Phuket, Thailand - 2000
by Mike MyersPerhaps you’re reading this, just thinking of it as an interesting article on a place you’ll never get to see. Think again – the 1/8th scale on-road fuel World Championships is scheduled to be held in Thailand again in 2003. If you’d like an opportunity/excuse to maybe go, this could be it! Yes, it’s expensive – perhaps a thousand dollars round trip for airfare, but once you’re there, it doesn’t have to be expensive at all. Save this article – maybe in two years you’ll be experiencing this for yourself!
Well, where do I start? It’s now maybe Wednesday or so (July 12), my first week in this, my third trip to Phuket, Thailand. Doug McNeely and I left Miami early on Thursday morning July 6. Not trusting myself to wake up in time for the flight, I just stayed up all night, got packed, and had the airport limousine pick me up at some ungodly hour like 4:00am or so - and to make matters worse, the limo got there early! Anyway, it was an uneventful five-hour flight to Los Angeles, especially so as I slept most of the way there.
Crystal Park R.C. Raceways
In LA, we were wondering what to do with our five-hour layover, when Doug suggested we call Garen Hagobian to maybe meet us for lunch. Garen did far more than that - he picked us up at the airport, and gave us a whirlwind guided tour of all the on-road gas racing facilities nearby. He showed us where they used to race, and we eventually ended up at this really nice permanent facility in Compton.
The track is open every day for practice from 10am to 9pm. GLARCRC races there the first weekend every other month, and the third weekend every month. Pro Car West races there the 4th weekend every other month. The Crystal Park Club races there the second weekend of the month and 1/5th only 4th weekend every other month. Hobby Mania puts on drag racing the second Saturday every month (next to the track.). As you can tell, it’s a busy place. Van Alexander is the guy who runs Crystal Park Raceway. Ted Collins is the other person in the photos with Doug and Garen.
Garen explained that if you want to come practice any day during the week, it’s a mere $5.00 for unlimited practice time. I guess if I lived in L.A., this would be my second home. Thinking back on it, had I planned ahead, I guess we could have met up with Jeff Devlin and many of the other people who I know mostly through the conferences. Next year....
Traveling
We got back to the airport, for our fifteen-hour flight to Bangkok, with a short layover in Tokyo. There were pretty much non-stop movies, meals, drinks, snacks... anything to break up the lengthy trip. Even with the interruptions, it still seemed to take forever - but I guess it’s far better than years ago, before the invention of the Boeing 747. As it was, it’s about ten hours flying time to Japan, then an hour break while they serviced the plane, and five more hours flying time to Bangkok.
We arrived in Bangkok, planning to stay overnight at the local airport hotel, the Amari. Unfortunately, the room that we got last year for $75 for the night had gone up to well over $200. When we balked at the price, the rate started to come down, but never reached a low enough level that we’d accept, so we planned on just hanging around at the airport ‘till morning. That’s when a local guide suggested that he could put us up at a "five-star hotel" near the airport for a mere $60. We went for it, and it turned out to be a good idea, with a nice clean room, good beds, and a nicely adequate breakfast buffet the next morning. Fully refreshed, we got back on our trip, and arrived at the Phuket airport on Saturday morning.
Arrival in Phuket
Pia was there to greet us, in her new Honda car. It was nice to see her again, and she was equally glad to see us. It was a quick trip from the airport to the new hotel Pia had found for us, the "Yorkshire". Apparently a friend of Pia’s had gone into the hotel business, and Pia thought we should try this new place in lieu of the Sand Inn, where we usually stay. We weren’t sure if this was a good trade-off or not, as we had both enjoyed the Sand Inn, but as it turned out, the Yorkshire was even nicer! The rooms were big, nicely laid out, with nice furniture, an excellent air conditioning system, and everything was new. This meant a new teevee as well. Not that I got to watch much television, but there was lots more programming in English than in previous years. As we soon found out, the room even had hot water, something the Sand Inn lacked. So, it was obviously a good choice, and I think from now on this is where we’re going to plan on staying.
