Kata - The 2nd Biggest Tourist Trap to Date

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I shouldn’t even need to write the fact that we once again we missed the entire morning by sleeping in, as it is becoming such a regular occurrence of late! We jumped on the bus headed for Kata and Karon once again, as we missed seeing Kata beach yesterday. We chatted with a guy called stuart for a while, explaining the crack with the buses, what time the last one leaves etc. The sun was finally out again today and it was really blazing. I don’t know what I had expected from Kata beach, but it was like something out of my worst tourist nightmare. The first thing that made me think “here we go” was a middle aged man washing his sandy feet in a smart looking beachfront restaurant’s water feature! A member of staff stood and watched with a look of disgust in his eyes. We are such an embarrassment I thought to myself; Piling into other countries without an ounce of respect for the local residents.




A couple of steps to the beach and wham it hit us. There wasn’t an inch of sand to be seen, row upon row of deck chairs lined the entire front, and people lay like beached whales, sprawled out and cooking like lobsters. Guys with bottles of booze were marauding around while girls and middle aged women ran about topless. They might be on their two week holiday, but have they not noticed that the Thais don’t run around half naked, swigging bottles of booze. It was like something from Laganas, honestly. After a 5 minute stroll, we left, I couldn’t handle anymore. I know as a backpacker I am just as much to blame for this paradise lost, but I couldn’t help but stand and be repulsed by humanity on this beach. This was no paradise and I can’t believe some people think it is! There are still places that have yet to become a tourist trap in Phuket, but they are further up the coast. But Im glad I have seen it, seen the carnage and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone searching for a sample of real Thai living. It’s just another Ibiza. We wandered about a little longer and ste had his hair literally hacked at by a Thai ‘hairdresser’ with some kitchen scissors and then returned to catch the Last bus to Phuket Town. Stuart that we had met earlier, climbed on board and we chatted about his 11 years spent travelling. We all popped to Sea U next door for dinner and had the soft shell crab Pad Thai…again! Yuuum. Then grabbed a wine spritzer, some beers and sat in the hostel garden, batting off mosquitos and chatting for a good few hours before heading off to bed.

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Photos

Kata Beach
Pretty Picturesque, if it weren't seething with people