phuket was not really in my list of "must go" places but after a series of emotionally, physically and financially-trying events that transpired weeks before that, i said yes to classmates who suggested for a cheap 4-day trip to the famous thai island before facing the final exams heads on. i badly needed a break and i had to give myself that.
so off we with a budget which every student would be happy about
SIN-Phuket via Jetstar: SGD 44
3N stay at Squareone: SGD 50
Food, transpo, etc: SGD 50-100 depending on the kind of dining experience you want to have
Phuket-SIN via Tiger: SGD 85.28
Total: SGD 250-300 (i did mental math so dont expect the numbers to accurately add up)
day 1
we left singapore at 835 on a rainy monday night. it was my first time to take jetstar and for the sake of those who havent tried it, i think its actually pretty good for a budget airline. the cushions were thick, covered with black leather and the leg room was quite wide. the crew was also clad in black pants and polo. pipe-in music repertoire was composed of lady gaga and some r&b songs. the flight was empty, as in kakalog-kalog. quoting an officemate, pwedeng magbowling sa loob sa luwag ng flight. i think there was just more or less 50 of us occupying that A320 aircraft. except for the minor bouts of turbulence, the flight was generally peaceful.
we arrived at phuket at 920 local time. right outside the airport, there were a lot of agents asking if we needed a ride offering 200/head for a van but we opted to take a cab instead for THB500. there were four of us in that trip so it was perfect for cab sharing. we tried to haggle for a lower rate but they would not give in so we went for it.
the drive from the airport to patong beach took around an hour. most of the establishments along the road were already closed at that time so there was nothing much to see, well, except for the road signs. the road towards patong was a zig zag and hilly one (if there is such a term) which made the trip fun. it reminded me of baguio actually.
you'll know you're already in patong when you see money exchange stalls separated from each other by mere 100 meters, strolling tourists, restaurants and ambulant vendors along the road.
for our first night, we booked one standard room and 2 beds in the dormitory because there was someone who booked ahead of us occupying one bed in the 4-bedroom dormitory. vn and i were supposed to stay in the standard room but sn and ml thought of us switching places with the lucky dorm occupant so that all four of us could stay in the dorm and have the room all by ourselves. so we waited for the lucky occupant. we learned that she is an exchange student from hungary and doing her studies at ntu. she's in phuket for the school holiday but brought some of her school work with her and even left her laptop on her bed. hindi ko yata gagawin yun.
after fixing our things, we started our exploration of the place!
im the kind of tourist who does tons of research before setting foot on some place. but this time, i didnt do much of that partly because two of my tour buddies for this trip have been there before so they know the place pretty well. the only interesting thing i learned about the place was that there seems to be 2 famous streets in patong, 1 for straights and 1 for gays. of course we headed for the gay street! we were on an adventure, right?
the gay street (i forgot what it is called) is really a gay street. the street is closed to cars since it is transformed into a street party place for tourists. open bars. ledge dancers. locals who ask you if you want to see a "show". tourists drinking and smoking and what have yous. loud music. nothing extraordinary right?
yes, nothing extraordinary except for the number and 'kind' of tourists in the place. ok, im being racial, unfair, superficial, judgmental, ethnocentric - evil here but give me a break, i havent seen such a mix of people.
my background in socio has programmed my brain to sort other tourists according to seociodemographic background. i admit,my classification is not accurate and based from the previous paragraph, may not be reliable and valid. but my mental classification consisted of:
1. caucasian retirees who are spending their retirement funds in asia to enjoy the sun, sand, the sea, food and experience exotic culture in the far east. they consist a big percentage of the tourist population.
2. old caucasian guys who...ok, i dont know what they want except that i see most of them with a thai in tow. ok this is one of the most interesting observations i had in patong, entertainers here (i chose the word entertainer instead of prostitute because i dont know which is which) transcends age boundaries.
3. middle eastern looking guys who are in groups. medyo natakot ako sa kanila. tall, dark, muscular men who...ok, i dont want to think about what they want. inuulit ko, medyo natakot ako sa kanila. they also constitute a big part of the tourist population.
