Thailand - Part One

So, like I said in my last post, we went for a quick holiday to Thailand. We stayed in Phuket, right on Patong beach... here in fact. Got to say, Thailand is pretty cool. Phuket is a bit too crowded with Aussies and "Eurotrash" (not being mean about it, but that's just the description that comes first to mind) though. So many Westerners, was unbelievable, you could almost imagine you were in an Australian beach resort! Probably seemed more so because we live in Japan.


It was nice, and we had a great time, but I think it might have been nicer ten years ago. There is too much development there at the moment, so you end up with these really strange contrasts, like a huge, brand new, shopping mall right next door to outdoor markets which get flooded to ankle depth in water when it rains! Another example was on the eastern side of the island, there is a big marina development which is probably nicer than most in Australia, and not more than 30 seconds away by boat along the channel to get to the open water there is what can only be described as a shanty town, which really becomes obvious at low tide.

It was a bit wet while we were there, but it didn't really stop you from getting out and doing things. It would be overcast and warm and really humid all day, with a really heavy tropical rainstorm at around lunch time, then another one during the evening. It was actually good, because it kept it from being too hot. And hey, its fun wandering around the markets when its rainy, it keeps most of the rest of the tourists in their hotels, and wandering around in ankle deep water inside a market is pretty funny.

Fake stuff is everywhere... in the markets its incredibly cheap, and in the upmarket mall it costs more, but what your getting might actually be the real thing. Oh and you might seriously consider buying the "No, I don't want a f*cking suit, massage, or tuk-tuk" shirt after a while... my advice, just smile and have a laugh with the mobs of vendors trying to sell you whatever it is you really don't need. I think they do it for a laugh themselves most of the time, just to see how hard some of the tourists bite. Haha, its funny to watch.

Oh, and Thai airways... got to say, the food was pretty decent, in fact pretty damn tasty, but the planes are old and crappy. You don't get a personal entertainment unit thing, you just have to watch the one tv screen at the front of the cabin. And on the way back the air conditioning was set to like 30 degrees Celsius, it was really hot and stuffy, I don't ever get air sick, luckily, but this was starting to make me feel a bit dodgy, glad it was only 90 minutes from Phuket to Bangkok. Very unpleasant, in fact one of the worst plane trips I can remember... oh and then, on the flight from Bangkok to Narita (Tokyo) no movie! lucky I had a book with me. I don't think we will be flying with them again if we can possibly avoid it.

There is a few more pics on flickr.