Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!
Friday, January 22, 2010
A Rafflesia Has Appeared...
On the 19th of January, Henk and I had a late start to the day. First we headed to the internet café across the street to check e-mail and relax for a little while. Lunch was at Wilai’s again (this place was close and cheap, two things we liked a lot!) We had previously seen a flyer about another hostel in the area and thought about switching, so we went over there to speak with them only to find out that they overbooked our reservation! How rude… Around 4:30 pm, we went to the Phuket Bus Terminal to figure out how to get to our destination for the 20th: Khao Sok National Park. After quite a bit of walking we saw a little shopping center and milled around for a while until we headed to the nearby mall, outside of which we saw some very obvious brothel advertisements... just before 6:00 PM we headed for dinner at The Pizza Company where I munched on an extra cheese mini pizza and Henk opted for the healthier seafood pasta. We then went home to rest up for our long day tomorrow.
The 20th was an extremely special day: it was the day we planned to see the elusive flower Rafflesia! To see it, we had to take a LONG bus ride (we’re talking 4 hours there and 4 hours back!) out to Khao Sok covers an area of over 738 sq km. From the brochure: “… Khao Sok forms part of the largest continuous nature preserve in the Thai peninsula and also the major watershed for the region.” While there are many different nature and waterfall trails in the park, we specifically headed towards a special trail: the Rafflesia trail; an hour long, almost completely uphill, very steep pathway.
Ever since Borneo I’d been extremely excited at the prospect of seeing a glimpse of the largest flower in the world. Named after Sir Stanford Raffles, this flower comes in various sub-species but is usually between 2 to 3 feet in diameter. The flower does not have roots or leaves; rather, it grows on a vine, making it a parasitic flower. Rafflesias are known as the corpse flowers, because while they are still in bloom they begin to rot, attracting flies with the stretch of rotting meat that their rot creates, in the hopes the flies will transport their pollen for them. They first grow from a small bud to a large bud over the course of 9 months.
When it comes time for the flower to bloom (which can happen any time of the year) the petals open in one day. In the following 2 days, it blooms fully, after which the pedals begin to turn black and mushy while starting to rot. The lifespan of the bloomed flower lasts just 5 to 7 days in total. Add this to the fact that the flowers are themselves very rare and it makes it extremely difficult to spot one blooming in ‘real life.’ But we had this opportunity!
The flower we had the chance to see was on day 3 of its blooming, still fully bloomed to its 3 feet diameter and just starting to rot. Henk and I followed our guide up the path, stopping to take in the full view. Once we reached the flower, we were surprised to discover our guide encouraged us to touch it! I guess it makes sense, since the whole thing will be dead in a few days anyways. I ran my hand along the “petals” of the flower – they were soft yet bumpy and the flower itself felt interestingly “fleshy.” Next I touched the inside… there were this little soft and flexible “needles” in the center of the flower that would squish down a little, and again had a slightly fleshy feeling.
After inspecting the flower, Henk and I posed for a 20 minute long “photoshoot” with the Rafflesia – hey, after all that work to get up to it, we wanted to insure we would have some fantastic pictures! Finally, we followed our guide back down the trail. Other than the flower, we didn’t see a ton of notable wildlife on the path we followed. However, towards the end of the trail, we spotted… something! To me, it looked like a small black bear or a cat up in the tree. Henk thought it resembled a large squirrel more. We just knew it was black and fluffy-looking, with a large, long tail. When we arrived back in the park headquarters, we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the information area to try and figure it out. There were tons of posters on the walls listed names and photos of the animals in the park area. We saw a picture of this medium-sized cat looking creature that also kinda resembled a squirrel – this is probably it! It is called the binturong or “bearcat” and it lives in the forest canopy areas of South-East Asia; it averages a length of 20 inches and a weight of 25 lbs. One strange fact: The binturong’s anal glands let out a scent that is akin to warm buttered popcorn or cornbread. Weird!
After our park visit, we had a 4 hour bus ride back to Phuket Town. When we finally got a lift out to the bus stop (everyone was trying to overcharge us to take us there!) we began our wait for the “mysterious” bus. No one knew if it had already come, when it was coming, or pretty much anything! On the bus ride back, Henk and I chatted with another couple who were going to Phuket Town after spending time in the park staying in an interesting-sounding little house on stilts in the water. You could walk right outside and jump straight into the water! We’ll have to remember that for next time.