After a short break to relax, we were off for Pia’s cousin Yat’s new "party-store", where we spent a few hours sipping Singha beer, meeting people again, and just enjoying being here. Many of Doug’s old friends stopped by, and Pia’s son Champ came over with his new motorcycle. I guess everyone wants a scooter here, as it’s probably the best way to get around town.
Something I hadn’t realized, is that the beer served in Phuket may look and taste similar to the same beer sold overseas, but it packs a much bigger "punch"! I can drink five or six American beers, even the Singha beer sold in the US, with not really feeling the effects, but all it took was two Singha beers here to give me a buzz, and after three, I certainly would never try driving - heck, the world felt a bit tipsy just standing up! J Anyway, we hung out here until dusk, then got a ride to the hotel for a couple of hours of rest.
Black Rose Bar
The plan for the evening was to go to Pia’s bar, the Black Rose. The bar was just as I remembered it, friendly, noisy, with the nicest bar-girls to be found in all of Phuket! Years ago, when Doug McNeely lived in Phuket, he purchased the Black Rose Bar, and operated it for a couple of years. When Doug returned to the USA, he sold the bar to this lovely woman he knew, Pia.
Pia is a very special person. Not only has she made a great success of the bar, but she’s been a one man (actually, one woman) welcome committee, making so many people feel right at home in Phuket, as if they were really, REALLY welcome. Pia is equally good with all the girls who work at the bar, being a combination "boss" and "den-mother", making sure they all do the right things. She is beautiful, charming, and knows how to help people enjoy themselves. From the very first time I met her, she’s always made sure that my trip was something to remember.
Even though I’m not really a "bar person", preferring to spend much of my time hanging around with various people I meet, when I do show up at the bar I’m treated as a celebrity! The only way I know of to thank her, is to do the very best I can possibly do in making a web page promoting the bar. I’ll be doing that again this year. Everyone we knew planned on coming by that night to say hello again. As always, I took lots and lots of photographs. While there are lots of smiling faces to be found in photos of Phuket and the local bars, one look at my photos will show that this place is something special!
We were there until 3am or so, closing time, after which we headed over to The Roundup Bar, on Soi Sunset. I think we stayed there for an hour or so, by which time my eyes refused to stay open any longer, so it was back to the Yorkshire for what turned out (for me at least) to be a 14-hour sleep. Boy, did that feel good!!
Since then, I’ve mostly been hanging around, walking all around town, taking photos, and talking to the local people. Even though most of them know very little English, it’s pretty easy to communicate. Daytime, I usually head over to the beach, get an "American Breakfast", walk around, get comfortable somewhere, and drink a few Singha beers, Orange Juice, or even ice water. Most evenings I head over to Bangla Seafood for dinner. This is one of the finer restaurants in Patong Beach, with a friendly staff, great food, and incredible prices - picture a lobster overhanging the plate all over, bar-b-qued to perfection, for a mere $10 or so US!
Evenings, I hang out either at the bars, or walking around meeting people. Some people speak more English than others, but we can usually communicate somewhat.
Wednesday, July 12 is some kind of special "French Festival" - I have no idea what it is yet, but will find out tonight. I know they’re building all kinds of special stuff for it, even a miniature Eiffel Tower, all lit up and looking really great!
Today’s project is to find a couple of Rolex watches - prices here are quite reasonable. I’m trying to find one for Ron Paris, and plan on getting myself the same thing. The only question now is where to get them - every place I go to lowers the price from the previous stop. The watches started at around $2800 Baht (that’s roughly 40 Baht per dollar), but with a little negotiating, have gotten down now to only 800 Baht. Not too shabby a price for a "genuine" Rolex Daytona!
Why Visit Phucket?So, with all the places to go, what makes Phuket, and Patong Beach in particular, so nice for me? It would be enough of an answer to say that you only live once, and the Thai way of life is very different from the Western way. If one enjoys that, it is good. I suppose that it helps that the value of the US dollar is so high compared to the Thai Baht. For what seems to be quite a low expense, one can live like a king. Once you get used to the Thai prices, everything seems reasonable, but when you convert to dollars, it is extremely inexpensive. There is also something to be said about the Thai people. If you look around yourself in New York, or Miami, or Chicago, or any typical US city, everyone seems so "serious". The most smiles can be found on the faces of tourists (at least those who aren’t afraid yet of being victimized). Here in Phuket, the overwhelming mood is of a happy people, enjoying life. Whether at the beach, or the hotels, or the restaurants, or th stores, the mood is all "upbeat". That rubs off on visitors, who are inclined to want to have a good time anyway. It’s not that everything here is perfection - I think I’d still rather live in the USA - but the overall mood here is really good.
