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Published: November 21st 2006
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Patong Beach
The resorts have taken over and this beach is tourist mayhem. It's fun to peoplewatch nonetheless. After thoroughly enjoying the small scenic island of Koh Tao, we decided to head even farther south to Thailand’s largest island, Phuket. We left the island aboard an overnight “sleeper” ferry which was very cozy to say the least. With elevated beds just larger than 2 feet wide and 6 feet long we were shoulder to shoulder with our feet hanging off the edge. Not to worry! We all took back a few gravols and fell into a rhythmic ocean sleep. After an eventless trip, we were bussed across the mainland to the island of Phuket, one of Thailand’s busiest tourist hubs. Upon arrival at Patong beach, we were approached by many local touts (people trying to lure us into their hotels or whatnot) but we persevered and found ourselves two nice air-conditioned apartments for only 6 bucks each.
A highlight was our long awaited eating contest. After consuming outrageous amounts of food at our previous locations, everyone agreed that Adrian and I should participate in a volume-eating competition. We coincidentally found an all-u-can-eat buffet at a very nice hotel for only 6 dollars. The race was on. For 2 hours, we ate dish for dish, with the other guys
The Competition Begins
Adrian and I are face to face in the buffet room prior to the... eat-off? being the judges and portioners. After a few plates we were feeling great, by plate 6 (spaghetti and sushi) we had hit quite a wall. This was really going to take my Anducci’s pasta eating training to the next level. Adrian was a dish or two ahead of me until this crucial turning point. I broke away. I followed that up with some light meals until plate 8. With 20 minutes to go I thought it was over, and Adrian made a move. I quickly rushed to the buffet and brought out plates 9 and 10. With a lot of struggle and determination, I finished my 10th plate; a first even for me. The victory was less than exciting as we both had trouble walking back to our hotel, but spirits were high. I hope to never consume that quantity of food again, but all it takes is one challenge…
For a few days we were very lazy in Patong, we refreshed our relationship with Chang beer. Oddly enough, it always seemed to be half-past Chang, or Chang-thirty, and for a dollar per 700ml beer, any time was Chang time. We had lots of fun during the day in
The Beginning - Plates 1-4
The first few meals were a walk in the park, we actually got to enjoy the tasty food. our Meat Locker of a room (Jason, Adrian, Randy and I had the air-conditioner locked for 15ºC.) Though thoroughly enjoyed for the first few days, that decision resulted in our air-conditioner breaking down and screaming loud whirring noises sporradically; hence the ice chiseling.
Why didn’t we venture out as much? Well Patong beach is nuts, and by that I mean almost annoying. The whole beach is blanketed with what looked like thousands of tolled beach umbrellas, and every 10 meters was a group of local "businessmen" aggressively trying to rent out crappy jet skis for outrageous prices. Not to mention the countless grey haired men with teenage thai boys in their laps, like I said, peculiar Patong. Maybe I was spoiled with the empty white sand beaches of the less touristy islands?
The nightlife in Patong is over the top. Half of the people out at night are prostitutes, of which half are lady boys (boys dressed/surgically altered to look like girls) the other half is a split of backpackers like us, and old/lonely/disturbed men who fuel the sex industry in Thailand. Nevertheless there is much fun to be had on the “strip.” Watching the exciting action taking
The Gorge - Plates 5-8
Deep in the competition, it's all mental at this point, your body tells you it's full, but you have other plans.. place, meeting foreign people at all kinds of unique bars, and enjoying what a strange place Patong can be.
A few days into our stay in Patong Ryan, Trevor, Jason and I had to partake in a “Visa run” which involves getting shuttled to the nearest adjacent country’s border (in our case, Myanmar) and getting stamped out of Thailand, into Myanmar, then back into Thailand to give us another 30 days on our visa. (We’ve been gone a month now!) After a long bus ride and a short boat ride, we had crossed into Myanmar. I’ve heard this country is quite beautiful, but the area that we visited was quite underdeveloped and polluted. In addition, the logistics of the Passport stamping was sketchy. We all had to hand our passports to our “guide” who put them into a grocery bag and later re-distributed them in a free-for-all manner; very unnerving. After all was said and done, we had extended our trip in Thailand another 30 days and were back in Patong (not before a close call on the bus where I may or may not have slightly peed my pants after the bus driver refused my unscheduled stop, and
The Finale - Plates 9 and 10
The point at which I pulled away from the Italian Stallion. I had it won, but I wanted to reach double digits... almost a big mistake. yeah the bathroom was “out of order.” After I freaked out, he pulled the bus over and I hobbled to the side of the road and did my business.)
I also had my first 10 pin bowling experience. We had two lanes between our group and we all had a blast tossing those 16 pound balls down the alleys. My highlight was my first “turkey?” - Three strikes in a row on my last 3 shots; maybe I’ll have a new profession when I get home?!
I also got my stitches taken out, which is a relief as I am finally able to go into the water now that everything is sealed. The scar is so-so but I'm creaming it up good so hopefully it'll heal better. What a story....
After enjoying what Patong beach had to offer, and learning what we could from its odd atmosphere, we all felt it was time to move on. We took a tuk-tuk across the island to Phuket Town (the largest on the island) and are spending one night here before we boat to Phi Phi island and others in the Krabi province (a large bay area with many beautiful
Border on Stilts
Leaving Thailand on our Visa run to Myanmar, this was the Immigration checkpoint. It could use a renovation. islands) for about a week until Randy and Adrian have to fly back to Vancouver. This should be a nice change from crazy Patong!
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deleted_25305
Champion Eater
Buns is the best at almost everything, but not eating, Lush takes the cake there. Buddy do you remember when we were like 13 after baseball, you ate the Surf and Turf platter for 3 at the boathouse. LOL. 2 lobster 2 crab 2 steak. You are a beauty Lush.