Advertisement
Published: November 7th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Waiting for the rain to pass
We found an alley to hide in to the let the pouring rain pass so we could get the local bus from Phuket Town to Patong Beach. After being on the beautiful island of Phi Phi with no cars and mostly foreigners, it was a rude awakening arriving in Phuket town. Phuket is an island, but it is huge and there are many different beach towns around the island. We decided we would stay in Phuket town for a night to save some cash and see the town. The first hotel we checked out was where the filmed the beginning of "The Beach"- yes the dumpy place where Leo stays and meets the crazy man that gives him the map. Well, the place is really a dump, even too dumpy for us so we opted for another room that actually had walls connecting the different rooms and western style toilets. I guess we are getting snobby as our travels continue...
Well, Phuket town was really nothing special and didn't have much character. We wondered the streets and really didn't find anything too excited so we decided to head to the beach the following day. Of course, when we awoke to leave it was pretty cloudy and looked as if rain was coming. As we started our walk with our packs on to find the local bus to Patong
In the local bus to Patong...
I'm reading the book and trying to figure out where to head when we arrive. This is usually my job when we go from town to town beach it began pouring down rain on us. Luckily, we found a small alley to hide out in until the rain slowed down a bit and then made a made dash for the bus area.
The main beach town in Phuket is Patong, it is also the party area, so we figured it would be perfect for Halloween. Phi Phi had tons of signs for Halloween parties so we assumed Patong would be the same. When we arrived, we found it to be a little less beautiful and a little more seedy than expected. We had heard stories, but you can't really imagine till you get there.
We found a place to stay right off the main street of Bangla Rd, in order to get to the hotel we had to walk past many people trying to sell you a t-shirt or DVD or any other thing in their small store. We also had to pass a few "massage parlors." Now, these "massage parlors" look innocent until you take a closer look and realize the girls out front trying to get you to come in for a "massage" are dressed in booty shorts and a tiny top. They
also try and grab at the boys as they walk by. Jeff would literally grab my hand anytime we were walking around to avoid getting harassed. Chris wasn't as lucky and would get groped and literally grabbed so that he couldn't get away. They would squeal at him and giggle and hope he came inside. We eventually discovered that it worked best if I just walked down the street holding both their hands. This still didn't stop the yelling and squealing, but at least the boys weren't getting their crotches grabbed anymore.
After a few days of not so good weather and not really enjoying Patong, we decided to at least stay for Halloween and then leave. Well, after the search for a Halloween costume proved to be very difficult, we were giving up. We did manage to walk around Halloween night to see how the vibe was and attempt to find a place to go out. This was until Chris and I had to sprint back to the hotel room because, yes, we began to have "stomach" issues. Instead of having a wonderful Halloween, we spent the night fighting each other for the toilet. Oh we
By
What more better explains Thailand
This is exactly what all the massage parlours say to you as you walk by, in a high pitched voice, at least one place admits it and calls itself by a great name! the end of all this, we decided to leave the next day for Kata Beach, another Phuket beach about 5 miles away from Patong. We had heard great things about Kata, it was a bit more relaxed than Patong, but still had great beaches and some fun night life. Not to mention, it is the only beach in Thailand where you can surf! Kata is a bit more expensive than what we are used to paying, but at least we had a room with air con, hot water and cable TV WITH MTV! After arriving, we immediately knew we liked it. The town had a cooler vibe and there were tons of people there that come for the surf (which is really not that great!)
The first day on the beach, the boys decided to rent surfboards and body boards and try their luck. I sat out day one and just lounged and watched them. Poor Jeff was trying to get any speed on the waves, but they were quite small and slow. If it were a day like this in San Diego, there would be no way he would have paddled out, but after not surfing in four
months, he would take what he could get. Chris body boards and was equally as frustrated. Still, the waves were good enough for a beginner like me and I had my heard set on attempting to surf again.
We woke up the next day to gorgeous weather, which was perfect since it was my 26th birthday. Now, I know that laying on a gorgeous beach in Thailand is a great day to spend your b'day, but this life now, so I wanted to do something a little different for my big day. I decided to rent a long board and make Jeff teach me to surf all day. He was super patient with me and a great teacher and I literally got up and rode my first wave of the day (with a little push of course!). I spent the rest of the day catching waves and drinking Chang beer on the playa. Not a bad birthday...
Then, I had a little birthday pampering and headed to a massage parlor (not a brothel) for a Thai massage and a mani/pedi (all for less than $20). I couldn't ask for a better b'day present. That night Jeff and I
were able to go to a nice dinner, just the two of us. We had an amazing dinner with wine and steak. It was one of the best meals I have in my life and definitely here in Asia.
We came back to the room to a wonderful present from Chris. Sour candy and cream cheese! Sound silly, but it was a great birthday present! That night we went to a beach bar called the Ska Bar. We met an English couple who had just got engaged and had a few drinks with them. It was an amazing birthday and I couldn't have asked for anything more for a Thai birthday.
We spent the next day hanging out and planned to leave for Malaysia by the 5th (so we could watch the election coverage), but I spent the day of the 5th lying in bed, sick off my butt. Throwing up and getting the chills. It was not fun at all. Chris was also sick, so we decided to chill out for a few more days to get healthy. A few businesses were also closed because the business owners were sick so maybe something was going around the
town. We want to all get healthy before we head off to Malaysia.
On a different note, from an international perspective, the whole world is a buzz because of our election results. No matter what your political beliefs are, the international community is so excited for the change in America and I really hope that our world begins to take a different turn.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.063s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0369s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
megos
non-member comment
yay!
yay for the happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!