As we continued our conversation with them, they began to tell us about an offer they got from a local and a tuk-tuk driver in Bangkok to take them around to some sights. They had been told there were special government gas coupons given to drivers if they stop at various shops – such as gem stores and suit shops. Ding ding ding! The alarm bells immediately starting going off in my head… they had walked right into one of the famous Bangkok scams detailed in the Lonely Planet! I breathed a sigh of relief when they said they didn’t purchase anything... they were satisfied with getting a cheap tuk-tuk for the day in exchange for a little extra hassle. But still! They believed the government coupon lie, so I hope they are wearier next time!
Once we directed them to a good hostel, we walked back to ours with another new friend who wanted to see if our place had anything available for him. They didn’t, so we pointed out a hostel up the road which might. My, how we have become the Phuket Town experts! Henk ran out to get us some dinner from The Pizza Company after that since I was exhausted from… well, everything that day. We decided to sleep in for sure the next day and just have some relaxation time to do nothing and catch up on our sleep. Especially since our next plan was for the famous Phi Phi Island and we wanted to be well-rested for that adventure!
As promised, we rested the day of the 21st. The only thing we had scheduled was that we had to pick up my contacts from a store we visited earlier in the week. For dinner, I had a hot dog and Henk a fish dish that wasn’t the tastiest. After that we went to a little café called Bo(ok)hemia across the street that had yummy cakes and other snacks, but I was too tired to stay there long – plus the next day was set to be another long one.
On the 22nd we were picked up early to grab the boat out to Phi Phi Island. While we considered staying on Phi Phi, there was no real budget accommodation there, and we didn’t really feel like staying too long in Phuket anyways. Thus a day trip there was the answer. We got a really great deal through our hostel for 40% off one of the tours. But let’s just say, it would have been nice to have been able to afford splurging a bit more. The boat was jam-packed with people. Luckily, Henk and I scored some private and spacious seats to ourselves so it wasn’t too bad. The views on the other hand were amazing. Huge nature-covered “boulders” and rock-lumps scattered throughout the clear waters. We could see the reefs just beneath the surface of the water.
At 20 minutes after 10 AM, we arrived at Maya Bay on Phi Phi Don – the famous area from the film “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio. We the abundance of boats and people there, it was a bit difficult to imagine the area as a serene little cove. But we tried to picture it as we walked around on the beach. 40 minutes later we were in our boat around the other side of the bay, ready to jump in the water for some quick snorkeling. I have to admit compared to Bali the snorkeling is just not as good in Phuket. There wasn’t much to see except for a bunch of fish that gathered around the boat to eat breadcrumbs being thrown down at them. Henk did manage to spot a few fish that he said were different from the ones we’d seen before, but I still wasn’t convinced the snorkeling was worth it.
Next the boat moved on to viewing Viking Cave. There are paintings in the cave which resemble Viking boats, which gives the cave its name. This cave is right at sea level and has the nest of swallows (swallow eggs are rare and valuable) in it, therefore it is protected and we weren’t allowed to stop or go in. After the cave, it was time for our guides to start cutting up fruit. A stop on Phi Phi Don’s Monkey Beach was next! This little beach is covered with macaques, but they were so overfed that they had little interest in the food we brought them. Henk started eating some of the monkey’s watermelon – we were both looking forward to lunch.
Lunch was a rather unimpressive buffet which we ate quickly, using the extra time we had to try and explore the island. However, since it is mostly resorts there wasn’t much to see besides the scenery and abundance of people. Our last stop was on the company’s home island for some real snorkeling time. Here the snorkeling was a bit better – still no Bali, but there were quite a lot of colorful fish. We even snorkeled into a secluded cove and found a cool cave, but the tide looked a bit harsh for us to venture inside. On our way back however, we turned and both spotted a medium-sized, pointed snouted reptile sitting on a rock, which quickly slid into the water swimming away as we looked towards it. Was it a lace monitor? We’re not sure what it could have been…
Anyways, we were quite done with the day after that. We lounged in our beach chairs until the boat took us back to Phuket, and the car took us back home to the hostel. Another day in the sun gone!
