Well, get out your "Top Ten Things To Do In Phuket" Guidebook and get ready to follow along. We did 'em all so you can see how our descriptions measure up.
1. Day Trip to the Phi Phi Islands
We signed up for an "exclusive yacht tour" to see the national park/ island where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. Between the 619 people on our boat and 547 other boats doing the same trip, we're still trying to figure out which part was "exclusive"
Phi Phi Leh and the famous Maya Beach were in fact spectacular,
But the majesty was somewhat diminished by the armada of boats and other tourists along for the ride.
Maya Beach - Google Image
Maya Beach - Last Friday
You may also notice the slight haze in our pictures thanks to the recent eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia.
We spent the afternoon strolling around town on the nearby Phi Phi Don.
2. Get Suckered In To Ridiculous Roadside Spa Treatments
We started with a relaxing "Fish Spa". Dunk your feet for 20 minutes and let these little guys feast away on all your dead skin, leaving your feet baby soft. Don't worry the place guaranteed they use only "original doctor fish" in their tanks. Phew!
Ciel didn't get much action. I suppose that's 'cause her feet are already "baby" soft.
Feet that supple must be celebrated with splashy graphics!
3. Ride in a Tuk Tuk
Pretty standard open-air transportation equivalent to the Filipino Jeepney, but with a funnier name.
4. Bang-la Road
The main party/bar strip on Patong Beach. If you are looking for a roadside seat where you can drink cheap Chang beer and find half-naked women (or are those men?) roaming the street, every tourist in Patong, and street hawkers pestering you to buy cheap plastic clocks/necklaces/ugly hats or woven bracelets that say something abhorrently offensive, you've come to the right place.
5. FIVB Phuket Open
Unbeknownst to us we arrived in town smack in the middle of an international women's beach volleyball tournament.
We didn't find out until after the Canadian team had been eliminated (with a career best 9th place finish), but we managed to catch the final between the USA and Italy.
The USA won in 3 sets.
But, hey, when there are that many svelte chicks running around in skimpy bikinis... we're all winners.
6. Have a Do-It-Yourself Glamourous Photo Shoot on the Beach
Okay, we didn't do this one ourselves, but apparently it is the thing to do at Karon Beach. Everywhere we turned there were people suggestively sprawling around in the surf.
We managed to drop in on this hot little session mid-shoot.
7. Drink Thai Coconut Water
We've actually been enjoying this tasty treat throughout our Southeast Asian tour. Word is it has a favorable electrolyte balance and has been used as a sports drink and intravenous replacement therapy (it's sterile until the coconut is opened).
Oooor... you could just mix it with crushed ice and rum and get shittered.
8. Experience Thai Kickboxing
We never made it to a match, but we did eat dinner next to this guy one night.
According to our waiter he is "very famous" and has a 30-5 record. Although, I think he musta lost his last one 'cause he left on crutches...
9. Hit the Beach
We made the rounds between Patong, Karon and Paradise for killer body surfing,
Thai massages,
Tarzan swings,
And afternoon antics at the beach bar.
Though the beach wasn't all just fun and games. There were some intense moments...
Ciel had her first "fall from height" when Britt turned her back "for a second" (do I see a pattern?) and she G.I. Joe army-rolled off her beach chair.
Fortunately, she survived unscathed.
In another incident, I bravely (or naïvely) ventured into this little guy’s enclosure to have what appears like a civilized encounter,
Which it was, until he reached into my bag to grab my sunglasses and Britt started screaming "LUKE! LUKE! He's in the camera bag! GET OUT OF THERE!" at which point it rapidly devolved into an episode of "When Animals Attack". "Miraculously, the man escaped with only superficial injuries..."
10. Gorge Yourself On Cheap Eats
Given that our discerning palates can’t tell the difference between a 300 Bhat Pad Thai and a 30 Bhat one (they both taste awesome to us) we found plenty to keep us going.
Lots of curries and noodles.
(Massaman Curry and Pad Si-Ew)
(Prawn Yellow Curry, ?Greek Salad and Pad Thai)
And, (surprisingly) some outstanding wood oven pizzas.
That pretty much sums up our week in Phuket, hopefully it measures up to the books.
Now, after a month of dirt-cheap wares and Southeast Asian humidity, it's time to veer South and head to the land of Oz. See you in Sydney.
4 comments:
Not enough scantily clad, dancing and/or drinking asian women.
Claire is getting jealous. Suddenly a walk in the park is not good enough when she sees Ciel doing all these other things! Glad you are having fun! Steve, Mandy and Claire
#6 KILLS me!! I would have laughed out loud except I threw up a little in my mouth after viewing the thonged woman in a squat! LMAO!! This blog has me in stitches (or sutures - whatever!) every time I read it! Glad to see/hear you're all having such a great time!
Looks like Thailand was interesting... to say the least. Can't wait to see the pictures from the land of Oz.
Post a Comment