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Chasing the sun on the Andaman Coast
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After our one week India (don't get me wrong - we did not have the best experience there, but I will be back there one day), all we wanted was to chill in Thailand. We booked the next best flight to Bangkok and then to Phuket. At the Bangkok airport, we found out that we had to change the airport, as the old domestic airport has reopened - about 45 minutes away without traffic! Luckily our taxi driver was really good and seemed to be used to that type of malheur - he got us there in time and so we flew to Phuket two hours later. We took one of these minivan trips to any hotel (of course we had not made any reservation in advance) in Kata Beach, a location known for surfing. Our minivan driver stopped somewhere at an agency, so that the agency would try to sell everyone hotel rooms etc. The usual scam (the drivers get commissions), and normally I would take it easy, but do not try that with me when I am a) hungry like a wolf and want to go to the next restaurant, and b) it's 10 PM and I want to eat and sleep! Anyways, we finally arrived in Kata, found a decent room with bathroom easily at the first place for less than 30 USD. We only stayed one full day in Phuket though and cancelled our plans to move to the dream islands Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta last minute, as it poured down like crazy and nonstop. Good idea to come to the Andaman Coast in the rainy season ;-)
All in all, Phuket is a very touristy place, highly commercial with vendors trying aggressively to get you to buy something. Also, Patong Beach right south of Kata Beach is the mekka of sex tourists - unfortunately. It's sad to look at, especially after having seen the scene live (and I got paranoid too, realizing that I am a Southeast Asian-looking woman wandering around with a Western man!). We also had more interesting aquaintances, such as a young Nepali woman named Kanji, who has come four years ago from Kathmandu to earn money in a store, so she could send money home to her family. She hasn't seen her young child and her husband for four years, but plans on returning to Nepal soon. Another store vendor told us about the day when the tsunami hit the island hard on Dec 24th, 2004. Her store is on a hill, so it wasn't affected, but you just needed to step out of the door to see the water from both sides of the hill, she said.
Everywhere you go, you see Tsunami evacuation signs on Phuket. But life is returning slowly back to "normal" after three years.
It was definitely because of the weather, but the beaches don't look as nice as expected and we decided to fly back to the East side after checking the weather report there.
I didn't get to see a buddy of mine from SoCal who has been in Phuket for four months now, but maybe we'll meet up later on Koh Samui (definitely my favorite island so far - we visited it last year and will return around Christmas). For the moment, the most important is to chase the sun - at least a sky without constant rain.
We have been relaxing in Koh Chang, an island in the Trat province that borders Cambodia, for the last two days. It's already a completely different feeling, people are more laid-back, you can hang in a lounge chair in the sand all afternoon, sip your milk shake or a coconut juice, listen to reggae music and read a novel in English, German, Swedish or French, whatever you find in the bookshelf of your local bar hangout (it's very common for backpackers to read a book, then exchange it in the bar or hotel against another book you see there). The weather is still not that great, but at least it hasn't rained except for a few drops the other day. I am so lazy now that I can barely move myself to the next lounge chair ;-)
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