4. young caucasian couples
5. chinese, korean and japanese tourists who come in groups
6. small groups of other asian tourists like us. siguro 3% lang kami ng population.
after seeing so much of the happenings in gay street, we decided that we were not fit for the place so we headed for the beach with beers and a bottle of milk at hand. ok, the milk was for me because i wasnt feeling well that night (and the succeeding nights too). so while they were gulping bottles of singha, i was drinking my milk.
the beach at night was perfect for a more wholesome alternative to the gay street. there were locals who were selling lucky lanterns. theyre like rectangular hot-air balloons that are made of cloth. tourists would light the lamp and off it will fly up in the air. higher up they look like stars too.
on our way back to the hotel, we saw an ambulant vendor selling some kind of noodles. being the food junkie that we are, we tried it. it wasnt that bad but i guess it was expensive for 50 THB. it consisted of boiled, sliced chicken meat, chicken liver and gizzard, some kind of green leaf on top of a flat noodle soup mixed with chili and coriander.
day 2
we woke up at around 10 am and left our room at around 11. we found a place for breakfast after walking for about 20 minutes and went right into the place. i had pad thai and egg with tamarind sauce plus a tall glass of watermelon shake (which didnt help me with my sore throat).
while eating, the rain started pounding. as in torrential downpour! hey that wasnt right. we were on a vacation and its raining? really hard? hindi yata makatarungan yun. so we were stuck in that place for more than an hour. when the rain subsided for a bit, we rushed to the nearby mall. we needed to go somewhere covered because we havent had a glimpse of the sun so the probability of rain for the entire day was looming.
jung ceylon is where you can find all sorts of stuff. clothes of all sorts. bags of all sorts. picture frames of all sorts. hats. shades. tea. maps. paintings. photographs for sale. organic soaps. fabric. fish spa stations. if you have a few minutes to see this mall, i suggest you go straight down to the basement where the local stuff are.
after walking around the ground floor and the basement, we decided to rest for a bit first before heading for an exploration of the other side of the place. so we sat on the benches outside. being the usyosera me, i noticed 3 guys from classification 3 talking to 2 locals. at first, it was just one of the locals who was holding hands with one of the guys. but i guess after some negotiations, both of the girls were already holding hands with the guys.
at this point, the reality of the difficulty of having that kind of work was nagging me. setting aside issues of hygiene, exploitation and morals, just thinking of having sex with people you dont know i assume is hard but to have sex with people whom you dont know what kind of sex they want sounds more scary. im being extreme here but i dont think these people would fly across the globe just to have the normal kind of thing that they could get back home. and how much do they get from that? a day's meal? *insert profanities here* i dont think prostitutes are heroes but they deserve respect for the courage that they have in going through what they have to go through just to survive. theyre commodifying their bodies because thats what their society demands. yes, everybody has a choice but for some people, the choices are pretty bad and limited.
before i rant some more about prostitution, the sun smiled at us and pulled us out of our seats to see the other side of the island. so we walked and walked. we walked and walked some more until we saw what looked like a dome of a mosque. so we went into that direction. on our way, we saw rows of painting shops along the road. we walked some more until we found ourselves into a residential area but we still went it. we walked in back streets and alleys until finally, we reached the mosque. it was beautiful but it was under construction so we couldnt get in. plus we were on our shorts so there's really no way we can get in.
since we were on the other end of the island, we hopped on a tuk tuk on our way back. so tired from walking, we did what one on a vacation would do. slept for the rest of the afternoon.
when night came, we again scouted for a decent eating place that could accommodate our budget and sure we found one.
after eating, again came the walking part. we passed by gay street but gain, we found our solace on the beach. this time, we stayed longer. aside from the lucky balloons, there were also people setting up short fireworks displays. plus we had pipe-in music courtesy of the bar across the road (the street for the straight).
bob marley and bono were welcome distractions to the group's conversation.
day 3
i was so happy because the sun is up! so off we went to the beach to see it for the first time during the day. being a boracay and palawan fan, im quite a snob when it comes to other beaches.
when you reach the beach, you will be welcomed with locals asking if you want to rent a beach chair. beach chairs and umbrellas are scattered on the beach! i mean, there are hundreds or maybe thousands of them. theyre everywhere, as far as your eyes can see. after haggling, we decided to just spread our towels on the sand because the price is too much for us. i wasnt successful in urging the 3 others to swim so i went swimming alone. im in phuket so i have to swim on its beach. i have to feel not just the sand and the sun but also the water and the waves.
ok, lets talk about the beach quality. the sand is fine and, how would i term it, well-stocked? in tagalog, siksik. so that when you walk on it, you dont have to drag your feet out of the mocha-colored sand. the water was clear. there was no sea grass at sight so that was a plus factor for me. and i think it was less salty because i had no goggles yet i can still open my eyes underwater with relative ease. if you havent seen boracay or palawan, this beach is actually very nice. but if youve seen both, its downgraded to nice.
