On our way to Sin City via Kata Beach - Phuket

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22nd March ’12 Ko Phi Phi to Phuket

We decided to catch the early ferry to Phuket, so after a bit of breakfast we wandered down to the pier – were given our colour coded stickers (which is the system they seem to use all over the islands to sort the tourists out and amazingly it always works) and got on board. We had been advised to get there 30 minutes before it sailed in order to get an air conditioned inside seat and I am certainly glad we followed this advice, as come sailing time the boat was packed with lots of people having to sit out on the deck in the pounding heat.

It took about 2 hours to arrive at Phuket dock and thanks to our stickers we were intercepted by the minibus driver who was going to take us on to Kata Beach where we were staying for 2 nights. Our room is great and we have a really soft bed!!! – that is a first for many many months, I can’t wait to go to sleep lol We are staying in a sort of apartment building which is very odd and built up the side of a hill, there is a strange narrow pool which is up the road and we guess is shared by all the surrounding apartments – you have to sign in to use it. As it is pretty small and there are only 6 sunbeds we were glad there seems to be virtually no one else staying in any of the apartments. Our landlady gave us a tour round the area and recommended a few bars and restaurants. The beach looks gorgeous, white sand, blue sea! It is about a 15 minute walk downhill from where we are staying which isn’t too bad but seems an awful long way in the baking heat during the day!

She left us in the small town area so we could get some food and suss the place out. Much to our delight we found the Kata Biker’s Bar and the Easy Rider’s Bar – which doesn’t open until 10pm but has a live band and said it plays rock and heavy metal, so we are planning a night out there!

That night we walked into town and found the Night Market, looked in lots of shops, had some food and a few beers, but we were really struck by how few tourists there were, especially considering how many bars and eating places there are! There were lots of girly bars with no one but the girlies in them, it was really odd. We decided to have our ‘big night out’ tomorrow as it would be Friday and hopefully more people might be about and so hiked back up the hill home.

23rd March ’12 Phuket – Kata Beach

Today we headed to the beach and stayed there the whole day until 5 and we started to feel rather ill and realised it was the heat. We walked back into town and went for some food but mainly a really cold drink, it was only after drinking and eating we began to feel normal again (we had had plenty of drinks at the beach but I don’t think either of us had realised just how hot it actually was).

We then staggered back up the bloody hill ( yep it has now been renamed - see that didn’t take long) and had a bit of a rest in the blessed air conditioning! We then set out for our ‘big night out’ at around the time we are normally thinking of heading back! First stop the Kata Biker’s Bar with all its Hells Angel paraphernalia and ……. We were the only ones there! Oh dear! We then headed to a little open air sports bar we had been to before and this time there were a few people there so we hopped on a stool and watched Thai Kick Boxing – bizarrely though none of the fighters were Thai in any of the matches. I was actually getting quite into it but by 10.30 we decided to give Easy Riders a go.

We walked in and there were only 5 other people there plus the bar staff and the band…..Oh dear! Still we got a drink and sat at one of the front row tables and the music was pretty good, sort of bluesy rock. The band came on at 11 and the singer was a hoot, lots of banter and they played a mixture of rock and softer stuff, the other people were all Russian and got up to dance to the softer stuff, but Howard and I just sat singing along at the tops of our voices.

Then they played Stairway to Heaven and again we were singing along (we had had a good few bevvies by now) and they got Howard up on stage to sing!! The singer just gave him the mike and stood back and played guitar!! Well it was excellent, slightly out of tune but he really got into it and by the end the Russians were all clapping and Howard came back giggling and saying I can’t believe I just did that!

When the Russian party left we were a tad concerned we would be the only ones in the place but amazingly it started to fill up and come 1am, the special guest singer arrived and started belting out Deep Purple, Guns’n’Roses and Mettalica and the whole band were really good, everyone was up dancing and it was a great atmosphere. Unfortunately the Sweedish contingent kept asking for Reggae – I ask you??? It was a rock bar!!! The new singer kept saying after the next song but eventually gave in a did a Bob Marley. By now a party from Denmark were in and had obviously been here before as one of the guys was called up to sing and he had an excellent voice and belted out lots of rock and roll and then joined in with the rock stuff too.

