Arrived in Phuket after a delayed, but not dramatically so, flight. The delay appeared to be due to the late arrival of the crew (not, as the announcement stated, unavoidable technical difficulties), which I don’t really understand but there it is.
At immigration we were in a queue with a truly unpleasant immigration official whose rudeness and the amount of hassle seemed to be in proportion to the melanin in the skin of the traveller. The black man in the queue was treated very roughly indeed, seemingly for no reason other than the obvious one. I was questioned rudely while the GF and another white man in the queue got off with a nod.
A smooth journey to the Erawan hotel, in a nothing town on the mainland. The hotel is rescued from blandness by its statuary. No tourist friendly garudas here, the place is full of life sized knights in armour standing in rows at the entrance, in the hallways and looking over the balustrades. Perhaps the most notable statue is of a woman wearing a feathered diadem, one breast uncovered, and two red macaws perched on her wrists.
