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Published: January 23rd 2008
Hongs by Starlight
Navigating into a Hong through a narrow cave as the tide risesJan 16 - 19 th
Pong in Patong
The reports about Phuket and Patong Beach were less than inspiring and I was not expecting to enjoy my stay there and very nearly skipped back to Bangkok with my bad cold running out of control and I must admit that I have run out of steam a bit lately - It has been a big trip with some very late nights. I am happy to say my batteries were re-charged and I really enjoyed Phuket and even Patong Beach to a degree. It just proves that you need to see and judge for yourself - do not ignore any destination as you may miss something special like the all dancing and singing girls and ladyboys at the Sunshine Bar or the magic of "Hongs by Starlight" and even the pong of Patong. Bangkok streets have a distinctive smell which I have become accustomed to and Patong Beach definitely has a problem with a bad smell mostly evident in the heat of the day - nothing that really bothered me but maybe another characteristic of over development.
Taxi Mafia and Loopy Leon on a motorcycle taxi again
Phuket must
Theres something missing in Patong
Never seen so many signs with one or more letters dimmed like this one have the richest taxi drivers in Thailand - they all work in together in small groups and the prices are three or four times that of Bangkok. They will not want to barter and have been spoilt by the rich tourists who probably pay whatever is asked. Phuket would be an easy place to drive around in a hire car or motorcycle - beware though because I saw about five accidents in Phuket, none serious and nearly all involving tourists - there are literally hundreds or thousands of tourists riding motorcycles around the island and some with an extreme lack of repect for anyone in regard to speed.
I must be getting even sillier because I caught a motorcycle taxi from Phuket Town Bus Station to Patong beach which is a 25 minute ride up and down some very steep hills. I hung on for dear life as my driver went full speed - I said "cha" "cha" - slow slow - but don't waste your breath. We had my two luggage bags as well and he swerved around the other cars with some near misses -I must say it is probably the best and most exhilirating thrill ride
you can get in Thailand for 300 baht but you are putting life and limb at risk - in any case I made it again to my hotel near the beach.
Wheres the touts? - Welcome to "Rock City"
After a nice hot shower at my hotel after two days in the jungle at Khao Sok I thought I would check out the beach at Patong and the famous night life areas. Believe it or not I walked all the way along the main beach area without being approached by any touts or others offering dubious services. This all changed the next day in the daylight hours so I was thinking that they were all tired on the night that I arrived - not sure but it was a more pleasent experience - the pushy sales touts really are a negative for Thailand in general - as I have said before I just totally ignore them now, not even a word or smile - don't waste your energy. I fully realise many of them are just trying to survive and look after their family with a small income but it gets a bit much after a while. The
t-shirt which says in English and Thai "NO I don't want a fxxxxxg tuk tuk, massage or ............ " is a best seller here.
I must say it was a perfect night weather wise with a cool breeze in places and I had a good look around the main strip at Patong Beach, careful how you use that word here, which is made up of the usual markets, food shops and bar and go go streets for the tourists. I went back to my hotel and walked down the street to check out all the bright lights that I could see - turns out it was the Simon Cabaret Ladyboy show building and at 2245 pm all the performers were outside having photos taken with the tourists that had just seen the show. It was fun just watching this and it was difficult to tell who was a boy or a girl in their dazzling costumes - also interesting as they tried to get as many big tips as possible from some of the rich tourists and their disgust with a 20 or 50 baht tip from anyone else.
Back to Patong Beach at 2300 pm and I
Awesome singer from Sweden
Theres more to Swedish music than just Abba !!! caught another motorcycle taxi for 40 baht about 1.5km down the far northern end of the main beach area and came across "Rock City" where they play live rock music every night with Thai and International musicians of varying but usually excellent quality. I must have liked it because I visited Rock City every night I was in Phuket - the Swedish lead guitarist and singer were amazing and could probably play in any rock band in the world. The bands play covers from Metallica to Bon Jovi and AC/DC and many others and seem to mix the players in the bands between sets. The drinks are expensive but the music is great - there is a bit of luck involved as the second night while I was there it was mainly locals playing and they were not up to the quality of the Swedish musicians and the other Aussie singer that appeared. Most of the businesses I visit here seem to be owned by overseas interests like Rock City which had an Australian guy running the show. In any case if you are in Patong beach and you like live and loud rock music this is the fun place
to be - on my last night on a friday it was jam packed with euro tourists who were mainly drunk but not causing any hassles - there's plenty of security guys around so nothing to worry about. There is also a less crowded upstairs pool table area where you can watch the bands sitting on the large sofas - very comfy and a great close up view of the stage.
