Stories Vol 9: Phuket Town and Phi Phi

 

 Getting to Phuket town from Koh Tao was kind of pain in the ass. The Boat station had booked both the boat and the bus for me. The boat was great but the bus was absolutely horrible. Essentially you spend 6-7 hours jumping from town to town with the bus driver stopping every so often picking up random goods in exchange for cash. It was almost as if they were using the bus as a courier service.

Boat from Koh Tao to the Mainland

 

Anyways, Phuket Town itself was nothing to write home about. It just reminded me of a rural city. When we got in, it was rather dark and no one spoke English. Knowing when to get off for Phuket Town was actually kind of difficult as well despite it being the last stop on the trip. Just before the actual last stop the bus driver had let his friend with a car service on and he proceeded to try to trick us into getting off. The driver's friend actually lied and said it was the last stop but we were literally in the middle of nowhere. When we asked for clarity from the driver he just ignored us. This is what is slightly sad about tourism in a 2nd/3rd world country, they view it as a cash cow. Just as western civilization has taken advantage of them, now they are entitled to repay the favor. As a traveler, you always have to have your guard up and assume you are being scammed.

 

So, getting back to the situation at hand, I decided to watch the locals around me on the bus. I noted that they were not moving. This can't be the last stop. I decide to take a gamble on it and stay in my seat. To aid his friend the driver tries harder to motion me off the bus. I refuse to budge. Finally, after a few minutes he gives up and returns to the driver seat and continues down the road. 10 minutes later we arrive at the Phuket Town bus station.

 

Annoyed and ready for bed, I hopped in the first taxi I saw. Because I was unable to find a map to know how I far I was from my hostel, I decided to just pay the 200 baht the taxi driver asks for. The cab takes less than 5 minutes. I definitely over paid by 4 times the going rate but at least I got there in one piece. I later found out that Thailand actually has a taxi and tuk tuk mafia that coordinates the pricing for tourists.

 

In contrast to the bus experience, I am greeted by a bright eyed, high energy and smiling Thai woman named, Pook! She shows me about the hostel and directs me to a local dive for food. Her positive attitude and friendly demeanor cleanse me of the negative funk I was in from the journey to this city. I really wish I had a picture of her to describe her. She was about 4'9, lighter skin for a Thai woman with long coarse brown hair pulled into pig that laid gently against her shoulders. She wore jean shorts and a playful/innocent cartoon printed cropped shirt. She was fantastic. Below is a pic of the dive restaurant she recommended.

 

The following morning I woke up to my Brazilian roommate packing his bag. He apologized and explained he was headed to Phi Phi. Having wandered the town the previous night, I started to think I might not have enough to do and on a whim decide to wander the town until two and catch an afternoon ferry to Phi Phi.

Images from my morning explorations:

 

 

With in 10 minutes of exploring the city and a nearby market, it starts to pour. I sat down at a corner restaurant and ordered some Thai basil and chili pork stir fry with a fried egg for breakfast. I watch outside the window desperately hoping for it to stop. It doesn't stop but I am able to catch some great candid photos of the locals while eating the fiery Thai dish (recommended by the waitress for breakfast).

 

 

I decide to make the most of it, the rain is not going to hold me back from exploring. I grab my bag from underneath the table. I get about ten minutes and then suddenly I feel my stomach rumble.

 

FUCK! FUCK! Bathroom. I need a bathroom.

I should have known better than to eat something that spicy. I wanted and needed a bathroom, but one with a toilet paper. Walking into my hostel lobby at a brisk pace, I book it to the bathroom. No Toilet paper. Damn it. I run upstairs and see some teepee in the bathroom. Ok. I'm golden.

 

Shortly after, I decided that maybe I wouldn't be exploring due to the rain and potential need for a bathroom again. I set up shop at the hostel's bar and started researching resorts for phi phi. I took my Brazilian roommates recommendation from that morning as we exchanged pleasantries and he booked it out of the room. As I'm booking the Viking Nature Resort for 30 bucks a night, two girls begin booking a ticket to phi phi for the 11am boat. I jump on my chance to transfer my ticket from 2pm to 11am. I'm over the town.

 

Luckily, I am able to hop on the earlier boat and share a taxi in with the girls. As it turns out they are two Americans, both just graduated with their masters in public health. Their names are Kara and Elisa. Kara is 4'10, blonde  with a bit of a spunk to her. She had the build of a gymanst and the energy to match. I enjoyed listening to her as she rambled about her time back in Boston and the decision to travel. Her incoherent jumps from conversation topic to topic was hilarious and reminiscent of me with out my Ritalin.   In contrast to Kara, Elisa was quite calm and reserved. She was tall, fair skinned with curly strawberry blonde hair done up in a messy bun. The best way that I can described her is Chicago Farm girl meets public health worker in the peace core. Super chill. I loved that about her.

 

Essentially to sum it up, the pair was an extrovert and an introvert and so the interactions between the two were phenomenal. To top it all off they weren't close friends before leaving, it sounded as if the decision was more of a need for a travel buddy. This created an additional dynamic in that they were super careful about respecting what the other wanted to do. When you travel with people you are too close to sometimes you just say no because you know you can but then it can create a hostile situation. For instance, Kara kept dropping hints that they hadn't gone out yet and then Elisa would counter with how relaxation on a beach and in the jungle resort sounded so nice.

 

During the cab, they tell tales of their time in Africa volunteering and offer up advice for things to do in Northern Thailand. The boat ride over was slightly scary. Given the rain we had opted to sit on the inside. All I can say is that like most of the transportation in Thailand, this boat was sketch as hell. The tug boat esque vehicle pushed its way through the Rainy Season's rocky waves. I don't know if it was the angle at which we hit each wave but the boat would bob down and then pop up. At one point the boat was on 45 degree angle tilt, bags flying everywhere.

