Phuket and an Old Friend

When we finally arrived in Phuket Town on the island of Phuket we were tired and hungry and a little cranky. All we wanted to do was eat and have a shower. But first we had to get to our final destination. Normally we like to walk from a bus depot to our hotel. Sometimes we ask them to come pick us up. In this case we could do neither. So, a tuk-tuk was in order.

Unfortunately, in Phuket tuk-tusk are more expensive than 14 hour bus rides in Vietnam. And no matter how hard you haggle the price doesn't change because they all agree on rates before the day starts. So after milling around and getting crankier we decided to just get in the damned tuk-tuk and pay the 300 baht ($10). Then there was the matter of a destination.

"Do you know Palai Green?" I asked.
"You go boxing?"
"NO! Palai Green. A house. Near Chaifa East Rd. Near the zoo."
"You go Patong? Karon beach? What hotel you stay?"
"Not a hotel. A house. Palai Green." I was desperate at this point, showing him the location on a map and pointing to the name on my iPod.
"Ahhhhhh! BaLai Geeeeen!" he moaned. At least he got it. At least we got there.

And as we were rounding the corner toward 'Balai Geeeeeen' we heard "Mike" from the shadows, and out came Melinda! Her roommate, Sarah, and her were just grabbing dinner from a small roadside cafe. Melinda jumped in and took us the rest of the way to her house. We settled in quickly and then walked back and ate some really good and really cheap Thai food and got to know each other for the second time.

She was just as I remembered her: funny and laid-back, honest and effortlessly charismatic, and just a touch silly. I was a nervous wreck, for once. When we got back to their house we played some cards and had some drinks. I paced and blabbered and must have seemed like such a fool. Thankfully Leighton stepped up and got his conversation face on and acted normal enough for us both. By the end of the night we had learned a new card game and been reacquainted. All was well.

The next morning the girls left for work and we walked to a 7/11 for what was now our 'usual' breakfast. Then we went back to their house and turned on the TV. That is, essentially, where we stayed for the next 6 days. We were a little travel weary by then. Tired of being on the move, bored of Thailand's epic beauty, and so sick of reading that all we wanted to do was just veg out. So we did. And it was wonderful.

But that's not all we did. We made it in to town a few times and explored the colonial era (Portugeuse) buildings and ate some really good food. We went to the beach one day and were totally disgusted by all the fat Europeans (not a single non-white person in sight, it was like Hitler had won) and by the outrageously overpriced food. Were we back on Koh Pha Ngan? What was going on!? Foolish.

We figured out how to use the local busses and did pretty well getting to and fro. We did plenty of walking still as the bus stop was down the main street about 3km. Just outside a Tesco, which is how we came across the ingredients we need to cook a little Korean Bibimbap for the girls. That meal was an effort as neither of us had been in a kitchen for months!

Anyway, the whole week went by quickly and we were suddenly on our way again. Hat Yai here we come!