Chasing the salsa beat ... all the way to Phuket!


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May 5th 2009
Published: May 16th 2009
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Dance the night awayDance the night awayDance the night away

Salsa weekend at the Mercure Hotel in Phuket.
One of the few benefits to arise during these grim economic times are the bargain airfares currently on offer. I'd recently received an invitation from a friend to attend a salsa dance weekend in Phuket, and happily snapped up a cheap ticket to board the flight for a week in amazing Thailand. Bangkok is one of the great international travel hubs in the world, but I hadn't stepped outside the airport in a decade. It was great to revisit one of my favourite holiday destinations while catching up with good friends, which is always a special experience.

So lets get to it, dear reader, and after a 1:30am arrival at the airport I was met by Mr Paad, who drove me south in his taxi to Pattaya. A good friend from dance is living in Thailand for business purposes, and I have been promising to visit him for several years. He arranged the taxi ride for me, and a hotel booking where he is currently ensconced. The world is becoming an increasingly small place as technology improves, and for the most part all my mate needs to run his business is a wi-fi connection and a skype account. Another friend from Sydney was also comfortably settled in the room across the hall, so three of us from our performance days back home were set for a couple of big nights out on the town.

I've never visited Pattaya and it was a real eye opener. This is the party capital of Thailand, and there are enough bars here to bring even the legendary wild man Jim Morrison to his knees. Enough in fact to overwhelm the most committed bar fly, when faced with the dilemma of which bar to prop up! As we strolled around during the evenings I came to realise you could spend a year in Pattaya, and hardly scratch the surface of party central. There are probably over a thousand bars stocked with beers, and the beer bar girls nearly rip your arms off trying to attract business to their establishments. Amidst all this chaos one of my mates is as happy as larry. He is, like myself, quite fond of a beer and goes to his favourite beer bar to relax on most evenings. It's interesting that we are all creatures of habit when it comes down to it, and looking for our own piece
James Bond Island, ThailandJames Bond Island, ThailandJames Bond Island, Thailand

Wonderful colours on the rock in the late afternoon.
of paradise wherever life takes us.

It was brilliant catching up with my friends in Thailand, although they still visit Australia regularly. We shared a beer, a few laughs and great conversation as I got a feel for the different lifestyle that is living in Thailand. Best of luck to you over there boys! My mate was dragging at my arm and telling me I couldn't leave when the taxi arrived, but I had to push on to catch a flight down to Phuket to bust a few salsa moves with my dance friend. It was amazing to be on a 747 for a one hour flight, but the plane was chock-a-block with passengers as I settled in the very back row. Anyways, my friend in Pattaya organised accommodation for Phuket, and the taxi driver got me there no worries. Everything was going great on this short holiday, except for one small thing ... I didn't know where the salsa venue was for the weekend!

The salsa website was mysteriously vague, and neither my friend nor the organiser were contactable during the last minute rush of organising the weekend. Realistically I should have been more organised when planning
The iconic rockThe iconic rockThe iconic rock

A different angle from 007 island.
the trip, but I don't mind the odd random travel scenario. Actually, the weekend turned out to be quite a laugh! So there I was in Phuket, wandering around Patong dressed up for a salsa night out. I swear I must have been the best dressed guy in town, and the touts were all over me. "Nice shirt sir! You want a taxi?'' ''No thanks friend.'' ''OK, how about a helicopter, yes?'' I knew the venue had to be in a flash hotel so I kept wandering around asking, but was met with consistently blank looks from the locals. Some even asked me to write down the word, they'd never even heard of salsa! By midnight I had given up for the night, and plan B was to meet up with some girls who were friends with one of the boys from Pattaya. They swung by the hotel at 1:00am, and we partied hard till around 5:00am at a few killer clubs. I don't mind a spot of tea bagging once in a while, it's great fun to have a boogie at a happening club ... and let me assure you Phuket absolutely fits the bill!

So it seems
Longtail boat on the islandLongtail boat on the islandLongtail boat on the island

One of the horde of tourists boats on Thailand's premier tourist attraction.
I was in a bit of a dilemma, but not easily deterred. Next morning I went to tourist information, and after some excellent detective work they finally contacted a salsa studio in Phuket. Mind you, no-one in the office had heard of salsa prior to me walking in! The girl from the dance school told me the venue, and finally I was sorted for the next two nights. It was great to catch up with my friend and have a dance; her Asian based business is doing well and she is as gorgeous as ever! And what a revelation it proved to be dancing with girls from all over Asia, and having a chat with some of the lads. Salsa is the international dance style, and is wildly popular all over the world. I love to travel and I love to dance ... so if you put them both together how good is that?! On the last night my friend introduced me to her friend from uni days, who was so astoundingly beautiful I found myself asking within two minutes of meeting her if she was a model. An actress actually, currently a soapie star after being discovered at a
Muslim fishing village, ThailandMuslim fishing village, ThailandMuslim fishing village, Thailand

We visited the village as part of the day tour out of Phuket, and I watched the locals play a skillful game of futsol.
beauty contest. They say a beautiful girl can make you crazy, but for this girl I would write a fine novel, compose a great song. I would tear down an empire, so she could belong! Er, anyways, if I can just snap out of my reverie for a moment... Now where was I? Oh yes, it was great meeting her and the other friendly dancers from around the world during the salsa weekend.

On my final day I booked a tour to James Bond Island, the most popular tourist destination in Thailand. Having visited ten years ago, it was great to retrace my footsteps with some decent photographic equipment. A decade ago things were different, and I've scanned the photos featured on my retrospective blogs. Nevertheless, the memories are still fresh in my mind, and the tour included canoeing in recently opened underground caves, with heaps of bats and stalactites and stalacmites to ogle. There was plenty of entertainment during an action packed tour of the island.

I spent a great day, in fact I spent a great week in amazing Thailand. There's so much to see and do amongst friendly locals, and at affordable prices. It's no surprise that this is one of the top travel destinations in the world. My visit has been a timely reminder that, basically all of you should be here now!


Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered." William Shakespeare


It's home time so until next time, I'm signing off for now

Tom

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29th December 2009

Salsa Weekend Specifics
Tom, it would be great if you could post more specifics of the Salsa weekend itself. Where was it, who organized it, how often is it held, the mix of music and the DJ, and what was the level of dancing.
22nd November 2010

salsa?
Hi there, Im coming to Phuket in DEC. I'd love to dance salsa. Where should i go? Whats the open hours? thanks, Anar

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