I got back to my hotel at 330 am from Rock City after a stop at Burger King and had many offers of various types from girls riding the street on their motorcycles - the streets are brightly lit and I felt safe walking as there are many other tourist doing the same at that time after a big night out.
Down South in Phuket
The next morning I took a walk to see what Patong Beach was like in the day light. The sand on the beaches here is remarkably soft and the water is perfect for swimming and looks very clean although I just paddled in the shallows - It does get deep very quickly and the main beach at Patong is netted although
I don't think they have a problem with sharks. The touts were out in force today and I was happy to get back to my hotel as I had planned to tour the southern beaches and eventually make it to the famous Sunshine Bar at Rawaii Beach for some early evening entertainment. Phuket gets better the further away from Patong Beach that you go so I would recommend one or two nights at Patong and the rest of your stay anywhere else to the south or north on that side of the island.
At 1425 pm I caught a motorcycle taxi to Karon Beach for 300 baht and we had a nice slow ride around to this beautiful beach - there are some excellent viewpoints along the way if you want to stop and take some pics. Karon Beach has even softer sand than Patong Beach and I dangled my toes in the water which looked very inviting. There were no touts in sight, just a market and some tuk tuks, this would be a great place to stay and still close to the Patong night life if you want to visit there. Karon Beach has it's shopping and
Soi on side of Patong Beach
shops and touts everywhere here retaurant area and plenty of hotels and guesthouses. I was going to stay at the Casa Brazil Guesthouse at Karon which looks great on their internet site but they were booked out. Within ten minutes of arriving at Karon Beach it got very dark and it rained for the first time in my visit to Thailand - it poured down and continued for an hour while I stood under the bus shelter with a few other tourists and locals brushing the wet sand of our feet. The rain caused some flash flooding when I finally arrived at my next stop at Kata Beach about 15 minutes away on the local bus for 20 baht - much better value if you can wait for them for half an hour or so.
Kata Beach also looks great and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there either if you are looking for a quieter spot than Patong. I hunted around for a tuk tuk which cost 300 baht to get me to Promthep Cape which is at the southern end of the island about 20 minutes form Kata Beach and has an excellent viewpoint from it's strange looking lighthouse. There are plenty of
Karon Beach
Beautiful till it rained for an hour foodstalls and souvenir shops at the base of the viewpoint and I was starting to worry about how I would get to my final destination for the day at Rawaii Beach and it's wonderful Sunshine Bar and seafood restaurants. There were no tuk tuks at all at Promthep Cape and at 1800 pm all the shops were closing up - would I be sleeping here tonight or hitching a ride with the bus load of monks that had been sightseeing here as well? Fortunately one of the shops had a taxi sign out front and the man inside rang his son Diliphat who promptly arrived on his motrocycle and then took me in their Landcruiser to Rawaii Beach about 4km away for 200 baht - a bargain, there is no way you would want to walk the winding road and we travelled in comfort. Diliphat gave me his father's mobile number and it proves again how handy it is to have your own phone here as I organised to call Diliphat later in the night to get me back to Patpong Beach for 700 baht (no bargain but money well spent) - there are not many tuk tuks or taxis
Karon Beach
Rained for an hour before I could move out of the beach hut in Rawaii Beach.
It was nearing sunset when i got to Rawaii Beach and what a magnificent spot it is - a great little fishing village and adjoining town with an excellent pier where the locals were fishing for squid. I walked along the pier and back along the beach looking for the Sunshine Bar where the staff including ladies and ladyboys all sing along and dance to Thai and other pop and rock music through the night. They ocassionally stop and all have a shot of something strong enough to keep them in a singing and dancing mood and it certainly makes for an entertaining evening. The Sunshine Bar is about half way along the beach and I popped in firstly to have a look and then went to the restaurant next door to checkout the seafood. Forget about the menu and ask them if you can look in the eskies out the front. I selected some huge prawns amidst the lobsters at 100 baht each and had them barbequed at the owners recommendation - You then sit at a candle light table across the road which could be very romantic and it was a perfect night for
Sandy remover !!!