Francesca
The 20th was an extremely special day: it was the day we planned to see the elusive flower Rafflesia! To see it, we had to take a LONG bus ride (we’re talking 4 hours there and 4 hours back!) out to Khao Sok covers an area of over 738 sq km. From the brochure: “… Khao Sok forms part of the largest continuous nature preserve in the Thai peninsula and also the major watershed for the region.” While there are many different nature and waterfall trails in the park, we specifically headed towards a special trail: the Rafflesia trail; an hour long, almost completely uphill, very steep pathway.
Ever since Borneo I’d been extremely excited at the prospect of seeing a glimpse of the largest flower in the world. Named after Sir Stanford Raffles, this flower comes in various sub-species but is usually between 2 to 3 feet in diameter. The flower does not have roots or leaves; rather, it grows on a vine, making it a parasitic flower. Rafflesias are known as the corpse flowers, because while they are still in bloom they begin to rot, attracting flies with the stretch of rotting meat that their rot creates, in the hopes the flies will transport their pollen for them. They first grow from a small bud to a large bud over the course of 9 months.
When it comes time for the flower to bloom (which can happen any time of the year) the petals open in one day. In the following 2 days, it blooms fully, after which the pedals begin to turn black and mushy while starting to rot. The lifespan of the bloomed flower lasts just 5 to 7 days in total. Add this to the fact that the flowers are themselves very rare and it makes it extremely difficult to spot one blooming in ‘real life.’ But we had this opportunity!
The flower we had the chance to see was on day 3 of its blooming, still fully bloomed to its 3 feet diameter and just starting to rot. Henk and I followed our guide up the path, stopping to take in the full view. Once we reached the flower, we were surprised to discover our guide encouraged us to touch it! I guess it makes sense, since the whole thing will be dead in a few days anyways. I ran my hand along the “petals” of the flower – they were soft yet bumpy and the flower itself felt interestingly “fleshy.” Next I touched the inside… there were this little soft and flexible “needles” in the center of the flower that would squish down a little, and again had a slightly fleshy feeling.
After inspecting the flower, Henk and I posed for a 20 minute long “photoshoot” with the Rafflesia – hey, after all that work to get up to it, we wanted to insure we would have some fantastic pictures! Finally, we followed our guide back down the trail. Other than the flower, we didn’t see a ton of notable wildlife on the path we followed. However, towards the end of the trail, we spotted… something! To me, it looked like a small black bear or a cat up in the tree. Henk thought it resembled a large squirrel more. We just knew it was black and fluffy-looking, with a large, long tail. When we arrived back in the park headquarters, we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the information area to try and figure it out. There were tons of posters on the walls listed names and photos of the animals in the park area. We saw a picture of this medium-sized cat looking creature that also kinda resembled a squirrel – this is probably it! It is called the binturong or “bearcat” and it lives in the forest canopy areas of South-East Asia; it averages a length of 20 inches and a weight of 25 lbs. One strange fact: The binturong’s anal glands let out a scent that is akin to warm buttered popcorn or cornbread. Weird!
After our park visit, we had a 4 hour bus ride back to Phuket Town. When we finally got a lift out to the bus stop (everyone was trying to overcharge us to take us there!) we began our wait for the “mysterious” bus. No one knew if it had already come, when it was coming, or pretty much anything! On the bus ride back, Henk and I chatted with another couple who were going to Phuket Town after spending time in the park staying in an interesting-sounding little house on stilts in the water. You could walk right outside and jump straight into the water! We’ll have to remember that for next time.
As we continued our conversation with them, they began to tell us about an offer they got from a local and a tuk-tuk driver in Bangkok to take them around to some sights. They had been told there were special government gas coupons given to drivers if they stop at various shops – such as gem stores and suit shops. Ding ding ding! The alarm bells immediately starting going off in my head… they had walked right into one of the famous Bangkok scams detailed in the Lonely Planet! I breathed a sigh of relief when they said they didn’t purchase anything... they were satisfied with getting a cheap tuk-tuk for the day in exchange for a little extra hassle. But still! They believed the government coupon lie, so I hope they are wearier next time!
Once we directed them to a good hostel, we walked back to ours with another new friend who wanted to see if our place had anything available for him. They didn’t, so we pointed out a hostel up the road which might. My, how we have become the Phuket Town experts! Henk ran out to get us some dinner from The Pizza Company after that since I was exhausted from… well, everything that day. We decided to sleep in for sure the next day and just have some relaxation time to do nothing and catch up on our sleep. Especially since our next plan was for the famous Phi Phi Island and we wanted to be well-rested for that adventure!
