The South....Finally! Part 1

    Hi all, the Elephant Round-up was great, very happy I was able to experience it. Now it is time I go to where my original plan dictates. Phuket Island, Thailand and area promise to be a piece of paradise and I want to witness it first hand. I bus from Surin to Bangkok and catch a cab to my room for the night. I go online and book a flight with a Thai company and get the crazy rate of $30 to save me from a 12 hour($25) bus ride, I really love the costs of air travel here!

   I heard that the cost to get to Patong from the airport is about $20 by taxi...that's almost the same as the flight. I notice a counter with an ad for a mini van ride for $6 into Patong, I sign up and get to the van. The drive is about 45 minutes and has a 10 minute stop where you are asked which hotel you are staying and some people had a 5 minute sales pitch, for various tours around the island. The surprising thing about this ride, was that we were all dropped off directly to our hotels, what a treat :)

   My room was great, I had a balcony, fridge, air, king bed, big armoire and a safe(that didn't work...or I didn't work!).  I was a ten minute walk to the beach and 20 minutes from the famous Bangla Street Bar area. I was close to a few markets as well as many restaurants with various menus. I  have notice that my palette has evolved/devolved and I rarely look for for western foods now, not saying I wont eat it, I just no longer actively seek it at all.

view from my room on a rainy day

    I met someone there who worked in tourism and took me to various tourist stops around Patong, several temples/monuments, beach areas, scenic spots, as well as some local dinning establishments.

It was great to have her as a guide around town showing me some places that were not the 'hot' spots, but were none the less spectacular. I saw many beaches, some large, some small and void of travelers, a local or two and maybe a few wading fishermen.

Big Buddha, on a big hill

     Patong is a nice place with 2 beaches of it's own and a pub street with with over 10 side Sois with more pubs and bars.These pubs are all closed until the evening when this area really comes to life. In all, there are hundreds of bars to choose from on Bangla Road, but most are quite similar with many staff dancing on the bars for the entertainment of their patrons. This is purely for the tourists who flock here by the thousands seeking something different, and this is certainly where they'll find it.

Bangla Road, Patong early
enough to avoid the crowds

   Well, the crowds of Patong is only bearable for a short time, so I packed up and moved to Pucket City, a quiet town about 45 minutes from Patong and central on Phuket Island. I found a guesthouse and after 2 days in town, decided to stay for a month. The cost efficient way to stay in SE Asia, my $200 rent was  1/3 of the cost of staying on a daily basis. I rented a motorbike and traveled the island during my stay. Most every place on the Island was less than an hour away, and about 30-40 minutes to get back...I often got lost on my way out. The 30 plus beaches are what this island is all about, there are many to choose from and most are on the east side of the island, perhaps for the spectacular sunsets. The beaches vary in as far as population goes, from overcrowded at Patong beach, to almost deserted at at Mai Khao beach. The beaches are great, but not the only natural attractions in Phuket, there are also many jungles and waterfalls, all of which are just amazing.

Bang Pae Waterfall 

Nai Yang beach...if you look
close, you might see an airplane

   Phuket town is nice spot to be, I was close to everything I needed, my room was cheap ($200/mth) and I found a great little Viet restaurant that served up some great food, my daily lunch of Pho and a Pepsi cost me about two dollars and was very filling. I would also discover the Pizza Company, who made pretty good pie...so I had a few of those while here.  The best places were the stalls at the markets, where you sat at a plastic table on the road and ate great food with just enough spice to make my nose start to run a little and maybe a cough or two.


   One of my first road trips while here was close by...Monkey Hill, maybe about 20 minutes from my room...you guessed it, up a hill. The Maps App on my phone was the best thing ever invented...for me on this great adventure. I make it to the top and park my bike and say hi to the monkeys hanging around. There are three levels of monkeys here, There are 3-4 large males, who dominate the others and also control the food coming in...to an extent. I had peanuts to share, and had to do some maneuvering to give some to the others. The medium sized monkeys were a little scared of the big ones, but they were fast enough to dart in and out with their reward at times. These guys were also brave enough to climb up on me when I held the peanuts high. The cutest ones were the tiny ones...these little guys were pretty shy and all the other monkeys intimidated them, so the best I could do was toss them a nut while the others were busy. I was also fortunate enough to meet a mother and her baby there...the baby clinging to her almost the whole time, but did pose for me, briefly, which I really appreciated.

A large monkey getting a bite while a small guy looks on

The medium monkeys were very active here

Mama and her babe

    I still have much of this island to explore, as well as Phi-phi Island, I am going to talk of those adventures soon, as I have been slow to post this one. I have a few interesting stories coming up soon that you will hopefully enjoy as I did experiencing them. As always, Thanks for reading.