I’ll never get Thai’erd of this place!
Phuket Island is probably one of the most popular tourist destinations in SE Asia. It has stunning beaches, wild nightlife and lots of things to get any curious traveler into trouble, if you know what I mean. My first two days were spent in a place called Patong Beach. Patong was absolutely leveled by the Tsunami. Store fronts that are now there are all new as well as most of the palm trees. The water got sucked out and then came barreling in with a force that people say is indescribable. We ate dinner at an Indian restaurant right on the beach and I asked the owner about the Tsunami and how it affected him. He told me his restaurant was away from the beach at the time so it was only affected by rising water. I asked him if he was afraid to locate to the beachfront and here is what he said:
“We are muslim…we believe in god and that we will all have our time one day when we need to move on. We cannot live in fear of something we have no control over. If it’s your time, then it’s your time.”
I thought that was a pretty interesting comment. I respected his beliefs and his ability to not live in fear.
As I walked around Patong there was something that was constantly catching my eye. I was seeing older men, perhaps in their 40’s, 50’s, and even 60’s, walking hand in hand with young beautiful Thai woman. At first I thought maybe they were prostitutes but I didn’t think you took prostitutes out to dinner, had ice cream, and walked hand in hand down the street. I figured there had to be some kind of money exchange involved. Thai woman are incredibly beautiful. They are very exotic looking and are very attracted to western guys. What I was told, from a german guy I met while watching the World Cup was this. Thai woman see the western guy and automatically assume he has money. The guys come to Thailand to retire or just to take extended vacations. Most of the time they are lonely and want companionship. They can offer a young lady a place to stay, some safety and of course some money. To me that’s prostitution but here it’s really not. Here it is a way of life. I will say that the guys weren’t necesarily walking around with their heads held high as they walked hand in hand with these young woman. They knew they were getting stared at from people like me but I guess it’s just something you have to accept for what it is. If it means that she can have a safe place to stay and not have to work the street then maybe it is better. If it means she can support the baby that she has then I guess it has to be ok. The sex tourism is however a real problem in Thailand. I’ve never been called a “sexy boy” so many times in my life…ok, i’ve never actually heard the word sexy and my name in the same sentence. You get whistled at and if you make eye contact…forget it…it’s all over. I actually went to a place to watch the World Cup and on the menu they had the price for a lady. You paid the bar 300 Baht and they would go and get you a lady…unbelievable. I don’t think Chili’s has that on the menu…I mean I know, I used to work there. Maybe you could order the “Baby Back Ribs” and wink at the waitress and get something else, but i’ve never tried.
After two nights in Patong I headed south with a guy named Josh that I met in Kho Phi Phi. We got dropped off after trying to find this hostel we were looking for and gave up and stayed at this really nice hotel for about $10 U.S./night. This room in the states would easily go for about $100 to $150 depending on where it was. It’s about a stones throw to the beach and right next to this internet cafe where we were invited for dinner on the first night. We walked around, watched some World Cup and I thought to myself I could easily come back here and spend alot of time. It’s the low season right now, which means no tourists and some rain. Pretty much every day you are greeted with a late afternoon thunderstorm. I absolutely love it here. I asked the girl at the internet cafe what she paid in rent and she told me she paid 3200 Baht for a one bedroom apartment. Let’s do the math on this folks…
“Carry the one…plus 2, 4 5’s are 20…, oh crap forget it, let me get a calculator.”
It works out to just over $80 U.S. dollars per month…holy crap that’s cheap. Beer costs about $1 american dollar or less if you buy it at a 7 Eleven, which there are a ton of. Most of the time at the bar you will pay about 50 or 60 Baht for a Chang Beer which is the cheap beer in Thailand. Cheap is a relative word as it is over 6% alcohol so it does provide quite a sting. Food is also pretty inexpensive as you can find a good meal of vegetables and curry or some noodles for about 80 to 120 Baht. There is about 38 Baht for one U.S. dollar. I could buy a motorbike, which everyone drives, for about 40,000 Baht, and that would be for a brand new one, i believe. So basically with the amount of money I have left I could live here for a very long time, and not have to work…hmmmmm…aaaaah…well…Ok, so i’m not going to but it would certainly be lovely.
Kata itself is a resort town and with resort towns comes tourist and with tourists comes prostitution. I know i’m talking abou tit alot…wow, freudian slip? I want to get the point across how bad and in your face it is. Walking back from the bar is an adventure every night. They drop sneak attacks on you and run out from behind bushes to come after you and i’ve honestly ended up sprinting down the street to get away from them. I’ve been offered everything under the sun and one of them even offered it to me for free, no joke, the sad part was that she was really a he. So let this go on record i’ve offically been offered free sexual favors from a male impersonating a female prostitute.
I’ve done some diving while i’m here as well. Went out and did 3 dives the other day which were absolutely spectacular. Did a wreck dive which was alot of fun. A passenger ferry sank about 10 years ago because it crashed into the reef. Most say it was an insurance scam as the ferry went the same route every day around the reef except for this day it took a different route right into the middle of it and as soon as it crashed there were apparently about 20 boats ready to pick everyone up.
So i’d have to say that Thailand so far is spectacular. The people, the culture, the language…all so exotic and full of flavor one simply can’t get enough. I’m going to stay for a few more days but I do need to get to Bangkok so I can see the rest of what this amazing country has to offer.
Tags: Patong, Phuket, Thailand, Tsunami
Gagnonius
Sounds sweet….hey, when you see Jackie Chan tell him I love his movies!
Thanks
Hi Bri,
I just wrote 2 comments and neither were sent. The first time I forgot the code, the second time, it said the code was invalid. Both times the e-mails were erased.
I am glad you are having such a wonderful experience. I am trying to picture these places in my mind. They sound so peaceful and beautiful. Some of the other stuff doesn’t sound so nice. The taxi rant was funny though.
I do worry about your safety. Please try to travel with other peope so you are not so vulnerable.
Be careful and I love you.
Mom
HI darling boy brian….. After all of the complaints of you not getting a chick and you are complaining about these women of the night??? or she-men of the night…whatever. I am glad you are having fun. I worry about you too – email me the link for your pics. i want to see them.
alice
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