet.
Back on the boat we rounded the island and anchored in Loh Samah Bay to snorkel off the boat.
I saw a lot of interesting fish as I flippered my way around the boat and over the coral.

Next on the itinery was Viking Cave where Swallow's spit (Saliva) is harvested for Birds Nest Soup, a Chinese delicacy.
Then to Phi Phi Don to see if any monkeys were on Monkey Beach... No!
Phi Phi Don was devastated by the tsunami as there is a narrow strip with a beach on either side joining the high ground either end. This strip had the tsunami from both sides and there was no escape.

I had three knocks on this trip... I stubbed my toes on a rock in the sand at Maya Bay, that hurt! Then going forward on the speeding boat I went flying and banged my knee as well as my stubbed toes, that really hurt!
Back on land the truck/bus's hand brake was left off and it started to roll as we were getting off. The driver rushed for the handbrake and the sudden stop knocked some sense back into my head!

In the evening Ed picked us up and drove us to his palacial house under the "World's Biggest Buddha" for dinner.

27th April

I rented the jeep again. They allowed me to have it until the following evening for one days rental because I'd returned it early the last time.
We drove to Wat Chalong, and then to Rawai Beach where we had and early dinner.
As the Sun was setting we arrived at Promthep Cape.

28th April

We drove to Wat Phra Thong and then to the waterfall park at Ton Sai... The gate keeper said the water was low and suggested Bang Pae instead.
Approaching Bang Pae park we noticed a pagoda selling coffee and food and it was lunch time after all...
The gate keeper went home at 15:00 and so you can avoid paying the 200 Baht farang entrance fee if you waited!
While there we looked in on our cousins at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project.
Dinner was in a Thai restaurant on Karon Beach

29th April

Went shopping for another bag for Mod to take stuff back to Chiang Mai... Very expensive in Kata Beach, so we went to the Big C supermarket instead where we bought a decent bag for 255 Baht. Then I dropped Mod off at the airport for her flight.
During the past few days, Ed had flown across to Krabi a couple of times and as far as Nakon Si Thammarat. He was spreading his wings. But the weather kept him on the ground in Krabi overnight.

30th April

A rainy day anywhere is boring if you are stuck without transport... I watched a couple of movies on HBO and then the satellite link as lost to the lightning and rain.

1st May

I saw Ed off on his solo trip enroute to Chumpon (he diverted to Ranong in the end), and then booked a flight with Nok Air to Bangkok and back to Chiang Mai.
In the Phuket terminal I met Khun Niwat from the Sport Flying Association of Thailand who I'd met at Pai, and Khun Sunny who flies a Zenair. They were on the same flight as me!
The SFAT are doing a lot for sport flying in Thailand, it was they that organised the Northern Fly Out to Nok and Pai.