As promised, we rested the day of the 21st. The only thing we had scheduled was that we had to pick up my contacts from a store we visited earlier in the week. For dinner, I had a hot dog and Henk a fish dish that wasn’t the tastiest. After that we went to a little café called Bo(ok)hemia across the street that had yummy cakes and other snacks, but I was too tired to stay there long – plus the next day was set to be another long one.
On the 22nd we were picked up early to grab the boat out to Phi Phi Island. While we considered staying on Phi Phi, there was no real budget accommodation there, and we didn’t really feel like staying too long in Phuket anyways. Thus a day trip there was the answer. We got a really great deal through our hostel for 40% off one of the tours. But let’s just say, it would have been nice to have been able to afford splurging a bit more. The boat was jam-packed with people. Luckily, Henk and I scored some private and spacious seats to ourselves so it wasn’t too bad. The views on the other hand were amazing. Huge nature-covered “boulders” and rock-lumps scattered throughout the clear waters. We could see the reefs just beneath the surface of the water.
At 20 minutes after 10 AM, we arrived at Maya Bay on Phi Phi Don – the famous area from the film “The Beach” with Leonardo DiCaprio. We the abundance of boats and people there, it was a bit difficult to imagine the area as a serene little cove. But we tried to picture it as we walked around on the beach. 40 minutes later we were in our boat around the other side of the bay, ready to jump in the water for some quick snorkeling. I have to admit compared to Bali the snorkeling is just not as good in Phuket. There wasn’t much to see except for a bunch of fish that gathered around the boat to eat breadcrumbs being thrown down at them. Henk did manage to spot a few fish that he said were different from the ones we’d seen before, but I still wasn’t convinced the snorkeling was worth it.
Next the boat moved on to viewing Viking Cave. There are paintings in the cave which resemble Viking boats, which gives the cave its name. This cave is right at sea level and has the nest of swallows (swallow eggs are rare and valuable) in it, therefore it is protected and we weren’t allowed to stop or go in. After the cave, it was time for our guides to start cutting up fruit. A stop on Phi Phi Don’s Monkey Beach was next! This little beach is covered with macaques, but they were so overfed that they had little interest in the food we brought them. Henk started eating some of the monkey’s watermelon – we were both looking forward to lunch.
Lunch was a rather unimpressive buffet which we ate quickly, using the extra time we had to try and explore the island. However, since it is mostly resorts there wasn’t much to see besides the scenery and abundance of people. Our last stop was on the company’s home island for some real snorkeling time. Here the snorkeling was a bit better – still no Bali, but there were quite a lot of colorful fish. We even snorkeled into a secluded cove and found a cool cave, but the tide looked a bit harsh for us to venture inside. On our way back however, we turned and both spotted a medium-sized, pointed snouted reptile sitting on a rock, which quickly slid into the water swimming away as we looked towards it. Was it a lace monitor? We’re not sure what it could have been…
Anyways, we were quite done with the day after that. We lounged in our beach chairs until the boat took us back to Phuket, and the car took us back home to the hostel. Another day in the sun gone!
Francesca
Monday, January 18, 2010
Playtime on Phuket
And so it happened that we woke up around 4:00 AM, ready to explore new parts of Thailand. I had booked a taxi, but reception wasn’t there… Two guys were sitting outside, having a smoke. They couldn’t sleep and had decided to take a break outside. One of them was raving about ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and we had to agree: good movie with lots of action! The driver showed up around the time the receptionist also appeared; we got our key deposit back and went to the airport. A few hours later we arrived in Phuket, hailed for its beautiful beaches. The Lonely Planet had suggested that we stay in Phuket Town, rather than near the mall- and tourist-packed stretches of sand. Francesca had found a good option and booked us in. We took a shuttle from the airport and in the early afternoon arrived at Thalang Guesthouse.
Being tired after the last few days and the flight we crawled into bed in our comfortable stand-alone rooftop room and relaxed for a while. Before we knew it dinnertime had come and we tried to live up to our tradition of finding an Indian restaurant on our first night in a new place. I grabbed a map and found the address. We walked off… missing a turn and taking a major detour. A short 10 minute walk turned into a 30 minute walk and hunger was setting in. A cop pointed us in the right direction and I rediscovered my map-reading skills. I found the restaurant and it appeared our detour had actually been useful: the restaurant only opened at 6:00 PM.
