Patong

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Having a window seat on the right hand side I could see the beaches on the western side of Phuket as the plane came in to land. On the ground finally at 3:30pm I was glad to be off the plane that I boarded at 8:00am in Perth. But before I could go to paradise they was the slow formally off immigration to endure.

Journeying to Patong from the airport in a minibus took longer than I expected. This is because I mistakingly thought the airport was near Phuket Town rather the in the north of the island. The plane flies from Perth, lands a Phuket, continues on to Bangkok and then returns to Perth, all within 24 hours. On the way, mounted above an intersection I saw a number 83, which I orginally thought was a temperature measurement, but is was counting down. When it reached zero, it reset to 40 and turned green. A traffic light which shows how much time is left before the light changes


Patong Nights. running the gauntlett, Skaking hands,"Boss, I have a new watch for you" or is it a shirt, a bangle, beach towel, shell necklaces or sex. Persistance yes, but not particularly agressive, move on, pass their zone and they let go and pounce on the next tourist. Some where massage girls others were whores. Occassionally one would take my arm, but none ever tried to stop me and would let go as soon as I moved out of her area.

Listed tour prices dont seem to mean much. A tour to Phi-Phi listed at 2500baht, but special price, just for me of course was 1500 baht. Finally booked it at another agency for 1400baht a full day tour.

Though the tour cost included mask and a snorkel, it did not include flippers. So I rented a pair for 50 baht I think, but to be honest they were awkard to use and tended to cramp my feet. In the future I dont think I would bother.

Mass tourist on a fast scale. Put 40 people in a boat powered by three, 125HP Honda's outboard engines and whisk them to Phi-Phi, top speed the whole way. Was it a skilled seaman or a youthful hothead, who only knows one speed, flatout at the wheel. Perhaps a combination of both. First stop was "The Beach" on Phi_Phi . Yes, that beach, Lenardo and all of that. As the beach is in a national park requiring an entrance fee to enter I do not go. However all us folks of a somewhat stingy nature did have the option of a 30 minute swim. Leaving that area we travel to another part of the island passing a cave containing nests of the swiftlet. Nests of these birds are used to make birdnest soup. As is considered to have alsorts of benefits such as improving sexual performance, mental function and giving improved disease resistance it can fetch up to $60 a bowl in Hong Kong resturants. Settling in a cove we all had another swim. So of us went to the cliff edge. There was no beach as the rain forestr covered cliff rose vertically out of the water.


Finally the day has come to board the VIP bus surface to Bangkok. VIP bus service from Phuket to Bangkok, really!!! A half-clapped mini-bus took us from Phuket to Suri-Thani. And we were dumped at a road siding. Then I was taken by tuk-tuk to a small buws depot where I was told that the bus to Bangkok will be leaving at 7:00pm and arriving at BKK at 5:00pm ie the 500 baht service. I guess paying in cash wasn't a good idea. After a wait of about 4 hours, in which I did explore a little bit of the town, I was taken to another depot, and finally, boarded the bus to Bangkok. Actually that part of the journey proceeded quite smoothly. The coach was a double decker with luggage on the bottom and passengers on the top floor. It had tv, and a couple of thai movies were played. There were no stops and we arrived at Khao San Road at around 4:15am. Khao San is not in the 'naughty' part of the city but is close to cultural sites eg Wat Po, and the Temple of the Emerald Budda. I t is very close to the area I stayed in 1979. Maybe I was an unwitting pioneer.

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Photos

Beach
The Beach featured in the film on Phi Phi Island

Cave
A cave which contains the nests of the swiftlet which is used for birdnest soup.

Swim
Warm clear calm waters coupled with fine sand make ideal swimming beaches.

MotorBike
The ubigutious honda step through, still the standard mode of transport in much of S.E. Asia.

Long Boats
Long boats on Patong Beach.