Adventures on Phi Phi Island

Monica, my friend from UT, arrived in Thailand Wednesday evening to stay for 6 days before heading to Vienna, Austria for her own study abroad…yay! It was SO good to see a familiar face. After she arrived, we went out to Kao San Rd with 10 of the other exchange students to have dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant. Well, we thought it was nice until we got our food (which by the way, took as little as 15 minutes for one person to get their food and 1.5 hours for the last person to get her food), which was not so nice. Bad sushi, yuck. After braving sushi on Kao San Rd, we met up with a group of 10 other exchange students at an Indian restaurant & hookah bar. Well, after braving sushi and walking around for an hour in circles, we found the hookah restaurant. I am really awful at navigation, but as soon as Monica grabbed the phone from me and got directions, we found the place in about 10 minutes. Maybe she should study abroad in Bangkok. Damn confusing place. Okay, we go home around midnight and I quickly pack for Phuket, sleep for a few hours and head to Finance in the morning. Right after Finance, I run home, grab my bag, and Monica and I take off for the airport. I was nervous we weren’t going to make our flight on time, since the airport is a bit far away, but we ended up getting there almost 2 hours early, and just kickin it in the airport. Then when we went through security, they took away Monica’s sunscreen and we ended up using this little sunstick I happened to have in my bag for the entire trip since we didn’t want to buy a $15 bottle of sunscreen on the island. Haha, that was pretty good. They also tried to take away my bath soap (after I initially tried to hide it from them), since it was over 100 mL, but I refused. I asked them if they wanted me to be dirty and they said no, and eventually let me keep it. I’ve realized that if someone says no to you here, they will typically succumb if you keep pressing them to change their mind. Remember how I almost missed the Attuyaha cultural tour because I woke up late and the coordinator tried to tell me about 5 times I couldn’t come? That’s a big difference between Westerners and people in SE Asia. SE Asians, and probably Asians in a whole, are typically not confrontational and will back down when confronted. Whereas in the States, when someone tells you no, they mean no.

Okay, so we get on the 1-hour plane and arrive in Phuket. Once we arrive, we book a hotel and are immediately hounded by people trying to get us to take their fixed-rate taxi into town. I had a horrible experience with a taxi when I first arrived in Bangkok… I was lost and confused and they ripped me off with a fixed-rate taxi, as opposed to a meter. Grr. So, I am really sensitive to non-metered taxis and I refused to get in one and I made Monica walk with me for about 45 minutes into town before we finally realized we weren’t going to get a taxi outside the airport, since that is where all the taxis were going. So, back to the airport we go. Sorry Monica!

Once we arrive at the hotel, we venture out to get some food and it begins pouring rain. Yes, we went to an island during monsoon season. We stop by a convenience store, and buy an umbrella, which we continuously leave in our hotel room and get caught in pouring rain on at least 4 more occasions. How useless.

Okay, we spend the night at a couple bars in Phuket, as I watch Monica drink. Once again, sorry Monica. I am a terrible drinking buddy, but a great DD! Too bad I don’t drive in Thailand…now I am just a terrible drinking buddy. Okay, we go home, and pass out, and Monica pulls a Kasha on me. Kasha was my dog in El Paso and whenever I was with her at night, I would let her sleep on my bed with me. Well, by the end of the night, Kasha was sprawled diagonally across the bed and I was sleeping in a tight ball on the corner of the bed. I suppose that is what I get for being a non-drinking, drinking buddy and making us walk around the airport for 45 minutes.

The next morning, we take a taxi shuttle + ferry to Phi Phi island. Funny story, the night before, Monica and I called the taxi +ferry company and I spent at least 10 minutes on the phone with them, trying to tell them my phone number. Went something like this: Me: “0-800-58-2439” Lady on phone: “0281-28-94-1?” “Noooo….” (repeat 10 times) I then tried to repeat my phone number in Thai and the lady on the phone told me to tell her again, in English. Wow, my Thai must be really terrible if a Thai woman is asking me to speak to her in English.

Once we arrive in Phi Phi, we find a guesthouse to stay at, leave our umbrella there (mistake #1), and rent a kayak (mistake # 2). Just kidding, the kayaking was actually really great, we were all alone in the beautiful, vast sea and we paddled out to a big rock for a couple hours. But at the end, I got seasick and almost puked. I didn’t know I was a seasick type of person. And then, once we got back, the people we rented the kayaks from asked if we went to Monkey island, which as the name implies, is an island full of monkeys hopping around. No, we went to a rock instead. A rock. Not a special rock, just a rock I made us paddle out to. I need to not be allowed to make decisions while traveling. By the way, the weather was beautiful and the sun was shining the entire time. We get back, and as soon as we return our kayaks, it begins pouring. Literally 2 minutes before the sun was out, and everything was clear and just peachy keen. Now it is monsooning, crazy. So, we go to an Indian restaurant to seek solace from the rain and end up having some really good and expensive (7 USD for dinner, outrageous!!!) Indian meal. Then, we leave to take showers and get caught in the pouring rain, sans umbrella (which is safely stowed away in the room. Brilliant).

Next, Monica and I go get massages. Afterwards, I persuade Monica that we should go to bed at about 11 pm on a Friday night. I am such a party animal.

The next morning, we get up early and change guest houses (word of wisdom, if going to Phi Phi, do not stay at Uphill Cottages. They should be named Downhill Cottages), and then arrange our bus ticket home (all airports and trains have been closed due to political demonstrations in Bangkok). Before all this, we eat breakfast and after ordering I leave to find an osmosis tank to fill up our water bottles (I remembered seeing one on the way back from the club last night). I literally am gone for over 30 minutes, b/c I walked to the other side of the island to find the damn osmosis water tank. After finally getting back to breakfast and eating, we leave and 10 feet later, I see another osmosis water tank. Of course. Okay, so next we sign up for rock climbing and after a couple hours on the beach, off we go to climb! While climbing, we met some really cool Aussies and an English girl. After climbing from about 1pm-7pm, we shower and meet up with the Aussies for dinner at Ciao Bella, an Italian restaurant right on the beach. We have a nice, long meal and then head back to the rock climbing store to meet up with the English girl and her friend and then we head to the clubs for the Black Moon party. At one of the clubs, there are some Thai guys performing fire dances, which we watch for a while, and afterwards, the performance area turns into a dance club. Oooh, and at one point I walked off to find Monica, and I run into these two Irish girls who ask me to take a picture for them. After I take a picture, one of them starts telling me how its a bad idea to get your lip pierced while drunk (bad idea, really?), and then next thing I know I find myself in a tattoo/piercing parlor. Don't worry, I wasn't in there for myself. I was in there to watch this inebriated German guy get his nipple pierced....ouch!!!

Shortly afterwards, I go home and Monica follows suit about 7 hours later, lol.... she gets home as I wake up. Then we both sleep for a few more hours, go to the beach for a little while in the afternoon and head to Kruabi island to catch our bus back to Bangkok. 12 hour bus back to Bangkok, actually not as bad as I thought it would be. We arrive at 4:30 a.m., go home for a few hours to catch up on emails, and then head to school at 9am.

After class, Monica and I do some Muay Thai and then take a journey to find a good massage parlor my friend recommended. We finally find it and have a great massage, which was much needed after that bus ride. Then, we grab dinner, shower and head to a Ladyboy cabaret show. Ladyboys are male to female transvestites, who are really big in Thailand and the cabaret show was full of some of the most gorgeous women (genetically male or female) I have ever seen. It was quite amazing--they were hott!!

*Just found out school was canceled today for safety concerns due to the political protests and possible coup happening in Bangkok. Hip Hip Hooray, back to bed!*