We decided to check out of Poseidon at Khao Lak a day early and head to Phuket to see if we could find a new camera. We picked a hotel off the Internet which we thought was in Phuket Town, turned out it was in Patong Beach. We thought this was just a beach, however it turned out to be the biggest party area on the island of Phuket. We arrived mid afternoon and a huge mall was within walking distance. Bill was on a mission to find a new camera and we succeeded the first stop we made. No screaming deals, but about the same price as we would have paid at home, but we have a huge memory card and the camera has way more functions than the old one. He now could relax again, now we were off looking for a bag to put our suits in for the trip back. We decided the street vendors would be our best option so we were off bartering again. Our shopping was complete so we decided to check out the fresh food market. Man if I could buy my fruit and veggies this fresh at home I would be in heaven. We purchased some mangosteens and lemons and headed back to the hotel.
When we emerged again to go for dinner the street had filled with more people and motor bikes than you could have imagined. We asked the hotel where a good Thai place was to eat and she gave us the name of a place on the map. Bill thought it was a tourist trap, but we decided to try it anyway. We walked the streets in an attempt to find it but eventually hired a taxi to take us there. The crowds were incredible. More people here than in Bangkok. The restaurant was huge and full of tourists. Go figure, but it looked interesting. You choose you seafood and then they weighed it, charged you per 100g and then they cooked it for you. They did not have any muscles so we changed our order to squid. The prawns were OK, the squid was overcooked and like rubber but the pad Thai noodles were great. We decided we could find our way back to the hotel on foot so off we went.
What an experience, we ended up on a pedestrian street only, full of night clubs, sex shows, girly boys and people trying to sell you every sex act you could imagine. The girly boys and show girls were on the street as well, all dressed up in their show garb wanting people to take pictures. In hind sight we should have stopped and taken a few pictures but I was afraid we wouldn’t get out of there if we did. There were so many people you couldn’t walk in a straight line you had to weave in and out of the crowds to make you way through. We eventually made it out and back onto a normal street and back to our hotel safe and sound.
It is quite amazing to have that type of activity in a Buddhist society, however we have come to the conclusion that it is a foreign based activity strictly for the enjoyment of the foreign tourist which the Thai government allows to happen. There did not appear to be too many locals taking part.
The next day Bill found a massage parlor across the street. He decided we had an hour to kill so he had a neck and back massage and I had a pedicure and manicure. We travelled by ferry from Phuket to Ko Phi Phi. The ferry ticket included a taxi transfer to the pier. We were picked up at 12:05 and made our way around town until we had a full van. We arrived at the pier about 5 minutes before the scheduled departure. We queued up in the line up and we assured that in Thailand there never left people on the pier. The boat would wait. Sure enough we all boarded. Piled our luggage in a great big pile on the floor and went inside to see if we could find a seat. There were two levels inside but no seats to be had so we went back outside and up the ladder to see what was on the upper deck. By this time you couldn’t move so we were committed to the upper deck. As I reached the top all I could see were people sitting on the deck floor and there was only a few floor spaces left. So up we went, sat down and started to laugh. I don’t think you could have fit another person on the boat. We were packed in like sardines.
Good thing it was cloudy because neither of us had our hats, we had no water and we were going to be sitting on the deck for 1.5 hours. Another lesson learned. Anyway you could purchase water and beer on board and the cloud cover remained throughout our journey. The wind blew in your face and kept you cool and we just sat back and read our books. Travel in Thailand is quite an experience. We arrived safely and once we were off the boat we were met by a long boat taxi to take us to our resort.
Our resort is fantastic. It consists of little villas on stilts constructed on the mountain side. We have A/C, a comfy king bed, hot shower, mini bar with fridge and a beautiful view of the sea off our private deck. Heaven at last. The beach is amazing and the staff very helpful. We are here for 5 nights of rest and relaxation.
mojittos, full of all kinds of herbs. They were BBQing for dinner so we chose a tumtim fish to try. It was very tasty, full of chilies, limes and other unidentified spices. During our diner the boys at the dive shop/bar next door put on a fire throwing show for us. Twirling and throw sticks with fire on each end, doing the limbo under a fire stick getting as low as about 1 foot off the sand and then ending the show with a fire lit skipping rope. It was very entertaining with the beautiful back drop of the see behind them.
Day two on Ko Phi Phi was a relaxing one. We basically spent the day on the beach then headed up to cool off and have a beer before we went by long boat to the main beach for dinner.
The main beach a Ko Phi Phi is very busy with the pier traffic, dive shops and travel agents. We wondered around for a few hours, purchased some supplies (beer, water, Thai whiskey, limes you know the basics), had some dinner and then headed back to our resort. This is our 5 days of relaxing on the beach so not much to tell. Other than it's smokin hot, the beach is gorgeous and thank god for A/C.
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