Let me try to explain a little of what it’s like over here in Phuket, at least from my viewpoint. As a visitor, who can afford to come here on vacation, I guess that makes any visitor into a prime commodity for the locals, since tourism is a big part of the local economy. This time of year is what they call the "slow season", with fewer tourists than come when it’s wintertime in the rest of the world. With an overabundance of bars, taxis, and people who want to serve your every need, that makes for some interesting competition. It’s very hard to go anywhere, without being asked a trillion times if you want something, and it’s even harder to convince them that "no" means no. Most of the locals take it to mean that you didn’t properly understand the question.
It seems impolite to just ignore people, so I usually try to smile while saying "no, thank you". Since I’m usually in no particular hurry to get anywhere, I’d rather walk than take the local taxi service anyway, but that’s difficult to explain. Sometimes I politely just say "no thanks", but if the person sounds like he or she knows a bit more English, maybe I stick around for a bit and explain that I just enjoy walking. Once the person finds out that I really do not have any particular place to go, the conversation usually switches to where I can get a great massage, or lots of lovely ladies, or some fine clothes... but eventually they do run out of ideas, and just smile. If they’re overly persistent, and just won’t leave me alone, saying "My me no" (I have no more money) works just great! J
If it’s hard to walk by the local taxi-stands, it’s even harder to walk by the bars. Depending on which area you’re near, there are groups of pretty ladies, men, or especially pretty, very-much-made-up ladies (which usually means they aren’t) encouraging you to come into their particular bar. There are only five or six bars that I usually go to, quite often just Pia’s bar (the one Doug used to own), but it’s almost like running an obstacle course just getting to it. J
Similarly, if you’re walking along the beach, every hundred feet or so it seems that there’s a new "beach-lord" with their own set of beach chairs, umbrellas, and drink stands. What with the beautiful weather, it’s very relaxing to rent a beach chair for a while. Anything you might want is brought to you, from snacks to cold drinks, to a massage, to a manicure... you name it. I’m not all that imaginative, so I usually just rent the chair, and get a Singha beer to sip. I decided last year that if you tip someone, the money really goes to the owner, so the best way to tip someone is to offer to by them a coke or a beer, which they get to have. That always produces a big smile!
Costs of Living in PhuketSomeone is bound to ask how expensive it is to be here. In reality, the only expensive part is the getting here... once you’re here, it’s only as expensive as you want it to be. Hotel costs are around $20 to $30 a night or so for a very nice hotel. I’m sure that one can spend ten times that or more if one visits the local "luxury" hotels, but that seems too isolated - too far away from the local life. Food could be one of the major expenses, but once again, it’s up to you. I’m usually enjoying a huge lobster dinner with all the fixings for the equivalent of ten dollars.
Maybe the best way to compare living costs here with elsewhere is to use the cost of a beer as a standard, but even that varies too much. Buying a beer at a local "store" can be anywhere from 20 to 40 "Baht". Remember, it’s 40 Baht per US dollar. Getting the same beer at a bar is usually 60 Baht. If you buy the beer at a "Go-Go-Bar" it’s usually 100 Baht, but that’s to cover the entertainment....
At the Go-Go-Bars there are anywhere from five to 15 people up on a stage dancing, each usually wearing a number. If you like a particular person you meet at one of the bars, she will join you at your table for a drink, or more... I guess my only comment on that, is be careful of what you wish for, as you will get it.
Another cost is local transportation, but that’s far from fixed... You usually have a choice of a motorbike, or a "Tuk-tuk" (a small taxi). The cost to go anywere locally is usually 20 to 30 Baht, although since you’re a tourist, you’re often told a price much higher. Once they know that you know that 30 or maybe 40 Baht is the real price, they’re still happy to oblige. Like I said though, everything is so close together, to me it’s nicer to walk and enjoy the local scenery and goings-on...
