Phuket .... the 'ph' is NOT pronounced as an 'F' :)
Phuket was our next destination. It is a peninsula, and we were on the west side, the BEACH side! The first place we stayed was at Touch Sea Boutique Hotel. It was just across from Karon Beach... one of the many famous beaches on the West Side of Phuket.
We migrated there every day around 3pm and walked way to the far end and rented some chairs and an umbrella, and stayed until Sunset
The water was nice and warm and it was easy to stand out there and visit until our fingers were wrinkled. There were some nice big waves every once in awhile that we floated over. I honestly could have been on a South Haven beach looking out over Lake Michigan .... but not at this time of the year. It reminded me though, ... we are so lucky to have Lake Michigan.
Back home, a quick shower, and then time to find a place to eat. We didn't have kitchens in our rooms, so we HAD to go out to eat.
The food was truly AMAZING ... IF you didn't get it too spicy. We each seemed to take a turn at getting it just a bit too spicy. They ask if you want 1, 2, or 3 chili's. We usually said 1, which was ok, unless they chopped it up in tiny pieces that you couldn't tell that you were eating it until it was too late :) We splurged a bit this night and ate up above the water at a place called On the Rock.
I don’t know if i’ve mentioned this before, but the restaurants are open-air and none of them air conditioned. It was imperative that we had a strong fan on us, It is ‘Bloody HOT and HUMID’ here. It’s impossible to walk more than 12 steps before you have sweat literally running down your body. There is just no getting around it. Even walking around in the night time is no better. We all had those little foldable fans to try to keep us cool.
This has to be yet another change as i get older, i don’t tolerate it like i used to……or maybe it just IS hotter. You just wanted to be in the water at the beach, pool, or sitting inside with the AC on!
Shari lived in Phuket 5 years ago, teaching. So, she was really happy to be reliving memories and sharing them and the places with us. While she lived here, she traveled around which is why she was able to organize such a wonderful tour for us. She put a lot of time and effort into it: where to go, how to get there, how long to stay, which hotel, which flight, and what activities while we are there. None of us had a clue. We are all forever grateful to her!
At one evening meal, she suggested we go to Patong the next night … and we should be prepared to leave around 9pm and stay out late. This really isn’t ‘us’, or hadn’t been. As usual, we didn’t really know what we were getting into. So at 9pm, we piled into a 'party bus', it had lights everywhere and speakers for music... just to get us in the mood.
Patong is many streets that are blocked off, and almost anything goes. Girls dancing at the entrances and inside; and honestly they looked very bored and not really even dancing. Lots and lots of people in the street holding signs in front of your face advertising cheap drinks, buckets of drinks, and we were buying 6 shots for 100Baht … that’s 2usd! and lots of live music, and oh Cannibus is legal in Thailand, and every 3rd store is a Pot Store. Maybe Kalamazoo will be like that one day.
This is the sign at the entrance
It was like Bourbon Street, LasVegas, and Nashville on steroids, and all rolled into one big body to body party. We had many videos, but I like this one that Brian took… pandemonium !
Sylvia was impressed with this BurgerKing ... look closely at what she has circled ... a young lady ‘dancing’ in the window above.
So fun! We got there at 9pm, and did not leave until 2am. That was too long for me…but we all hung in there. Mostly because it was a 30min ride and i had no idea how to get back :)
Another great experience that i don’t need to repeat.
