#phutket

I have now been here for a week, first in Bangkok, then Phuket and today just arrived in Samui.

As you will have seen from my previous reports, it is all calm here. The curfew has now been totally taken off in all of the main resorts, and in Bangkok it is just limited to 01:00 to 04:00am, and even that seems totally Thai flexible.

I have hardly seen any military presence, in fact much less than on my previous visits.

I went into the raucous resort of Patong in Phuket the other night, purely on the grounds of product research of course, and it was very much business as usual, and very busy.

Ok, hotel occupancy in most places is low, but this is May and June and that is when most hotels will budget for limited occupancy anyway. In my first conversations with hotels here on Samui they are optimistic about July to September, which are traditionally the peak months and when the weather is at it’s very best.

Just on this, the weather in Phuket this time of year is usually overcast at this time of year, but this time it was blue skies and incredibly hot. I saw some really good new products which we will be introducing when I return to the UK.

And of course Samui is blue skies and sunshine. I feel the sea beginning to call me, so more later.