Once you know what you’re likely to spend each day, there is no need to carry around any more money with you than that. Not that it’s unsafe - I feel it is far safer to wander the streets of Patong Beach for hours on end (even at 3am) than it is to wander the streets in almost any US city). Just the same, personally I’d rather not carry around more money than I’m likely to spend in a day. So, once a day I’ll go to one of the numerous local money "exchanges". It feels just like buying Monopoly money - trade in some US dollars or your credit card, and get a stack of "play money". Then go out and enjoy yourself.
Saturday, July 15I guess I’ve been here for about a week now. Having a wonderful time. The past week went by so fast, it feels like I’ve only been here a few days.
My plans to go shopping for watches didn’t pan out - I guess the locals know when the "copy police" are visiting town, and all the name-brand merchandise (that really isn’t) vanishes for the day. Maybe I’ll go looking around later today. It’s strange to see so many shops mysteriously closed, and so many open spaces in other shops - I wonder if the "copy police" are just a part of the game plan, and let everyone know when they’re coming, so nobody has any unexpected problems? It certainly seems that way.
The "special occasion" for yesterday was a French National Day celebration. The entire street our hotel is on was transformed with banners and decorations into a special French festival. The French Council was there, along with the local Mayors and Governors. Naturally there were elephants, and bands, and circus-type-shows galore... and the main events were happening (literally) just outside Doug’s window! Did he ever get a great view!!
Well, that’s enough for now. Got to head off to the beach, find a nice shady spot, and drink a Singha while watching the world slowly go by....
Sunday, July 16It’s Sunday afternoon, perhaps around 2:00pm. Just had breakfast or lunch - brunch I guess I’ll call it. As the sign outside says "American Breakfast – 70 Baht". You get a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, eggs, bacon/ham/sausage, toast, jam, and a drink. I usually get coffee – it’s instant, not brewed, but it’s good.
Stayed up far too late last night - almost as late as Doug I think. Neither of us usually goes to sleep until after sunrise, but Doug doesn’t get up until late the following day, while I’m usually up and out by 1pm.
It seems like so much is going on, but at the same time nothing is going on. On the one hand, I’d like to just lie down on the beach and relax, but on the other hand, I miss all the things I usually end up doing in Miami, like all the r/c racing, and (strange as it may seem), work. I guess it’s hard for me to completely realize I’m on holiday... too much "inertia" of doing things one way. We’ve now been here for about a week, meaning the vacation is half over (or half of it is left, depending on one’s point of view).
CamerasSpeaking of cameras, I find it almost impossible to go anywhere without one. It’s like a part of my skin. If I’m without one, it feels like something is missing. Last year, I bought a Fuji Endeavor to take along. Worked great, but the cover that contained the LCD screen with all the special controls was rather fragile, and one bump knocked it out for the rest of the trip. I brought it along this time anyway, but also got a Nikon Nuvis S. The Nikon has a stainless steel cover that retracts, covering up and protecting the camera. I’m not sure what to say about the Nikon yet.. For quality, the photos come out just great, as long as I do things right. They’re sharp, and clear. The new "APS" automatic film system is something that I’m not so sure about. I like the small film canister, that you can easily change, even in the middle of a roll. The APS system allows three formats, a wide picture format, a narrower "standard" one, one that’s a "panoramic" view. At first, I thought this was rather cool, and wondered how you would always get the same number of pictures on a roll, no matter which format you used. Then I found out - the "negative" size on the film is the same size for any and all photos. It’s the "cropping" that determines how the photo will be printed, with all prints being the same height, but the prints coming out in three different widths. I suppose that for the average person, this is fine, but since all my photos are taken with my scanner and Photoshop in mind, there is no need to crop anything when I take the photos, as I’ll do all that later on the computer. Anyway, despite a not-too-powerful flash, I think I like the Nikon a lot. I’d probably recommend it over all the others I’ve seen so far. As to price, when I called around to the Miami photo stores, it was around $225 to $250, but it’s also available at Eckherd’s Drug Stores for only $175 or so. Oh well, enough about cameras. As my friend and tutor back in college used to say, a camera is nothing more than a tool, just as a wrench is to a mechanic. It’s what you do with it that counts. I’ve never forgotten that.
