"Tuk, Tuk?"

Is it time to leave already? Guess this is my last Phuket sunset, not sure for how long, but am certain I’ll be back. Tomorrow afternoon I’m heading to Bangkok for a couple days of sightseeing, shopping and fabulous restaurants. After Bangkok I’ll be flying far away again, this time its 6 hours on Thai International airlines in business class no less to Bali in Indonesia, also believed to be an exotic paradise by any measure. I’m quite confident I will not be disappointed. Though I am hoping that the imminent eruption of a volcano on nearby Java island will not impact Bali and, no pun intended, cloud my holiday there (with spewing ash). Though it definitely would make for a unique travel experience I could write about as 'Gene and the volcano' or something like that.

Most of my time in Phuket was spent at the resort just lazing about, taking turns dipping in the refreshing coolness of the pool or sea. I found a perfect spot at the edge of the pool area from where the landscape slopes down toward the beach. Particularly in the afternoons, I would lay there like a sponge absorbing the gentler afternoon sunshine and the cooling breeze sweeping up from the sea. I have perfect views of the goings on at the pool as well as the serene view of that amazing beach and the crashing waves. I keep myself happy and hydrated by enjoying impossibly sweet pineapple or pomelo (think triple sized grapefruits but much sweeter) smoothies. You have not had fruit until you’ve had fruit fresh from the tropics. Life at the resort has been carefree, as it should be. The weather has been very cooperative, given that this is the beginning of the rainy season for the region, with temperatures fairly constant around 88 degrees. Each morning starts out as mostly sunny, and then around lunchtime the heavy clouds roll in and release their contents in torrential cooling downpours. Which makes for a conveniently timed lunch break for me to enjoy some delectable Thai favorites like Phad Thai noodles, chicken and beef satays with scrumptious peanut sauce, spicy Tom Yom Goong (lemongrass shrimp soup) and stir fried chicken with cashews. I loved them all, and could easily live on the satays alone, they are incredible. For those of you who do not know, satays are a Southeast Asian specialty made of grilled skewered meat, either chicken, beef, pork or shrimp. They are flavored with yellow curry and always served with that fantastic spicy/sweet peanut sauce.

Best I can tell the resort seems to be about 30-40% occupied, mostly by Europeans majority of whom are Russians. From what I heard from the locals, Phuket is only back to about 50% of the tourist level it enjoyed prior to the devastation of the Tsunami. Its really become a bit of an interesting fact, anywhere in the world I have been to, there have been Russians – I’ve yet to be let down by this. Good for them that they are now able to travel freely and enjoy the world like we can. Generally I do not give away the secret that I am one of them and can speak the language. Its weird yes, but actually kind of fun to pretend I don’t understand anything and clandestinely listen in on what they’re saying. Like yesterday when I got on an elevator with a Russian family, and they were making fun of me for taking the elevator up one level. It would have been too much fun to say something in Russian and embarrass them, but I just kept the giggle inside. However, I wasn’t a total recluse; I did spend some time speaking with a few couples from the UK and Australia. Apparently Thailand and Phuket in particular, have become much more popular with the Aussies in the wake of the Bali bombings. Guess I can’t blame them, in the first round of bombings some years ago, about 150 Aussies were murdered. As for me, I subscribe to the notion that when it’s your time it’s your time and locking yourself at home is no way to live life nor do you get to experience the marvelous places and cultures the World has to offer. Besides, statistically speaking you have a greater chance of being electrocuted at home than you do dying due to a terrorist act or some other catastrophe.

Based on a positive group-tour experience I had in South Africa a couple years back, I opted to join one here in Phuket yesterday and booked myself onto a full day boat tour of Phang Nga bay with Phuket Adventures Ltd. And I’m very glad that I did. The day started with a timely shuttle pickup at 7:45am, being the first one I got the prime choice of seating in the van. The driver went on to make a few more pickup stops and then we were on our way to the Phuket Royal Marina. At the marina we and numerous other shuttle passengers were corralled into Phuket Adventure’s waiting lounge. Here while we waited, we were provided with fresh juice, coffee and these really tasty Thai pancakes made from coconut milk and fermented rice. Once all of the buses had delivered their passengers, we were organized into groups based on the tour we purchased. The group going to Phang Nga with me consisted of a family of 8 from Mumbai (formerly Bombay), two Thai couples, and a guy from London and his girlfriend from Perth, Australia (they both flew to Bangkok to meet up for the holiday). It was definitely an interesting mix and I was surprised to see the two Thai couples. Generally on these group things you come to expect that’s its all westerners. So good for them, that they are able to afford the same tours we can and actually get to enjoy their own beautiful country instead of always being the ones to watch foreigners enjoying it or serving them.

