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Published: September 24th 2008
Wow...that's all I can say. Thailand has been amazing thus far, and I can see how so many people come here and never leave. I arrived at Phuket airport in Thailand on Wednesday the 17th of September, only to be attacked with the never ending "TAXI"...hey you need TAXI, where you go, you want TAXI....NO!!!!! I didn't even know where I was going, so a taxi to anywhere was a big fat NO! You see I've been trying this couchsurfing thing, and the person I was suppose to stay with, I couldn't get a hold of, so I had to collect my thoughts and figure out where I was going. This was my first experience being somewhere and having absolutely no clue where I needed to be going...usually I have a hostel, or a house, or something....but I had the freedom to decide where it was that I was going next. Soooo I decided Patong Beach. It sounded familiar and I figured I could take it from there. I bought a ticket on a minibus...NO TAXI....to Patong for 150 Baht. On the way there I met a young Australian girl named Iva and her cousin from Austria, Denis. They were kind
enough to invite me to tag along with them until I could reach the couchsurfer I was to stay with. We arrived at their hotel, and left our bags in the room, to go to the pool for some "refreshments". The bar was actually in the pool, so you sat at stools in the water and sipped away at your island cocktail, I chose a pina colada-served in a coconut. It was beautiful, and delicious. After swimming around a bit we were anxious to see the beach. So down to the beach we walked. The minute you step onto the streets you are immediately hit by shop owners, taxi drivers, and the like. "Come have a look", "you want tuk tuk" "you want taxi" "hey where you going" its never-ending! Even on the beach, "you want jet ski" "you want maaassssage", the only escape from it all is the ocean. Not a bad choice at all....so I ran for freedom and escaped into the waves. Ah sweet freedom. The water was warm and fantastic...the only downside(which most people tend to leave out) is the "water lice" or whatever you call them, but they kind of bite and sting a bit.
Still it was lovely, and I enjoyed splashing around in the sun.Eventually, my host for the evening got a hold of me, and a new adventure was about to begin. I bargained a taxi ride for 470baht to go to Ao Yon, on the other side of the island by Panwa. The driver didn't seem to know exactly where to go, but he was kind and along the way we encountered a snake! He said "look look...ah cobra", it was quite large and I smiled as I watched it slither across the road in front of us. I finally made it to Ao Yon, where I met Zero, my host. He was a DJ at a radio station in Phuket. I even experienced my first moped ride, as I tagged along to join him for his show. We ran out of gas on the way, which was quite funny, because three of us had to squeeze on a bike together to get to the station(not too unusual here, you see families of 4-5 on one sometimes, including newborns, yikes!). Anyway, I sat and enjoyed some grub from a local market and a nice cold brew as I listened to him
host the show from 9:30 til midnight. Following the show we made our way to Phuket Town to go watch a local Thai band perform at a bar. They played some rock music, that sounded familiar, but everything was spoken in Thai...very cool I thought. We made it back a little after 2 and crashed. The next day we went to Kata to see some of his friends and rent a scooter for myself. On the way there we almost were in an accident with a car. The car cut us off, luckily Zero dodged it and rode up onto a grassy hill, before jumping off the bike yelling "I'm going to kick this guys ass!" Now Zero isn't a very big guy, and he stormed up to the car and hit the guys back windshield with his helmet! I just stood by the bike, watching, and waiting to see him get his ass kicked by this big Thai guy! A couple guys had stopped and came over by me to help set the bike up off its side. Zero came back over ranting, and I just stood in silence with eyes wide open. The fight ended with the Thai
guy apologizing and Zero doing the same, they shook hands, hugged, and all was well. Ahhh they are just beautiful people here! haha So on to Kata we went. We stopped to rent a bike. I rented it for 3 days @ 200baht/day, helmet and full tank of gas included. I handed over my passport, and paid half the amount, promising the other half when I received my passport back. So off we went to Kata Noi for some surfing! The beach was almost empty, other than the surfers bobbing in the water, waiting for their perfect wave to ride. I sat in the sand writing for a bit, before deciding to make my way into the water to try surfing for the first time. After a short talk through lesson, I made my attempt. Well lets just say I'm not going pro yet....but soon! haha I was very stubborn(imagine that)....well determined is the word I like to use. I tried time after time, but everytime I started to get up, I was worried that I was flashing everyone my butt or my boobs...definately need to invest in some different surf clothes! I did get up on my knees, but
that was the best I did. I hope to get in some more practice soon! Anyway after hanging at the beach for a while I hopped on my scooter, to head up 2 beaches to Patong Beach. I met up with Eva and Denis. They had purchased a tour to Phi Phi island for the next day, so I thought, why not join them?! I bought my ticket and the minibus would pick me up at a hotel down the street from Zero's place at 8:15am. I chilled for a bit before deciding to head back to get some sleep. I did get a little lost along the way, but eventually I had a couple Thai show me the road I recognized. They were very kind and helpful and even asked "are you scared to drive this road alone?" I wasn't but thanked them kindly, "kop kun ka"! So the next morning I was off on a speedboat to Ko Phi Phi. The tour was fantastic, we stopped at several islands, swam, drank, ate, and snorkelled. Ahhh this is the life is all we could think to say. Snorkelling in the bay was great, although I was annoyed at the
