Phuket-cha wave, Thailand

No thanks the highly original title suggestions for this one, I thought "catch a wave" was relevant - not only because of the magnificent fun we had playing in the Phuket waves, but also because this island took the biggest hit from the Tsunami not too long ago. I'm actually still here (Sunday night) and don't want to leave! My motor bike is parked outside this internet cafe, and some friends are at a bar/restaurant across the street. With my helmet in lap, wind-blown hair, sandy bathing suit underneath beachy clothes, and red cheeks - complete with an oil-massage-on-the-beach afterglow - where do I begin...

We arrived in Phuket on Thursday night after dark and gained an hour on the way. After some mini-bus drivers followed the 8 of us around the airport parking lot and hassled us to no end, we opted to hire two regular taxis to take us to our hostel (M's Guesthouse at Patong Beach, picture above), which turned out to be 45 minutes away from the airport. By the time we got there it was pouring rain, which was all the more reason to take off our shoes at the door... given it's a Buddhist custom anyway (I think). The other group, which consisted of 8 guys, was checking in when we got there - I think they took the mini-bus route. Anyway this quaint little 4-story guesthouse put us up into 8 double rooms which we reserved the week before (apparently Phuket's a popular place during the summer weekends.) The rooms were huge: each had a double bed, TV, refrigerator with a mini bar, and a bathroom. The shower was part of the bathroom. Imagine a little square room with tile floors and walls, a sink, and a toilet. Look at the toilet and look above it: there was the shower spicket. Haha, at least Carlanna and I are comfortable around each other! It wasn't bad, though: the shower spicket was hooked to a water heater box with a power button. The room was cleaned and new towels were there everyday. It was like a real hotel (we're not used to this!) and it was only $7.00/night/person. The only drawbacks to the room were that there weren't any sheets (?) and the roomkey was used for the room's power, so while away nothing stayed on. Anyway the Thai manager and bellhop and maids were as nice and helpful as could be. Some people were brave that night and took off to the bars and the ocean after the rain ceased, but Carlanna and I could barely stand up we were so tired. So we ordered some Pizzeria Hut pizzas and went to bed. We had a big day ahead of us...

7:30 AM came quickly the next morning (Mom, after trying 3 different travel alarms that didn't work, I finally bought a double-A for my old one that I happened to throw in my bag) but I jumped out of bed because I was so excited about what we had in store: at 8 AM the Siam Safari people picked us up in their Jeep trailor thing, drove us through the mountains with 9 of us in the back cab, and took us elephant riding around a mountain! Our guide's name was Tan. They had 15 elephants. First we watched a little show in a stable type set-up with bleachers. They had 3 elephants show off their tricks - that was cute. But then the best part came. The elephants we rode on were HUGE! The one Carlanna and I boarded was 45 years old with liver spots all over its trunk. Each elephant had a Thai guide who probably didn't speak a lick of English on its HEAD. The guides were barefoot, wore pointy straw hats, and used a pointed stick on the elephants' ears to guide them. In a slow, spread out line, we all trekked through a jungle path along the mountain's edge. We saw some massive spiders, lizards, and flowers on the way, and stopped at a couple clearings where the Indian Ocean was out below us. Cool! Don't worry, I got a t-shirt.
We had a great plan for the afternoon. Our next destination: food and Mai Tais. Final destination: beach. Both turned out to be incredibly refreshing! We ate at Saxophone's, which would turn out to be my first Pad Thai meal of 4 total for the weekend. Across the street was Patong Beach, where we spent the entire afternoon playing in the waves and sleeping. The water was warm and the weather was fantastic: not too sunny but just right.

