Bored in Phuket

Phuket. Nothing but a breading ground for dead beats, posers and seedy old men with Thai women half thier age. The locals don't care who you are or where your from, they just want your money.

Maybe I'm being unfair, Phuket bares and uncanny resemblance to Surfers Paradise which I quite enjoy, but this place is different. It's just sleazy. I guess it was what I was expecting but I still thought I'd enjoy it. It gets a bit tiring being hassled perpetually to buy the same old crap. T-shirts, watches, illegal substances and deadly knives, guns, brass knucles and mace. I find it annoying that you have to literally fight your way through the barrage of prostitues to see what bars are available. I can't fathom an idea as to why I can say no to 7 tuk tuk drivers and the 8th, who has been watching me the whole time, will think I'll say yes. Like the guys who seem very friendly and want to shake your hand while asking where your from. He grabs your hand and holds on for grim death until you buy something or at least until you look at his shop. I find it very rude to ignore people and especially rude to not shake someones hand when they present it, but I do it. You have to, a simple no doesn't work, they somehow take that as interest in thier product. I know this is the same through many towns and cities right throughout Asia, The Middle East and Africa but anywhere else is fun, here it's annoying. There is obviously no traditionally Thai aspects of this place. The food is all hamburgers and steaks. The Thai food you do find is westerner versions of Thai food. I think I've had maybe only 2 or 3 real Thai dishes. It's such a shame since this was one place I was really looking foreward to in that respect.

There are good points, yes it's not entirely the morbid blog you might have thought, our resort is awesome. The whole reason we came here was to get a nice place and relax before we go back to work. It is probably the most luxurious place I have stayed. I definitely enjoy it when I have a foot massage followed by a spa and sauna. Kicking back and unwinding is the plan and we are carrying it out well. When I belly up to the pool bar and order a cocktail, I think to myself, this is what holidays are all about.

Of course, there is only so much lazing around you can do before you get a desire to do or see something. We booked a trip out to the Phi Phi Islands. Our original plan was to go to the James Bond Island but apparently the water is dirty and it's similar to Halong Bay. After a rough trip out we spend the whole day hopping from island to island. Maya Bay, where they apparently shot some of The Beach, was great. The whole area has crystal clear waters that give a beautiful turquoise blue colour. Unfortunatly, there is little attempt to keep the area protected. As we pulled up to go snorkelling, they threw the anchor down into the fragile coral below. When people have cigarettes, they fling them into the water without a care. It's such a shame that it will probably ruin the place eventually, but humans don't care about these things until it is too late. The trip was also, like most tours, rushed. It went something like this.
OK we have 30 minutes here to relax. OK, you relax now. Start relaxing you only have 29 minutes left now to relax.
Being told to relax made me a bit stressed and, needless to say, I never relaxed. We did pull up a beach where we had 2 hours, or 1 hour 57 minutes (Yes he actually got that exact) to relax. It sort of worked but still felt rushed.

Many of the Phi Phi Islands, as you should know, were destoyed in the Tsunami. We cruised past one of them that used to have several large resorts on it but now they don't even go there. It's an eerie sight to see an abandoned island with buildings but no people on them.

For those of you wondering, yes, there are still damaged buildings here. They range from buildings in total ruin and left to the element, buildings still being fixed or renovated, to brand new buildings that are ready for tennants. Walking inland from the beach and seeing the damage not getting any less the further I walk is pretty scary. I couldn't imagine what it would have been like on the day and it really shows the awesome force of the Tsunami.

There is also an uneasy feeling around town. There is no hiding it. They are afraid of a terrorist attack. Driving into most hotels you get stopped at the road and your car searched for bombs. I tried to walk into a pub and was stopped so my bag could be searched for a bomb. There is no cars allowed down the main street during the night. There are thousands of people, mainly westerners, at the hundreds of bars, nightclubs and restaruants. It's a sad fact that we live in a world such as this but it's the way it is. I will never stop travelling while ever I have a desire to do it and I am happy that these measures are in place.

So thats it for the trip pretty much. One more night here and in Singapore then home. I guess it's because I know it's coming but Im ready to go home. This will probably be my last blog while I'm away, I'll do a final one when I get home. I can't wait to see all my friends and family again, but feel free to send through comments.

Untill then, PEACE CAMO

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