The taxi ride from the airport to the hotel in Patong Beach was exciting as the driver flew down the two-lane highway like a bat out of hell. (Another place where they drive on the left side.) The scenery was bizarre, the buildings had a slightly run-down, well-worn feel (appearing just this side of third-world, in fact), partly due to so many power-lines being hung above ground, sometimes in a dizzying mess. The weather was balmy and warm, and in any direction you looked, there was a mountainous jungle backdrop.
Once in Patong Beach, we took a walk around. This is the most toursty town on the island, with several streets of bars (many owned and/or geared toward Australians), and a feel not unlike Bourbon Street. There was also plenty of shopping, some chintzy souvenir shops, some high-end shopping (there was a mall), Starbucks, McD's, among the Thai restaurants. Thai seafood was the most popular thing here, and why not? They had tanks out front where you wold select some creatures to be weighed before cooking. We had a lovely introductory meal at Patong Seafood on the beach. Crab in a lime sauce, Shrimp in a black pepper sauce, Tom Yum Goong, and fried rice served in a carved-out pineapple (delicious).
Strolling the streets were folks selling snacks slung over their shoulder, eggs, dried squid, fish, etc, and other sundry peddlers.
Patong Beach itself was overrun and ruined, for me, by the constant noise and exhaust from jet-skis and boats. But a short cab ride away were the beautiful Kata and Karon beaches. The water was crystal clear, a perfect, refreshing temperature, and the fine white sand was lovely, as far out into the water as you could go (which was far).
Beware, however, as the sun is very powerful, and I sustained a pretty bad sunburn quickly; I spent most of the day under the shade of the umbrella. No wonder locals like the man pacing the beach selling bamboo flutes, while playing a soothing minor-pentatonic melody, wear long sleeves and pants in the balmy sun.
We visited a spa after the day in the sun, and I had a cucumber/aloe body wrap intended to sooth the sunburn. I was wrapped with plastic wrap filled with mashed cucumber paste, which was shockingly cold, and having slices of cucumber carefully layered on my face gave me a giddy feeling, I wanted to laugh! I'm sure it was good for my skin, but once I washed it off, the sunburn still hurt a lot, especially the next day.The breakfast buffet in the hotel was spectacular. Catering to the varied tastes of an international clientele, there was breakfast food from every imaginable culture, freshly prepared in an open kitchen. Perhaps to make the Chinese families feel at home, there was a congee buffet. For the English, baked beans and sausage. For the Europeans, cold cuts. For the Australians, Marmite was served next to the butter, Nutella, and jam. For the Americans (and everyone else!) french toast, waffles, an omelette bar, cereals, fresh juices (guava was my favorite), fresh honey oozing out of a large honeycomb, and on it went. Pictured below is the spicy Thai food. Good Morning! Fish balls in red curry, anyone?
The local convenience stores had some unique products, like rice burgers:
The Thai alphabet is interesting, and lends an other-worldly appearance to things like Lay's Chips:
Tiki bars were plentiful, and you were never too far away from a Singha beer (they also had Tiger and Chang beers) or a fruity cocktail.
The fruit stalls were interesting, with many fruits we do not see in the US. 
I enjoyed drinking coconut water out of a fresh coconut. Very refreshing (and better for you than Gatorade).
We had several nice meals, a highlight was "3 Spices" where we enjoyed terrific fish cakes (later learned to make them in cooking class) and mussels in yellow curry.
***
***
We happened to be in Phuket on the 5th anniversary of the 2004 Tsunami.
***
No comments:
Post a Comment