What do you get when you cross Las Vegas with Chinatown? That's what this place has been like for the last several days. Originally it was supposed to be a quick stop on our way to another island or jungle adventure, but finding a tailor to do a wedding dress and having a back that suddenly decided to stop working caused us to stay longer than we planned. While it's not exactly a bad city to visit, the "charm" wears off quickly when you realize that every single place is like all the others. They all have the same stuff and "for you a good price". I appreciate how hard it must be to make a living here, but after the third day we've learned how to say "no thanks, don't want" and "too expensive" in Thai.
Apparently everyone is surprised by us being Americans. It seems that we're a bit of an anomoly because Americans aren't really expected to be here at this time. Everyone seems to think that we're Australian at first or possibly Canadian. We're working hard to not play up to the ugly American stereotype, however, it's easy to see how these things get started. There have been several times when someone on the street extends a hand for a handshake and I have to forcefully ignore them. The first couple of times someone put out their hand I took it and then was being lead to a suit shop. Now that I have a suit I shake my head no and have to seem like the asshole because I don't want to interact with some guy wearing a shimmering purple dress shirt who calls me "boss". Sometimes they just give up, but there have been sometimes where as I'm walking away I can tell they say something derogatory, which hopefully makes them feel better because if I can't understand the insult then it really doesn't count to me. Because of this I'm looking forward to getting out of this hyperactive sales area.
We did at least go to a couple beaches while we were here. While it was fun to see the islands that you know from movies, it felt like I was a part of what's destrorying them as well. The beach from the movie The Beach had hundreds of people standing around on it. The shore looked like a parking lot for boats. It's a little sad watching people, including myself, trample down the thing that was once beautiful so that we can get a picture of it and say we were there. It makes me appreciate times when we go somewhere and there is no one else around.
We leave for the jungle today. Hopefully we can do some sort of camping/hiking trip to drastically change up what we've been experiencing so far. While we do have to come back to Phuket for the wedding dress, we will only be here for another day and then we move on to hopefully nicer places that don't feel like there totally devoid of anything real.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Friday, April 10, 2015
Travel Log: Island Life
I sometimes wonder if a universal translator would be helpful or harmful to us. I suppose the immediate benefits are obvious, everyone would be able to understand everyone else. When I ask for noodle soup with chicken I'm not going to get a whole fried fish that's staring back at me. Then again , just knowing what the words translates to doesn't always mean you'll get their intent. People who speak my own language say one thing and mean an another. I understand the words, but have to watch for the subtext. Still it's a little strange being in a place where everyone except me speaks at least one other language. There have been several times when people are talking near me and I being self-involved, I wonder are they talking about me. In some cases they probably are. In others it's like being at the grocery store when the checkers are talking amongst themselves and you're barely there. As it is, I know enough German to know someone is speaking German. Oh I can also say good morning, count to five, and tell them my birthday is in May, you know, if that sort of thing comes up. I know enough Spanish to ask for bottled water and tell them that they have a nice cat, may I give it some milk. The rest of my language skills comes down to good old fashion mountain man gibberish.
We arrived on Koh Tao about four days ago and I've been sick the whole time. It started as a little sniffle and cough and has lingered on and become an exercise is expelling grossness from my face. Still I've been doing my best to not let that keep me down since we're right next to Paradise. The other portion of the restort we're at is called Paradise Zone. Granted it's a hike up about 15 flights of stone steps through some ant infested jungle, but it's really lovely once your heart starts beating at a normal pace again. Originally we were coming to the island to learn scuba, but given my cold and the week long course, we decided against it. Instead we'll likely snorkel, when I can breath normally again anyway.
We're leaving the island today and heading to Phuket. That makes today a travel day, which means schedules are going to be somewhat flexible. Hopefully we'll make it there sometime this evening. That will give us a day to get settled because on the 13th is the Thai New Year and there is a country-wide water fight to prepare for. It should be a good time, assuming I'm not wearing my white tuxedo out that night. It will be a little strange heading back into a city after nearly two weeks of island life. Living like a cat has its advantages, but I suppose it's time to mix it up a bit.
We arrived on Koh Tao about four days ago and I've been sick the whole time. It started as a little sniffle and cough and has lingered on and become an exercise is expelling grossness from my face. Still I've been doing my best to not let that keep me down since we're right next to Paradise. The other portion of the restort we're at is called Paradise Zone. Granted it's a hike up about 15 flights of stone steps through some ant infested jungle, but it's really lovely once your heart starts beating at a normal pace again. Originally we were coming to the island to learn scuba, but given my cold and the week long course, we decided against it. Instead we'll likely snorkel, when I can breath normally again anyway.
We're leaving the island today and heading to Phuket. That makes today a travel day, which means schedules are going to be somewhat flexible. Hopefully we'll make it there sometime this evening. That will give us a day to get settled because on the 13th is the Thai New Year and there is a country-wide water fight to prepare for. It should be a good time, assuming I'm not wearing my white tuxedo out that night. It will be a little strange heading back into a city after nearly two weeks of island life. Living like a cat has its advantages, but I suppose it's time to mix it up a bit.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Travel Log: Full Moon
1Tuk Tuk: 2 stops, 2 buses: 2 stops, 1 ferry and 17 hours later we made it out of Bangkok to our first island. The party island. The first thing I'm learning is that schedules are very flexible here. 7 o'clock could mean anything in a two hour window and patience is as good a friend as a traveler's neck pillow. After arriving here we got settled into our bungalow near the local chickens and quickly realized that paying extra for air conditioning isn't being spoiled, it's essential if you want to sleep for more than an hour.
This place is known for its Full Moon Party, which is really just an excuse to have 30,000 tourists on the beach at the same time all dancing to the same beat. Thankfully we met some fellow travelers who are on the tail end of their nineteen month long holiday. Makes our hundred day vacation look like a qaint little getaway weekend. Glow in the dark body paint and buckets of alcohol combined with fire and water made for a pretty amazing time. I feel like I really got to know that guy crouched in the sand digging with his bare hands for like five minutes.
It's a lot of fun watching people the next day. There are those who still had paint on their faces and looked like were ready to keep going. Then you had those that had a thousand yard stare as they slowly shoveled scrambled eggs into their mouths in some hope that it would make them feel better.
The last two days have been spent laying in cabanas reading and napping. Sometimes it feels like we should be doing more with our time, but part of vacation is knowing when to do nothing until the next adventure comes along. Tomorrow is a trip to a different island and most likely learning how to swim with the fishes. Until then we'll just have to get along with relaxing in the shade.
This place is known for its Full Moon Party, which is really just an excuse to have 30,000 tourists on the beach at the same time all dancing to the same beat. Thankfully we met some fellow travelers who are on the tail end of their nineteen month long holiday. Makes our hundred day vacation look like a qaint little getaway weekend. Glow in the dark body paint and buckets of alcohol combined with fire and water made for a pretty amazing time. I feel like I really got to know that guy crouched in the sand digging with his bare hands for like five minutes.
It's a lot of fun watching people the next day. There are those who still had paint on their faces and looked like were ready to keep going. Then you had those that had a thousand yard stare as they slowly shoveled scrambled eggs into their mouths in some hope that it would make them feel better.
The last two days have been spent laying in cabanas reading and napping. Sometimes it feels like we should be doing more with our time, but part of vacation is knowing when to do nothing until the next adventure comes along. Tomorrow is a trip to a different island and most likely learning how to swim with the fishes. Until then we'll just have to get along with relaxing in the shade.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
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