Luxury In Patong, Phuket - Goodbye Thailand
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2009
1
35
37
Trip End
Apr 01, 2011
Patong, Phuket, Thailand
Saturday, January 8, 2011
I checked into this fantastic hotel that my sister had bought me a few nights in as a Christmas present and as I opened the door to my room I actually burst out laughing. It was absolutely amazing, with hardwood floors, a balcony with double doors, a 50 inch plasma screen, a huge double bed with the cleanest fluffiest bedding that I have seen in way too long. Giggling like a small child I investigated the bathroom and was amazed to find three shower heads, including a giant rainmaker showerhead and a massive bathtub with Jacuzzi pumps. Awesome! I was definitely looking forward to testing it all out and feeling the soothing comfort of warm water once again.
Grabbing some food and a beer I brought a second beer back and tested out all three shower heads and the Jacuzzi, which just turned out to be a gigantic bath as I couldn't get the pumps to work. But that’s ok I thought as I sunk into the hot water and sipped my beer. I’ll get reception to sort it out tomorrow. Feeling cleaner than I have done for far too long now, I climbed into the clean soft bed and had one of the best sleeps I’ve had for weeks. It was like sleeping in a cloud.
The next day I awoke feeling refreshed and moseyed down to the pool out the back. Whilst being small and more like a gigantic Jacuzzi, it was awesome to be able to sit out there in the sun and cool off in the pool. This whole thing made such a huge change to the bug ridden mangy bungalows I had become accustomed to throughout Indonesia and Thailand and provided a level of comfort and peace I could never have found in any of the dorms throughout Australia. It was perfect and I'm incredibly grateful to my sister for providing this luxury for me. If only I could have done this whole backpacking experience in rooms like this.
Michelle who I had explored the outback with was leaving Australia and arriving in Thailand today, so we had arranged to meet in Patong Beach so that she could spend her birthday with company, rather than on her own in strange lands. As a birthday present to her, I said she could stay in my luxury apartment, so we could both enjoy perfection and to spare her from a mangy bungalow somewhere in the town. The first night she arrived we hit the town in search of buckets, which, due to new laws, proved to be fairly difficult. A few bars were willing to make a makeshift bucket for us, which was more of a jug, at twice the price of the Full Moon buckets, but this was good enough. We spent a bit of time playing Jenga with a bar maid, surrounded by pole dancing Thai girls which I can’t say I’ve done before and then later hit a club that resembled a jungle. It was a good night in all, but I spent a bit too much money, forcing me to tap into my money I had saved to get me through Malaysia. Ah well, we only live once.
With not much money left each we hit the beach the next day. The beach was extremely nice, with some of the softest, finest sand I have ever seen, but the whole feel of the beach was ruined by it being covered by a million beach chairs and parasols. We were harassed so many times on our walk through, to rent two sun beds, but we were actually searching for the exact opposite: a patch of sand that wasn’t covered by a sun bed. Looking along the beach was amazing; I have honestly never seen so many sun beds and parasols in my life. A day in paradise? No, a day in Parasols.
The sea was refreshingly cool, although lacking in waves somewhat. We spent the next day, my last in Thailand, at the beach as well, but true to form, both days were cloudy, so I was unable to top up my tan once again. But just being on the beach in Thailand was good enough for me. I would miss this country.
My crazy stories of the mayhem which ensued over New Year at The Full Moon Party had inspired Michelle to head up there for the next party. The next Full Moon was on the 19th, which gave her about 7 days to get up there for the party. The Moon, a third full in the sky, hung over her head like a giant glowing lunar countdown to one of the best parties she will ever go to. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit jealous.
Well this is it; I have finally begun my long journey back home. I said goodbye to Michelle, then boarded the shuttle bus to the airport. The end of this epic adventure has begun and this amazing experience begins to draw to a close. Sitting, waiting for my flight, I am trying to place what is happening, into reality. It doesn’t feel like I am heading home at all. The concept of going home is a strange one and it’s intriguing to wrap my mind around. It still feels like I will be travelling the globe for a long time yet and I feel like I should be planning my attack on the next country, figuring out visas and hostels and all that business that goes with country hopping.
These next few days will be interesting to say the least. I am entering Kuala Lumpur with 1000 Baht, which is about £20. This really isn’t much at all, considering I need to pay for accommodation for three days, plus food and transport to and from the airport. I am going to have to be extremely resourceful to make it last. I have booked a bus to my sister’s house when I arrive in England, so that’s all sorted, but if anything goes wrong, such as if she is not there when I arrive, I have no backup funds, so I will be completely stuck. But at least I will be in England. Finally. Just three days of Malaysia to get through first and then it’s homeward bound.
Thailand has been an amazing country, and even though I have only just scratched the surface and haven’t even been to half of the places I wanted to go, I have had an amazing time here and would definitely love to come back to experience the rest of the islands, along with delving into the heart of the mainland, to see what magic awaits. The Thai people are very nice and accommodating, even though some of the salesmen have a wild, almost violent streak which runs just under the surface. It is definitely an unmistakably exotic country, with epic tropical vistas round every corner and the beaches are astounding with curved bays surrounded by palm tree coated hills. They are an unquestionable reminder that I am somewhere special. The islands are amazing and definitely hold a lot of secret gems to be explored. I definitely agree with the flaming foot-high letters from the Full Moon Party that it truly is: Amazing Thailand!