after an hour or so of swimming, its time to look for food. we went straight to the beach right out of bed so our tummies were already rumbling. after lunch, we went back to the hotel. me for another round of swimming in the pool and them, for motorbiking lessons.
i got tired first so i went inside to take a shower but i heard them coming in after a few minutes. yun pala, umuulan na nman! so the afternoon was spent on napping.
at a little past four, vie and i decided to explore the island in motorbike while the other two were still asleep. here's the thing about patong, you should know how to ride a motorcycle to see every nook of place. i didnt know how to drive but our group was lucky to have a vietnamese with us. moral of the story, you should go with somebody who knows how to maneuver a motorbike if you dont know how to do it yourself.
since its our last night in the island, we attempted to have a more "lavish" dinner this time and went for the seafood area.
too tired of seeing gay street every night, we opted to the mall instead. we headed for the arcade area. yes we were on a vacation in a foreign land yet we opted for the mall.
the mall offers not just movies and arcades at night but other interesting stuff. there were kids breakdancing. and the nicest part is, we witnessed an actual proposal. we thought it was one of those "surprises" which couples would have once in a while but this time, we saw the guy kneel in front of a girl, with flowers and a ring and their friends videotaping the event. we were like voyeurs having a glimpse of other people's personal romantic affair. nice.
after the mall, we had to have our nightly affair with the beach. and we paid gay street another visit. that time, there were gays in costumes and they were beautiful. one was more pretty than most girls. tourists would have their pictures taken with them for a fee/donation.
the beach was more romantic this time. there was a couple, the girl was holding flowers while the guy was lightig up a lucky lantern. nice.
day 4
last day. we had brunch before heading to phuket town. sin had a western bfast this time and ordered for burger. vie had chicken salad. mal had steak. i opted for seafood fried rice.
we took the bus going to phuket town. it was more of a humongous jeep.
it was a nice ride, with the cool wind from outside blowing on our hair and faces. man, i just wanted to sleep but i dont want to miss the scenery. the trip took about an hour i think. when we got to town, tuk tuk drivers came asking if we need a ride. we said we dont need one but of course, there would still be that one persistent in the group who would follow you around whereever you go so we asked how much we have to pay. he said THB 20 i think so off we went. we told him that we just wanted to go around town and stop at a market to buy some stuff. he said he will do just that. but lo and behold, when we went to the first stop, it was a gem factory. the driver was a tout! welcome to thailand! apparently, this doesnt only happen in bangkok.
so off we went to about 5 or 6 gem/handicraft/food store which offered the same kind of merchandise. on our 5th or 6th stop, we were actually dragging ourselves out of the tuk tuk. we dont want to do it anymore but dear tuk tuk driver was his giddy self saying "jalan jalan, last one last one" so the nice visitor us cant just rudely say no to him. so for every entrance door that we had to go through, we automatically look for the exit sign and rush towards that direction.
we told him we need to be at the bus terminal by 6 but we arrived there at 630! and the next bus going to the airport will leave at 730! i dont remember what time was our flight anymore but i remember clearly that we would be in deep trouble if we dont leave before 730. so we looked for a cab and found one. but it was no ordinary cab, it was a toyota fortuner that will bring us to the airport for THB 600! galing!
so again, we were in an amazing race mode. fortunately, the fortuner was fast enough so we were at the airport in just 45 minutes. at the airport, we had to race to the check-in counter which was at the other side, and had to rush back to the other side where the boarding gates are located. and since we havent eaten anything since 11am, we were already starving. thank god for burger king!
we had our dinner at the pre-departure area where we bumped into a classmate who also went to phuket but stayed in phiphi.
rain started to pour when we were boarding so i prepared for a turbulent flight ahead. and it was a turbulent flight indeed. flying legacy carriers i think are more expensive because aside from the service, they also give you a feeling (or illusion) of safety when youre into this kind of situation. and since we were flying budget,i held on to my rosary and didnt stop praying. god, i dont wanna die right after a vacation.
we landed at changi 30 minutes before the last train departs for the city so off we went to an amazing race again. as soon as we got to the tube, vie and i dashed to the immigration, which was a long run from the tube. we were lucky enough that when we got out of the airport, the shuttle to terminal 2 was already there.
but upon getting off from the shuttle, we again ran towards the mrt station. that time, i realized how challenging it would be to join the amazing race. we ran for jus a few minutes with just 70L of bag on our back and we were already panting. how much more if we were carrying a heavier bag? and we had to do that for a month? now, i think i can let go of my amazing race dream.
yes, we were able to catch the last train to the city. and we were tired. but refreshed. (and me sick)
and with a l0t of pictures
