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Published: January 8th 2018
Sawasdee Krab (that’s a polite “hello” in Thai language) from Phuket!!!!
Several people advised us to stay on another less crowded, developed, and touristy island in Thailand than Phuket. We decided to go the convenient route and stay on Phuket anyway, with the idea of easier, direct travel on the peak and downward slope of our vacation, with a bit of adventure and more recreation and relaxation.
Our experience of entering the airport on the island of Phuket, Thailand was a breath of fresh air and one of the easiest entries we’ve ever had when traveling from another country (in this case Cambodia), but we still had the impression that this was an expedited yet thorough arrival process rather than anything half-baked.
I cherished the excitement I always have at the sound of the passport agent stamping the passport pages with authority...
click, zip, click, zip, click, zip. I would put the Bangkok, Siem Reap, and Phuket airports up against any airport in the USA… clean, modern, safe, open, and airy, with amenities of restaurants and shops.
Even considering potential, unexpected complexities of the drive from the Phuket International Airport to the Mandarava Resort and Spa
Sample of Dirty Towns Around Phuket
Fortunately the dirty towns are not everywhereonly 26 miles away, I was surprised when our hotel driver informed us that we were in store for a 1.5-hour drive because of “getting-away-from-work-time and construction.”
For a sense of Phuket's size, the island is 222 square miles, as compared to Maui, Hawaii, which is 727 square miles. Phuket Island doesn't feel less than a third the size of Maui to us, it seems bigger than that somehow.
As we drove through miles and miles of streets surrounded on both sides by dirty and nasty looking buildings and random trash among the beautiful jungles and hills, I had a moment of panic that maybe we should have heeded the advice and ponied up for the extra travel time to a more desolate and pure Thai island.
Many of the buildings and one-story strip malls that line the main streets around the island in Phuket are made of timber and tin siding (both roofs and walls), as well as concrete, which doesn’t seem to fare well in a tropical climate, with dirty gray and brown streaks from years of rain water and condensation dripping down the walls. As we drove
through the town of Patong near our hotel, my heart sank a bit more at the dirty and nasty town that we drove through, but I comforted myself that it was too early to make up my mind and that I should reserve any judgement for later in the trip.
As we approached the Karon town and beach area near our resort, I felt a bit better as everything looked cleaner and nicer. This reminded me of Playa Del Carmen in Mexico, with the area outside of the resorts and nearby beach towns looking decrepit and rickety. I imagine many of these nasty buildings would be condemned in the US, or at least get a fresh coat of paint more often. Are we ugly Americans or humans if we keep such thoughts to ourselves?
The idea of lodging in Phuket at a picturesque bungalow, suspended on a pier above the turquoise water (like one might see in Conde Nast Traveler magazine), with a glass floor to see the sea water underneath, was dreamy... but the thoughts of getting washed away by a gigantic tsunami wave while sleeping inches above the water, like the wave of death and destruction
here in 2004, haunted us in our decision making.
**sniff**
We both felt safer not having to worry with our lodging location up higher on a hill, near but above the sea and beach at Mandarava Resort Karon. Becky and I are both worriers sometimes, and even though we knew the odds were far in our favor that a tsunami would not happen while here, we felt comfort staying up on a hillside. Peace of mind is often worth calculated decisions and spending extra money, especially on holiday.
The Mandarava Resort and Spa is amazing, built into the side of a steep hill. We guess that the resort designers and landscape architects made an effort to leave the lush jungle as untouched as possible as they designed this resort. The pools, pathways, asphalt roads, and paths are in excellent condition, and the bungalow rooms and common areas appear as if they were painstakingly constructed to avoid any impact of the surrounding lush, colorful, and flowering shrubs and numerous species of trees. The resort is literally built beneath and between a *thick* jungle that glows green at any time of day or night.