Internet AccessWhat’s really cool for me, is having access to the Starting Grid computer conferences. Yes, I’m a million miles away, but when I’m sitting at my computer screen, it’s as if I never left. The Internet is getting very big even over here, and there are Internet Cafes all over, offering access to e-mail and so on. The cost is usually 3 Baht per minute, which is just under five dollars an hour. Walking a bit away from downtown, the price drops to only 2 Baht per minute. There are usually about five or six computers, a couple of printers, and people who know enough about how to connect to the internet that there are usually no problems.
Well, enough for today. It’s off to find a nice comfy beach chair again...
Monday, July 17There are really two of me trying to write this article. There’s the morning or early afternoon "me" who sits at the computer, quite serious, and wants to write about my trip. Then, there’s the "me" who walks around town in the evenings, usually after enjoying several Singha beers, enjoying the local atmosphere. That me is a quite different person. The "morning" me tries to remember what I wanted to say the night before, but it never comes out right. So, I’ll try something different... the following was written at night, while at the Bangla Seafood Restaurant, awaiting my dinner. I will type it in exactly as I wrote it the night before:
I’m writing this while sitting at the Bangla Seafood. Yes, I came back here yet again. I can get steaks and roasts any day in the USA, but Phuket seafood is impossible to find elsewhere.I left the restaurant last night, walked around for a while, then spent the evening at the Black Rose Bar with Doug, Doug’s friend "El", Pia, and the crowd of people from all over who congregate there. Was there ‘till closing time of well past 3am.I was thinking of what I write here each day. It is a view of how I see things, but it is only one view. It’s written by the mostly "alert" me, who thinks things out. However, all it takes is two Singha beers, and things look and feel very different. I don’t get drunk - my father told me long ago to know the point where you cease to be in control, and to stay on the right side of that line. So, yes I drink the Singha beers, but only often enough to feel the "buzz". And that, only at night.
When things are that way, I watch the masses of people going to and fro, and wonder what they are thinking. Are they trying to find the ultimate party? Are they trying to find a companion for the night? ...or longer? Are they trying to find something to buy, to take home to remember?
The masses of people walk back and forth, as if in search of something. There is always an invisible line differentiating the dream seekers form those trying to earn a living by supplying the dream. Unlike the USA, there are hardly any barriers. If you want something, you can find it. I’m not about to make any judgements and say if this is good or bad. This is not a choice good or bad - those are just definitions that can be applied differently in different parts of the world. I’m sure many Americans might think that things here are way too "wild", but I suppose that many of the Thai people find the Western world equally strange.
This wild, free-going atmosphere surrounds and encompasses the "party" district where many establishments are located, but some of them put up an invisible barrier. The wild hustle and bustle goes back and forth, but doesn’t come in. This means that going to a "better" store, restaurant, hotel, or other establishment separates those coming in. Only the "middle or "upper" class comes in, with most of the vendors staying out.
Tuesday, July 18Today I think I go do some shopping. Clothing here is quite inexpensive, and I know from past years that it lasts a long time. Prices for tourists start out incredibly high, but I found a small shop that treats me as a local.
By the way, Doug is having a wonderful time too. He’s got a lovely friend, "El", and although his knees are still hurting him, especially when going up/down stairs, the smile on his face says it all - methinks he’d be perfectly happy if the return flight was delayed for a month or five. We’re maybe all going to get together for dinner some night, but we’re both so wrapped up in what we’re doing, that may not happen until we’re on the way home.
Wednesday, July 19It’s 4:00 pm local time. That means it’s the middle of the night for everyone back home. Two more days, then I get to head home.
Last night I decided to try something different for a change for dinner. Instead of my usual lobster, I got one the same size, but "live". Oh my! What a difference!!!! The owner of the establishment said it would be more expensive (instead of $10 it was $12) but wow-o-wow, YUM!!! If regular lobsters could be compared to a Novarossi made engine running at 170 degrees, this lobster was as if someone just turned in the main jet a quarter of a turn!
