M left Rangoon early this morning and arrived at Phuket (how is that pronounced?) after flying for 11 hours. You won't be surprised to hear that the flight was not without incident. My obsession, the oil leak, caused some problems today. M put down in a jungle area in Thailand when he realised that more oil was leaking, causing G-KIRK's engine to scream and smoke. After landing he inspected the engine and decided that it was OK to carry on - carefully. Meanwhile, "100's of locals turned up on motorbikes, in pickup trucks and on bikes. And do you know? not one of them spoke English" - seems reasonable to me outside England! Undoubtedly M spoke very, very slowly and loudly.
After hacking down some undergrowth (like James Bond) M and G-KIRK were able to fly out. M only lands when he knows he can fly out again - (except for the day at a vineyard recently....). He tells me that he limped along the coast at very low level (below camel level) for 300 miles. He passed over wonderfully sunny stretches of sand before finding the airport and hotel which are situated along a beach.
Race competitors encountered some rough weather in the form of cumulonimbus thunder today. Everyone except M and G-KIRK flew around - they flew under at sea level and avoided being bashed about.
M has met a kindred spirit at Phuket. Tom is flying around the world in a Cessna 180. He has had innumerable adventures including being locked up in Africa for some misunderstanding or another. He likes Phuket so much that he has slowed down and stayed for a few months.
Tomorrow is a rest day. M is planning to work on G-KIRK to fix the oil leak with a fellow competitor who has offered assistance. So, a whole day of maintenance is planned - I hope that they find some time for sight seeing and relaxation. M's regret on this trip is that he has no time to explore the wonderful places that he is visiting.
KK (M's wife)