Final Thoughts: Thailand

We continue this Final Thoughts series with a few final observations on Thailand. Having loved Thailand on our last trip, we were very excited to get back there this time. We had a most wonderful time during our fifteen-day stay but were ready to move on to Singapore too. Here are a few things we noticed this time:

• Beds are HARD in Thailand…like hard as a rock. Our bed in Bangkok was essentially a box-spring with a fitted sheet on top. Definitely took a bit getting used to.
• The anti-government protests (Bangkok Shutdown) began while we were in Bangkok. We didn’t quite know what to expect and were extremely cautious about where we went. No, parents, we didn’t go to any of the protest sites. The roads were quite devoid of traffic on the first day, and cars only marginally increased the subsequent two days. Some shops were closed, and there definitely were not as many people on the streets. While we sunbathed on our hostel’s roof, we could hear some of the protest speeches being broadcast from a closed-off massive bridge. We didn’t experience anything bad or weird, but we are glad that we safely got out of Bangkok.  Just kinda an eerie feeling of visiting a city that could end up being volatile…
• Russians love Thailand. Phuket literally had more Russians than Thais. Most of the menus at restaurants and all signs in the Phuket airport were in Thai, English, and Russian.
• The prices throughout Thailand have gone up a bit but are still very, very low. Definitely the place to come if you want to shop, drink, and get massages all day. Bangkok is much cheaper than any of the other places in Thailand that we have been too. Phuket is still cheap, but massages will cost double what they are in Bangkok.
• The last time we came to Thailand, it was in October (the rainy season). There were mosquitoes galore that loved Hanna, and it rained a lot. This time it was hot, dry, and thankfully mosquito-free. The only problem with coming during peak season is many more tourists. We really liked Phuket in 2010, but this time it was a bit of a draining experience. It was extremely crowded, loud, and just a bit much for us.

Enough observations and onto the photos!!!!!!

Hanna Pondering Her Next Meal.

Boats.

Out for a Stroll.

Water Monitor in the Canals of Bangkok. Gross.

The Scene of Another Photo Shoot.

Eggs and Rice Teddy.

Please Enjoy Mike’s Awkward Toothy Grin.

Quizzers

One thing we enjoyed about Phuket last trip was Quiz Night at the Irish pub in the mall by us. We even got second place and won 1,000 baht the second time we played, so we felt that the gods were with us for our rematch.

As we walked into a bookstore in order to peruse magazines from home, we spotted the headline on The Phuket News:

RIP DJ Doris.

We looked at each other and thought the name sounded familiar. Mike then realized that this guy was the quizmaster at the Quiz Nights we attended back in 2010, and he was recently killed in a motorbike accident. Sad.

We soldiered on and proceeded to the pub that night. Quiz Night started at 8pm, and we didn’t realize the “buy one, get one free” drink specials began then too. We got there about 25 minutes early and were hounded by the bar staff to order something. Hanna finally ordered fries. When the clock struck 8, Mike ordered something he had never heard of: a Harvey Wallbanger (vodka, orange juice, and Galliano). Hanna made fun of Mike for ordering a girly drink, but it was quite delicious because it tasted like an Orange Julius. It also came in a glass that looked like a naked woman. No, we don’t have a good picture of it. Sorry.

Quiz Night was five rounds of ten questions each: Potluck, Thai Provinces, Art & Literature, Fashion, and Same Names. You could pick a round that you would receive double points on all correct answers. We battled between Art & Literature (Mike) and Fashion (Hanna). The woman finally won as she pointed out that most of the teams were crusty old men.

Potluck was harder than expected, and clearly we kicked ass at Thai provinces. The young British quizmaster pointed out to us that most of the old British guys had Thai girlfriends at home, yet they didn’t do too well on Thai provinces. Made us laugh. We got nine out of ten questions right on Art & Literature but only five out of ten questions right on Fashion. See, you should always trust Mike’s judgment.

Before the final round, the scores were updated. We were second out of six teams. There was hope. Sad to say, but most people used their double points on the last round. We ended up in fourth place. Whomp whomp…

Phuket Redux

When we were planning our route for this trip, we definitely knew we wanted to come back to Thailand. Phuket surprisingly held fond memories for us, so we knew we wanted to return. We, however, were slightly wary about whether we would like it as much this time around. After being here for four nights, we have determined that it was a case of RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME on our last trip.

Please keep in mind that we had been traveling for about two-and-a-half months before arriving in Phuket last time, whereas we now have only been away from home for about two weeks. We were missing some of the comforts of home (huge grocery stores! movie theaters! cable TV! good WiFi!) last time, but after returning this time, we aren’t in love with Phuket as much. Before you tell us to shut the hell up and enjoy the beach, we want to say that we AREN’T complaining…just tellin’ it like it is.

We have pretty much done the same things we did last time: relax on the beach, eat at Pizza Hut (twice), go see a movie (Captain Phillips), eat lots of Dairy Queen cones, and wander around the massive grocery store. While we aren’t scratching our eyes out to leave, we are 100% okay with leaving tomorrow.

