Greetings, my mostly northern-hemisphere chums, from Down Under! Yes, I've made it all the way round to Australia, where I shall be spending the next couple of months getting hot and sweaty in the southern summer sun.

I just thought I'd write a few words about the week I spent in Thailand, half-way here more or less, and leave the start of my Aussie stories to the next blog. So here goes:

It all started with a series of rather risky flight connections that were all under two hours. The things we do to save money! On Monday I flew from Munich to London Gatwick, from Gatwick to Dubai, from Dubai to Bangkok, and from Bangkok to Phuket. Only the Dubai-Bangkok connection was guaranteed; the rest was all with different airlines! But I got away with it - this time...

I arrived at my final destination, Phuket, on Tuesday afternoon. I was met at the airport by my friend Andrew, who I'd last seen - fittingly enough - on my last day in Australia, just as I left to go back to Europe back in '05. Andrew & Chris were kind enough to invite me to stay with them in their gorgeous house on Phuket island, where they now live.

The weather was a bit grey and wet - but it was HOT HOT HOT! Such a change from the wintry stuff I'd left behind me in Munich. But then again, we're practically on the equator here so it's no surprise that it's tropical and steamy.

After a very welcome shower & a quick swim in their pool, Andrew & I went to pick up Chris from his work in Phuket City, where he lectures to students who are learning to be TEFL English teachers. From there we drove to the Phuket Brewery, a restaurant and bar with its own brews which is housed in a building that looks like a ship. I didn't dare try their Weissbier or their Dunkel, but their Pilsner was very refreshing.

The food at the Phuket Brewery was delicious! Oh how I love Thai food! I had a spicy squid salad that after the first mouthful I thought might defeat me it was so chilified. But in fact it was just that I managed somehow to get a huge piece of chili on the very first forkload. From there on in, once I'd regained sensation in my tongue, the salad was spicy but delicious.

My first full day, Wednesday, was very relaxed. I had some fruit for breakfast, did a spot of emailing, and then basically lounged by the pool. We drove Chris into work at lunchtime, stopping briefly to pick up some super tasty pockets of chili pork and vegetables wrapped in fresh rice paper, then Andrew took me to the Lighthouse restaurant at Chalong bay. This is where most of the dive boats leave from, and it's very much a working port, with hundreds of boats bobbing in the clear turquoise waters.

After lunch, we drove south to Rawai, the area in the bottom lefthand corner of Phuket, to see the beautiful beach at Rawai bay. Then we went inland to Wat Chalong. This temple is not very old, but it's quite a big complex altogether, with all the ingredients of a buddhist place of worship: temples, a bell tower, a huge urn for incense burning, gardens, palaces, and a little market.

That evening we picked up Chris from work and drove across the island, past the "honking temple" (where people toot their horns as they drive past for good luck), through Patong on the west coast and up to Surin beach, to one of their favourite beach bars. The plan was to have cocktails and watch the sun go down, but alas it was raining! So we just had a quick beer or two and then headed to dinner at a restaurant called Black Cat which is owned and run by a Frenchman and his Thai wife - whose name really is "Miao"!

Thursday was similarly relaxed to Wednesday, with a morning of fruit, pool and sun lounger, a light lunch at home, and another sightseeing drive courtesy of Andrew. This time we went down the west coast to the Karon Viewpoint, from which you have a huge view back up the coast over Kata and Karon beaches. Then we stopped for a quick drink at Ao Sane beach, a tiny little beach with just one drinks shack and a handful of bathers.

From there we drove along Rawai bay again and then up to the Big Buddha, currently being built up on the second-tallest hill on the island. Standing at his enormous feet, you get fantastic views over the whole of the east coast, from Phuket City down across Chalong and all the way to Laem Phromthep, Phuket's southernmost point. And, most excitingly of all, we saw a troupe of macaques feeding in the trees around the base of the Buddha platform!

From the Big Buddha we drove to pick up Chris, then headed to the beach bar at Hat Bang Tao, in the middle of Bang Tao bay, near where the enormous Laguna Phuket hotel & aparment complex has been built around the flooded tin mines which are now indeed lagoons. This evening, it was sunny so we actually got to see the sunset - hooray! Once it was dark, we headed home for gin & tonics and a spot of dinner.

