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Stepping out of the nice air-conditioned airport in Phuket we were blasted by heat. I had forgotten how hot Southern Thailand can be at midday. Boarding a bus we made our way into town - we were here to enjoy Phuket for a couple of days before flying out to Malaysia.
Our intention was to stay at the quiet beach of Kata, but after a slight mishap of boarding the wrong bus we ended up in the busy beach city of Patong, known for its nightlife and abundance of go-go bars. It might have been the wrong bus, but we did get to chat with this gorgeous French guy, during the ride who was meeting (cute?) friends at Patong Beach.
The beach was nice, cool blue water and white sand. I think this is the busiest beach I've been too yet. Beach chairs and huge purple umbrellas available to rent filled the beach, plus older and hefty Western tourists. Walking along the crowded streets of Patong you see 50-80 year old white guys with hot young Thai woman. You also see signs listing Tsunami evacuation information - a grim reminder of the trouble of Dec 2004. Little green signs posted around the area point out exact evacuation routes. This is the first place I've visited that has been effected by the Tsunami, the other beaches I've been to have been on the East coast. Of course, besides the evacuation signs and a memorial monument very little can be physically seen of its effects.
Going out in Patong can be an experience. The town is full of lively bars, attractive Thai women, butt ugly old guys, stripping poles, tables perfect for dancing on, and oddly plenty of "Jenga" and "Connect 4" games the girls play with the customers. Dressed in hot black tops and jeans we sat drinking whiskey and coke from a bucket watching the circus around us. Needless to say we got no attention, well except for a sweet lady boy in a tight dress named Matt who gave us some free tequila shots. Sigh. With hopes of maybe seeing the hot french guy and his (hopefully) hot friends we decided to explore the main street. The fantasy was soon ruined when we ended up briefly meeting some other french guys on the street. Instead of the hot french guy it was a sleazy looking guy and his 3 friends who all proceeded to kiss Ellie and my hand before departing. Yuck - crazy French :p !
The next day was more of the same. For once we were actually staying in a nice hotel room, so we took the day easy enjoying the TV and A/C - what luxuries! In the evening we walked out and found a bar a few blocks away from the craziness of the main street. There we met Fon, a sweet 20 year old Thai girl who engaged us in a game of Jenga and talked to us for a bit. And that was Phuket.
(By the way - this is the last entry for Thailand. I'm starting a new journal for Malaysia.)
previous travel blog entry
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