We knew that we
had gone the biggest on this trip for lodging here in Phuket, but we were still amazed and appreciative of our bungalow at the very top of the resort hill, with a private pool bar and narrow and very long pool that has a “lazy river” pool kind of feel, right out of our back door. Our room was like an apartment, with a huge bedroom, along with a front balcony facing the west and looking down over the jungle to the Andaman Sea (which we witnessed amazing sunsets from every evening). We were also pleased with the glass enclosed, bay style “sitting window” with plush cushions and pillows, perfect for Travel Blogging or reading a book. The large bathroom was perfect for showering up after a day of adventure. The decorative, cement patio, with two lounge chairs just a few, spare inches above the pool water was an amazing escape to unwind and soak in the sun and the soothing sound of the pool water fall and the gentle background of the lush jungle surrounding. We also had our own private pool bar and bar tender.
****DREAMY****
The ethnic, cultural music of any country can be wonderful,
but at some point, I wonder if it all sounds the same to indigenous people? Maybe that’s why modern, western music is appreciated and played so much in Southeast Asia? The mix of rock, alternative, and chill-wave music from the thumping sound system at the pool bar near our room was like a lullaby as we settled into our bungalow and spent a few moments on our private and shady lounge chairs by the pool. We both dozed off in our lounge chairs like two toddlers watching Tom and Jerry cartoons on the floor at home by the TV. The best naps for adults and children are the spontaneous ones!
We laughed when we woke up 3 hours later, and it was time for dinner. Time well spent! Bangkok and Siem Reap were mostly go-go-go, and this has been our time to have some relaxation in addition to recreation.
We decided to let go of our concern that we might be too touristy, by skipping exploration of the Karon beach and town our first night here, with our decision to take advantage of the Thai BBQ and traditional Thai music and dancing dinner hosted at our resort hotel
restaurant. The buffet style spread of Asian and Western food was amazing and rivaled an evening meal at any “all inclusive” upscale resort in Mexico. Our table at the far edge of the open-air and covered restaurant at the heart of our resort, overlooking the jungle and sea, was perfect. We overheard a waiter explaining that the lights we saw out on the distant horizon of the sea were fishing boats, with the green lights being those of squid boats. I lost myself out on the horizon of the sea counting the fishing boats by their lights for a few moments.
The Thai music and dancers were captivating to listen to and watch, and we both realized we were dancing to the music in our seats. The head waiter stopped at our table with a big smile and said, “you like the music and you dance!!!” We smiled and raised our glasses of spirits. Little did we know that we had volunteered one of us to dance on stage that evening.
The waiter later came to our table and said “okay, it is time to dance” to Becky, who **hates** being the center of attention. After strong urging
from the waiter and me (and several other staff who surrounded our table after realizing it was going to take a big effort), Becky relented and stood at the stage area in front of the scores of diners.
The dance seemed to be kind of a jump-rope-reverse-limbo dance, as it involved hopping up and down and side to side above long, bamboo poles that the other dancers moved inches around. Becky started by dancing with one of the costumed dancers instructing her, who finally stepped away and let Becky go to town. After a minute or two of dancing like a pro, Becky stopped and bowed, blushing at the raucous applauds from the diners (and me most of all!).
**GO BECKY!!!!**
**GO BECKY!!!!**
**GO BECKY!!!!**
An older couple from New Zealand sitting near us approached and said to Becky, “You were wonderful!!! Are you a dancer?”
We laughed and talked to many of the wait staff at our table throughout the evening, and as we departed for the night to head back to our bungalow, the head waiter came to our table with a bow and a smile and said, “You two... you are
a fun couple!!!"
**Aww shucks**
What a great decision to join for the Thai BBQ dinner and festivities!
The next morning, our second day here, we hopped into the back of the resort taxi truck to ride down to Karon Beach, appreciating our efforts to avoid biting and stinging insects in each city of this trip as we noticed a Westerner couple on the ride with us covered head to toe with mosquito bites. The sand at Karon Beach was fine and soft, with a gentle tan color, and we giggled at the European and Scandinavian children who ran naked on the beach while their approving parents smiled. We dropped our Turkish Towels onto the sandy beach to relax on (we HIGHLY recommend Turkish towels for a beach!), and I couldn’t resist body surfing the waves that were much bigger than I expected. I found magic our first day here, perfectly catching wave after wave for body surfing more than I ever have anywhere else.
