Posing for Posers at Phang Nga

It's hot. The Ging has been praying for it since Chitwan, and finally- we get to wear shorts. The 30 degree temperature combined with the humidity is killing us. By the end of our two block saunter down to the beach, we look like we've already gone for a swim in the ocean.

After a day of shopping and wandering in the heat yesterday, we capped off our day with a 5pm trip to the beach (which is apparently the perfect beach time for my fair skinned travel companions!!). Without the crowds and the sun beating down on you- it was actually perfect! We enjoyed a couple Singa In the sand (little ladies are selling them cold, and 3x the price of what you'd pay at 7-11...but oh well) and then went for a quick dusk swim before heading to Bang La to Tiger Bar to people watch...

At this point, we were hit with a clear message I had forgotten about Phuket. Sex tourism. Most of the crowd which is strolling up and down Bang La and the joining roads is middle aged (late 30's to I would guess 60's) and Caucasian. There are beautiful Thai wo(men) everywhere- dancing on bars, pouring drinks, adorned in feather costumes, handing out flyers for ping pong shows... I am not in a position to comment much more on the topic as most of what I have to say is pure unconfirmed opinion. However let it be known that the twenty-something Caucasian woman is an endangered species that no one is trying to save on Bang La Road.

Today we went on a tour to Phang Nga Bay (THB1400, including transfers and lunch, booked through any agent in Phuket). Bright and early we set out to catch our boat for a day in the sun and some kayaking (well- we were hoping for some kayaking!!). After a beautiful trip to Phang Nga on a boat of roughly 50 people, we were set on our own for about 45 minutes. A tiny island in the Bay, the limestone outcrops are a geologists dream. The islands in this archipelago have been host to many movie sets, most famously- James Bond. Interestingly enough- the female visitors to this island had no problem posing for their own personal paparazzi. I have never seen a more blatant display of picture posing- ever. This is platinum Facebook hall of shame material. From the casual sexy lean on a random rock, to the playful "it's so windy I need to hold on to my sunglasses and wink", there was no shortage of laughter from the trio. This actually continued onto our boat, where some scantily clad Russians posed unintentionally for the camera. Oh the joy this provided the three of us for hours.

After lunch (mix veg with lots of cabbage, calamari and mixed seafood, fried rice and whole fish) we set off to Hong Island where we had a lovely guide paddle us around the island as we lazed about in the canoe, in awe of the contrast of the blue water to the green cliffs poking from the sea. As we were floating by, a random man fully clothed in the water with a camera was under a ledge snapping pics... The paparazzi are everywhere around here.

We finished our tour with a stop to swim in the warm waters of the Andaman Sea. The three of us jumped from the side of the boat with a bit of reckless abandon and paddled through the laughter at the odd people we encounter while traveling- from the Russians with their Nikon DSLR wrapped in a garbage bag while they sit in a canoe smoking copious amounts of cigarettes, or the Jersey Shore swim team who brought their own goggles and clearly their game face while they breaststroked into the cove.

On the menu for dinner this evening was 3 Spices (Impiana Phuket Cabana Resort) on the main road, north of Bang La. It is the closest we have come to authentic Thai- the service was excellent and the restaurant is on a quieter part of this intensely busy street, providing for better ambience than Savoey. The fish was very fresh- the papaya salad was delightful and the bananas and coconut ice cream- amazing!! After hearing the announcement from the patrolling Muay Thai truck for the fights "tomorrow night- tomorrow night- Bang La Stadium" for what seemed to be the hundredth time, we called it quits. We'll see you tomorrow night (tomorrow night) Bang La.

A little burnt,
L, B & the Ginger Cat

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