My car wouldn't start, the lighting system in my house broke and, worst of all, the toilets in my house were blocked.
I don't remember breaking any mirrors.
But I was certainly down on my luck.
Now, if I had these problems back in England it would cost me a small fortune.
Even worse, I'd spend hours on the phone with mechanics, plumbers and engineers comparing quotes.
And then it would be days before they came out to have a look at my expense of course.
In the end I'd get a big bill for my trouble.
But luckily Im not in the UK Im in Phuket, Thailand.
So I called Dr Jock.
He is not a real Doctor. He looks after my garden and maintains my house.
But his talents dont end there...
He had a quick look at my car - then disappeared.
Ten minutes later he was back - mechanic in tow!
"It's the battery. It's going to cost 3,500 Baht. OK?" He asked me.
"Yes, of course. But are you sure it is the battery?" I replied.
I've had enough cars to be wise to mechanics tricks.
And I didn't want to replace the battery only to find out it was some other problem.
"You can have the new battery for a few days. If the car doesn't work after that, you don't have to pay" the mechanic said.
Can you imagine that? A new battery on loan. No chance of that in England.
It turns out he was right. I've been using that battery for a week now and my car is fine.
The lighting system was a bigger problem.
To cut a long story short - it turned out to be the power supply.
But a new part had to come from the US. It would take weeks and cost me an arm and a leg.
In stepped Dr Jock...
He took the faulty part to Amorn.
If you don't know Amorn, its an Aladdin's Cave of electronics next to Big C supermarket in Phuket.
"I can fix. One hour. One thousand Baht" the engineer at Amorn told Dr Jock.
And that was it - problem solved.
So, the only thing left was the toilets.
I will spare you the gory details.
But Dr Jock called a man with a van who fixed them pretty fast.
I was impressed.
All 3 problems sorted in just a few hours.
What did all this cost me?
6,500 Baht (US$ 210).
I dont think Ill be feeling homesick for England any time soon.
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