We made itOct 29, 2009 |
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Left LAX at 2:30pm on Oct. 27th headed for Taipei, Taiwan. Not a bad flight. I watched 2 movies (Pelham 123 and I Love you Beth Cooper) and was able to get a solid 4-5 hours of sleep. After only a couple of hour layover we were back in the air headed for Bangkok. Our flight arrived around 1am local time and surprisingly passport check, customs, and bag pickup took only 1/2 hour. Brand new and very well operated airport.
Since it was so early still we decided to sleep in the airport until around 5. I was able to sneak a few more hours in but the girls struggled. We caught a free shuttle to the bus station and then a cheap $3 local bus to the train station downtown. Once there, we spoke to travel agents and booked a "VIP" bus to Phuket leaving at 7pm. We left our heavy packs and headed out into the chaotic city of Bangkok. It was only 7am at this point but the city was already buzzing! Markets were in full swing with locals gathering daily supplies for their street carts. Mopeds and Tuk Tuks whizzed by inches from pedestrians and each other. Good thing we grew up playing frogger!
We came to an alley with a suitable food vendor and decided to dip into some of the local cuisine. My first meal consisted of chicken with some sort of veggie, rice, and a little kick of spice. Damage was 20 baht ($1 = 32 baht)! With food in our bellies we continued on trying to delay the onslaught of jet lag (I could sense the girls were starting to feel it). We walked through the cramped streets of China Town lined with vendors selling everything from cameras to slippers but I was pleasantly surprised with the lack of haggling we got.
Next stop was at the Correctional Museum. A prison turned into a city park. Here we were approached by a very nice older woman who could see we were lost. She brought us along to Gold Mount where she was headed to pray to Buddha. Lucky us! There was a festival beginning to mark Rains-Retreat Entry Day or Wan Ok Phansa in Thai. The last day of the 3-month Rains Retreat which falls on the full-moon day of the 11th lunar month. We marched to the top of an spectacular temple where we were greeted with an amazing view of the entire city as well as some huge Buddha statues. After stopping by the Giant Swing and a few more temples, we took a power nap back in the park before heading through the chaotic rush hour streets back to the train station.
While waiting for our bus we chatted with a newly wed couple from Colorado who gave us some tips on places to eat in Phuket. Before we left I picked up some dinner for 30 baht across the street from another vendor. I made a friend on the bus and we chatted for a little while before I passed out. Chalked up another couple of hours of sleep before we arrived at our connection point around 5am. Surat Thani is a town close to the Gulf of Thailand on the Tapi River. After getting the runaround we had to pay 150 baht each for a direct drop off to our hotel instead of Phuket Town (16 miles away). Then 8 of us were tossed into essentially an open aired pickup truck for our 3 1/2 hour drive to Phuket. Thankfully this only lasted about 10 minutes until we arrived at the mini bus pickup center. After another movie and a breakfast/lunch stop we finally arrived at the Marriott at Mai Khao Beach in Phuket! Time to relax by the pool and soak up some sun! We'll be in Phuket until next Friday 6th November but might head up to Ko Pha-ngan on the 2nd for the full-moon party! Stay tuned for updates!
