Who gets lost, twice, hunting for curtains in Phuket?
Yep me, doh! You see I’m really good with directions
(like navigation is a gift-good), so getting lost is not something I embrace. I
like to know where I’m going, with no messing around along the way, ‘cos that
makes me a grumpy bitch…. Ask Steve.
I’m also a person who does not enjoy shopping (well except maybe for Kaftans), but most
especially, I do not like shopping for something I shouldn’t have to buy in the
first place. Curtains for the guest bedroom in a rented property? Grrr.
That is what one calls pissing away one’s money.
Anyhoo, I did a search for curtain providers in Phuket,
and Island Curtains came up top of the
pops, with great reviews. So, with a determination to get the curtains sorted,
I entered the address in not one but two GPS devices and the result – two different
locations. Ummmm?
I decided to trust the new car GPS and after an hour
or so, ended up in the North-West of the island. In fact, I had almost reached the
Thai mainland and found myself driving around in the middle of a jungle. While
beautiful, there were no curtains to be found.
So, I switched to trusty Google Maps. It took me down
an even more barren road to nowhere, and two hours later, I return home with no
curtains and no time for a massage for my achy back.
This is what an Australian would call an unhappy Jan moment.
I will never be defeated, so yesterday I tried again,
because we now have some urgency. My great pal Cathy has arrived – our first guest
– and I reckon no one needs a peep show, least of all Cathy.
I entered the same address….
A new location was presented, it looked about right, and
this time I took Vick with me.
It was all looking good. We seemed to be heading in
the right direction, and then we started climbing a mountain. And we kept
climbing. And while the road was a good road, the overgrowing foliage encroaching
our path wasn’t a good sign. Neither was the fact there wasn’t a car to be
seen.
We weren’t going in the right direction….. But where
the bloody hell were we, I thought, as we continued to climb?
Vick thought it was hilarious and giggled beside me,
until I almost landed us in a ditch at the side of the road… Suppose it was
better than almost going off a cliff. That was possible too.
Finally, FINALLY, we came down the other side, back
into humanity, but nowhere near where I thought we were heading. In fact, we
were almost at the most North-East point of the Island this time. I am seeing
some of this Island I tell you.
At this point, I gave up on Island Curtains. They look
great (and I have no idea why their address isn’t picking up correctly on GPS),
but I had to resort to something I knew - Ikea.
We turned around, and nearly 30 minutes later, we
arrive. I provided the dimensions for the windows, and were told there is only
one size of curtains available at Ikea Phuket. Too big for one window and too
small for the other.
 |
| I am living in a pineapple paradise! |
Please,
please, please tell me where I can find custom made curtains? I don’t want to
be doing this at all! Help!!
Keep driving
along the road, there’s a curtain shop on the other side, when you see it, do a
u-turn and head there.
U-turns are big business in Phuket, believe me.
We found a shop. They could get the curtains made and
delivered today, challenge overcome. Well maybe. Let’s see what happens when
3pm rolls around today… I remain hopeful.
But that’s a lot of time spent looking for something
you have no joy in buying, although I know I will have joy in hosting beautiful
people who want to come and visit.
Which means, the
guest room is open – at last.
Incidentally, from that point onwards driving home,
every second shop I passed was a curtain shop…. Always the case right?
Until you spend a bit of time driving around these
parts, I don’t think people quite appreciate how big Phuket is. Traffic congestion
is definitely an issue and you are doing a constant dance with motorbikes, but
it’s a fairly massive place. I reckon I’ve had the pleasure of seeing parts of it
that most Phuketians probably haven’t
seen.
(Side note,
no idea if Phuketians is an actual word…)
I have never been a person who embraces being lost,
but then, there are some pretty amazing things to see on this Island. Here’s a
chicken or rooster than kept me occupied while waiting for some traffic lights
to change. You’re welcome.
I’m looking forward to sharing these little moments with
you when you come. And don’t be surprised if we get lost too. It’s not the first
time and won’t be the last.
Anyone else remember being lost on useless missions?
Did you see a rooster too?
Yours, without the bollocks
Andrea
Road
ends photo courtesy of Shutterstock
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