The biggest wave I caught of the day washed over me, and my sunglasses came off of my head and were lost in the water as I washed up onto the beach sand.
As I looked around the water for my sunglasses, a local Thai dude that was part of a team running a jet-ski-rental operation seemed to be looking in the water as well, but I wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. After a while I gave up, and I saw him still in the water, thinking he must be looking for something else. About 20 feet away from the shore, he turned around, walked back to shore, got right out of the water, and walked up to me.
“Happy New Year!” he said with a grin, opening his hand to reveal my lost sunglasses.
We gave each other the one-hand-clasp-back-tap-combo-hug.
I said, “Thank you brother!”
He smiled and said, “You are welcome brother!”
***Super-fantastic international bro-out-moment!***
I was in awe of his ability to find my sunglasses 20 feet in the water offshore, and I thought it was perhaps like a Colorado local shepherding a lost ski down the hill to an out-of-town visitor who has fallen on the slopes, which I’ve done before for others while skiing.
Nothing like a little local “ka-nowledge”!
We then walked around the town of Karon,
which is quaint and cleaner than the other towns we drove through. By now, seeing the crazy rats’ nests of electrical wires strewn about telephone poles in Bangkok, Siem Reap, and here in Phuket was old hat for us. However, we found it surprising to find gasoline for sale in bottles on the side of the roads in town. The gas likely comes in handy for the hundreds (if not thousands!) of motorcycles and mopeds that locals and tourists ride around here, taking their lives in their hands. As we rode around town in cars to and from the airport, it was crazy to see the motorbikes literally inches from the sides of our car and others, weaving in and out of traffic.
Our third day here, we took an amazing tour with the vMarine crew (we highly recommend them!) from the Royal Phuket Marina out to the Phi Phi Islands. A ferry ride out to the islands is around 2 hours. vMarine gets you there in a bit under 1 hour by speedboat. We boarded the 750-horsepower bad boy complete with three 250 horsepower Honda engines.
Once we got out of the marina, the boat started flying
across the water. Another speedboat was keeping pace with us for a while, and then our pilot really gunned it, and we left the other boat far behind in our wake.
Would that be "eat our foam" rather than "eat our dust"?
I admit it was satisfying as we passed boat after boat. We realized on the tour that only a handful of the tourist boats sported 750 horsepower, as many of the others were only 500 horsepower.
****GO vMarine!!!****
We started the tour with a stop to explore beautiful Bamboo island, with a bit of beach time, hiking around the jungle, and some swimming in the cool but not cold water. Next, we cruised onto Monkey Island to spend about 20 minutes snapping pictures of the monkeys that inhabit the island on the trees beneath the steep cliffs. One unique thing about the Phi Phi Islands is how high their cliffs rise above the water. Our guide warned as not to get too close to the monkeys, as their teeth and claws are full of bacteria, and sometimes they bite or scratch. We saw a few fellow tourists from other boats get too close, within
claw’s reach. A tourist lady departed another boat nearby while eating a banana. She screamed and seemed surprised when several monkeys swarmed her, throwing the banana onto the beach and climbing back onto her crew’s boat while screeching in fear while several people around her laughed.
We then snorkeled off of Mosquito Island, amazed by the coral and fish sporting all the colors of a rainbow. Becky and I talked with the excitement of two school kids about the snorkeling experience during the warm and breezy boat ride to our next stop at Phi PHi Don. We laughed and smiled together as we shared the memory that stood out among the rest to both of us... the memory of a vivid turquoise fish, which was skinny and much taller than it was wide, with yellow stripes running along the top and bottom of it's torso.
After a great, buffet lunch on the island of Phi Phi Don, we stopped at Maya Bay, where “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed. As we expected, Maya Bay was packed and crowded, but everyone was courteous and took turns respectfully taking photos for each other and making space. A secret we
discovered was to swim out just a bit into the turquoise waters of Pileh Lagoon in order to get amazing photos and get away from the crowds.