Once the guest singer had finished his set the original band singer was back and he ended up giving in to the Reggae Sweedes so we decided to call it a night – it was 3am after all and waved goodbye to everyone and left to climb that bloody hill for the last time.

What a cracking night!

24th March ’12 Kata Beach to Patong aka Sin City! (another part of Phuket)

Oh dear…… it was not easy getting up to check out today I can tell you! Still we are now in Arthas guesthouse & Malley’s Bar, where we will be for 2 nights. Malley (English Man Utd fan who owns and runs the place) was having a siesta when we arrived so we thought that was a damn good idea so that is all we have done so far!

After the extended siesta we got to meet Malley who seems a nice guy and who told us where to go for good cheap food and how to get into the town. It seems we are a good 15 minute walk from the main part of the town and a good 10/15 minute walk in the other direction from the beach, oh dear I foresee much hiking in the heat again.

Anyway we set off for the bright lights of Sin City and were soon walking up the kerb of the very busy main road dodging cars and scooters. We eventually came across and area full of little outside bars all manned by Thai women screeching weeeellllcome and a kind of huge shopping area of small stalls mainly manned by Thai women all screeching weeeeellllcome you likey shopping and buy just one more – it could be anything as long as you would just buy one more of it! We bravely walked through and were just about the only people in there, which made me feel sorry for the stall owners who clearly were desperate for a bit of custom.

This area kind of led into yet more and more bars, restaurants, small shops and tour agencies all trying to lure you in - It was a real assault on the senses!

Eventually we came across The Road – the famous one whose name escapes me, but the one road that is traffic free at night and stowed out with girly bars. It was very weird, it kind of looked like Las Vegas with all the big neon signs but the hundreds of bars with hundreds of girlies didn’t! We were stopped in the street by a woman who thrust a sign under our noses and screeched free Ping Pong show is good is good all free…….well I don’t think that Ping Pong had anything to do with bats!!!

We resisted the Ping Pong show – although I must admit I was a tad curious, but gave into temptation and went to McDonald’s for a McFlurry instead – much better for you I’m sure! So after seeing what Sin City had to offer we walked miles back to Malley’s where Howard watched the footy and I skyped Holly.

Next day we headed out in the other direction to the beach and I reckon it was more like a 30 minute walk, but maybe the heat had something to do with that. The beach was lovely, white sand, blue sea, no rocks and people coming along offering you drinks, food, bikinis, watches, manicure sets, dresses – you name it and they had it, fortunately there was no hard sell and if you were laid down they left you alone. We spent all our time either laying down or running into the sea, it was so hot even the sea was hot, but it gave you the illusion that you were cooling down. By mid afternoon we were totally kippered and feeling slightly disorientated from the heat so we headed back to Malley’s and an air conditioned room.

That night we hiked back to the more local food/bar/shopping area and went for a curry. We had just sat down when Howard said I recognise that song. I turned round and said (quietly I thought but obviously not) it’s The Desi Boys……. Make some noise for the Desi Boys and all the staff stared at me, from then on I couldn’t resist watching it and everytime I started laughing the staff were all watching me and laughing. At the end when Mr Desi appears in the court room I couldn’t resist a big YAAAAY and a whoop, I don’t think the staff quite knew what to make of me – I could hear them thinking how does she know this film????!!! But I did as it was the one we went to see at the Raj Mandir cinema in Jaipur and it brought back some really good memories!

We attempted to have an early night as we were due to be picked up at 6.45 in the morning for the bus to Ko Samui. We failed miserably as the music from somewhere nearby was so loud and it was some sort of techno rubbish that went on until the early hours – or maybe i just fell asleep about then anyway.

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Photos

Kata Beach
The Biker Bar

Kata Beach
Inside Easy Riders with the band The Outlaws!

Kata Beach
Howard on lead vocals!

Kata Beach
Just a little reminder needed

Kata Beach
In Easy Riders with the band The Outlaws

Patong
Beach