Finally, Friday! Many Lower Primary classes were cancelled for parents’ meetings but this didn’t affect any of my lessons once again although the heat certainly did. My morning lessons went fairly well but I became dehydrated in the first of my late afternoon doubles, having to sit down as I became quite light-headed. The students took the opportunity to act as complete monkeys — running around, fighting, anything but the assignment given. Luckily, the kids in my last class of the day were quite calm and actually remained in their seats for the entire lesson, a true rarity. I was too exhausted even to play a game — something I like to do towards the end of the last class of the week but at least I made it through it without passing out.

I would say that this Phoenix is the second best-known of Phuket Town’s scattered displays of street art. It was painted at the corner of Thalang Road and Soi Rommannee about five years ago next to a creature that replaced a lovely image of a girl standing next to a VW Beetle. A photo of the latter that I took was my first-ever Facebook cover image. While Phuket Old Town has not suffered the downturn in tourists to the extent that the west coast communities such as Patong, Karon or Kata have, I do hope that it rises from the proverbial ashes when foreign visitors are once again allowed to return. Depending on which news service you follow, that may come as soon as either June or October. We will have to wait and see….