fact that the goggles didn't fit so well and I kept inhaling salt water. It was like a dream though, swimming with hundreds of little fish going by in schools, they surrounded me, and I felt like I was in "a whole new world" "under the sea"! ;D The day was great, the only true downside was the lack of applying enough sunblock, and the burn that came with such a fault!!!! Hakuna matata though! After arriving back I had to find a different place to stay for the night. Zero suggested a place in Kata, but I didn't know the exact location, so I looked online a bit for a back up, before packing up all my things and hopping on the scooter again. I must have looked ridiculous, with my big pack behind me and my little bag squashed between my legs in front...but there I was on my way to nowhere. I arrived in Kata and could not find the guesthouse Zero talked of so it was on to plan b, with no idea where I was going. I stopped at a resort and called one of the hostels to get an address, and luckily the resort pointed me in the right direction. After a few wrong turns I made it to the hostel, checked in, dropped my bags, cleaned up, and headed up the road to Patong again. I just hung for a bit and made plans for the next day. The plan was get up gather everything and pack it to Patong, drop it off, Iva and Denis rent some scooters, go see the Big Buddha on top of the hill, maybe do some elephant trekking or go to a waterfall, and come back to get ready for the big event...the yacht party! Zero told me about a yacht party down in Rawai, and everyone was welcome, just bring your own booze. So that was the plan. Here's how the day went. Got up, packed everything to Patong, rented some scooters...so far so good. So I was the tour guide of the pack, and I hardly knew how to get there, still I was leading the way. The two of them were a little timid riding the scooters, which was understandable, because they'd never rode anything of the like before, so anyway, as we crept along at a turtle pace, I slowed down to look back and didn't notice my front wheel going off the pavement, I almost regained control, but the grass was wet and the bike slipped out from under me. It landed in the grass, I landed and skid across the pavement, in a tank top, and mini skirt! HAHAHAHAHA Yes! What an idiot!!! A very nice Thai guy ran over to help, and all was well. So we carried on our way for the Big Buddha. As we went on over the hill, it started to pour! Perfect! As the rain pelted me in the face and on my back I couldn't help but start laughing. I laughed hard, out loud, as we sped along. We stopped to ask for directions once or twice before we made it to the road that led up the hill to the Big Buddha. We were soaked and determined! We finally made it though!!! After walking about a bit we decided to just go hang at the beach for a bit. Forget the elephants forget the waterfall. Down at the beach the sun was still shining. So we took a dip at Kata and headed back toward Patong to prepare for the night. We made ourselves pretty, bought our booze for the night, and headed for Rawai...another unknown beach, that I needed to navigate my way to. After stopping twice for dirctions, we made it to the pier. We were picked up and shuttled to an amzing yacht out in the bay. The music was pumping and everyone was having a good time. We drank and danced the night away. We stayed on the boat from 10:30pm until 11am the next day! It was fantastic watching the islands pop up all around us in the morning as the music rocked on, and the sun lit up the waves below! The last shuttle went back and 20 or so people stayed aboard. We sailed off into the sunrise to an island in the bay. We stopped and swam and enjoyed the music. I was in a dream, and I never wanted to wake up. The people were wonderful, and I hope to meet up again some day! So we left the boat, tired, hungry, and feeling a little under the weather. I had to return my bike in Kata so we stopped, I payed, grabbed my passport, and didn't even have to explain the newly aquired scratches! oops! I then took the driver seat on Iva's bike and we hopped up one beach to Karon to grab some grub. Following that we went to the hotel at Patong, and slept the day away. We did manage to get up and go get a nice long foot massage. On Monday, the plan was to catch a bus to go to Koh Phangan. That didn't happen though, after talking with an agent I discovered it wouldn't take as long as I expected, so I was going to stay and party in Patong one last night before leaving for the east. We ended up going to Clublime...a Swiss owned club...geared toward foreigners. The deal was..buffet for 1 hr, open bar for 2 hrs, and free shots after 11pm. So that's what we did. We ate, we drank, we danced. We left the club and made our way to the Tiger Club on Bangla Road(aka the hooker street, with young Thai women, old white men, and lady-boys. I didn't notice much though, I was busy dancing the night away until 4am.. We made our way back to the hotel and crashed. I slept until 7am and made my way down to the lobby, in the same clothes from the night before, to catch my minibus to Koh Phangan. Luckily I was so tired I slept almost the entire way, including on the ferry. I arrived on the island, hopped a scooter taxi to my bungalow, and settled in. Today I woke revived, and ready to go. I was up and out by 10am. I walked across the street rented a scooter for 150baht/day and went to explore. I drove north and saw a sign for "waterfall". I followed it and went on a little "hike". The waterfall was a trickle, but the lookout was great. Afterwards I headed back down to go check out Haad Rin...the party beach. It was full of young foreigners, and I layed in the sun. Ahhh what a life. Now I'm getting ready to head back there, to experience the crazy nightlife...this is the beach where the infamous Full Moon Party takes place....so we shall see what its like!สวัสดีค่ะ(sa wat dee kha)(thai for goodbye) I'll post more pictures soon!
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Janice Barnes
non-member comment
So nice to visit Thailand this morning, even if it's just in my mind. More pictures! I can't believe how beautiful it looks, not at all the dark and seedy place I thought it was. I bet your mom is green with envy looking at the picture of the book and the breakers. I'm glad you're having a great time and thanks for sharing your travels with me. Take care of yourself, Jan