Obviously, we were the first and only people there, giving us the best pick of the seats. In the back corner we found a low table and a stack of pillows. We took our flip-flops off and sat down. Our waitress informed us the cook wasn’t there yet, and if we minded waiting for him to come. We were quite hungry and prayed he would show up soon. Luckily it didn’t take too long and one Fish Curry for me and one Butter Chicken for Francesca soon popped up. We combined our curries with a regular naan and a butter naan, ending up with a tasty combination. I have to mention the cutlery: coolest I’ve ever seen! We finished dinner and went back to Thalang, taking in some of the places to visit during coming days.
The afternoon of Friday the 15th of January was spent in the internet café across the street. We needed to do some research to find some tours and devoted our day to doing so. Since we had slept in and missed breakfast we went to a cheap place right across the street from our guesthouse. The kind owner of Wilai’s brought me a spicy chicken and rice dish; Francesca received a dish with rice noodles and chicken in soy sauce. After that we did our research. Around 3:00 PM we were satisfied with our progress and decided to walk into town.
We spotted a pretty big Golden Dragon statue, a symbol of Phuket. If you look at the island of Phuket it indeed kind of looks like a dragon emerging from the sea! The dragon is supposed to protect the locals from evil. Francesca and I walked all the way down to the only mall in town: Robinson’s Department Store. Working our way down from the top floor we ended up in the supermarket and brought back some groceries. I dropped those off and took Francesca for dinner at another place right next to our guesthouse. We ordered an Oreo and a watermelon smoothie to start off with – guess who of us got the former!
Francesca then followed her smoothie by deep-fried onion rings and the equally deep-fried prawns. I opted for the extremely spicy seafood salad. I’ve been getting more and more used to spicy dishes and managed to finish my plate, but it cost me a bit of sweat doing so!
On the 16th we did wake up in time for breakfast: two slices of toast with orange jelly, accompanied by a banana and a cup of tea. We chose to have a quiet, easy day of Dexter-watching and only escaped our room to get dinner. I had spotted a nice place called Red Sun on our way back from the Indian place and took Francesca there. She perused the menu, ending up with a tasty cheeseburger. I had a similarly tasty tuna salad.
The evening was to be more active and fun-filled: Francesca had booked the ‘must-see show of Phuket’ for us. FantaSea was about half an hour away from Phuket Town, so our ticket included a shuttle to the show. We had about 30 minutes to explore the small amusement park outside the show. The lay-out of the park led us to the ‘Tiger Jungle Adventure.’ We were not sure what to expect, but soon found the first animals. And they were all (black and) white, some even being albino! Albino deer, albino peacocks, cockatoos and albino ravens. The highlight of the little zoo was the enclosure with two White Tigers. Of course, very sad to see these endangered animals behind glass… But still, impressive!
Francesca and I also walked in the game hall, with sea-themed games such as Puffer Darts. The respective game-owners were all trying to scream loudest for clientele, making us turn around to quieter places. We had a quick glance at the buffet we had decided to skip, favoring slightly more expensive seats instead. Before entering the show complex Francesca and I also had a look at some bands playing at different restaurants, as well as all the shops, stuffed with FantaSea-souvenirs. Our best find was without doubt the pair of elephant-foot slippers Francesca is showing you. A picture with some futuristic creature was also neat. Francesca needed to go to the toilets and wanted me to check out the cow-themed water closets.
Again, we had to hand in our camera before the show started, so you’ll have to be happy with the few pictures we could find online. The show was as spectacular as ‘Songs of the Sea’ and ‘Siam Niramit,’ taking elements from both. FantaSea was entertaining with acrobats and dancers, the highlight being twenty elephants on stage at one time. The costumes were elaborate and detailed. It was an interesting attraction and I was amusing seeing how over the top everything was. I do have to add it was very much geared towards western tourists, so the storyline was lacking a little.
After the show ended we took the shuttle back to our guesthouse, where we found bedbugs (yes, they are everywhere!) and demanded to switch rooms. We could switch the next morning and after breakfast I hauled the bags to a balcony room on the same floor. The room was a little less spacious, but had no critters and was therefore much better. We needed to book some tours for the following week through a company that Francesca definitely wanted to do two trips with. We found out their tours were indeed quite popular, as we could only go the following week. No problem, as we wanted to stay in Phuket for a while anyway.