The Copy Police must have signaled that they were off the job, as all over town the Rolex (and other) collections have sprung up. I found one lady who matched the price I wanted to spend, and she keeps promising me that she’ll have what I want "in a few minutes". That’s OK as I can keep coming back. I won’t give up on her until tomorrow. (I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a "fake" Rolex, if one also has a real one. I’ve got one, but I don’t like wearing it all over, as it’s too expensive and too easy to get it damaged. So, if I have a copy to wear all over, I won’t need to worry about it at as much.)
Thursday, July 20I always seem to do most of my writing at Bangla Seafood. I have a table only ten feet away from the sidewalk, so the world is walking to and fro right next to me. It’s a great spot for people watching, and after placing my order, I’ve got half an hour to relax and write.
I’ve met many of the people I remember from previous visits. Most (but not all) remember me. Some people move on, but most continue doing whatever it is they were doing... but isn’t that just like the life most of us live? People resist change.
Late Wednesday afternoon, I went back to the very end of Patong Beach. Eventually the tourist district ends, and you get to be in part of the "real" Thailand. There is a whole fleet of fishing boats parked there. Not moored - they were all stuck in the mud, as it was low tide. The fishing was done for the day, so the people I saw were relaxing or making repairs. In the Western world, people are expensive, so it’s less people and more automation. Here, people are inexpensive, so it’s no automation or high-tech gadgetry, and lots of people. My brother, who enjoys fishing, would think it all quite crude. This one fellow was pulling out some cloth, then hammering it into the seams (holes?) with a large hammer, to keep the ocean on the outside of the boat.
These boats are of a very strange design. The engine sits on top of the back of the boat, and there is this long extension thing that goes out to the rear, with the propeller way out at the end of it. Everything pivots, which is how you steer the boat. Maybe the propeller is so far away that the fish are less likely to be chased away, and are easier to catch? It’s a very simple design, and at the end of the day, everything rotates around, with the propeller extension parked inside the boat, and the steering arm pointing out to the rear.
Last night I had an enjoyable time with some friends. Then around 1am or so, I wandered over to Pia’s bar for a while. Doug was there with his friends, and everyone was having a good time. When closing time came, Doug suggested everyone go to "Hollywood". Not having been there before, I gave up my sleepy thoughts, and came along. Hollywood is a bar with a large stage, with a very good (and very loud!!) band playing, along with a light show. We all hung out there until closing time, 5am. It was then off to get some snacks, take a few photos, and maybe half an hour after sunrise, finally go get some sleep.
Friday, July 21Today is my last full day, so I’m going to try to finish some things. I did finally get Ron the watch I was looking for. I’ve got to find a few more things, then hand out some of the photos I took. I don’t have that many plans for today. Doug says that they are planning a huge going-away party at Pia’s bar late tonight. It will be sad to be leaving, but nice to be going home.
Doug’s Thoughts:My legs aren’t like they used to be, so I didn’t do a much walking around. I remember the first night. We arrived and stopped at a new shopping center, where I immediately started to drink Singha beers. I was so happy to be here! Then we went to Pia’s new "Mix Mini-Mart", where we had lots more Singha beers. I didn’t realize how much effect they had on me, and didn’t really stop. There were photographs taken of me that day, that when I saw them later, I didn’t remember them ever being taken! …and that was only the first day!
I found myself having so much fun every night that the other things were almost a distraction (the cabaret, Phuket FantaSea, etc.).. It was so good just to be back here. My lady friend El is such a good bodyguard / nurse – she bathed me, fed me, brushed my teeth, did everything for me.
Something amusing – I found that I had no desire to find out what was going on in the outside world. I tried to read a newspaper once, but found it boring. I did watch many movies – think of it, I came all the way to Thailand to see a pirated copy of The Patriot! …movie was good, but it was half an hour too long.
I was going to all these bars, running a tab. I’d go in and drink like a fish, then get up and leave. It was freaking out the girls I was with – I guess that’s not expected.
Of course, it is always so nice to come back and see your old friends. It’s almost like family. Some of them live here year round, and other visit. For me, it was wonderful to be back home.
