I know it's been awhile since the last update, but boy have we been
busy. We spent 2 beautiful weeks on the island of Phuket. Phuket is
very much a resort town, with fabulous beaches. We stayed on the most
popular beach called Patong. www.phuket-traveller.com
or www.phuket.com.
It is full of vendors selling souvenirs, t-shirts etc, and it also
has a HUGE number of bars that are open almost all day long. Of course
there are a large number of restaurants that cater to every taste
and craving you can possibly have; Italian, Mexican, European, Indian,
Greek and of course Thai.
The local food vendors still have the cheapest prices and generally
speaking the freshest selection of meats and fruits. The prices in
the foreign owned restaurants are similar to what we have here in
Canada. The prices at the roadside vendors are about a quarter of
what you would pay at any restaurant, and thus this is where the locals
tend to get their meals.
I would have to say that the beach is probably the biggest form of
daytime activity in this area. It's all about sun tanning here, but
that is not what we love to do.
I have already mentioned that we took in some sea-dooing, but you
also must know that we met a woman from South Africa (Hi Olga) who
was brave enough to go parasailing. They strap you to a parachute
which has a towrope on a speedboat... you take a few running steps
on the beach and VOILA, you are up and flying behind the boat. It
was amazing. The Thai men 'running the show' were kind enough to let
us ride on the boat and film the whole trip. Olga was sooo brave.
They gave her a dip in the ocean during the middle of the ride just
for good measure. She said it was fabulous and she tried to get me
to do it... Not this time Olga!! Maybe the next trip I will do it.
In
Phuket we stayed in an air-conditioned beach view hotel called NILLY'S
MARINA INN. The owner, Sam, was very welcoming to us and was quite
the host. We had the 'penthouse' suite with a magnificent view of
the whole beach and a beautiful balcony. It was so wonderful to sit
out there first thing in the morning with our coffees and then last
thing at night with a glass of wine. It really doesn't get much better
than that!! I wish you all could have been there and experienced it
along with us. The next trip will be wonderful and I know that each
and everyone of you that join us, will have your lives touched for
the better! And
ladies it doesn't matter what age you are... let me tell you why.
We met a wonderful, independent and outgoing woman named Elaine, from
the USA... she wouldn't tell us her age (that's her little secret),
but lets just say she has quite alot of life experience! Well does
she know how to travel... She has been all over the world about 5
times over and she does it all on her own! We had dinner with her
one night and learned much worldly trivia. You GO girl! What a brave
gal! "Hi Elaine, hope all is FANTASTIC!"
Another
great attraction that we took in was the Phuket-FantaSea
theme park. It is a huge show, mini Las Vegas style, in a fabulously
architectured elephant themed building. It is a show like no other
known in Thailand. Live elephants are part of the act as well as other
farm type animals. Who would have thunk that you could train a chicken
so well! The elephants on the other hand... well let me just say...
I've never seen such big pooper scoopers in my life! And their 'torrential
downpours' needed 5-gallon pails! It was great though. Magnificently
choreographed and well performed. Dancers and trapeze artists were
also part of the show. It was something else!! Out in the games area
of the complex they had an outdoor bar where all the waiters and waitress
spun and tossed the whiskey bottles to music. I've never seen so much
talent in all my life. Tom Cruise in Cocktail was nothing compared
to these guys and gals. They got me up on stage to give it a shot,
but it was a lot harder than they make it look! Next stop... Bangkok!
We
stayed in the heart of Bangkok at the Baiyoke
Sky Hotel, the tallest hotel in Thailand (apparently the tallest
in the World too). The view was something else. It is 309 meters high
(94 floors) with a revolving observation deck. Although it was a little
smoggy, you could still walk around and see the bustling city of Bangkok
from all directions.
As for the nightlife, the one thing we had to do was "PATPONG"!
It
is infamous. It's a street in the city that shuts down at night and
becomes a night market. Live sex shows are in the buildings and souvenir
stands take up the street space, and I'm talking COMPLETELY takes
up the street space. There is hardly anywhere to move and there are
probably 2000 people shopping, mostly tourists. Beware here ladies
because it is very easy to get pulled up stairs to one of the 'live
acts' without even knowing what happened to you. All of a sudden you
are in a dark bar with a go-go type stage with poles on it. Beer
is somehow 10 times the normal price and let me tell you, the 'entertainment'
is unbelievable. I don't think I need to get too descriptive, but
let's suffice it to say that I will never look at a ping-pong ball
the same. The shopping though, is the reason we were there. This is
where you can get all your souvenirs, from laser lights to soap carvings,
mango wood vases, clothing, shoes including every imitation product
you can imagine; Levi's, Rolex, Nike, Gucci, Armani etc., you name
it... they've got it! Here's a link to a good website that someone
put together on Thailand. www.bangkok-bilder.de
We
also did some city sight seeing. We took a tuk tuk (3 wheeled motorcycle)
ride in the city and 'ride' perhaps is not the appropriate word. It
was more like 'a suicide mission'. These things fly down the side
streets and highways with no doors, no seatbelts, just a canopy to
keep the sun off your head. They weave in and out of traffic whenever
they get a spare couple of inches to make a lane change honking and
screeching all the way. It was pretty hair raising, let me tell you,
but we survived.
