Phuket,
Thailand
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
After a long day of boats and buses we arrived in Phuket town at 10.30pm. Initially we wanted to stay in a remote part of Phuket but because the weather forecast gave us no hope we decided to head for the livelier Patong beach where there seemed to be a lot more to do. After we checked into our room we got cleaned up and decided it wasn't too late for a stroll around. We probably should have stayed in the room! Over 150 bars with at least two dance poles in each and an average of 20 go-go girls hanging outside using every skill they had to lure the "punters"/wallets in. Every man aged between 17-87 had at least one Thai girl hanging off him, and we havn't even mentioned lady boys yet!! Where had all the romance gone?! this wasn't the place for couples...or females! We had a blast of sleaze in Ko Samui but nothing could have got us ready for this. After an hour of severe uncomfort we agreed we just couldn't fit in and hit the road. the next day the sun decided to show his face for a few hours so we hit the beach, which was lovely, but however much we tried we just couldn't stop thinking about the Tsunami that had devastated and killed so many people here not even a year ago. The town itself had been reconstructed and didn't look like the same place that was on the news last Christmas. It was hard to forget what had happened when on every street corner there were people selling dvds of the Tsunami and the aftermath.
That night we sucked up the courage to hit the streets again in the hope we could find somewhere for dinner and a few quiet beverages. To our surprise the streets were empty; no go-go girls or endless rows of bars lit up by pink neon lights, no 80 somethings with their Thai grand-daughters/girlfriends... "what was going on?!" Had we somebody to thank for this? "Yes" was the answer to that one HRH the King! It was the big man's birthday.... no drinking please, which meant no bars which in turn meant a drastic reduction in the ladies and boys of the night. Great! We were well chuffed and saw a much nicer side to Patong. Getting a boat to Ko Phi Phi Don later. Hope it lives up to the hype. Write soon.