You will never guess who these people are in this picture. A few of the girls had checked out some ticket deals around the beach during my skin-tanning slumber. They got us a deal on the Cabernet that night... if you really want to know what that is, it's a "must-see" for everyone visiting Phuket... yes, it's nothing less than an authentic transvestite show. So we showered up, picked up some Subway, and headed to the Cabernet at 9 pm. The next hour proved to be the most ridiculous time I've ever spent seeing anything. These men had not only gone through sex changes, but they actually had GREAT bodies and proved to be gorgeous women. That sounds a little off, but I'm telling you, I was mesmerized. The show consisted of elaborate sets, many famous songs, and lip-syncing, dressed-up, dancing transvestites who pretending to be girls. I was mesmerized. After the show I got a picture with a few of them and was really surprised to hear their deep voices. Wow. Now I can say "been there, done that", and never go again!

Across the street was the Bavarian Octoberfest, which was offering free Chang beer after each German goal in the Germany-Costa Rica football game starting at 11 (although due to the Thai king's birthdays - how many birthdays can Asian kings have close to each other? - they couldn't serve alcohol until midnight). Everyone's crazy here, just like Europe, about football. We couldn't NOT go to Octoberfest- it was the first game of the World Cup! I was excited that Germany won. Mostly because that meant I could crash into bed again - the beach wore me out. It's a hard life.

When I said those girls got us ticket deals, I mean they really did some bartering. With Kristen Kerns' bargaining skills, the entire group of 16 was able to charter a speed boat for a day through the remote islands close to Phuket, complete with canoeing through caves, snorkeling, sightseeing, snacks, drinks, and of course an all-you-can-eat lunch on a private island... all for 1,300 baht ($32) each. What a day! Starting at 8 AM Saturday once again, I've never had a more adventure-filled day. The speed boat was really fun and seeing all of the islands (some were more like tall rocks jutting out from the ocean) was exciting. We got off on canoes next to some big rocks with caves in/under them, each canoe with a Thai guide. Carlanna and I jumped into a canoe and our little guy introduced himself as Boo Boo. Boo Boo looked to be in his twenties or thirties and he laughed at us a lot. He was also a crazy daredevil. He picked up the biggest jelly fish I've ever seen by its tenticles and pretended to throw it at us. I'm pretty sure it was dead... but how did he know??? He showed us some neat-looking crabs and tried to pick them up. He pointed out some crazy rock formations that looked like different animals. We had some splash fights with the other canoes. I think the guides liked young people! They took us through some pitch black caves which we had to lie on our backs to get to. Scary!! But exciting. Boo Boo said goodbye to us by dunking us out and letting us swim back to the boat! At least he thought it was funny. It was suddenly noon and we were at a remote, private, gorgeous island. When I say island, I mean that the sandy plot had a diameter about the length of one of my tee shots (not very far). We were surrounded by a sea in the Indian Ocean and we were the only ones on the island except a few people who ran the shops and restaurant. I was in paradise. The water was blue, the sun felt so good, and little Thai ladies were setting up a huge feast of rice, chicken, fish, vegetables, and soup for us on the restaurant patio. After this little piece of heaven we decided to go snorkeling. Too bad we were barefoot and the masks were cheap! I think the entire coral reef had exploded on the ocean floor. Everywhere I stepped I cut myself. The Indians in our group all got stung by the spiky black Sea Urchins. Several people had cuts and gashes from the urchins and coral reef (dead or alive) on their arms and legs... ouch! Somehow I made it out in one piece, but then again I am typically slow and careful, kind of like a turtle. When I was 2, I would sit in my crib and carefully turn the pages of my Mother Goose book... not much has changed! I also tend to get lost in my own world and forget about the group and the time. I think I followed a pink and green fish around for about an hour...? Anyway, continuing on, our next stop on the day's excursion was James Bond Island. It was drizzling rain and the island was full of tourists. We climbed on some rocks, took a few pictures, and got creeped out by some of the people so we left as soon as we could. The big rock from the movies was cool though (picture above)! On the speed boat ride back to Phuket, our guide made the girls things out of straws. Using 2 straws he made me a rose, and then for Carlanna he made an angel fish... and I'm talking elaborate! Well we got back at 5 pm, all the beer was gone, and we were worn out from being at sea all day. We made it back to the hostel in time for half of us to crash and half of us to shower and go out. Mainly the people leaving Sunday morning at 8 (my usual travel group minus me) wanted to make the most of their last night so some of us got dressed up to go out on the town. I didn't make it past dinner! My second Pad Thai meal was delicious, though, and so was the strawberry gelato afterwards. I fell asleep to a football game on TV in Bart's room, then somehow made it to my room shortly afterwards, and I still don't remember Carlanna coming in at 10 something nor leaving at 5:30 am!