We then sat on the beach among the crowds, focused more on how amazing these moments were in this majestic area rather than being disappointed that we didn’t have the place to ourselves. As high as my expectations were, the beauty of Maya Bay exceeded them. The fine, sand beaches and turquoise water seemed right out of a fancy travel magazine, more beautiful than any photo can do justice too.
The guides noted several times on the tour the tragic 2004 tsunami that decimated many of the areas we visited that day, taking many lives. The signs signifying tsunami evacuation zones and routes at every stop were a sobering reminder of the giant wave of water 21 meters (68 feet) high in this area.
Our fourth day here, we decided to relax at the hotel and maybe head down again to Karon beach. Good decision… after an hour sitting on our back patio by the pool, it started to sprinkle. We could see dark clouds coming over the jungle on
the big hill behind our resort, and as the sprinkling picked up, we headed back inside our bungalow. Then all hell broke loose. It rained cats and dogs for a couple of hours, and we relaxed in the bay window and drank cold beer from our fridge in our bungalow. The rain let up for a bit, and we headed down to the hotel restaurant for snacks and Pina Coladas, wine, and Chang beer.
We thought it had rained hard to this point, but while we sat at the open air, covered restaurant, the real rain began. Tropical, torrential rain fell for another couple of hours while we sat and day drank. I enjoyed a fantastic $9 lobster sandwich that would've cost $30 in Boston back in the USA. At times, the 32-Thai-Bat to 1-American-dollar exchange rate came in handy while in Thailand!
Little-by-little the restaurant filled up with other hotel guests scurrying with umbrellas from their rooms or out of truck taxis, back from Karon Beach and town. The rain continued and got heavier. One difference we noted from the rain in Colorado is that there was no wind with the storm, which kept us dry in
the open-air restaurant. There were not bands or sheets of rain, it was full-on, full-constant rain everywhere. We were happy when the rain finally let up.
We next headed down to Karon town for dinner at Two Chef's Restaurant, a modern and clean place for a bite, tucked into an alley between random mom-and-pop shops and stands. By our arrival in Phuket, Becky and I were both in the full swing of the SE Asia vibe and feeling very comfortable out and about.
The polite way for a man to say "hello" or "good morning" or "good evening" in Thailand is "Sawasdee Krab" (and for a woman it's "Sawasdee Kah"). The native way to say it with "oomph" is to drag out the "Krab" or "Kah".
I found myself saying without thinking about it "Sawasdee Kraaaaaaaaaab!" while bowing with clasped hands when we walked into Two Chef's Restaurant for dinner, and I knew I had really nailed it when the hostess' face lit up and she said back to me "Sawasdee Kaaaaaaaaah!" with a smile and bow with clasped hands.
I'm not a big guy, 5' 9" tall (or 5' 10" on a tall day with
the right shoes), but as we took our seat in the restaurant, I towered over just about everyone. What can I say, I'm big in Thailand.
After dinner, we walked about 15 minutes from the Karon town back to our hotel, and I was mesmerized by the taxi trucks and their neon lights inside and out, along with fun music complete with thumping bass sound systems. What a blast to see the tourists flying by, each looking like the most-fun queen and king of partyers simply by virtue of being in the back of the party taxi. I suppose these might be Thailand's version of the American party bus?
I'll try to be graceful and not overshare T.M.I., but as any international traveler knows and has likely experienced, there is a 40% chance of getting some type of mild-to-severe stomach trouble while visiting partially developed countries, such as some countries in Asia, Central and South America, the Middle East, and Africa. We've been cautious here on advice of our physicians, and what we have read for warnings, by not having food from food carts and stands, such as unpeeled fruit or meats that are sitting out in the
air. We've also been specific to order bottled water at restaurants.
Conventional travelers’ wisdom is that fresh fruit and ice are pretty safe at the nice resorts and upscale restaurants, which we've frequented exclusively. Our first night in Phuket, I was glad I didn't panic or worry, as I fought some light stomach cramps and issues that fortunately passed quickly and didn't haunt me after that.