We headed out northeast from the marina by speedboat for about 30 minutes where we made our first stop at Hong Island. Approaching Phang Nga bay is like entering a weird, alien world. As we approach, in the distance through humid summer haze we can see tens if not hundreds of strangely shaped objects jutting out of the green sea. It’s a landscape unlike which I have ever seen before. I begin to think I’m entering a set for another Lord of the Rings movie. So mysterious and eerie looking, yet also incredibly uniquely beautiful. These strangely shaped objects are shards of limestone formations, some short, some towering 100 feet or more, some barren some covered in tropical foliage. They have been carved by the sea for millions of years. As we stop at Hong Island we are told that the lower cave passage is impassable for the boat due to the high sea level, instead we will dock along the rock and take a short trek through the upper cave. Yes, you heard that right; Gene climbed off a rocking boat onto a massive limestone formation called an island and went into a fairly dark cave. Crouched down to nearly all fours, we made our way through about 100 feet of cave and came to an opening in the middle of this rock (island). This opening was filled with a lagoon of bright green sea water and up above and all around were nearly 50 foot high sheers of limestone draped with various jungle vines and plants. Talk about postcard settings, wow. After several minutes for everyone to pose and snap pictures we went back through the cave, jumped on the boat and were off again.

Surely scenery this beautiful has had to have been used in movies. Sure enough it was. Our next stop was James Bond Island. The Man with the Golden Gun was filmed here. I know I have seen the movie I just couldn’t remember it, but this was definitely a perfect James Bond setting if there ever was one. Its another limestone island that has a small hunk of rock, shaped like a long face, off its only beach. Very cool. Unfortunately this only beach is now overrun with souvenir stalls, I guess due to the islands popularity with tourists. It really was off putting to find this small bit of commercialization in an otherwise unspoiled area. Coincidentally we were provided with an hour to explore the island, however, no mention was made of the bazaar that lay in wait for us on the other side of the rock. Oh well, what are you going to do, everyone has to make a living somehow. Anyway, having had my fill of these sea gypsies peddling their wares, I headed back around to the boat. I was the first one back and spent some time chatting with our guide / hostess Hyatt (she said its spelled just like the hotel). While talking she treated to me to some freshly cut pineapple and a bunch of sections from the pomello (I love this thing, I’ll have to look for them back home). Shortly thereafter the rest of the group rejoined us and we were speeding away to our next stop.

Our next stop would be Panyi village, a floating village inhabited by Muslim sea gypsies (great I thought, more shopping) where we were to take lunch and have some time to look around and souvenir shop. Its sort of a unique marvel in the area. The story goes these people built houses on stilts 100’s of years ago attached to one of the limestone rocks. Over time it has grown and is now made up of 400 or so of these huts, and I use the term loosely. They are all tethered together and built on wooden stilts, though some now apparently are built on concrete piers. We docked at a proper dock, so I did not have to test my gymnastic abilities over water again. Proceeded to the restaurant and were seated in 2 groups of 8. My table was kind of quiet, only the one Thai couple sitting next to me tried speaking with me. They did not speak much English but enough to understand where I was from and how long I’m Thailand for. A tasty and filling lunch was had by all and then we were free to explore the floating village.

Walking out of the restaurant and into the main part of the village was a shock to the senses. Your eyes are taken by the commotion and hordes of people, your ears are on alert to the foreign languages and the commerce of haggling, your nose is assaulted with the pungent smells of a floating sea village with who know what for a sanitation system and where fermenting shrimp paste is being made every 10 feet and your skin feels thick and heavy from the stifling heat and humidity. Walking from hut to hut under cover of corrugated steel and whatever else they have to shield themselves from the sun and rain I witnessed how these people live in abject poverty and their only source of money for anything beyond their minimum subsistence based living are the tourists that happen to come by.

