Motor Taxis, Masala & Monsoons

Note.. Phuket is pronounced "Poo-get", not "FuckIt" .. Vee Vee has already made this mistake, lets not make it again. hehe.

Mikae and I have started listening to our instincts. We had made arrangements with the resort we were staying in, Vikiing Place, to take some photos for their website, in exchange for a couple nights stay, or a discount on a swanker unit, etc. Anyways, we get let into some bungalows to take photos, I take some of the grounds and some nice shots of the beach. We get to the point where we need to show the management what we have done, and all of a sudden, they are not interested in even seeing them. They have it taken care of. Mikae and I sit down to play Jenga and we see a man in his mid-forties, with a massive SLR puttering around with a notepad and a ladder. He is clearly Not a professional. He is making notes, Setting up the ladder, staging his wife on the sofa in the main room -- making a huge production out of it. So now we understand. All they had seen from me was a regular point and shoot.. and like many clients that have come before... essentially they aren't all that interested in the final product, they are far more interested in the production.

Well, the free stay didn't work out, which was a blessing. Both of us had the feeling that we wanted to leave, and would go out first thing in the morning. The options for ferrys from Ko Phi Phi to Phuket are 9am, 1:30 and 2pm. We decided to take an early ferry, our friend Ida was leaving as well so we could travel with her, which was fun. We had decided to spend the night in Phuket Town, which is not so touristy, but charming. No where near beach or party scene, although we considered taking a tuk tuk to Patong to party with the Klathoey. We selected a hotel on whim, by reading one review on Tripadvisor, and visiting their website. Its a serviced apartment, actually, but they do nightly rates. It is called Baan Suwantawe.

We get to the ferry peir, and we have paid 50 baht each, or about $1.50 for a min bus ride to our hotel. Mikae is on the phone with the hotel, trying to get directions, and the receptionist's English is not so good. He is really struggling. He hands the phone to the mini bus driver, and asks him to speak to the hotel for directions. The guy freaks out, saying he is on a tight deadline and has no time for us, and he thought we were going to the same hotel as Ida. We get him to drop us at the next major intersection, and we leave a very young, and terrified, European couple in the back of the mini bus. Mikae tries calling the hotel again, and we still cannot figure out where we are, or where we are going. Two motor bike taxi men have been shouting at us the entire time "taxi" "moto taxi" "where you go" and we keep brushing them off. Finally they come over, and out of exhaustion, Mikae hands them the phone. The one guy communicates with the receptionist in Thai, and finds out where we are going. Keep in mind that it is 30+ degrees, and we have our packs on and we are totally wiped. Reluctantly, we each mount the back of a motorbike, and hang on. Mikae hangs on to the back post, I grab right onto the guys sweater and cling for dear life. He doesn't seem to mind, that, or my nervous laughter. Luckily, he goes slowly, and the traffic here isn't bad at all. By the time we get to our hotel, my palm prints have soaked into the drivers jacket, and they are laughing at my horrified face. "Sanook!" I say, which means "Fun" in Thai, and they laugh. We give them another $100 baht plus a tip for helping with the phone call, and my first ever motorbike ride, which ended up being, well, ok, cost us $4. The washroom at the ferry pier had been disgusting, but Im glad I went. If I hadn't risked the nasty toilets, there would have been a whole'nother kind of motorbike accident on the streets of Phuket town today.

Sorry to our mothers.

We check into the hotel (see the video from last post) and unpack a little. Enjoy HOT showers with excellent water pressure, and use an entire bar of soap. The rough handed Ferry baggage handler has helped to rupture some waterproof sunscreen in my pack, which I now get to clean up. We wander the streets a bit, taking in the fantastic Sino-Portuguese architecture, and stopping at a supermarket to purchase Pot of Noodles and beverages for our mini-bar.

We stopped at a restaurant mentioned in Lonely Planet, called "Khana Sutra" which apparently has curries with aphrodisiac properties. The samosas were handmade and very fresh, the Dahl and Aloo Ghobi were spicy, tasty, and fresh-tasting. It was delicious. Expensive, for our tastes, the bill was over 600 baht, or $20, but well worth it. I would have paid anything for good indian food after two weeks on Phi Phi without a chick pea in sight.

We came back to our hotel to freshen up before our night out on the town, and I take a swim. It begins to rain, so I step inside. All of a sudden Rain begins to pelt down in sheets, and there is a MASSIVE storm. We stayed in. We couldn't help thinking of our little grass fisherman's hut we left behind in Phi Phi, and how *ahem* fun that must have been in the storm. Our instincts are getting good, i must say. We both knew it was time to go. Plus the evening in the swank hotel room has been nice, especially with the broadband.

Fly to Bangkok tomorrow, Air Asia, both of us with taxes for $112. check back into Buri B&B, and do some sightseeing for a few days. I want to see the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Dawn, and we have a suit to go fetch in Thornburi. We will try to get overnight sleeper train tickets for Chiang Mai. I'm looking forward to Chiang Mai.. I want a bicycle.