24th

The mini bus that we were taking to Hat Yai, Thailand was supposed to pick us up at 4:45 AM.  Bart called multiple times and was hung up on and given different information each time.  They did not show up until 6:30 AM.  Then we still had to make multiple stops to pick up other people.  Everyone was clearly annoyed by this.  Then we had to stop and get gas.  Then there was the border crossing...it took over an hour because they would not let a guy cross without proof of a return flight.  Someone he was traveling with came out to the van asking random people for money.  We ended up missing our next bus that went from Hat Yai to Phuket so we had to buy another ticket.  We spent the next 8 hours on the oldest coach style bus we have ever been on.  It was a rough ride and a terribly long travel day.  We still had to take a cab from the terminal to Patong beach.  We dropped our bags and headed out for some pad Thai before bead.

25th

We enjoyed a beach day filled with swimming, drinks and food.  

26th

We went to the Baan Saan market for lunch.  We tried a variety of local fruits and each had different flavors of fried rice.  We are enjoying Thai food very much.  They all have a variety of accoutrements ; soy, pickled Thai peppers, dried peppers, lime, etc.  Then we went to the beach for a bit.  We went back to the Baan Saan market for dinner.  This time we purchased seafood from the market and then paid to have it cooked for us on by the stalls on the second floor.  We tried cockles, razor clams, tiger prawns, and mantis prawns.  We had them use three different sauces.  It was all very delicious.