Before we knew it we were getting hungry once again and I took Francesca to Tamachart Restaurant, also known as Natural Restaurant. Several sites listed it as a rather bizarrely decorated eatery with good and cheap food. Always a sucker for oddities Francesca and I walked there and found a wide array of random art and other creations. Several little waterfalls filled up bamboo, tipping over when it reached a certain weight. Tied to the bamboo was a bird and every time the bamboo tipped over the bird’s wings flapped.
We sat down for our meal and I got my ice tea in a huge glass bowl. Francesca’s diet coke came in a more traditional can. Her meal was unusually unusual as she chose a pork in chestnut and wine sauce. Both her meal and my tamarind fish soup were a tasty success! Before leaving the restaurant we had to have a look at the rest of the restaurant. To our surprise there were a good 5 or 6 platforms, all with another selection of art. Definite highlights were the TV-screens and PC-monitors turned aquariums. On our way back Francesca and I visited a Chinese temple and quite possibly spotted the world’s fattest dog/biggest hot-dog.
We also thought about finding another hostel, so Francesca and I walked to a place we had seen ads for. The walk had us pas through a local market, where we found some gigantic cockroaches. I thought about having one, but since we’d just eaten decided to come back another day. The rest of the market mainly had fruit and vegetables, and we literally were the only foreigners who had found this little market. Everyone but us was shopping for dinner. After the market we found the Old Town Hostel and looked at a double room. It looked good, had free breakfast and WiFi and was a little cheaper than Thalang. The owner told us to come back on the 19th to confirm the booking.
Francesca and I crashed after that, and I only went out in the evening to get her a Margherita pizza and some bruschettas. We considered our plans for the next day and decided to go to Laem Singh (Lion’s Point) beach for some fun in the sun. We heard from Mr. Sawet, the owner of Thalang Guesthouse that there were no buses out there, so we had to take a taxi. Getting there is already quite expensive, but getting back would be worse: the drivers tend to charge double the price! Instead, Mr. Sawet offered to call his son to ask him to take us there, and pick us up whenever we wanted to.
Thirty minutes later we were on the way to the beach, another hour or so later the descent to the beach was right ahead of us. Francesca and I headed down, and got hounded to get ourselves some beach chairs immediately. Before deciding on the best spot we thought it best to walk to the end of the sand and back. The Lonely Planet had recommended we check out the left side, because that is where the snorkeling was supposed to be best. However, the waves looked rather daunting here, so we ended up with some nice seats on the right side.
We chilled out on our lovely chairs for a while, enjoying a bit of sun and a bit of shade, as well as reading the latest Time Magazine. I also walked over to a stand where they rented out snorkeling gear. After an hour of sun/shade bathing Francesca and I felt like swimming, so we grabbed our flippers and masks and jumped in the water. Said water was of a very agreeable temperature, cooling us down a little in the heat of the afternoon sun. We snorkeled down the right side of the bay – a tip we had gotten from the snorkel gear guys – but to our disappointment didn’t see too much. The water was blurry and deep, there was no coral and the most exciting thing was the staggering amount of crabs on the rocks next to us.
Still, we snorkeled for quite some time. Francesca also wanted to check out the other side of the beach, and with gear in hand we walked over there. The waves were still too big for us to go in, and made us decide to enjoy the sun some more. I ordered us a strawberry fruit shake, which tasted delicious, especially after our snorkeling adventures. A few hours later we felt the sun disappearing and dusk setting in, so we started looking around for a restaurant. For some reason most places had closed already, but we found one that was willing to make us some food.
Francesca and I ordered our dinner and walked back out onto the beach to take some pictures of a beautiful sunset. Better yet, the whole beach was empty by now! We returned to the restaurant -- Papa Seafood – and sat down. I got my chicken and pineapple in an actual pineapple! Francesca was a little jealous, but her Club Sandwich looked very tasty as well. By the time we were done eating the sun had set and we were about to picked up. We walked over the beach one last time, taking some final shots and finally heading back up.
Mr. Sawet’s son soon showed up and took us back. The rest of the evening was spent in quietude, awaiting more adventures in touristy Phuket.
Being tired after the last few days and the flight we crawled into bed in our comfortable stand-alone rooftop room and relaxed for a while. Before we knew it dinnertime had come and we tried to live up to our tradition of finding an Indian restaurant on our first night in a new place. I grabbed a map and found the address. We walked off… missing a turn and taking a major detour. A short 10 minute walk turned into a 30 minute walk and hunger was setting in. A cop pointed us in the right direction and I rediscovered my map-reading skills. I found the restaurant and it appeared our detour had actually been useful: the restaurant only opened at 6:00 PM.
