I wake up and look out the window. It's a sunny day with clear blue skies. A survey of the landscape pulls my attention from the peaks of foliage covered mountains to ocean as it laps at the beach. What a beautiful Christmas day.
I have nothing planned, so I simply relax. I casually make my way to the beach and sit for almost an hour at Starbucks sipping a coffee. As I sit on the beachfront patio, life unfolds around me and I have not a care in the world.
I make my way to the beach and soak up the sun for quite some time before resolving to find myself a bit of adventure. As my thoughts wander, I watch some locals launch a tourist into the air for a short parasailing trip around the bay. It looks like fun. Why not give that a try?
Within five minutes I'm attached to the back of a boat by a long cord and I've got a parachute in tow. As the rope attached to my harness pulls me forward, I take three bounding steps and I'm airbone. For the next five minutes I have a phenomenal view of the bay and the beachfront. It was worth every baht.
Later in the evening Katie, Dave and I get together for Christmas dinner and a night of Thai kickboxing at the Patong Arena. The kickboxing matches start from the youngest and work roughly in age order to the main event, an international match between a local thai boxer and an Australian kickboxer. The matches themselves are not nearly as intense as I had imagined them to be, but they're entertaining nonetheless. FYI: Evan, with a boxing ring and a bottle of whiskey, we could make alot of cash in Phuket.
After the matches finish, Katie, Dave and I make our way back to the beach to watch the locals light huge lanterns on the beach. The lanterns are large cylindrical paper tubes supported by wires. On the bottom side there is a fuel source which, when light, causes the air inside the lantern to become warmer than the ambient temperature, causing the lantern to float away. When a few hundred people are doing this at once, it makes for quite a beautiful sight. I'll leave you with some images of the Christmas Day lantern lighting.
Life's a Trip: Chapter Four - Christmas Eve, Patong Style
December 24, 2006
The day before Christmas begins as a lazy day on the beach. The weather is beautiful and I have no where else to be. Utter relaxation.
Katie and Dave join me for a few hours of sunbathing before heading back to their hotel for Christmas Eve dinner.
After dinner Katie and I get together for coffee at Starbucks. We seem to both agree that it's surreal to be sipping coffee on a beach in Thailand while random Christmas decorations, act as the sole reminder that it is in fact Christmas Eve. It's completely different from every other holiday season that I've ever experienced.
Katie and I wander the beach for a while after our coffees have depleted and then she returns to her hotel. However, the night is still young for me.
I make my way towards Bangla Road for a drink or two...or three. I had read about Bangla Road while I was trying to figure out what to do on New Year's Eve. However, my travel dates changed and I was no longer going to be in Phuket for New Year's, so I figured that Christmas Eve would be a good substitute night for a visit.
Imagine this. You're walking down a lively street on the beachfront in Phuket. Each restaurant, shop or bar is playing it's own music, so there is an overall ambiance of energetic nightlife. But somewhere off in the distance, you can sense something quite different. It's the combination of music and general chaos. It's presence is dulled by distance but it still somehow intermingles with the sounds of the beachfront. It makes you aware of its presence and it calls you towards it. It's mirage suggests a party of such intensity and magnitude that it promises to be something unlike anything you've seen before. You're attracted to it by the same force that prevents you from averting your eyes when confronted with a horrific car accident.
At first contact your sense are comprehensively assaulted. Music is blaring from each bar that lines the street, yet incredibly you can still discern which song is playing. Neon lights flicker and flash, forming an epileptic gauntlet. The smell of ocean air, perfumes and alcohol mingle to curiously tickle the olfactory and gustatory modes of the palate. Your body is subjected to various forms of stimulation ranging from the bone-shaking bass of dance tunes to the constant ebb and flow of people passing by. It's intensity in it's purest form. You've now entered the world famous Bangla Road area.
The place consists of over 100 bars, ranging from 10 x 10 squares to massive nightclubs. I wander through the area, stopping here and there for a beer. At one of the bars, I'm paying for my drink and my waitress is arguing with me because I've declined to buy her a drink. Just then, a clearly inebriated Australian guy, Andy, steps up to my table, tosses some money down and says, “get yourself a drink and leave him alone.” The waitress happily scoops up the money and skips off to the bar.
Andy then turns to me and says, “I'm going for broke tonight” and laughs before slugging back half a beer. We chat for a bit and I'm informed that he and a few other guys in the area are members of the Australian military. They're on vacation after being on a four month tour of duty in the jungles of Malaysia. Interesting...
After we get through the “whos” and “whys” there is a break in conversation as we both swig at our beers and survey the scene. Suddenly, my new acquaintance sparks to life. He point's to the bar across from us. “Do you see that guy over there?” “Yeah.” “That's my buddy Rayce. He's been hitting on this girl all night, but the funny thing is...she's not a girl. Watch this.”
