Far as I can tell, that expression is rather like the Hawaiian “aloha” — and can be used, in Thai, as a generic greeting meaning either hello or goodbye.

Yes. We are in Thailand.

And it is fair to ask why someone who lives in Abu Dhabi would depart the UAE at this point on the calendar, when AD weather is quite kind and Thailand is hotter and soggier.

The answer is fairly simple: A long beach and a removal from the hustle/bustle of everyday life. And life sometimes assumes an everyday quality even when you live halfway round the world from your country of origin. OK, and vacation time that needed to be spent.

So, Air Berlin out of Abu Dhabi, a nonstop to Phuket. Not particularly expensive, and we find out why. A jammed jumbo (A330-200) with limited amenities delivered by crabby crew, as well as narrow seats and no leg room.

(At least the video system was decent; I saw three movies in six hours, including The Hangover Part III, which I liked quite a bit more than did critics, but Zach Galifianakas and Ken Jeong slay me.)

Oh, and the people on the plane. Maybe it was just an active imagination, but the passengers seemed to include a lot of German men traveling alone, most of them middle-aged or older, and “sex tourism” was Leah’s analysis of the odd demographics. An opinion perhaps informed by a creepy sixtysomething on her left and the nearly as creepy fiftysomething on my right.

It was dark by the time we landed in Phuket, which is the name given to a city, the island the city sits on, and the province the island belongs to.

The airport is surprisingly spacious, probably reflecting the number of tourists who make their way down here, on the coast of the Andaman Sea.

It was dark when we landed, and after making a point of finding a fixed-price cab, we were taken to our hotel, which is near the northern end of the island, and driven by golf cart to the two-bedroom villa, part of a hotel complex, where relatives have a time-share.

We said hello, sat for a moment, made the walk in the dark to the hotel’s Thai restaurant, where we had pad thai and three sorts of curry (green, red, brown) … and it all went down nicely.

Fireworks were shot off at 9 p.m. because someone was was hosting a big reception, after a wedding.

And now we have settled in for a bit, intent on doing nothing, and I believe I have demonstrated to most people’s satisfaction that I can do nothing quite well.

Oh, and about the “sawat di” at the start of this entry:

Apparently, the Thai language did not have an equivalent for the sort of neutral “aloha” or “hello” and “goodbye”.

According to my google search (and we know that never leads to error) … the “sawat di” phrase “was coined by the late Professor Phraya Upakit Sinlapsan of Chulalongkorn University in around 1935. Prior to this time, Thais greeted each other informally with an inquiry or observation about their health or welfare.”

Upon reflection, “hello” does not do much more than acknowledge the existence/presence of someone else. It’s more than a bit aloof.

But asking “how do you do” in a “how are you” sense is a bit more welcoming and allows the other person to talk about themselves — and most of us like doing that.