Weekend in Phuket - Day 2

Does anyone read this anymore or did we lose everyone when we got busy?  Will post anyway as I think we have a few readers out there still...

Our second day in Phuket found us riding the hotel shuttle bus into Phuket-town, hoping to walk a bit and check out the beautiful Wats (Thai Bhuddist temples).  We find these temples so exotic, yet so peaceful.  However, things got interesting as the shuttle pulled to a stop in front of a "tourist office" in town (we thought we were being dropped at a hotel) and we were greeted by enthusiastic taxi drivers/ tour guides who offered to squire us about town for a mere 300 bhat for the day (~ $10 US).  We thought... well, okay, air conditioned ride beats roasting heat and getting lost.... so we agreed.  Then our trusty guide asked "What you like to see - you want shopping, yes?"  Well, uh....no, not really.  But somehow we failed to convince him and our first stop was a large tailor shop to order a custom-made suit for Chris.  Now we felt just awful as the saleswoman tried so hard to show us the fabulous material and patterns we could choose from.  They could make a suit by the end of the day and send to the hotel before we left the next day for about 10,000 bhat (~$330 US).  Only problem was, we didn't come to Phuket to buy a suit!  Sensing our hesitation, our eager saleswoman asked, "How much you want to spend?"  Roxanne, being unable to lie, answered "Well, actually we didn't plan to order a suit at all, so we don't want to spend anything."  So much for tact.... so out the door we went, feeling rather small, but hey, we didn't want a suit!!  Next stop was the "handicraft" market - this place was full of gemstones and jewelry, textiles and wood carvings - with everything "50% off"  Again, Rox's cheap accountant ways and distrust of any sort of large jewelry outlet in a foreign country (too many fakes!) disappointed the hard-working salesfolk, but we did pick up some pillow covers, a doll in traditional Thai dress for Brenna and a couple of carved elephants.  So, it wasn't a complete loss!  Next, our driver proposed to take us to a shopping street full of inexpensive clothing stalls, but we pled hunger and asked him to take us to lunch instead.  He dutifully took us out to the waterfront, where we proceeded to this open-air seafood spot where you pick your dish from the fresh catch.  Brenna was completely turned off by choosing her food and refused to eat anything but a plate of french fries.  Chris and Rox went with the flow and chose a half dozen tiger prawns, a large lobster and pineapple fried rice (Rox's favorite),washed down by tepid Coca Cola in a glass bottles.  Delicious, fresh and a great view to boot!

After lunch, our trusty guide aimed us back at the shopping district even though we asked about the wats/ temples/anything cultural or historic....please.....His reply was, "You want Chinese temple?"  Well, umm, not really - we have gorgeous Chinese temples in Penang.  We want to see some Wats!!  To which he replied, " They not open."  Huh?  He was so determined to drop us at Robinsons.  We just didn't get the logic- how would he earn a kickback from a department store?  We changed tactics and let him drop us at the corner, paid him and told him we'd walk back to the shuttle stop by 4 PM.  The lunch was worth the aggravation.  So, with two hours left, off we went in search of the nearest temples.  The Chinese temple was actually very interesting - similar to Penang Chinese temples, but different at the same time.  Then we decided to give one of the Wats a try and walked a route that would take us into an older neighborhood with "Sino-Portuguese" style shophouses (according to our guide book).  The shophouses were lovely and very similar to Penang's architecturally and we stopped in a great antique shop along the way.  What a temptation that was, but again, "skeptical Sally" was afraid of getting duped and the only thing we really loved was out of our price range (although considering what you would pay for it in the US, it wasn't bad - maybe next time).  So, on to the Wat we went.  Unsurprisingly, it was not only open, but welcomed visitors (obviously the monks offer no commission!).  The complex included a primary (elementary) school and active monastery.  It was quite lovely and certainly worth the walk.

After our long day in the city heat, we stopped for a cold juice and then hopped the shuttle to the hotel where Rox had scheduled a "balancing" facial and foot massage at the spa.  It was a terrific way to cool down and revive tired feet.  Dinner at the Thai restaurant completed a lovely, but tiring day.  We had a great time in Phuket and plan to try the water activities like snorkeling and kayaking on our next visit!