Before I have a chance to react or reply, he hops up from his seat and walks over to the next bar. He sends Rayce to the bar to get some drinks and then hands the “girl” some cash in his absence. Rayce comes back with the drinks and I watch in disbelief as his escort swiftly pulls him into the night by the collar of his shirt. Andy returns and laughs as he says, “he's gonna be soo pissed when he finds out.” No kidding.
The rest of the evening was spent cruising up and down the sois of Bangla Road drinking, dancing and chatting with people from all over the world. At 5:00 am hunger set in, so I deserted the party grabbed some Pad Thai and made my way back to my hotel. Thus ended my first Christmas Eve on my own...what a trip.
Life's a Trip: Chapter Three - Dancing Through Saturday
December 23, 2006
“I slept through my alarm. Oh my god I slept through my alarm. I'm gonna miss my flight” These are my waking thoughts on December 23rd. It's nearly 5:00 am. I'm supposed to fly out of Bangkok at 7:00 am and I'm presently sitting in a hotel that's an hour away from the airport. I frantically throw everything into my suitcase without any regard for what's going where. In under two minutes I'm packed and out the door. This is serious.
When I get to the lobby there is a line-up at the reception desk. What the hell is going on!?!?! It's 5:00 am! After a painstaking wait I finally get to the front of the line, take care of my bill and scramble for the front door. I flag down the first taxi I see. No time to negotiate a meter this time. To the airport. As fast as you can go. Money's no object. Go, go, GO!
Twelve minutes later I arrive at the airport. Yes, an hour long drive turned into a twelve minute drive for a $10 pay raise. This means I might actually make my flight. Awesome. I rush into the terminal and get into the check-in line. However, at this point I realize that I have no idea where my passport is. I open my bags and search for it, dragging my scattered belongings with me as the line slowly edges forward. I'm such a mess.
Moments before I get to the front of the line I find my passport, cram everything back into my bag, zip it, lock it and I'm ready to roll. I stumble up to the Air Asia agent with a forced smile on my face and hand her my passport along with my reservation. She keys my information into the computer. One minute later she's still pounding away at the keyboard. After two minutes she looks concerned. Abruptly, she stops typing, composes the most diplomatic smile that she can manage and says to me, “Sir, your reservation is for next year.”
WHAT!?!?! What the hell does that mean. She hands me the reservation form and points to the date. Sure enough, I've booked my flight for December 23, 2007 not December 23, 2006. I had poured over the details of this trip time after time. I had double and triple checked everything. But I didn't catch this. Unbelievable. So here I am, sitting in Suvarnabhumi Airport at 6:00 am, with no flight, no hotel and no sleep. Just great. Despite an overwhelming sense of agitation and exhaustion, I enter crisis mode. You need to fix this Chris. What are you going to do? Attempt one: Talk to the Air Asia representatives and see if I can switch to a different flight. Result: No. They're all booked up. Attempt two: Talk to all of the other airlines to see if they have any availability. Result: Nothing. Attempt three: I must have been delirious because I actually thought that I could make the 900km drive from Bangkok to Phuket on my own, in one day, with only one hour of sleep under my belt. The plan hinged on having access to Starbucks coffee and Redbull. Heart attack, Phuket or bust! Result: I couldn't find a car rental agency in the airport. Attempts to locate a car rental agency and make a booking online failed. Attempt four: Try to find VERY last minute flights online. Result: Partial success. I discover that Thai Airways has some openings, but I can't book anything because you have to book at least 24 hours in advance.
I reschedule the dates of my Air Asia flight from December 23, 2007 to December 24, 2006 as a contingency plan and head for the Thai Airways counter. The woman informs me that there are no openings. This is beginning to look hopeless...I wonder how long it would take to walk to Phuket. But wait! She offers to sell me a standby ticket. You pay for a ticket and if there is an available seat, you hop on the plane. If there are no seats, you get your money back. Maybe it's dementia setting in, but I figure it's worth a shot. I purchase my ticket and the woman working the counter tells me to come back at 11:00. It's presently 7:00 am. I have four hours to kill. What to do?
Step one, hit Starbucks. Start a tab. Step two, get a one hour massage. Step three, hit Starbucks again. That's four hours well spent.
When 11 o'clock rolls around I make my way up to the check-in counter, at which point they herd me into a waiting area for standby passengers. At about 11:30 I get the good news. I'm going to Phuket!
Two hours later I'm stepping into a cab that's destined for Patong beach. Life is good. The drive from the airport to Patong is absolutely beautiful. It begins amidst plains that are filled with palm trees and farm country. The road then winds through a mountain range at steep angles with sharp curves before sloping down the opposite side of the mountain to the beach.
I arrive at my hotel and discover that it's gorgeous. Not only that, the staff are really helpful and friendly! It's gonna be a good week. After I check-in I proceed to the motorbike rental place adjacent to the hotel and rent the sweetest little bike you've ever seen. For the following five days I would challenge the definition of “scooter” on this motorbike. I mean, are you really “scooting” if you're going 80 km/h? I didn't think so.
