Udon Thani to Phuket
After Li’l Will’s birth in Udon Thani, I arranged a flight to Phuket. I figured I’d take twelve days and have a look around. I’ve heard good and bad things about Phuket and it has been a few years since I had been this way. My flight was late in the day and I would arrive after dark at the Phuket International Airport. The airport is at the north end of Thailand’s biggest island and most of the beaches are on the west coast.
On arrival in Phuket I had some transportation options to get south, public bus, group van, or a taxi. I chose a taxi because it was the quickest but also the most expensive. I went straight to Patong Beach where Bikers Week 2014 was going to begin the following day. The taxi driver didn’t speak much English but I got it across to him that I didn’t have a hotel reservation and I told him approximately how much I wanted to spend and he made a few calls and got me a reservation at a rather new hotel out of the party zone which is always a good thing in Thailand. It took about 45 minutes for the driver to arrive at A.T. (9) Resortel 46/34 Soi Khlongbangwat, Pisitkorranee Rd. Patong, Kathu, Phuket. Tel: 081-538-6535. For 700 baht/ night I stayed two nights. The room was immaculate and the hotel staff are very helpful. Patong Beach shares a stretch of white sand coastline with Kalim beach.
Patong Beach has a lot of activities, as do many of the other beaches, snorkeling, fishing, and parasailing behind a speedboat, water skiing, kayaking and more. The beach is lined with umbrellas and beach chairs. At this time of the year the temperature and the sun are relentless. It is around 100 degrees in the shade.
As the night approached I found the Bike Week Festival grounds and wandered through as the crew set up the stage speakers and booths for the first evenings entertainment of ethnic and local dancers.
People came from all over the world representing different clubs and everyone had a great time. I went home rather early and played pictures on the computer. My camera at night is not the best and I don’t like using the flash at all, natural light or none at all. Lots of bikes came to represent.
As Patong was filling up with people for Bike Week I decided to move down the coast to a little quieter spot for Thailand’s Songkran Water Festival. HA! The festival is foremost for the blessing of water (rains) to come but it’s also for social tension relief, anybody can throw water at those that may have agitated them in the past or just a pair of tourists in the right place at the wrong time. Good thing no one is allergic to water. I took a motorcycle taxi over the hill to Karon Beach for 200 baht and a half hour later road into the Pineapple Guesthouse and Café. 291/4 Patak Rd. www.pineapplephuket.com. Rooms have aircon/TV/refrigerator and comfortable beds. The owner suggested I stay at least two nights because no one will be working the following day. Not pressed just yet, I said okay and toured the local area and ended up at a street alley bar and playing with the boys and girls that were warming up their water guns on un-expecting tourists and locals alike. I bought a water gun for a boy that didn’t have one and was the focus of the other children having fun. Things changed after that and then a young European boy joined the battle oh and did he get wet. After getting completely soaked myself by the kids in the alley I went back to the Pineapple Guesthouse and changed for the evening festival and left the kids while reloading their water guns.
The motorcycle festival rumbled over the hill to the sound of Harley Davidson thunder and others in droves all before the bands began in Patong. Karon Beach has it’s own little secrets to explore all the while being pelted with water and characters. Karon has many musical venues playing everything from local Thai to western guests.
The day of Songkran (Happy New Year) has traditionally been an astrological calculation that is now rather fixed between the 13th and 15th of April. Chiang Mai folks cherish a week of Songkran where other parts of the nation tone it down a little but still recognize a holiday when they see it and they accept. Here on Phuket Island the holiday is anywhere between 1-3 days.
I went for a swim and a long walk down the beach to the quiet end to the north and swam and snorkeled along the rocks and cliff. There were lots of fish and the water was clear.
On my return by road I saw stations where people were throwing water at passing trucks full of drenched people with a vat of water they were throwing water out of. Even in 100 degree (40 C) heat the road stayed wet as did anybody on the road. Music blared out of the boot of a car set up for this very event.
I returned to the Pineapple early evening to change cloths and head out for something to eat and stopped by the alley bar for a quick beer and ran into an English woman sitting with some German motorcyclists. We got to chatting and she joined me for dinner. She too was soaking wet. Everything was wet, money, flip-flops, shorts, shirt, the lot. Everyone had a great time.
The next day I moved to Kata beach which is said to have really good diving and diving instruction but when I asked how much, it was double the price as Koh Tao so that means I’ve got to try it again before I blast off to England. Kata Beach is a little smaller but also busy with tourists but I stayed off the beach and party zone in a beautiful hotel called Garden Home. www.phuketgardenhome.com. It was cheap with clean rooms and a pool.
I didn’t swim so much in the ocean at this beach because of the pool but I am a sucker for a late night swim in the ocean. From here I went to Koh Phi Phi.
www.davidcdagley.com