Something to do while it is raining !!! dining outdoors at the seaside. This place is really great and the prawns were fantastic - another nice considerate touch was when the young waiter ran across the road with some not so spicy seafood dip when he saw me wince with the chilli dipping sauce that had arrived with the prawns first up.
After finishing all those wonderful prawns it was back to the Sunshine Bar where I was one of the only two customers and at 2000 pm the singing and dancing commenced with everyone including the chef and owner of the bar singing and dancing to some great Thai pop music. It was great fun and the place filled quickly as the night progressed and apparently on friday nights you can arrange through the John Gray Sea Canoe website to be picked up in a mini van for an all you can eat bbq for 150 baht at another restaurant and then dropped at the Sunshine Bar for a big party before they return you to your hotel around 2300 pm. I can only imagine how much fun that would be but I was doing the "Hongs by Starlight' cruise on the friday so I couldn't
Flood at Kata Beach
The roads flood quickly here make it this time. The Sunshine Bar also has one of the most beauiful "Happy Rooms" in Thailand and I even took a pic for this blog.
About 2200 pm I asked the owner of the bar to call Diliphet on my mobile to pick me up and he turned up ten minutes later - he and his father are really nice guys and safely returned me to "Rock City" in Patong Beach to finish the night - you didn't really expect me to go to my hotel that early at night did you?
If you are heading to Phuket do yourself a favour and head to Rawaii Beach for a great night of food and entertainment - highly recommended.
Jan 18th
Hongs by Starlight
I didn't stay out too late the night before as I was being picked up at 1200 midday for my "Hongs by Starlight" cruise which travels out to the islands in Phang Nga Bay to explore some hongs which are the internal chambers in an island's interior reached on the rising tide through a cave in a kayak. Sometimes you have to lie down in the kayak or risk bumbing
your head on the barnacles and limestone formations in the caves. This tour is different to all the others because you leave later in the day when most other tours are on their way back to shore and then return after it gets dark. You also make a Kratong (which is a decorative sign of good luck shown in my pics) with your guide, light it's three candles and set it adrift in the hong after sunset.
The man in charge was Beer and he layed out the ground rules for safety and explained how the tour would run soon after we had left shore at the Ao Po pier on the north east side of Phuket. We then had a great thai lunch and after an hour in which we passed some magnificent scenery we began exploring the hongs with our guide Mario. This is the high season and there were lots of tourists trying to explore the same areas although it was not overcrowded.
The pics give you some idea what the hongs are like and later in the day we had some free time where I floated around near our boat in a life jacket.
Kata Beach
Main road adjacent to beach by 200 mtrs The water was perfect and the sharks didn't seem interested in me today. As we travelled between hongs the guides fed the sea eagles which swooped on the food and put on an impressive display to keep us entertained. With the guidance of Mario my kayaking partner Wayne from China and myself made our cute little Kratong complete with love birds and we had a good laugh as this is supposed to be a romatic project for the couples on board to complete. We then had an excellent seafood dinner at sunset and after dark visited another hong and set our Kratongs adrift after making our wishes for good luck. This group of tourists couldn't keep quiet as previously ordered by Beer but it was still a good atmosphere watching the Kratongs drift alight inside the hong.
On the way back to our boat we ran our hands across the water in the darkness to see the fire flies or plankton light up and sparkle in the water - there were also thousands of tiny fish and lots of small garfish attracted by the lights of the John Gray boat. It was a nice voyage back towards the lights
of the pier and shore and there was total silence in the mini van back to our hotels after an excellent but tiring day out.
It was my last night in Phuket so I had a long walk around the Patong Beach nightlife and spent another couple of hours listening to the music at "Rock City". A good way to finish a very enjoyable three days in the expensive but fun place Phuket.
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Anthea
non-member comment
Coming home.i
Hi Leon well all good things must come to an end Im sorry for you that you have to come home to boring old Adelaide you have had such a fantastic time. Your time in Phuket sounds like fun beautiful photos again. Anyway enjoy your final hours in Bangkok and we look forward to seeing you at Scotts 21st on the 2nd Feb if not before. Love Anthea, Michael, Scott and Emma. P.S. its a long way to go to catch a squid.