Obviously, we were the first and only people there, giving us the best pick of the seats. In the back corner we found a low table and a stack of pillows. We took our flip-flops off and sat down. Our waitress informed us the cook wasn’t there yet, and if we minded waiting for him to come. We were quite hungry and prayed he would show up soon. Luckily it didn’t take too long and one Fish Curry for me and one Butter Chicken for Francesca soon popped up. We combined our curries with a regular naan and a butter naan, ending up with a tasty combination. I have to mention the cutlery: coolest I’ve ever seen! We finished dinner and went back to Thalang, taking in some of the places to visit during coming days.
The afternoon of Friday the 15th of January was spent in the internet café across the street. We needed to do some research to find some tours and devoted our day to doing so. Since we had slept in and missed breakfast we went to a cheap place right across the street from our guesthouse. The kind owner of Wilai’s brought me a spicy chicken and rice dish; Francesca received a dish with rice noodles and chicken in soy sauce. After that we did our research. Around 3:00 PM we were satisfied with our progress and decided to walk into town.
We spotted a pretty big Golden Dragon statue, a symbol of Phuket. If you look at the island of Phuket it indeed kind of looks like a dragon emerging from the sea! The dragon is supposed to protect the locals from evil. Francesca and I walked all the way down to the only mall in town: Robinson’s Department Store. Working our way down from the top floor we ended up in the supermarket and brought back some groceries. I dropped those off and took Francesca for dinner at another place right next to our guesthouse. We ordered an Oreo and a watermelon smoothie to start off with – guess who of us got the former!
Francesca then followed her smoothie by deep-fried onion rings and the equally deep-fried prawns. I opted for the extremely spicy seafood salad. I’ve been getting more and more used to spicy dishes and managed to finish my plate, but it cost me a bit of sweat doing so!
On the 16th we did wake up in time for breakfast: two slices of toast with orange jelly, accompanied by a banana and a cup of tea. We chose to have a quiet, easy day of Dexter-watching and only escaped our room to get dinner. I had spotted a nice place called Red Sun on our way back from the Indian place and took Francesca there. She perused the menu, ending up with a tasty cheeseburger. I had a similarly tasty tuna salad.
The evening was to be more active and fun-filled: Francesca had booked the ‘must-see show of Phuket’ for us. FantaSea was about half an hour away from Phuket Town, so our ticket included a shuttle to the show. We had about 30 minutes to explore the small amusement park outside the show. The lay-out of the park led us to the ‘Tiger Jungle Adventure.’ We were not sure what to expect, but soon found the first animals. And they were all (black and) white, some even being albino! Albino deer, albino peacocks, cockatoos and albino ravens. The highlight of the little zoo was the enclosure with two White Tigers. Of course, very sad to see these endangered animals behind glass… But still, impressive!
Francesca and I also walked in the game hall, with sea-themed games such as Puffer Darts. The respective game-owners were all trying to scream loudest for clientele, making us turn around to quieter places. We had a quick glance at the buffet we had decided to skip, favoring slightly more expensive seats instead. Before entering the show complex Francesca and I also had a look at some bands playing at different restaurants, as well as all the shops, stuffed with FantaSea-souvenirs. Our best find was without doubt the pair of elephant-foot slippers Francesca is showing you. A picture with some futuristic creature was also neat. Francesca needed to go to the toilets and wanted me to check out the cow-themed water closets.
Again, we had to hand in our camera before the show started, so you’ll have to be happy with the few pictures we could find online. The show was as spectacular as ‘Songs of the Sea’ and ‘Siam Niramit,’ taking elements from both. FantaSea was entertaining with acrobats and dancers, the highlight being twenty elephants on stage at one time. The costumes were elaborate and detailed. It was an interesting attraction and I was amusing seeing how over the top everything was. I do have to add it was very much geared towards western tourists, so the storyline was lacking a little.