Most of the places we stayed had breakfast included. I was not a ‘big breakfast person’, but I was there every morning. At Touch Sea, breakfast menu was available all day, which we loved; because none of us seemed to be ‘early-risers’ unless we had to be. Most of us fell in love with their ‘set’ breakfast called Shakshuka, it was like lasagna! Crushed tomatoes, garlic, olives, lots and lots of cheese (we really have not had any ‘cheese’ on this entire trip) .. and 2 eggs on top. It was SO GOOD ! ...and yes, they did serve a salad with it for breakfast. And, the dressing was very good, a bit of soy and sesame seed oil. I might have to start eating breakfast when i get home .. oh ... but who will fix it :)
We stayed there on the west side for 5 nights (maybe the longest we stayed anywhere). Then we hired another driver and BIG van, and I mean it has to be BIG for 6 people, when we each had 2-3 large bags, and smaller ones. Honestly, we barely fit. He drove us 1 hr to the East Side of Phuket, to 'The Old Town'. We stayed at Patra Mansion, which is where Shari lived when she was there. Great rooms, nice pool, and within walking distance to restaurants and Night Markets. We arrived on a Sunday, and Sunday Night Market is huge. Again streets blocked off, mostly food stands were set up. But all the stores were also open… so a lot of time could be spent there. The entire trip everyone was buying buying buying, to the point of having to buy another suitcase, honestly! It is contagious, when one starts, then someone else, on and on. I even got pulled into it, especially when i didn’t have the proper clothes. But not even close to what they were doing. I am trying to down-size, but it was hard not to get caught up in it. You know girls .. ‘oh that is SO CUTE on you, it’s perfect, buy it’ :)
On the east side, there is a place called Monkey Hill, and since we didn’t get to see many monkeys at the river, Sylvia, Julia, and I wanted to go. And at the top, there was supposed to be an awesome view of Phuket and the ocean. We got a Grab to take us to the entrance where there was a long up-hill. But the car was not allowed to go up there. We had to walk. Shari wasn’t with us, and we obviously didn’t research this the way we should have.
Julie paid a guy to take her up on his MotorBike since her foot still isn’t healed. Sylvia and I started to walk… how far could it be anyway? Oh that must be the top up there … nope … more climbing. It’s mid afternoon and hotter than hell. About 1/4 of the way up we started seeing a few monkeys along the road… cool…aren’t they cute. They were not in the trees or hillside, but on the road. We respectfully gave them their space as we passed by.
...
Until, ...until, the next thing i knew, i had a money grabbing on to my water bottle. Now, i’ve had problems leaving my water bottles behind, and he was not going to take this one. But he was hanging on tight with those long strong fingers, and not letting go. And i am thinking about the List of Rules … ‘Do NOT attempt to retrieve items that a monkey has taken from you’. But he was not getting my water bottle … watch the video…. it’s hilarious … well it is now, but i was scared. he was relentless, had claws, and canine teeth ~
the end, notice how i've wrapped everything up and holding it close ..
We watched, and finally decided that they were attracted to anything that ‘dangled’. And i was ‘dangling’, even swinging, my water bottle. So we shored up the straps on our bags and held them against our bodies, and picked up a stick. We didn’t have any trouble after that, but they were looking you over, and we were watching carefully. We saw a monkey take a bracelet right off a girls wrist (she was trying to get him to climb on her scarf though). He was NOT going to give it up... it was his prize
We climbed for a long time, and sent Julie a text asking where she was, and ‘how much further’. Her driver dropped her off when the hill went too steep for him to take her, so she was walking too, and still not at the top. We told her we couldn’t go any further. Our clothing was absolutely totally soaked with sweat. We waited and she walked down to meet us. We rested and saw a small ‘overlook’ and took some photos. We look tired and hot ... and we were !
Then continued our walk. There were LOTS of monkeys out now, maybe b/c it was cooler? And they were interacting with each other so not messing with us. Mommas and babies, Males and Female doing their ‘thing’, and many grooming each other. Monkeys climbing in the trees and jumping from place to place. Like it should be :) They were so fun to watch, and we have many many videos !
Three monkeys
Our clothing was completely wet with sweat. We could not wait to get back to our air conditioned room, cool off, and take a shower. That was an exhausting, and fun day.
I had made my return trip reservations a couple weeks ago, and my time was coming to an end.
We had a great Sunset dinner at The Beach Bar, which is no longer on the beach; but has great views of the bay and sunset. We took a lot of photos for ‘Donna’s Last Night’.
My last day i spent in the A/C, online, and re-packing, for the last time. How many times did i pack and unpack these bags?
I left on 1 January, and was in Indonesia and The Philippines until arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam on 15 Feb; and leaving on 2 April. That's 3 full months of moving from country to country, place to place. Here's a map just of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.
It has been quite the ‘Adventure’, and so much fun with this great group of people, now friends forever with this bonding experience. I appreciate those of you who commented on my posts on my Blog and on FaceBook. It means a lot to me, when I am so far away, to know that your enjoyed my photos, as much as I enjoyed living them.
Thank you !
This was a 'relax' week before the rest of the group headed South to Koh Lipe for more diving. I opted to return home since I had already been to Koh Lipe in 2017 ... and I was ready to be home.
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