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Published: April 19th 2007
Paradise Beach
taking a ride on the rope swing with jeab spectating I came down to Phuket, one of the islands off the west coast to meet up with a friend from Villanova, Kevin. He was making a stop there after a business trip- it was so nice to see a friend from home on this side of the world- brought a feeling of home back for me in a way. Phuket is a very touristy town, with a wild night life and lots of attractions to keep the tourist with money to spend very busy...however, the fact that I'm not one of those travelers, Phuket basically consisted of the beach and night life for me. One day we rented motorbikes and went to a beautiful 'Paradise' beach for the day- first time riding the motorbike- quite the adventure....but later in my time in Phuket ended up being a pro at driving around.
One night while we were out I ended up befriending a Thai girl, Jeab, who was really sweet and seemed very eager to be my friend. At first I was a little weary- unfortnuately there are just so many Thai people trying to take advantage of you one way or another, but I'm glad I gave her a
Motorbike Excursion
Kevin having some laughs on the bike chance because she turned out to be a great friend. She was the one who took us around and showed us how to get to the hidden 'paradise' beach, and took us all around town- knowing all the best places to go at night. She speaks english very well and we got along really well together- so after Kevin left Phuket I ended up staying with Jeab and her 2 friends in their place. An extremely generous offer- their single room consisted of just one big bed (basically two single beds put together) and a bathroom- three of them already living there and they were more than happy to host me as well. I was orignally planning to leave Phuket right after kevin left, but befriending these girls and getting a glimpse in their lives and more of a real sense of what it's like being a girl our age living in thailand- at least in Phuket- I ended up staying longer than I expected- I was also saving a lot of money staying with them- which had just recently began to be a major concern of mine- the fact that I'm running out quick! hahaha
So these girls
are actually bar girls- basically in our terms prostitutes in a way- so it was an extremely interesting experience becoming good friends with them and learning more about their lifestyle and why they do what they do and what they think about it, and all that stuff...and most of you know me well enough that you can assume that I didn't hold back on my questions and asked about anything that came to my mind- but they were very open to talk about it and share their thoughts. But basically I learned they don't really go home with a guy every night- they have older men that are their 'boyfriends' I mean like 50s or so, that live in other countries and come on holiday to visit them a few times a year. These girls that I've been staying with have been with these men for a few years 2-5 years, and the men send them money weekly. In the mean time they go out and if they decide to try to get a 'job' that night they won't just go with anyone. They pick their guy, and if the guy doesn't want to pay and if the girls like
The girls
outside tiger bar the guy then they do whatever the rest of us would do when you're out and like a boy- nothing for money. It's just something that they have grown up with, is very widely accepted here and allows them to live a higher standard of living than most around the area. But their lifestyles are crazy- they are basically nocternal- they go out EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, basically to the same place- stay out to sunrise almost every night, then sleep most of the day- wake up and do it again....fun for a little while but not a lifestyle I could or would want to endure. And don't worry....even though I was running low on money i DIDN'T dabble in their profesion- ha!
So I spent a few days with the girls and then took off to Phi Phi island- a little island just a few hours by boat from Phuket. An island with no cars- that got destroyed by the tsunami (Phuket as well) but has recovered, and is actually very touristy I thought as well. I went there with the purpose to get my PADI Open Water Scuba certification- and it was awesome!!!!!!! Phi Phi is supposed to
be one of the best places in Thailand to get certified and once I got in the water I could see why they said that....it was a three day course, the first day with just theory and practicing in shallow water, and the following two days I got to do 4 dives total. The sensation of breathing under water was unreal, the whole experience I found very meditative- when you're under water you don't hear anything, and you're concentrating on your breath (at least I was- maybe when you become more expereinced breathing becomes more natural), and your complete undivided attention and focus is on what you are seeing and experiencing in that moment. You're not thinking about any future plans or memories, or whatever else goes through our heads when we don't even realize it. I just felt a true and complete sense of being present in the moment- and what an amazing moment to be in. I saw a few sea turtles- was able to get really close to them- like 1 foot away! Saw a leopard shark- again could get very close, a little sea horse (which i thought was just so funny for some reason) a
Sunset
It was a mission to get to this viewpoint- a hill top on the Phi Phi- hiking up stairs and hills in probably 100 degree weather with EXTREMELY high humidity- ugh- but worth it for the view sting ray, and then just thousands of BEAUTIFUL fish, the classic tropical, neon colored fish you see on tv or in magazines. I just loved it, and by my 4th dive I definetly felt more comfortable under water and was able to enjoy the expereince even more without thinking about all the little techniques or my breathing. Scuba diving has definetly been one of the highlights of my trip so far- I can't wait to continue to dive in my life- now that I'm CERTIFIED and all 😉
I was planning to leave Phi Phi and have a travel mission with one of the guys from my hostel to head up to Chang Mai- it would be like 3-4 different buses and probably take a good 20 hours. but when we got to the pier- i realized I lost my boat ticket, confusion took over and I was rushed on the boat in order to sort everything out- got everything sorted with the boat (didnt have to pay extra- thankfully!), but couldn't find my friend Nic on the boat- turned out we got on different boats, and his arrived 30 minutes before mine. So i guess he thought i
didn't get on a boat and left- I didnt have any of his information, email or phone number so the major plan we had just schemed together all of a sudden....just didnt happen. So I went to Jeab's to pick up a bag of mine and realized that it was the first day of the Thai New Year, Songkam- they have a huge water fight all over the country! The water festival was SOOO much fun, just every where in the streets you get blasted by water and baby powder- I think the tradition has something to do with cleansing for the new year. Definetly a fun, but wet way to celebrate the new year.