Sunday July 23All good things eventually come to an end, and as Friday approached, I realized how I was running out of time. I spent part of Thursday walking around talking to people, then headed over to the Black Rose Bar, where Doug and everyone was hanging out. The bar closed around 3am or so, but Pia told us we were all going over to a new Kareoke bar. This was to be their grand opening – the new bar belongs to a policeman, who wanted to also have a business.
Everyone likes this particular policeman, as he’s honest and fair to people. With this being his big night, the Grand Opening, it was to be a nice gesture for lots and lots of people to show up, to start things off well. So, all of us headed over there for several hours of enjoyment.
I excused myself a bit early, as I wanted to say goodbye to many of the people I had met, who I knew I’d never get to see on Friday. Being "night people", they’d be getting to Patong Beach after Doug and I had left. So, I walked back to the beach area, and hung out with people until 6am or so.
Friday morning I forced myself to get up a bit early, did all my packing, went for one last walk around town, saying goodbye, and did a little final shopping. I was thinking that I’d be missing all this for another year… Yes, part of me did want to get back home, but I like it here so much, another part of me didn’t want to leave.
I had one final dinner at Bangla Seafood – they open at 4:00pm in the afternoon, and this was the first time I had eaten there while it was still daylight. As usual, the meal was superb!
I went back to the hotel to make sure we were all on the same schedule, but had half an hour left before we were to leave, so I went back to talk to Alex a bit more. I never did find out if "Alex" or "Alec" was right, but I know that Alexander was not. We talked for a while, then I headed back to the hotel where Pia had arranged for a car to take us to the airport.
We got to the airport with an hour or so to spare, had some coffee, and then started our trip home. It’s a fairly short flight from Phuket to Bangkok, leaving at 9:30pm and arriving at 10:55pm.
In Bangkok, we had to make a decision. It was now around midnight, and our flight left the following morning at 7:30am. Not being sure that we’d wake up in time, we decided to hang out at the airport. We spent until 3am (closing time) at the airport restaurant, where Doug had a burger and I had a very hard pork chop dinner. The food was OK, but nothing like what we’d gotten use to.
Doug and I had lots of time to just hang out, talking about things. Doug had gotten "pink eye" in Phuket, and he wasn’t feeling very comfortable – quite the opposite in fact. He was anxious to just get on the plane, where he could close his eyes and rest. We got to the ticket counter just a bit after it opened, and got our seats for the flight home. We were some of the first people to get our seats, but despite that, they gave us some not-too-great seats right in front of a bulkhead.
If sitting around having fun with friends was the high-point of the trip, this flight was the low-point. The seats were packed together with no room for elbows or legs, and thanks to the bulkhead, didn’t recline very far. Other than for using up time, the movies were pretty lousy too. The six hour flight to Osaka, Japan, took forever. The meals were adequate, but neither of us was very happy… at least Doug got to sleep somewhat. We had an hour or so layover in Japan, after which we got back on the same plane for the ten hour flight to Los Angeles. More movies, equally lousy, adequate food, but at least the flight was smooth. I think we were both pretty beat when we finally arrived in L.A.
Maybe because it was the first luggage on the plane, our luggage was the last off in L.A. We finally got it, cleared customs (the customs guys figured anyone looking so miserable couldn’t possibly be doing anything wrong), and we headed for American Airlines to catch the five hour flight to Miami. The fellow at the ticket counter took one look at us, saw how long we had been traveling, and bumped us up to a more luxurious class for the flight home. Wow… huge, soft, comfortable seats, good wine, a good movie on a screen right in front of our seats, more wine, VERY nice care from the stewardess, lots more wine with a really delicious dinner. I think we both fell asleep – when Doug woke me up, I told him the flight could have gone on for another few hours, that’s how comfy I was!
Well, we got to Miami, and split up to go home. As I’m writing this, it’s now 11am the following morning. I’ve unpacked, gone through my photos, and am sitting here thinking how nice it would be to have another few days in Phuket. If it wasn’t so far, I’d be a much more frequent visitor!
Sawadee!!!
PHOTOS