Our fifth night here, it was Becky's turn (poor gal), and she had a rough night. Fortunately, by around 9 AM the next morning things had settled down (WHEW!!!), and she was glad she didn't give in and take her mega-powered Cipro anti-biotic, which although can knock out most stomach bugs, has its own daunting and potential side effects.
Our sixth day here, Becky was on the mend but not 100%, so we decided to hang out at our private hotel pool in the morning. We had flaked out and not made our reservations in time to join the James Bond Island excursion the day before, but it turned out to be a blessing, as Becky didn't feel like going anywhere anyway. Becky loved the roses and sweet note that the
staff sent to our room when finding out from me that she didn't feel well, as I asked for extra water from the concierge at the lobby. We were pleasantly surprised that the local tip of mixing a little bit of salt with Sprite settled Becky's stomach further and gave her a little boost of energy. After an hour by the pool, another crazy, tropical rain storm came in, and we hunkered down in our room to relax and wait out the rain. At this point we were **REALLY** glad we decided to go big on our lodging in Phuket!
Fortunately, the rain showers stopped after about an hour, and the sun and blue skies emerged, and we ventured in the humid and foggy sunshine for a light bite to eat, which Becky powered through.
All of the staff, like most people in these touristy areas of Thailand, speak decent English. Sometimes, though, the don't understand simple English words and phrases. Becky asked for a banana with lunch, and the waiter was very confused. We patiently explained in several ways what we were talking about, and the light finally went off for him.
"Ah, a banana!" he
said, "I'm so sorry..."
"It's okay, it's okay, we should speak Thai in Thailand" I said and smiled.
While in Paris, France, 4 years ago, Becky and I were appalled at a brasserie when a Canadian woman got frustrated with a French waiter.
She raised her voice in obvious disdain: "I said, is the white wine COLD!!??"
Before he could answer, she said, "Don't you speak English!!!??"
Anyone from any country can be a rude an obnoxious traveler, and some of the Americans abroad don’t corner the market on that behavior by any means. To keep it real though, at least from what we’ve experienced, most Americans are polite abroad.
I've practiced on many international trips the discipline of not forgetting that I'm a guest in another country, and if anyone should apologize for not quite understanding a conversation in English, it should be me. This behavior and reaction has fortunately become second nature and subconscious for me at this point. I'm not patting myself on the back though, this should be expected I think.
The rest of the day we chillaxed, and Becky recouped on our back-pool patio, with me taking a
dip into the cool, pool water now and then and hanging out off and on with a few new resort guests that just arrived and who are bellied up to the pool bar.
For our seventh and last day in Phuket and in SE Asia, we hiked down through the landscaped jungle of the Mandarava Resort, between the pools and bungalow's of the resort, already feeling a bit sentimental that we would miss the exercise and the beautiful scenery all around us. We spent the morning with rented beach recliners at Karon Beach, shaded with huge umbrellas. We got in and out of the water now and then to cool off, then rented a jet ski for half-an-hour, zipping up and down the water up to 50 MPH 100 yards out from the beach. Next we did some shopping for more souvenirs for the kids and family. The afternoon we spent back at the hotel pool, before sneaking back down to Karon town by the beach for dinner.
Back in the room by early evening, we packed up and spent a couple of hours relaxing in the air conditioning watching a Travel Channel show first about Japan and
then about Indonesia. We were a bit melancholy but also ready to get home as we walked out of our resort bungalow for the last time, and we bid the hotel staff farewell after checking out at 10:30 PM, heading to the airport for our flight at 2:00 AM. The Phuket airport was a mad house, packed and crowded and with only a few spare seats, which were far outnumbered by everyone waiting for flights.
We caught a bit of shut-eye on the 6 hour flight to connect through Seoul, South Korea, and we were impressed by the huge shopping mall and food court at the Icheon Airport. By now, the 11 hour flight from Seoul to Los Angeles, California did not seem near as painful as the long flight to Tokyo at the beginning of our adventure.