There are definitely a lot more tourists here right now, especially from a certain country that is gearing up for the Olympics. While the beach is still pretty, it’s way overcrowded:

Beach Chairs as Far as the Eye Can See.

There were definitely a lot of chairs last time, but there were still wide stretches of uncluttered sand. This time it’s just rows and rows and rows of chairs without much empty sand. We pay 200 baht total (a little over US $6) for our two beach chairs for the day, and it’s totally worth it to keep Mr. Sun off of us. Mike has nightmares about the horrible sunburn he received here last time. The beach seats give prime viewing of the well-dressed beachgoers:

Gut and a Speedo: Winning Combination.

It’s Hard to Tell, But He Is Wearing a Speedo.

We are not trying to be mean; we are just sick of seeing men who have eight-month-pregnant (with triplets) bellies and tiny swimsuits. Some other things Hanna forgot to pack? A skin-tight white dress, a thong, and ridiculous high heels. No, we haven’t explored the craziness of Phuket nightlife as we’re too old and boring now.

Our five nights here have sealed the deal that Phuket isn’t on our list to return to any time soon. Oh well. You live, you learn.

Ferry Easy Travel to Phuket

We spent five relaxing nights at the beach resort in Krabi, and we got quite used to our easy days. You only get two blog posts about our time there since our goal was relaxation…and relax we did. It’s hard being unemployed with nothing to do but read by the pool. Alas we had to say farewell to our luxury life and make our way to Phuket.

A van (complete with DVD player and such bootleg DVDs as Despicable Me 2 and inexplicably Mariah Carey: Live at Madison Square Garden) picked us up and brought us to Ao Nang pier. We were a bit early for our ferry, but that gave us enough time to take pictures:

A Sea of Longtails.

Still Can’t Get over the Rock Formations.

We boarded our ferry and headed out to sea. Mike sat on a bench on the back deck, while Hanna (in an effort to combat seasickness) sprawled on the deck. About fifteen minutes into the ride, we pulled up about one hundred feet from shore…and waited…and waited. Finally boatloads (literally) of people pulled up alongside our ferry and boarded. We had the pleasure of waiting for more boats. This added a good hour to the trip. We, however, weren’t complaining: we each were listening to iPods and chillaxing in the sun. (The word “chillax” is an absolutely stupid word.)

The trip took about two-and-a-half hours, and we were entertained by a guy who smoked seven cigarettes (Mike kept count) and his wife who wore booty shorts with no underwear. Unfortunately Hanna’s eyes won’t forget what she saw. Remember, folks, Hanna was laying on deck.

We are happy to say that Hanna did not get sick at all on the smooth water, and we pulled into Phuket in good spirits. The mini-bus to our hotel took some time, but we made it to our hotel in one piece. We are staying at the same place we stayed last trip. Seems pretty much the same (good WiFi and air con, cable TV that plays Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City nonstop, quiet enough). More deets about our days in Phuket to come…

Thaiku

We were in Bangkok,
Then at Krabi nice resort.
Phuket now. More soon.

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to You

Happy Thanksgiving, friends. We kinda forgot it was today and only realized after we disembarked from our flight to Singapore. A quick “Oh yeah…Happy Thanksgiving” was exchanged between us, and that was that.

Waking up at 6am when you have been sleeping in until 11am was a bit tricky, but we made it to the Phuket airport with time to spare. The ninety-minute flight to Singapore was fast and easy. Nothing remarkable.

We are staying with Mike’s dad’s cousin Jim and his wife Sara here, and Jim kindly met us at the airport…he even brought us Snickers and Oreos. We relaxed and chatted in their beautiful apartment for a bit…and then the rain came. Wasn’t that supposed to be left behind in Thailand? No worries though because Jim cooked us a delicious dinner of steak, mashed potatoes, and asparagus. So nice to have a home-cooked meal once again. (Thanks again, Jim.)

Enjoy your pumpkin pie today.

Last Full Day in Thailand

Crazy that our time o’ relaxation here is done. We are glad we came back to Phuket to do nothing. It was nice to just be for a while. Our days were all essentially the same: wake up late, go to the beach or pool, eat rolls and Dairy Queen, watch TV on our computer, peruse the shelves of the huge grocery store, nap, and watch shows on the actual TV. (We found ourselves watching shows we never watch at home because they replay the same shows all the time. We have never watched so much Rachael Ray, Law & Order, The Rachel Zoe Project, Three Rivers, and Desperate Housewives in our lives.)

We spent the majority of today running errands. We needed to restock our toiletries and decided to do it here because everything is pretty damn cheap. Here’s hoping we have enough toothpaste to last us for months! (Deodorant for Mike was also on the list. Not found. Here’s hoping he doesn’t smell too rank.)

We also went to see Harry Potter again because Wednesdays are discount movie day at our local cineplex. (Cineplex meaning five or six screens.) 2 tickets and a huge popcorn cost us about $8 total. Awesome. The movie was as good the second time. We never go to see movies twice in the theaters, but we couldn’t resist when it’s that cheap.