Staying an extra day in Phuket was the best decision I've ever made; it made my entire trip to Asia worth all my hard-earned money I put on the summer. The only people in Phuket on Sunday were me, the 2 crazy Indians (Sid and Akshay), the Indian who isn't really Indian (Nikhil), the Mexican (Jorge), the Buddha (Kevin), and the short white guy (Scott). As you can tell, this group is extremely politically correct. :) The reason I was so excited to hang out with this crew on Sunday was because they weren't planning the day... they just had motor bikes to drive wherever they wanted to. They were so nice to me and really looked out for me. They totally took me in and no one stopped me from getting my own motor bike. They probably winced at the thought of waiting for me to catch up or help me learn... but boy were they in for a surprise. I woke up at 9 which was relatively late for my weekend but extremely early for these guys. Bored and probably out of my mind, I rented a bright red Yamaha motor bike and a helmet from the front desk and spent the next hour figuring the thing out. The closest thing I've ever operated was a jet ski. Surely they were similar? With some pity help from random strangers, I managed to start the engine, hobble around a bit, get myself to the gas station (which was down a dirt road and a sharp turn to a busy street... so I learned fast!), fill up the tank for 70 baht (less than $2.00), and practice turning and driving on the strip in front of M's, all before the other 6 opened their eyes from beauty rest. I was so excited about my new abilities that I ran into Sid and Akshay's room (I can always depend on them to sleep with their doors unlocked) and jumped on their bed as their wake up call. It was time to go! An hour later, the 7 of us were on the road headed to a beach 30 minutes away. There were 5 motor bikes with 2 of our guys riding on a couple backs... neither one had ever been able to ride a bicycle so I guess that goes hand-in-hand with balancing a motor bike... makes sense. The drive to the beach was beautiful! It was about a half hour on windy, mountainous, scenic beach roads. I couldn't believe was I was doing! I was actually part of a motorcycle gang. I only drove on the right side of the road once accidentally, and only got freaked out a few times by the non-stop passing by cars, honking, and disregard for road markings - but besides that, I was pretty good! We ate lunch (3rd Pad Thai) and got full-body Thai oil massages ON the prettiest beach in Phuket. What an hour of goodness. The water was warm again, but the rip tide was strong! It was a little rough and I won't lie: I was a little scared... but we all got out and decided to keep going! The rest of the day was so exhilerating because all we did was ride the hilly roads and stop at random beaches and look-outs. We even made it to the famous Cape at the southernmost part of the island. The boys never let me go last just in case I got left behind or something happened. But nothing ever happened to me or anyone else and I kept up with them, if not made them go faster, all day! The biggest difference to me in riding a motor bike is that there is NO exception to losing awareness of your surroundings and constantly being ready to brake or turn. Turning is the best and worst part: it's my favorite because it's a cool feeling to lean into curves, but it's also the most dangerous part. I could have been really unlucky I'm sure! Thank the Lord we're all safe!
Here's a marked up map of where we motor biked. We used 1.65 tanks of gas, so it was probably over 100 kilometers of riding! What an amazing day. It was BEAUTIFUL.



















If you couldn't guess, I fell asleep early again that night. We ordered a mini-bus for 6:00 AM, but left at 6:25, made our 8:00 flight in the nick of time, and losing an hour on the way home, I made it safely back to Prince George's Park by 11 am, just in time to eat and get ready for class at 2.
Here are the rest of my pictures from Phuket: Phuket pictures
Like I said, it's a hard life. =) Seriously though, I'm having the time of my life and wish all of you at home were here too!