After the show ended we took the shuttle back to our guesthouse, where we found bedbugs (yes, they are everywhere!) and demanded to switch rooms. We could switch the next morning and after breakfast I hauled the bags to a balcony room on the same floor. The room was a little less spacious, but had no critters and was therefore much better. We needed to book some tours for the following week through a company that Francesca definitely wanted to do two trips with. We found out their tours were indeed quite popular, as we could only go the following week. No problem, as we wanted to stay in Phuket for a while anyway.
Before we knew it we were getting hungry once again and I took Francesca to Tamachart Restaurant, also known as Natural Restaurant. Several sites listed it as a rather bizarrely decorated eatery with good and cheap food. Always a sucker for oddities Francesca and I walked there and found a wide array of random art and other creations. Several little waterfalls filled up bamboo, tipping over when it reached a certain weight. Tied to the bamboo was a bird and every time the bamboo tipped over the bird’s wings flapped.
We sat down for our meal and I got my ice tea in a huge glass bowl. Francesca’s diet coke came in a more traditional can. Her meal was unusually unusual as she chose a pork in chestnut and wine sauce. Both her meal and my tamarind fish soup were a tasty success! Before leaving the restaurant we had to have a look at the rest of the restaurant. To our surprise there were a good 5 or 6 platforms, all with another selection of art. Definite highlights were the TV-screens and PC-monitors turned aquariums. On our way back Francesca and I visited a Chinese temple and quite possibly spotted the world’s fattest dog/biggest hot-dog.
We also thought about finding another hostel, so Francesca and I walked to a place we had seen ads for. The walk had us pas through a local market, where we found some gigantic cockroaches. I thought about having one, but since we’d just eaten decided to come back another day. The rest of the market mainly had fruit and vegetables, and we literally were the only foreigners who had found this little market. Everyone but us was shopping for dinner. After the market we found the Old Town Hostel and looked at a double room. It looked good, had free breakfast and WiFi and was a little cheaper than Thalang. The owner told us to come back on the 19th to confirm the booking.
Francesca and I crashed after that, and I only went out in the evening to get her a Margherita pizza and some bruschettas. We considered our plans for the next day and decided to go to Laem Singh (Lion’s Point) beach for some fun in the sun. We heard from Mr. Sawet, the owner of Thalang Guesthouse that there were no buses out there, so we had to take a taxi. Getting there is already quite expensive, but getting back would be worse: the drivers tend to charge double the price! Instead, Mr. Sawet offered to call his son to ask him to take us there, and pick us up whenever we wanted to.
Thirty minutes later we were on the way to the beach, another hour or so later the descent to the beach was right ahead of us. Francesca and I headed down, and got hounded to get ourselves some beach chairs immediately. Before deciding on the best spot we thought it best to walk to the end of the sand and back. The Lonely Planet had recommended we check out the left side, because that is where the snorkeling was supposed to be best. However, the waves looked rather daunting here, so we ended up with some nice seats on the right side.
We chilled out on our lovely chairs for a while, enjoying a bit of sun and a bit of shade, as well as reading the latest Time Magazine. I also walked over to a stand where they rented out snorkeling gear. After an hour of sun/shade bathing Francesca and I felt like swimming, so we grabbed our flippers and masks and jumped in the water. Said water was of a very agreeable temperature, cooling us down a little in the heat of the afternoon sun. We snorkeled down the right side of the bay – a tip we had gotten from the snorkel gear guys – but to our disappointment didn’t see too much. The water was blurry and deep, there was no coral and the most exciting thing was the staggering amount of crabs on the rocks next to us.
Still, we snorkeled for quite some time. Francesca also wanted to check out the other side of the beach, and with gear in hand we walked over there. The waves were still too big for us to go in, and made us decide to enjoy the sun some more. I ordered us a strawberry fruit shake, which tasted delicious, especially after our snorkeling adventures. A few hours later we felt the sun disappearing and dusk setting in, so we started looking around for a restaurant. For some reason most places had closed already, but we found one that was willing to make us some food.
Francesca and I ordered our dinner and walked back out onto the beach to take some pictures of a beautiful sunset. Better yet, the whole beach was empty by now! We returned to the restaurant -- Papa Seafood – and sat down. I got my chicken and pineapple in an actual pineapple! Francesca was a little jealous, but her Club Sandwich looked very tasty as well. By the time we were done eating the sun had set and we were about to picked up. We walked over the beach one last time, taking some final shots and finally heading back up.
Mr. Sawet’s son soon showed up and took us back. The rest of the evening was spent in quietude, awaiting more adventures in touristy Phuket.