Mike didn’t go to the bathroom at the movie theater last time. This time he did. He’s glad that he did. In the men’s bathroom were huge decals above the urinals that said “Shoot ‘Em Up.” Accompanying said decals were stick figure illustrations of men peeing..and the big red and green dots of pee were bouncing everywhere. In the urinals themselves were different targets: soccer goals, bullseyes, carnival shooting games, and (the best) sperm that said “Hi, Daddy! Forget Me Not!” So bizarre. So extremely bizarre.

Our last night in Phuket was capped by our second stab at Quiz Night. Eleven teams played, and we are proud to say we nabbed second place. We were the only team of two and were competing against groups of British regulars. We were shocked we did so well…we even did okay on the sports round. We were awarded a 1,000 baht (about $33) food/beverage voucher. We had not eaten dinner yet, so we were excited about the prospect of a huge meal. Unfortunately the kitchen had already closed, and all we could order was dessert or drinks. After an apple crumble, brownie, two beers, and a ridiculously expensive girly dessert cocktail for Mike, our voucher was spent. We have to get up early tomorrow for our flight to Singapore, so we didn’t want to spend it all on alcohol.  We are quite proud of ourselves for doing so well, and we hope to bring our Quiz Night skills back with us to New York next year.

Late Start to the Otherwise Uneventful Day

Our time in Phuket is quickly coming to a close, and somehow we managed to wake up around noon today. NOON. It’s not like we were out super late. We’ve just gotten into a bad habit of staying up until around 2 or 3am watching TV on our computer and then sleeping in. Hey, we’re unemployed and homeless. Cut us some slack.

While Hanna relaxed in the room today and watched Gossip Girl and 90210, Mike snuck into the same fancy pool as the other day. He swam, listened to his iPod, and finished book #2 (Jurassic Park…it’s held up surprisingly well over time). He then walked into a random guesthouse, perused their book selection sitting next to the reception desk, dropped off the dinosaur book, and picked up the best option: Ozzy Osbourne’s autobiography. Mike is nothing short of a book-stealing pool invader.

Nothing more of note today. We promise that our adventures will start to get more interesting and not so repetitive once we leave Phuket.

Loi Krathong

We hate to say that Loi Krathong last night was a bit of a bust, but…Loi Krathong last night was a bit of a bust.

After a day spent at the hot beach, we had a quick dinner and returned back to the sand at nightfall. Hundreds of people (mostly Westerners) crowded the long beach, all with flower floats in hand. While our cheap one from the grocery store was made out of bread, it’s more common to see handcrafted floats made out of banana leaves:

Too Rich for Our Blood.

The only problem? It was super windy. The candles and incense on the flower floats were immediately extinguished, and the tides kept pushing all the floats back onto the sand. We had expected to see an eerily glowing ocean wonderland, but we saw black sea instead. Watch the crap video below of people bringing their floats into the water:

As we could always use a bit of extra luck while on the road, we were determined to get our little guy out to sea. We shoved the incense and candles into our bread flower:

Hanna Concentrating on an Oh-So-Difficult Task.

Mike Getting Mentally Prepared for the Task Ahead.

A local kindly lit ours for us, and Mike waded out into the water to give it a little push. The flame immediately went out, but the float seemed to head out to sea. Hey, as long as it didn’t come back to shore…

Many vendors were also selling the lanterns that were to be lifted into the sky. Because of the wind, however, the lanterns were floating back onto land as well. Quite amusing to see them get stuck in trees:

Why Yes, That IS a Lantern Resting Comfortably in a Palm Tree at the Top of This Picture.

We headed back to the stage of the previous night’s beauty pageant, and this time around a Little Miss pageant was happening. We totally felt like we were watching an episode of Toddlers & Tiaras:

Wearing More Makeup than Hanna.

Our original four picks from the top 15 didn’t make it to the final four, so we hightailed it out of there.

We felt a bit let down by the lack of flying lanterns and candlelit floats on this holiday, but that’s Thai weather for you.

Festival Weekend

This weekend is Loi Krathong here in Thailand. Occurring once a year on a full moon, Loi Krathong is a festival where people send flower-shaped floats out to sea for good luck. These floats are made out of bread or banana leaves and have incense and candles stuck in the middle. If the float goes out with the tide, you will have good luck for the next year. If the float comes back, you better watch out.

Last night was the eve of the big celebration but was a party just the same. We witnessed a beauty pageant with lots of ladies from the local bars, including our favorite-named bar–The Body Nude Club.

The Ladies

We couldn’t follow most of the pageant because they were speaking in Thai, but watching the creepy Western men take pictures of the ladies was entertaining all the same. Also entertaining was the drag queen hostess (far right in the above picture) whose favorite type of joke was sexual innuendo.

The other part of the weekend is the lighting of big lanterns and letting them float away into the night sky. We saw a few of these go last night, and they were truly beautiful…some did just catch fire and sink into the ocean. Here’s a video:

The festivities should be really fun tonight. Apparently the whole ocean fills up with the flower floats, and the sky will be full of lanterns. We already purchased our bread float for a dollar. Last night was great, and we are looking forward to tonight. Details to follow tomorrow.