Our
trip finally, and unfortunately, came to an end. Six weeks in Thailand
and we would have loved to stay six more. It was a wonderful vacation
and we took away with us very fond memories. We returned to the USA
via Asiana Airlines
and again, the flights were great. After arriving in Seattle we flew
via Heli-jet
into Victoria, BC, and that in itself was a wonderful experience.
We flew quite low to the ground (water) and the view was stunning.
We even saw a pod of killer whales! www.orcaspirit.com.
As beautiful as Thailand is, Victoria
British Columbia is also very beautiful. We too, are lucky to
be living where we do.
Thanks for tuning in to the website to read about our trip. Hopefully
next time you will be apart of it!! See ya next year.
Hey Girls!!!
The local food vendors still have the cheapest prices and generally
speaking the freshest selection of meats and fruits. The prices in
the foreign owned restaurants are similar to what we have here in
Canada. The prices at the roadside vendors are about a quarter of
what you would pay at any restaurant, and thus this is where the locals
tend to get their meals.
I have already mentioned that we took in some sea-dooing, but you
also must know that we met a woman from South Africa (Hi Olga) who
was brave enough to go parasailing. They strap you to a parachute
which has a towrope on a speedboat... you take a few running steps
on the beach and VOILA, you are up and flying behind the boat. It
was amazing. The Thai men 'running the show' were kind enough to let
us ride on the boat and film the whole trip. Olga was sooo brave.
They gave her a dip in the ocean during the middle of the ride just
for good measure. She said it was fabulous and she tried to get me
to do it... Not this time Olga!! Maybe the next trip I will do it.
In
Phuket we stayed in an air-conditioned beach view hotel called 
And
ladies it doesn't matter what age you are... let me tell you why.
We met a wonderful, independent and outgoing woman named Elaine, from
the USA... she wouldn't tell us her age (that's her little secret),
but lets just say she has quite alot of life experience! Well does
she know how to travel... She has been all over the world about 5
times over and she does it all on her own! We had dinner with her
one night and learned much worldly trivia. You GO girl! What a brave
gal! "Hi Elaine, hope all is FANTASTIC!"
Another
great attraction that we took in was the 
Magnificently
choreographed and well performed. Dancers and trapeze artists were
also part of the show. It was something else!! Out in the games area
of the complex they had an outdoor bar where all the waiters and waitress
spun and tossed the whiskey bottles to music. I've never seen so much
talent in all my life. Tom Cruise in Cocktail was nothing compared
to these guys and gals. They got me up on stage to give it a shot,
but it was a lot harder than they make it look! Next stop... Bangkok!
We
stayed in the heart of Bangkok at the 
It
is infamous. It's a street in the city that shuts down at night and
becomes a night market. Live sex shows are in the buildings and souvenir
stands take up the street space, and I'm talking COMPLETELY takes
up the street space. There is hardly anywhere to move and there are
probably 2000 people shopping, mostly tourists. Beware here ladies
because it is very easy to get pulled up stairs to one of the 'live
acts' without even knowing what happened to you. All of a sudden you
are in a dark bar with a go-go type stage with poles on it. 
Beer
is somehow 10 times the normal price and let me tell you, the 'entertainment'
is unbelievable. I don't think I need to get too descriptive, but
let's suffice it to say that I will never look at a ping-pong ball
the same. The shopping though, is the reason we were there. This is
where you can get all your souvenirs, from laser lights to soap carvings,
mango wood vases, clothing, shoes including every imitation product
you can imagine; Levi's, Rolex, Nike, Gucci, Armani etc., you name
it... they've got it! Here's a link to a good website that someone
put together on Thailand. 
We
also did some city sight seeing. We took a tuk tuk (3 wheeled motorcycle)
ride in the city and 'ride' perhaps is not the appropriate word. It
was more like 'a suicide mission'. These things fly down the side
streets and highways with no doors, no seatbelts, just a canopy to
keep the sun off your head. They weave in and out of traffic whenever
they get a spare couple of inches to make a lane change honking and
screeching all the way. It was pretty hair raising, let me tell you,
but we survived.
Our
trip finally, and unfortunately, came to an end. Six weeks in Thailand
and we would have loved to stay six more. It was a wonderful vacation
and we took away with us very fond memories. We returned to the USA
via