 

To distract us from the terror on everyone else's faces, the two American girls, Kara and Elisa, and I began exchanging travel stories. They had some pretty good ones for me. They had just come from Chiang Mai and most stories were from their time there. I told them about my times in Bangkok and Koh Tao. As I started telling them about the Thai Massage, they jumped in and echoed my opinion that the Thai Massage is a bit awkward. With that said, they had a twist to it.

 

Apparently they had stayed at this great hostel in Chiang Mai, and on the first day they decided to wander. As they rounded the corner near the hostel they saw a sign for the Blind Massage. Enjoying the cheeky name and knowing that the Thais are known for massage, they decided to enter. Like my experience, they were told to put on a set of pants provided by the establishment. They Explained that the massage got more and more awkward as time went on. Something was apparently off about their masseuses. About 30 minutes into a rather clumsy massage, they began to wonder what was going on and then they had the same realization. Their masseuses were blind.  It explained so much, the awkward movements, the searching about for limbs and the constant misplacement of movements.

 

They went on to tell me that had they walked two feet farther outside the building, they would have seen the sign indicating that the facility was a school for the blind. The massage parlor they later found out was a way for the school to make money.

 

We laughed at the experience these two had. They had entered into a contract hoping to come out relaxed, only to find themselves in pain and twenty bucks poorer. Priceless. I'm kind of jealous of their story.

 

After about an hour more of rocky waters, we landed at Phi Phi. Unlike Koh Tao, we were greeted by hotel with a complimentary boat taxi to the resorts beach. We were impressed by this perk. We had spent so much time haggling in other cities for transportation that to have it come complimentary was just fantastic and the driver was a character. He kept making Snorkel and sex jokes.
 

 


The views from the taxi were unreal. Phi Phi is truly a tropical paradise tucked away off the coast of Thailand. As we rounded the bend we came across our resort. It was freaking amazing. Imagine you were staying at the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and that's what it was. We were in the remote section of the island so it was incredibly quiet and somber as well.

 



 

Having booked ahead of time, I was upgraded to a better bungalow and was immediately ushered to it with porters caring my bags up through a winding foot path into the jungle alongside the beach. I'm not used to having other people carry my bags, it was nice  but awkward. As we came to the top step of the wood lined dirt path up a hill, I could see my bungalow. It was literally a cabin tucked between two trees on stilts. The balcony overlooked the sea scape and was just above the beach tucked back into the trees.

 

The porter gave me a tour of my room and then quickly left. The first thing I did was undo the hammock on balcony at the front of the bungalow. My inner five year olds imagination was on fire. I was no longer a traveler but an explorer who had lost his way and settled on the shores of Phi Phi building a hut in the trees to keep himself safe from the rainy season. It was amazing.

After a little bit, I snapped back to reality and realized that I had told the girls that I would go to lunch with them. I quickly logged onto WiFi and checked my phone. Whoops. I had two missed emails from them.  I quickly rushed down to the restaurant area of our resort and found them sharing a quick bite. I apologized and ordered some food. I told them I got a little carried away in my day dreaming and lost track of time. They luckily understood.

It's so freaking beautiful!

 

For the rest of my time on the Island was spent between two things, hanging out with the American girls and relaxing on the beach. The more and more I interacted with the two of them the more I fell in love with them. Kara at one point when getting ready to go to dinner at town pulls out two sets of 4" wedge sandals. I asked her what they were for and she said, "it's a beach town, a girl has gotta look good." I look at Elisa and then back at Kara, it's clear Elisa and I are on the same page but she's not going to say anything. With out hesitation I tease Kara, "You realize we have to walk through the woods and up rock faces to get to town, right?" She laughs looks down, looks up, looks down and decides against the heels.

 

Kara's mix between intentional non-profit health worker meets American girl was incredibly entertaining through out the days on the island and at night. Through out our playful conversations about dating and school, I got glimpses of someone different from her façade. You could tell that she had just started to find who she truly was. It wasn't until the last night that I really got to know her on a different. After our tasting dinner at the resort, Elisa had decided to go to bed, leaving Kara and myself chatting beside the beach with two beers.

 

Our conversation centered around relationships. Kara is in a semi new relationship, about to hit the 6 month mark. What was interesting was that she described it as her first long term relationship. She told me that she had spent so much time and energy avoiding getting attached to people she would date. She would use excuses like "Oh I'm leaving for summer soon" or "we're both going to be moving to different places" during college. But at the same time as she was avoiding one, she found herself yearning for a connection with one. As a result, she created expectations that would never be met.

 

The guy she is currently with, she actually didn't even intend to date. They met a few months prior to this trip right as she graduated her program and was prepping to interview for jobs abroad. Given her situation, she decided to just go with it despite him not being her type, after all she was leaving so she had nothing to lose and no expectations for a relationship. She says this is why it ended up being her first real relationship, she had no expectations. She had stopped planning and found someone that pushed her to live in the moment. She's happy.

 

I think many of us fall victim to Kara's plight prior to her current relationship. We plan our lives and create detailed out imaginings of who we are with and where. This traps us into a cycle of seeing only the not so pretty traits of our suitors. Rather than look for the specialness, we look for flaws. Our hidden thoughts tear through the people we choose to see searching for red flags creating excuses for ending or avoiding to start new relationships in the process.

 

I am so thankful that Kara trusted me with her story and her experiences. She let me in and in return as we sat there, I recounted the last year and a half of my dating history. She questioned my retellings of certain interactions with men I've dated and challenged me to think differently about a few in particular. I am fairly aware of the mistakes that I've made but she helped me to not regret them in a sense. I wish for the sake of the people I've dated that I could have done it perfectly out the gate, but I'm learning and working towards not making the same ones again.