Buffalo Joe and the Stamp Tour

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Our first morning in Phuket started with Miles and a fever again, worrisome, but as I located a good pharmacy the night before it was easy to buy children’s paracetamol for him and he felt better in no time. We found that the restaurant that we had watched the world from the night before was open early, so we pulled up a couple of chairs and ordered a good western style meal.

A few minutes into our food, a tuk tuk driver started accosting us from the street. He was good, he went for the kids first asking if they wanted to see a monkey. Of COURSE Miles wants to see a monkey!

Sigh….we arranged to be taken to a Monkey School despite my best attempts to dissuade the kids from being interested. Of course, we HAD to stop off for the drivers gas stamp at one of the tourist traps first.

I didn’t mind actually as I realized that this shop was the same one that Wendy and I were at, the one where I bought the small anklet for Isaiah, so it had some sentimental purpose as well. We shopped a bit, “just looking” as the cabbie said. Lol…right. I did purchase a beautiful hand painted map of Old Siam. I always wanted one and it was a fair deal.

The cabbie turned out to be called Joe, or rather “Buffalo Joe” by his friends….I still don’t get the name but he was a riot! He goofed off with the kids and because I understood his game, I think he appretiated us going along with it. He was really sweet and well off enough not to be stressed about fares. We were overly generous with him as well. He drove us to the shop and then on to the Monkey show, although initially I wanted to head to the Zoo.

The monkey school was a typical animal rights nightmare. I hate these places and absolutely refused to let the kids be involved in any volunteer acts. The monkey’s were in fair health but so much negative reinforcement is used in these places that I get really wigged out at the idea of them. The monkey’s were forced to wai the audience (a prayer like move of respect) and ride bicycles, display the coconut picking process and other such “trained” activities.

I hated every minute of the 1000 baht($30. CDN) “show”.

I decided we had experienced enough adventure after that and Miles was feeling ill and hot again, so we called it a day. Of course on the way out of the tourist complex we saw the elephants and just had to stop. My initial reaction was a bit wary, but the Thai’s clearly have a better level of respect for their nation’s key animal than they do for the monkeys, snakes and caimans that inhabit the tourist farms etc. We opted not to pay for the tour but rather wandered through the compound and fed the baby elephant instead.

On our way back we stopped briefly at the Tesco Lotus (Thai Costco) to pick up a few foodstuffs and Britt needed a few more pairs of shorts. We headed back to the “rooms” and decided we needed to find another place to stay.
A few blocks away was the Crystal Hotel and we headed there after phonecall confirming they had a few empty rooms. As most of the hotels were clearing out as the airport had reopened, we were in luck.

I love the Crystal hotel. It is completely inexpensive and very uptown funky. For 600 baht a night (20 CDN) we had access to an onsite massage place, a bar (unused this trip), an internet room and a rooftop that I found late that evening and used to make a personal telephone call. Everywhere else was overrun by people.

We mellowed for a bit of a siesta until about 6pm when we hit the streets again in search of dinner and trinkets. Miles was carried mostly as he was feeling unwell and tired. We had dinner at a Chinese Thai restaurant will major air con and a ration of staff to client of about 5:1. It was intense and I think I missed a part of Chinese culture as they literally waited on us hand and foot watching every mouthful and movement. The food was …meh….the service disorienting and aside from being feverish I was happy Miles ate his helping of wonton soup, the experience unmemorable except for an odd feeling of discomfort.

Happy to be out on the street again, we strolled back to the Crystal in good spirits despite a nagging worry about Mile’s consistent fever. I gave him more paracetamol and put him to bed in a comfy comfy spot with a cool cloth on his head. Marrin took forever to get settled but we had a good night.

Miles fever continued the next morning and I left him with Brittany at the hotel to go for a quick breakfast at the same place as the day before. I really wanted to see if I could find Buffalo Joe again as he was so gracious to us the day before and Marrin and Miles took a liking to him.

He sauntered up as Marrin and I were finishing our food and agreed to be our driver again for the day’s needs. We first headed to the Phuket International Hospital which has a good children’s clinic. Miles was checked out, had a dengue blood test (again, he had one last trip too) and urine test and showed the likelihood of his having a viral bug rather than anything serious. We left with instructions to take him to Takua Pa clinic if his symptoms didn’t clear up or her developed the typical dengue rash on his feet or palms. (By evening his fever had broken so I am just keeping a close watch on him for the next bit).
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Did I mention that Britt is a die hard Muay Thai fanatic…to the point I had to jump out of a cab at a stoplight and go grab a flyer for a Patong Beach fight…not so we could go see it, but so that she could take the flyer home as a souvenir? Aiiiooo. She is looking for a training camp in Phuket province to attend for a period. We’ll be heading back to Phuket next month for a bit, so maybe we can find a place by then. A little research has suggested that Suwit Muay Thai Training Camp is a good one to start at as they teach the basics first.

Our last experience with Buffalo Joe was the jewel shop on the outskirts of Phuket province. His last stamp that he was going to collect from us. This place was really over the top. Decadent and ridiculous. Britt was treated like royalty and the kids adored. The centre of the indoor plaza had a huge fish tank with Chalaam (sharks) inside and Miles was enthralled. He kept asking to buy a shark. Ummm no. Britt bough a beautiful moonstone ring and they sized it for her while we waited in the coffee bar with the throngs of other tourists.

By the end of the day I was ready for the peace of the village. Buffalo Joe dropped us off at the Boco Sor (bus station) and we took his card with the intention to call him again on our next trip in. On the bus ride home Miles slept most of the three hours and I had a good view from on of the front seats at the passing scenery and of the driver and his ticket boy.

About halfway there, the driver pulled over at a scheduled stop and the ticket boy got in the driver’s seat. I am fairly convinced he was NOT supposed to be driving as he and the real driver looped a little guilty as one of the buses passed us going the other way. Also, the real driver kept yelling directions and commands at the ticket boy (who was about 19 or 20). He was a fair operator, but he scared the noodles out of me with his hairy corner and speeds. I kept trying to stay calm and not look terrified as we screamed past motocy and people in smaller vehicles beside us.I tried to catch the speedometer reading a few times until I realized it wasn’t even working!

I asked to be let off at the corner of the Phru Teow road and the highway and we all walked the last kilometer back to the orphanage village.

Very happy to be home now.

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Photos

A Thai handicrafts shop
Some good prices at this one in particular

Recommendatory
I love the signs in this country

Malie, pensive in the Tuk Tuk
Phuket Town streets in the backgroun