We were happy to be home in the USA in Los Angeles, and we were even more thrilled when we arrived home in Colorado to see the kids and Becky's mom 30 hours after departing our hotel in Phuket!
I've never experienced a vacation like this that seems so much longer than it really is, which is all the
more astounding knowing that time flies while we are having fun.
We are all prisoners of our own experiences, and although we inevitably and wonderfully feel wiser with each passing year, escaping the familiarity and comfort of our everyday lives and routines by visiting faraway lands expands the mind and spirit. No matter where we are from, international travel helps us to realize that the world is big, and we only live in a small part of it. This trip has reinforced in my mind that many of us across the world aren't so different after all. Carrying this type of wisdom home with me is one of the most valuable parts of this kind of international holiday, and I’ll do my best to remember.
I encourage everyone to travel and see the world away from their home country and lives if and whenever they can… but don’t think I’m getting too “hippy dippy” about it, we must be smart and on-guard when we travel, and we must choose our destinations wisely, knowing that there are criminals and hateful terrorists out there that would do us harm or worse.
After several international visits to many countries over
the years, I'm convinced there is much more love than hate around this world.
As our Thai tour guide on the vMarine boat of our Phi Phi Island tour said to the passengers from many different countries of the world, more simply yet more eloquently that I’ve written here, “we are all together for this one day on the boat… we will snorkel together, we will dine together, we will go to the beach together, and this day will be best if you are kind to each other and open your minds.”
And that we ALL did!!!
Indeed, these parts of Southeast Asia are a great place to feel the love.
Thank you for reading the musings of the Travel Blog foolosipher, DLabbs…
What an amazing trip this has been... all of our friends that have traveled here over the years and recommended SE Asia are right. We are hooked and will surely be back to explore more (even with the tough 26 hours to get here!!!!). We highly recommend a trip to SE Asia as well for anyone that can handle the long travel and a bit of discomfort sometimes in the midst of
paradise, along with some dirty areas here and there in the midst of the modern and upscale.
Although it's always bittersweet to see a wonderful vacation end, we've so missed the kids and our Doodle dog Bella, and it will be nice to get home to our lives and our family and friends in Colorado, as well as only a half-a-country away rather than half-a-world away from my folks, who now live in Georgia.
Until next time then… Becky and I are thinking about visiting Japan on our next international holiday... or maybe Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Stockholm... or maybe Scotland and Ireland... decisions decisions!
Thanks for reading… Sawasdee Kraaaaaaaaaaaab!!!!!!
(scroll down for more photos)
****SE Asia Travel Blog Epilogue, 1/17/2017****
I typically don't add an epilogue to my Travel Blog entries, however in this case I'm making an exception for good reason...
I've thrown around the term "jet lag" for many years, particularly with traveling 50k + miles per year across the entire US (including Hawaii and Alaska) for 6 years in a row as a consultant when I was younger. I felt a bit tired from some of those trips. Traveling to
Europe several times over the years left me feeling a bit of jet lag on the front end of those trips, but nothing too severe. Well, travelling back to Colorado on Mountain Time after living 2 weeks on SE Asia's time zone (14 hours ahead of the USA) has taught us that we've never really experienced jet lag till now.
Wow... we've been like zombies for the week we've been home. The experience is surreal, as if our bodies are out of whack all the way to the bones and to the soul. Even with sleeping at night from exhaustion with normal Mountain Time hours our first night back, we've typically been overwhelmed this past week back with tiredness that has knocked us out around 7 - 8 PM at night. We both woke up the first few days back around 3:30 AM and laid in bed restlessly till around 6:00 AM, at which point we realized we might as well get a start to the day. We then started sleeping around 20 - 30 minutes or later per morning, to the point where 8 days later I was excited to sleep till around 5:45 AM! I've read it
takes 3/4 of a day per hour of time difference to fully recover from severe jet lag. Friends tell us about 1 day per hour of time. Sounds like we are on day 8 of a 10 - 14 day recovery process. Now we know! Still worth it!
See you next time...
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