Thursday 3 March 2016

The South Part 2


    Phuket Island, as I had mentioned is a resort island full of beaches and sights for us tourists to explore. I made it to many beaches and waterfalls, as well as some religious structures here, all of which were awe inspiring in their beauty.

Kathu Waterfalls

Surin Beach

   Having a motorcycle while here is a great idea, besides not being harassed by the local tuk-tuk drivers at exorbitant costs, the convenience is second to none. You can decide to go somewhere and just jump on and go, which suits me pretty nicely. I am not much of a planner, so most of my excursions consisted of looking on my map app for beaches or waterfalls, I would choose one and go. I would also find other attractions as I was heading to some destinations, or getting lost and finding hidden gems (a few times).

Upside-down House

Colourful Giant I found

     December 8th is the King's birthday...or Dad's Day, as the locals call it. On the the following Saturday, there was an event for this called Bike for Dad, it attracted what seemed to be over half of the total population of the city, and the other half lined the streets to cheer them on. I was at a traffic circle taking in the festivities when right beside me a young boy crashed his bike and was at risk of getting crushed by a throng of cyclists coming right behind him. While not being too quick witted at times, this time, however, I was lightning fast at picking him and his bicycle off the street before any damage could come his way. I was humbled by the fact that many people came and patted me on the back to thank me, among them police officers and military personnel, was a good feeling to help out and to not witness a serious accident. I was glad to witness this event, but disappointed to learn that it was not used as a fundraiser to help the poor, as there is no lack of them here in Thailand.


Many took advantage to make this
a family event.
 
A very patriotic people in Thailand


   


    I found a bar/restaurant that catered mainly to 'Farangs', was a nice spot to meet westerners and chat about western society and to catch up on news from elsewhere. One evening, I met a man and his wife, He told me it was his birthday and was buying drinks as our conversation drifted to Canada. He was British, but told me he had been to A town in Ontario, where his life was changed and that his trip to Sarnia (we had to figure this out, as he forgot the name). Apparently he met this woman psychic and she encouraged him to pursue his hopes and dreams. He decided to try to write a book, which turned into a series of books, many of which were on the NY bestsellers list. His name: Phillip Kerr.
Phillip Kerr, author


    Went to several beaches, while here, one of them is called Kata beach, I was amazed at the waves, and at the surfers I saw there. The waves were pretty neat as the beach was not far from several others, which did not have such big waves. I enjoyed swimming into and body surfing here, was a good time.






A smaller wave here on Kata beach

    Phi Phi Island is a 3-4 hour ferry ride away, I decided to go for 1 night. A beautiful place with no roads, just paths, I saw a total of 2 vehicles, both were motos of which were used as a delivery vehicle and the other as a garbage pick up vehicle. Speaking of which, upon arrival, everybody was charged a 'garbage tax' as the disposal is quite a chore at a high expense.  I rented a kayak and went to 2 beaches, the first was 'Monkey Beach', where the monkeys come up to you and take water from you as you are encouraged not to feed them. The next beach was made famous by the Leonardo DiCaprio film called The Beach. I had snorkeling gear here and the experience was second to none. It was like I was swimming in an aquarium, the water crystal clear and the fish were so beautifully coloured against the white corral and sand background.  The one day was too short, but I'd imagine 3 days would be maybe too long for me.

Monkey Beach, need to be careful, as these
guys will be aggressive





Leonardo DiCaprio....NO!!! I'ts me
 on Maya Bay beach, 

   Back to Phuket, then to Bangkok on my way back to Cambodia to spend time with my brother in Sihanoukville. A few days in Bangkok, this time in the Lat Phrao District, a nice area away from the downtown area. I visited a museum called the Jim Thompson House, I'm guessing it was named after some guy names Jim. Jim Thompson was an American soldier during WWII, who fell in love with SE Asia and decided to stay. He found Thai Silk and single handedly made it a worldwide phenomenon. He was also quite artsy and collected many artifacts and built a home from 6 different houses from different areas of Thailand and assembled them together to build this small compound near a canal, where his workers lived. He used this canal to check on them and to ensure his products were on time. On a trip in Malaysia in 1967, he went for a walk one day and disappeared. A mystery to this day, some say he was simply robbed and killed while others point to the US government and the FBI as the culprits for ending his life. I found a new mode of public transportation from the museum to my hotel. I took a ferry on the canal and ended up being a 10 minute walk to my room. 

One of the buildings at the
Jim Thompson Museum

This sphere is made of hundreds of silver
orbs, suspended by strings. Don't know
much about it, but was quite the
sight to behold


My canal ride, the boat you see is the
same as the one I'm in.

     Thanks for coming by to read my blog, I hope you enjoy my stories as much as I enjoy sharing them with you. Till next time :)







    

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