The first order of business is to get my bearings. I hop on the bike and explore the Patong beachfront. As I'm heading down the main strip, I see the police off to the side of the road ahead of me. This ignites a slight sense of anxiousness. Let me explain why, by way of back story.
When I was planning my trip I had researched car and motorbike rentals. Many sites asserted that rental companies would allow you to rent anything that you wanted, regardless of whether or not you had a license, although "legally" you needed to be in possession of an international drivers permit. Further investigations revealed that the fine for driving without a license was a small fee ranging from $10-$60. This fee was usually set at the “discretion” of the issuing officer. Even though I don't have an international drivers license I figured that I could simply handle the fee if I got pulled over.
When I see the police in front of me, scenes from "Brokedown Palace" roll through the back of my mind as I wonder about the accuracy of reports that I had read. I see the foreigner directly in front of me get pulled over and I'm slightly relieved. They wouldn't pull over two foreigners in a row for no reason, would they? They would. As I approach the checkpoint an officer steps in front of my bike and signals for me to pull over. Keep your cool Chris...
“Do you have a license?” “Yes” (This is NOT a lie. I have a license, it's just not valid in the country that I'm presently in. I stand blankly staring at the officer, wondering if he'll ask to see it or if he'll take my word for it.) “Can I see it?” (Shit) “Yeeees”
Now, I had somewhat planned ahead for this occasion. All of my money was in my pocket, meanwhile my license was in the storage compartment in the seat of the bike. I open the compartment and reveal my license along with approximately $2 worth of Thai baht. Not nearly enough to cover a fine. I hand the officer my license and he stares at it intently. After about 30 seconds he looks up at me and says, “Where is it from?” I smile and reply, “Canada.” With that, he hands me my license and says “Ok, you can go.” Sweet. I escaped.
I continue along the street and eventually spot Katie and Dave's hotel. I park the bike and stop in for a visit. It's great to see them. Even though I've only been travelling on my own for three days, it's been a stressful three days filled with various forms of harassment. It will be nice to have some companionship for the next three days.
We head to Starbucks to grab some coffee and talk in brief about the highlights of our trip thus far. Dave then tells me that he and Katie are going to a party tonight with his friend Jamie and invites me to join them. Even though I'm exhausted and I have no idea who Jamie is, I agree to come.
About an hour later, we're packed into Jamie's pickup truck heading towards Phuket city. He's bringing us to an outdoor concert/party, although he doesn't know where the party is. He knows the vicinity where the party SHOULD be, but he's “relying on the energy of the party do draw us in.” This should be an interesting night.
Shockingly, we stumble upon the party with relatively little fuss. It's a large gathering in front of city hall. It's not so much a party, it's more like a festival. We follow Jamie through a crowd of bewildered locals. There are very few foreigners at the festival and we're probably the only one's that don't actually live in Phuket city, so we attract a great deal of attention. After a while Jamie finds his friends and introduces us. His friends are some local guys who are just gearing up to hit the stage as the last act of the evening. However, before they go on, they bring us to the drink table and we all toss back glasses of whiskey on the rocks.
The band goes on and plays a short set. Here's a clip. Watch the kids in front of the stage. Priceless.
After the band finishes the festival organizers begin to clean up, which is our cue to leave. We decide that the night's still young and that we should bar hop around Phuket.
The first place we visit is simply insane. It's wall-to-wall packed, the music is insanely loud and people are having the time of their lives. We stay there for about 45 minutes before moving on to the next bar.
Seeing as the bar is about three blocks away Katie, Dave and I decide to ride Thai style.
The second bar is called Lava. It's got a live band who like to cover the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a hip crowd in their 20's and 30's.
We stick around for a few rounds before moving on to our final destination for the evening. We're cruising along a country road, apparently in the middle of nowhere, when Jamie pulls off the road into a gravel lot in front of a small open concept bar. This is his friend's bar. It comes complete with a Foosball table and a live Christmas tree that was flown into Thailand for the holidays. Amazing.
It is here that we spend the rest of our evening, pounding away at the Foosball table while soaking up the Thai ambiance.
At about 3:00 am we decide to head back to Patong and call it a night. Jamie drops us off at Katie and Dave's hotel, which was a short walk from the place that I'm staying. As I saunter down the street I encounter many locals, who are still awake to peddle their wares and harass tourists. As I'm walking a prostitute of an undecided sex begins to walk alongside me, grabs my arm and won't let go! She smiles at me ominously and asks where my hotel is. Of course I don't tell her. I try to politely express my disinterest and then subsequently struggle to release myself from her persistent grip as the other locals laugh at the hijinks unfolding in front of them. Brutal. When I finally pry myself loose, I head in the opposite direction and take the long way home. What a strange end to an utterly strange day.
I'm 23 years old. I'm originally from Whitby, Ontario. I just graduated from York University. And now I'm preparing to move to the other side of the world to begin the next chapter of the adventure that is my life.