So I was running extremely short on money and felt like it was ready to move on to Nepal, so I ended up staying with Jeab and her friends for my last week in Thailand. Phuket is an island that I probably normally wouldn't have gone to visit- it is extremely touristy and just a big party culture- but I wanted to meet my friend Kevin, even then I was planning to leave straight away- but as events fell into place, before I knew
The crew with the corny Beach picture
you have to see the movie to know what this is about... it I had spent 2 weeks there! But i do believe that when we travel we are brought to certain places for a reason, and I belive the reason why i came to phuket and stayed for so long was to develop my friendship with Jeab and her friends. They were so unbelievably generous to me while I stayed with them- they don't have much but what they did have they were eager to share with me and wanted nothing in return...just my friendship. It also gave me a huge insight on the sex life in Thailand, which has been one of the biggest cultural hurdles for me to get over...and it was nice to be in a town for a longer period of time and get to know people around and feel at home- in a way.
So I decided to take a bus back up to Bangkok instead of a flight to save some money- a 15 hour ride...but should've just taken the flight. The bus left at 2:00- I fell asleep right away- woke up 3 hours later- just to find us back in the same place where we originally left!!!! I guess there were some
protests in the streets and we couldn't get through- so we drove around for 3 hours in a big circle! Finally we were able to continue on, got to a town called Suittani- where we were supposed to switch buses and head on to Bangkok- but of course we were late and missed the connecting bus- there was an Israeli couple that was also trying to catch the same bus....we got brought to this man's office- I'm sure to be ripped off- they offered to try to drive us really fast and try to catch up with the bus- but wanted an extremely unfair price...so we found a hotel and were told we can catch the bus the following day. So I am writing from this shit hole town, where we are about to go and meet the man that wanted to take us yesterday- we have no tickets- since they took all of our tickets- only white stickers with Bangkok written on it- and we're optimistically hoping that this man will be able to get us on the bus for free- since we already paid for our ticket to bangkok- we'll see how it all works out. I have
a flight to Nepal tomorrow morning!!!!! Can't wait! Will be arriving in Bangkok at 5:00 am and my flight is at 10:00 am- so hopefully it all works out! hahaha- will be arriving to nepal with sleepy eyes i think.
So my time in Thailand has been good. Honestly I don't think I planned my travels here as well as I could have- i think there are other places in the country I would have enjoyed more and gotten more out of- but with the time and money contraints- I think I made the most of my oppporutnity to experience Thailand- I had a fun time, no regrets- but definetly looking forward for the detox and groundedness I'm expecting to get in Nepal. I'm also looking forward to being in one place for a length of time- after 3 months of constantly moving around- it gets tiresome and I'm craving a little consistency in my life- which I think Nepal will offer. I'm not sure what my accessibility to internet will be like in Nepal but I will try to write as often as possible! Take care everyone! and talk to you guys soon! Much love!!
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Lucia
non-member comment
from the beach in Cali
Hi Kristen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HIIIIIII!!!!!!!!! Will you ever forgive me for being absent in your travelblog this long? I am finally allowing my self some vacation time - on the beach in Santa Barbara - it is beautiful to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the waves, ahhhh... I loved reading your accounts of Thailand - reminded me of my PADI certification in Panama and some crazy bus adventures Ive had in central america and eastern europe. The joys of travelling to new places and the freedom we allow ourselves in the midst of it all... Well, it sounds like you are doing just fine and I am not at all surprised. I am still impressed how you had the courage to embark on such a journey all on your own. You wont regret it! I send you HUGE hugs from Cali and I dream of the day we go on a scuba div together -eh? I loved it too!! XOXOXO Lucia PS dont forget May 5!!! Can we call you or instant message you that day? i am having a big Bday party that afternoon in North Beach.