Friday was once again relaxed in the morning. For lunch the three of us went to an expat pub at Tinlay Place. In the absence of any Thai food, but craving another chili fix, I had a chicken jalfrezi from the Indian section of the menu. It was good! After lunch, we spent the afternoon at Nai Thon beach on the northwest coast. The water was like a hot bath! Every now and then there were some enormous waves, but by and large it was calm and restful. I walked quite a way up and down the beach as well as swimming in those delightful waters. A real beach treat!

After a couple of hours there we drove home, had showers, then headed back out for sundowners at Layan beach, north of Bang Thao. At last I had a sunset straight into the Andaman sea! But the sun's timing was impeccable: less than ten minutes later, a huge rainstorm rushed down from the north and obliterated the entire view out to sea. It was so wet, we hesitated to leave the safety of the beach bar to go back to the car, but a very kind waitress took up a sun shade and escorted us across to where the car was parked.

We drove through pouring rain and along invisible roads to the airport to pick up my mate Matthias, who was starting a two-week holiday of his own in Thailand by catching up with me for the weekend. But by the time he was through immigration and had his bags, the rain had died off. We headed home to get Matthias showered & changed after his long flight from Munich through Singapore, then back out for dinner at Black Cat.

Saturday was a truly unrelaxed, hectic day! Poor Matthias, barely arrived from Europe, and I was making him get up at six thirty. But I had good reason: I'd organised a day's diving for us both. Chris' Thai friend Cam is a freelance tour guide and travel operator, and he had assisted me in sorting out some diving. He also chauffeured us to Chalong to catch our boat.

We dived with South Siam Divers, one of the biggest outfits on the island. The boat took us to three dive sites: Koh Dok Mai (where we saw ghost pipefish and nudibranchs); the King Cruiser wreck (which boasts Phuket's most famous toilets); and lastly Shark Point (which lived up to its name, because we saw not one but TWO leopard sharks!!).

It was a strenuous day - even for me, rested as I was from lots of lazy days, but especially for Matthias, who had only had about three hours' sleep. Cam picked us up and took us home, where we could have a little rest before heading out for the night: Chris & Andrew were taking us into Patong, that den of sin & vice...

The trip there was already exciting. We drove part of the way, then grabbed a tuk tuk into Patong. Our first stop was for dinner at Yo Yo, which has fabulous food and very friendly staff. Then we took a walk along Bangla road, where all sorts of people get up to all sorts of things - made all the more intriguing this weekend by there being 3,000 American marines on shore leave!

There was really nothing at all attractive about Bangla road or its inhabitants, so after gawping for a short while at all the drunk tourists and all the cheap prostitutes we headed for drinks behind the Paradise Hotel at Time bar (where we met the owners Dan & Jessica, friends of Chris & Andrew). We finished the evening with a halloween-themed ladyboy show at Boat Bar. It was quite disturbing to see ugly men dressed as pretty women disguised as hideous undead!

Sunday was blissfully relaxed. In fact, I didn't wake up until after 1pm! We lazed the rest of the afternoon away by the pool, and then went for sundowners and dinner at Laypang restaurant on Laypang beach in the middle of Bang Thao bay. This is Chris & Andrew's favourite restaurant, and it' easy to understand why. The location is idyllic, with tables on a raised platform stretching out into the inviting sands. The food is delicious and keenly priced. And the cocktails were the best I'd had all week - and cheap too!

Having missed the Vegetarian festival by one day (so I was spared the sight of priests in trance shoving pokers through their cheeks and then carrying baskets of fruit on either end), and being set to miss the Loi Krathong festival (where people honour the water spirit by the light of the full moon), I was most pleased when we spied lantern-sellers making their way down the beach! It meant I could take part at least in the build-up to Loi Krathong and send up a lantern (and a wish) into the night sky. My lantern was given extra oomph by having a tail made of sparklers attached to it, which made it look like a slow-motion space rocket as it rose up up and away.

After a delightful dinner, we headed home for a few more drinks and a midnight dip in the pool. What a lovely day!

And then it was Monday, my last day in Thailand. I got packed, had a final swim, and then headed to the airport with Cam to catch my AirAsia flight back to Bangkok. There I transferred my luggage to Emirates, cleared immigration and set out on the final outward leg of my journey - to Australia!