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I was approached by an adorable little girl, maybe 5 years old, offering postcards for 10 Baht (roughly 20 cents) “please sir, please sir, no money, no father, need money for school and books”. So how can you resist helping the hapless child? The answer is you really can’t and are overcome with feelings of guilt, thoughts come to my mind that I spend more on an average lunch or dinner than this poor child would be fortunate enough to see in a year. So I buy 2 postcards from her and hand her 50 Baht. She lights up like a Christmas tree and scurries away, presumably to hide her money or give it to her mother. Soon after I pass a wonderful little boy also selling postcards ands its much the same story. So I buy some more. I keep walking, exploring, taking in the sights, sounds and smells of what is arguably the poorest conditions I’ve ever witnessed. Everyone’s hut is open to the main aisle way, the front of which most of them use for selling souvenirs, food or whatever is salable. Before long, some more kids come my way, one selling bead bracelets and another selling more postcards. They beg and plead, but as heartbreaking as it is, I realize I can not possibly help each and every one of them and try to decline. I hurry past them and seek out the entrance to the restaurant where I pass through and go wait at the boat for the others.

Leaving Panyi island, everyone was quiet and I suppose humbled by the experience. From here we begin a 50 minute ride to Koh Kai (Egg Island) where we will disembark for a few hours of swimming, sun bathing and snorkeling. It’s wonderful to feel the rush of the cooling wind to relieve the heat and sweat built up from Panyi village. As we glide along the sea toward Koh Kai we pass more of the beautiful geology that makes Phang Nga bay such a unique and amazing place in this world. During this leg of the trip most of the group dozes off. I decide to step to the front of the boat where I can enjoy the mesmerizing scenery and stay awake.

Fifty minutes comes and goes and we are pulling into Koh Kai. Looks like there are already a few other speed boats from Phuket Adventures. We back into a spot between two of them, drop anchor and climb off the boat into the warm water and shuffle towards the beach. The beach is already set up with chairs and umbrellas, snorkeling equipment is passed out and naturally, the refreshment and concession stand are ready and attended. I stake my claim to a set of chairs that have the long shadow of the umbrella and set my things down. The entire size of this island is maybe that of a football field (likely smaller), so it takes me just a few minutes to explore it all before deciding on the perfect spot to swim about. This island has dazzling white powdery sand and is strewn with countless sea shells and pieces of reef. This being testament that when its high tide, 80 percent of what is now visible gets covered. The water around this island is shallow and as such has that amazing crystal clear pastel blue color. No sooner than I walk in waist deep a small school of 20 or so little fish starts swimming around my feet, welcoming the intruder to their world. I put on the snorkeling gear and splash about for a while. Realizing I’ll probably get burned to a toast like this, I decide its much wiser this early in the trip to avoid sunburn and head for the shady refuge of my beach chair. While relaxing there I can’t help but notice the amazing sound the shells on the beach make when a wave covers them and then retracts. The sound was very relaxing and tranquil akin to wind chimes in a gentle breeze. Just wonderful.

As with all good things, they must come to an end. We packed up our personal belongings, reboarded our speed boat and headed back to the marina. Soon after I was on the shuttle bus heading back to the air conditioned comfort of my suite at the Le Meridien Phuket beach resort.

Ok, this blog entry is getting a bit longish; I’ll try to wrap it up here.

So, what is a tuk tuk? Well a modern tuk tuk is a type of transportation used around these parts. Its something like a very mini pickup truck with a covered truck bed that has some benches for people to sit on and is powered by not much more than a motorcycle engine under the hood. Its called a tuk tuk because of the sound the engine makes, picture this…tuk tuk tuk tuk tuk….as it makes it’s way down the street. I used these every night to get back to the resort from Patong, they are the defacto taxis of the town and pretty cheap. A trip from Patong to the Le Meridien cost 100 Baht. What makes them standout as something funny is that there must be at least a thousand of them in Patong town and in one evening just by walking around you happen to pass most of them lining the streets waiting for their next fare. As you pass EACH one, the driver looks at you and asks “tuk, tuk?”. So after hearing this a hundred or more times, I began passing the drivers and saying “tuk tuk” before they could and usually got a smile out them. Anyway…

Patong is quite the crazy little beach town with hundreds of options for restaurants, bars, massage parlors, escorts, souvenirs, budget accommodations, internet cafes and the list goes on and on. With each of these businesses having a representative roaming the streets and trying to get your attention to sell / offer their wares, it really gets to be quite annoying after a while. I began ignoring them and just went about my business. I had several good Thai dinners in Patong as well as taking a massage each night after. Hey, you can’t beat it for about $10 for a one hour Thai oil massage. God I hope I don’t breakout…

Adieu,

Gene