Sun in the South, Phuket

      Sawadi kap, thank you for joining me here. Much has happened since the last time I was able to make it to the keyboard. So much, in fact, that I'll have to add it segments, starting here with our trip to the south of Thailand. It seems these posts are destined to engage in a game of catch up. My last post I wrote from our hostel in Phuket, and now I'll recap what actually happened there.

     For visa reasons, Ryoko and needed to enter Thailand on the 17th of April. We originally arrived on the 2nd of April so we "had to" make a trip to a neighboring country. We decided on Malaysia which lays directly south of Thailand. Along the way we made stops in several beach cities, making sure to take in the sun along the way. With our new friend Kanami, our first stop was the ever popular Phuket, a tourist trap if there ever was one. Also, the launching destination for anyone trying to get to Phi Phi island (the very island featured in the movie "The Beach" with Mr. Dicaprio)

Ryoko and Kanami on our ride to the beach

     Each morning I woke up a bit before my travel-mates. I would walk across the way and enjoy a relaxing read and some breakfast before they arose from their slumber. One morning, Ryoko caught me mid meal...

  
     I've read that nearly half of the travelers to Thailand are single men. To me, this first stop seemed to be a sort of sin city for the traveling European man.  The general motif was restaurant, followed by pub with pool tables and a constant stream of European football, souvenir shop, bar with dancing polls, beach lined with chairs and umbrellas (over priced), another general Thai souvenir shop, 7/11, over priced jet ski and banana boat rides, endless hawkers pacing the beach, 7/11, other bar with dancing polls, night club, travel agency, Western style shopping mall, over priced seafood restaurant, DQ and McDonalds, other bar with pool tables, and a giant buddha statue on the hill, facing away from the beach, and many Thai women very done up, hiding behind a strained smile and a bit too much make up...

     Despite the general excess presented by the city, we managed to find some peace of mind and more than our fair share of rays on the beach. Our first outing took us to the main strip of beach. After passing the first 30 chair hawkers, we found a small bit of shade on the back of the beach where we could lay out our blankets. We spent just a few hours in sun, but that's all that was required for Senior Sun to take its toll on my shoulders. The water was nice and inviting, but it felt good to make it back to our air-conditioned room until the sun set.

     Like everywhere I've been in Thailand thus far, the food did not disappoint. Everything is quite tasty usually very spicy. For that reason, we've learned to respond "nip noi" (little) when they inquire about the spice of our food. Often, nip noi tends to be a few degrees hotter than we were anticipating, but our guts are getting stronger everyday. The freshly blended fruit juices are always a favorite. Only now can I speak of a country that has mangoes to rival those of Paraguay. Not to mention the watermelon is always sweet and seedy, at least this time of year.

 
     After spending the next day or so hiding from the sun, we took another day trip to a beach 20 minutes up the road and around the bend from the main strip. While this beach also had a similar chair situation, we found the vendors to be less aggressive and the food just as tasty and cheaper. After working out a deal, we took up three seats under the protection of an umbrella and waited for the sun set.

     I took a walk up the beach with the camera, leaving my shirt and hat on for protection this time. On my walk, I came across a beautiful statue of a dragon overlooking the water, decorated with different prayer flags, scarfs and small figurines.

    Kanami took to the sky via a para-sail just as the sun began to rest itself on the water. While it seemed a bit pricey to me, I got the impression that she didn't regret it for a second. Her expression upon decent said it all.

     The sunset was especially beautiful here. It was easy to see why so many travelers take up Phuket as a destination. On one hand there's so much natural beauty and everything one looks for on a beach adventure. On the other hand, there's vendors of every vice imaginable and a general disregard for this location that lent us its' serene setting. Consequently, I couldn't help but feel a bit dirty taking part in it all. Overall, Phuket presents a living picture of how a lack of awareness and caring paired with self indulgence can blemish even the purest of people and places.

         After about 2.5 days, we decided we had gotten our fill of this particular site and it was time to move on. Krabi, our next destination a mere two hours down the road, proved to be what we were really looking for on this particular journey. So that's where I'll pick up the adventure on my following entry. Thank you for joining me here, I hope to hear from you all soon.