Thailand is known as the "Land of Smiles". The locals here are very gracious. Very shy and polite, but they are always smiling. According to the Internet, Thais have many different smiles. Annoyed, shy, polite, angry, look at someone in any situation and they appear serene.
When we first arrived, we landed in Phuket, the main hub of the south. We did not stay in Phuket long. It is a huge, unorganized city filled with people wanting tourist dollars. "Taxi? TukTuk? Massage? Eat here? Sarong? Drink?" On and on and on, but so the competitive world of tourism goes.
In Phuket we mainly walked around and went to Patong beach, one of the busiest beaches for tourists out there. Bars line every street. Every kind of bar you can imagine....some of which are so horrible they are almost unimaginable. So we quickly booked a ferry and went to the islands.
We headed to the Koh Phi Phi islands, which are known for their beauty, but also for a good party. Thinking we were still cool, we thought it might be nice to go and drink some beers on the beach and meet people. We quickly realized we are no longer that cool. Old. Married. Relaxed. We got bored fast. Unless you like "clubbing" on the beach, there wasn't much to do. Most of the beautiful beach is crowded with loud bars-- so loud you couldn't talk to anyone. The atmosphere is so aggressive you can't shut it out even if you want to. Our room, a hop to the beach, was a perfect resonant drum for several loud bars. The bass was so loud it rattled everything in our room: our bed, the fans, the furniture, and us. Ipods and earplugs were useless. We quickly moved on.
Although Koh Phi Phi was not our favorite, we did take a day tour that took us snorkeling and to all of the beautiful uninhabited islands around it. We saw Bamboo island, great for snorkeling, Monkey island, filled with monkeys (not our favorite animal...) and Maya Beach, where the filming of "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio was shot. It was alot of fun aside from our boat, which was a traditional long tail Thai boat that they packed to the gills with tourists. On the way home the sea was rough and everyone got a bit stressed with all the pitching around the boat was doing. I was holding onto Steve for dear life, while I calculated all the safety risks: not enough life jackets, a rickety covering that would trap us all in if we capsized, broken floorboards, no oars, overcrowded, etc etc. There were more than 100 ways to die, it only took a rough sea for me to notice it all. Steve, on the other hand, just looked at me and laughed. He thinks I worry too much, but I come by water honestly... just watch my dad in a pool sometime (just imagine throwing a cat into a swimming pool...)
Since getting back on solid land I am now fully equipped with safety equipment. I have done more research on possible hazards and now carry around vinegar ( for jellyfish stings) , antiseptics for mosquito bites to prevent infection, and take more anti theft precautions. You can never be too prepared..... You may think I worry too much, but I come by that honestly too.... Just ask my mother if she worries about us being away...
But all my OCD aside, we have been having a great time and feel relaxed. Food has been great.
I am addicted to Cashew Chicken and so far Steve has tried almost all of the main Thai dishes. We may have to take a cooking class or too, although we have been saving that for either Turkey or Cambodia. More adventures to come!
Captions:
1. Lotsa boats
2. Lotsa beauty
3-5. Lotsa lights
6. Monkey island
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