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Published: October 1st 2010
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Thailand
Phuket
I arrived in Phuket at 8pm. Immediately upon exiting the plane I could tell this is a place for tourists. The airport is a madhouse of cab drivers trying to get your business. It's completely overwhelming. I eventually got some cash and made my way to the metered cabs.
Somehow in all of the insanity I managed to lose my ATM card the first day I arrived. No big deal since I called my bank, canceled the card, and had them send out an emergency card. The iPhone and alternate credit card left at home allowed me to book accomodations through Agoda.com. All in all it has worked out just fine, but was pretty scary for a day.
Patong is a crazy place that seems designed to be every partying college students wet dream. It's full of debauchery, stripper poles, bars, clubs, and "massage" shops. For me it is too much and too touristy. I was seriously groped at least once a block by girls looking to give me a good time. Hopefully i'm going to find a beach nearby that has less of the patong vibe.
On my second day I ventured to the
Phi Phi islands to become a certified open water diver! Phi Phi is MUCH nicer than Patong. I could easily see retiring in a place like this. More on that later...
I arrived in the morning and met the staff at Phi Phi scuba in the big yellow building off the first man road. They were extremely helpul and kind. We talked about the course that would take the next three days. I ate some dinner and went to bed early so I could wake up at 8. This town is cheap as well. Most meals range from $3 USD to $6 and are quite tasty! Shirts are $5, hats are $8 and other trinkets are about $3-5. I'm told rent ranges from $300-$500 usd.
The first day of scuba lessons help confirm I had made the right choice by learning here. After a quick workshop we already went diving in the ocean instead of a pool! I had already been swimming with fish after only 3 hours! Don't learn at a pool, go somewhere like Phi Phi Scuba in paradise. It is amazing!
After the first day of lessons I rented a kayak and ventured around
Phi Phi Scuba Diving Boat
Preparing to dive on my second day! a corner of the island to a secluded beach. There were only 3 people on the entire beach, but there were also about 30 monkeys. The monkey were playful at first until a couple arrived with a bunch of bananas. Chaos ensued soon after.
The monkeys rushed their kayak and stole every banana. They tried to get them back, but then the monkeys got angry and aggressive. I have a hilarious video of it on my camera. That night I went to see a fire show on the beach. The fire dancers are all professionals and clearly spend all of their time perfecting their craft. Their timing is perfect and speed is impressive. I turned in early to wake up at 6:30 which is, for me at least, no small feat!
The second day of diving took place a short boat ride from the island near a huge rock outcropping looking like something straight from Avatar. The feeling of diving is something that must be experienced to really understand it. You calmly pass through the water using your lungs to float like a spaceman. It is as close to flying as I can imagine achieving. It is very
Limbo
Nope, that's not me. peaceful to watch the creatures in their complex habitat simply existing.
I have a DVD of the experience and will upload clips some time when I return.
We broke for lunch and jumped from the upper area of the boat. I had to prove I could tread water and swim 200m which wasn't difficult. Then we started our second dive. Each dive gets more familiar and I found myself have much better breathe and buoyancy control. The instructors were very helpful and made me feel comfortable. Bill, aside of being a great diver, is a very cool man and extremely interesting to talk to. I highly recommend this place!!
This ended at 1:30. I walked around town to shop and eat dinner. Shortly after getting to my room it started pouring rain in a big storm. The small pathways were turned into rivers and the frogs began to croak their songs. The third day of diving classes took place near the same rock outcropping and near the beach from the movie "the beach". The beach is a tourist trap now and severely overcrowded. Fortunately I didn't have to deal with this on our boat 😊.
These
Muay Thai
Patong Muay Thai ring! dives were even better than the first! I saw a large turtle, two sharks, scorpion fish, eel, and more. Each encounter drives home how precious aquatic life is and that it needs to be saved before it's too late.
After completing my dives and an exam I became a certified open water diver. I celebrated with an intructor named Ryan. We went to three bars on the beach: Apaches, Hippies, and Slinkys. They are all similar with top40 music, fire dancers, buckets of booze for free, and dance floors. It was a great night out!
Now I am bidding god farewell to Phi Phi and heading back to Patong to get my new card. As I'm writing this my cab broke down. I met some nice people while they fixed the engine. A couple from Australia told me that he was assaulted by prostitutes even when the couple was standing together. I'm sure the massage girls are desperate for the business and money. The couple recommended Kata instead since the beaches are nicer and there is less insanity. I made my way to a tuk tuk and hitched a ride to Kata in the morning.
Kata has a much
nicer beach and is much more relaxed.
Unfortunately there is trash in the water due to disrespectful tourists. The day was spent relaxing in the sun and reading "the girl with a dragon tattoo". I think the rest of my vacation will be focused on relaxing on beaches. I get enough quality nightlife in the states. Besides, watching sad lonely middle aged men pay for the wrong kind of unwarrented attention from underaged girls just trying to make a buck all night isn't what I call a fun time.
Also, trying to get a legit massage is MUCH harder than anticipated. The thought of "happy ending" hands giving me a rubdown is nothing short of appalling. I plan on beach time tomorrow and an elephant tour. I think I'll avoid all Thailand nightlife from here on out. Call me lame, but It's clearly not designed for a young American man who isn't interested in asian women or paying for sex at a girly bar. The relaxing beaches and water activities are where it's at for this American!
Today I surfed some small waves, rode an elephant on a dirt road, stood in awe of a giant buddha
Waves in Kata
100 baht for 1.5 hours of surf. Awwww hell yes :) and made my way to Chalong temple. The water was clear of trash today so maybe it comes in sporatically. Yep, it was a good day!
After asking around I thought I found a massage place that was legit with no happy endings. No dice. Sure enough I was asked at the end if I wanted a happy ending. I chuckled and declined until she stopped asking. The massage itself was fine after I asked them to be stronger with it. The price turned out to be 1 hour for $11! Not a bad deal 😊 Tomorrow I hope to make it to Krabi for deep water solo climbing!
See all 700 photos at the following link.
http://picasaweb.google.com/AaronBrownSound/SouthEastAsia_2010#
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