Hedonistic Phuket

Phuket has several beachs but as I was only here for one night I decided to stay put...walked around downtown Patong which in addition to being the most frequently visited beach, I've been told is also the homosexual hot spot in Phuket.

Past tons of sidewalk cafes and bars, eventually I came upon a hedonistic strip not unlike Vegas...an entire street completely blocked off to traffic filled with bars and clubs and tattoo parlours and lady boys dressed to the nine that you could get your picture taken with for a mere 50 B. I considered it but in the end spent my money on more worthwhile things, such as a spur of the moment nose piercing ;)

The air was so heavy last night...the heat combined with exhaust fumes from the millions of motorbikes, cars, tuk-tuks, etc...not to mention the fish being grilled on the sides of the road, the smells of raw sewage wafting up from the (thankfully covered) sewage grates...it was almost too much to bear.

After walking around for a while I decided to have dinner at an Indian restaurant...the food was excellent, if only I hadn't burned the roof of my mouth on the first bite! I didn't realize till after I was already waiting for my food that it was also a hooka (sp?) bar also so as you can imagine, I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible...

I kept walking past tattoo places and body piercing stalls and eventually stopped at a place on the sidewalk a bit down the road...I had always wanted my nose pierced, why not? When I inquired about the price and found out it was only $6, how could I say no? I carefully inspected the equipment for sterility and before I knew it was being seated in a blue plastic lawn chair just behind the table of body jewelry...a few steps away from the street...and a few Westerners lingering around to watch...I chose a tiny blue stud and watched as the guy cut the ring's post and shaved it down into a point...the anxiety was welling up inside me! The worst part was having my nose clamped with a ring forceps, ouch! But 1, 2, 3 and it was done...just a little red, slightly sore...but most importantly, reversible. Unlike the enormous tiger beer logo tattoo I watched a drunken Irish guy get...I thought, 'couldn't his friends just convince him to get the Tshirt instead?'

Anyway...I was mostly an observer last night...although I did stop in a few book stores since I've already finished my 6th book! However, I cannot bring myself to purchase used books in Thailand for more money than they are brand new at Borders! I guess the laws of economics are at work here when it comes to books...there aren't that many bookstores, and people do want to read on the beach...the Thai people are not stupid and take full advantage of that. Most shops boast that they "trade" books, but in the end they survey your book and decide it's only worth abuot 150 B when the book you want costs 500 B. Argh. But they do have books in multiple languages...

I purchased a pair of imitation Puma shorts last night for 100B and woke up early this morning to go for a run...the beach here is perfect for it...the sand is really soft but packed down by the water...and there weren't too many shells which is good because since I lost my hiking shoes somewhere along the line, my only choice was to go running barefoot. I asked a nice woman at a fruit stand to mind my flip flops and ran the length of the beach and back...it was nice in the morning when it wasn't so crowded. There were a few other people down there power walking or running as well while the workers cleaned off the beach chairs and began setting up the umbrellas for "another day in paradise"...

It felt good to get some official exercise for the first time this month ;) I found my flip flops and took one last look at Patong...it seems utterly unbelieveable that just a few years ago a wave of pure destruction destroyed this exact beach...sweeping everything away with it along with thousands of lives. I cannot begin to imagine the terror those people felt that day...it gave me the chills. And yet, everything seems to be completely back to normal...I'm sure if I asked around more, it would be a different story entirely.

Anyway...Bangkok bound. Stay tuned.