Catching Up...Weekend in Phuket Day 1

We are far behind on our blogging, so we hope to catch up over the next few days.  Nearly two weeks ago, we were finally able to take advantage of two "public holidays" and get away for a 4 day weekend to Phuket, Thailand.  We originally had no intention to visit Phuket since, coming from Florida, we have been spoiled by some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  We had also heard about the wild party atmosphere in Patong and didn't think that was what we were looking for.  So, we started out planning to visit Krabi instead (last summer's trip fell victim to Chris' accident).   Unfortunately, flights were difficult to find on the dates we wanted and were a little more than we wanted to pay.  So, we consulted the trusty travel guide and some friends and decided on Phuket instead.  The direct flight from Penang to Phuket was the clincher- no transfer in KL to deal with - and the price was great!  So off we went in our Aerospatiale twin prop for the short flight...

We stayed at Hat Mai Khao on the northern coast of the island, away from the more popular Patong and Kata Beach areas.  The resort was right on the beach and we had it nearly all to ourselves.

The resort was beautiful and we enjoyed swimming and relaxing by the pool; the restaurants and the spa were fantastic (Rox finally indulged and had a facial and foot massage; Chris had a full body massage to loosen up some of his sore muscles from his renewed training).  But, the highlight of the trip by far was the elephant trekking and the canoeing in the Thai jungle.  We had some initial reservations about the elephant trekking - after all, we've always read that it's not fair to keep these beautiful animals in captivity, even when well cared for.  But, we decided that it was an experience we did not want to miss.  We did agree that if there were any signs of mistreatment, we would get out of there fast!  Fortunately, the company we selected was top notch - picked us up on time, stopped for coffee and restroom break on the way (1 1/2 hour drive to the camp) and provided a very enthusiastic young Thai lady as our guide.  "Oo Oo" was great - good English and bursting with enthusiasm.  She made the long ride fun and educational.  We were very pleased with the conditions we found at the camp.  The facilities were clean, the trainers (or "mahoots") live with their elephants in small bamboo structures within a large enclosure, which was much cleaner than we expected.  So here we are about to head off on our trek:

We headed into the jungle along a wide path, but we were very impressed by the way the mahoot allowed the elephants to wander a bit.  They grazed and pulled up vines and small plants to snack on as they went and as long as they stayed near the general path, there was no pulling or shouting.  It was actually quite a partnership to witness and we thoroughly enjoyed our 45 minute trek.  What a beautiful jungle unspoiled by man!

After returning to the camp, we were treated to a delicious Thai buffet and  then walked a short distance down to the river where we met our river guide.  It felt great to be out on the water, looking up at the gorgeous limestone cliffs and hearing the hoots and shouts of a troop of gibbons (monkeys) in the distance.  It was a little unreal and though we were sweaty and tired, it ended too quickly...

We made a short stop back at the camp for cold drinks, frozen chocolate bars and another restroom break before heading back to the hotel.  The whole vanload of visitors was asleep within moments.  Nothing like a nice car nap after a day full of outdoor adventures in the Thai heat.  We thoroughly enjoyed our day and were sad to see it end.  If you ever get the chance to do this, we highly recommend it!

Will share day 2 tomorrow...

When is enough, enough.

Ok so i have something on my mind today that i really need to get off and although I love Roxanne to death she does not always (ok, she never does) have an appreciation for my rants, now this does not have anything to do with being in Penang, other than for me Penang offers me time to think and contemplate. So I look on the front page of "The Sun" this AM to find a tribute to Mrs. Whitney Houston, her tragic death at the age of 48...really..."The shocking news" of her death...really. I am sorry, I feel horrible for her family and everything they have had to endure, I feel bad for her fans, as they are probably the only ones who will know even one song off of her 2009 album "I look to you", except maybe the title track. Mostly I feel bad for Whitney, I mean not to quote one of her own songs, but "didn't she almost have it all" . The last 10 to 15 years of her life have been a train wreck, lets be honest. the failed reality show, a really, really bad marriage, and a really, really, really bad drug problem. I know in our country Politically correct is the norm, but this is not someone we should be crying a great deal of tears for, this death although tragic, is NOT Shocking. I mean come on, she was a crack addict who was on the express train to dying the moment she put the crack pipe in her mouth and could not put it down. I hope that any medical results following her death indicate that she was sober, i really do...anyone want to bet on that though. I'm not! Even if she did leave this world sober the insurmountable damage that she did to her body, most specifically her heart with years of cocaine dependence, was surely going to cause her untimely death. Another celebrity/pop star/rock star dies in a hotel room all alone, not a friend or family around them, and what do we do, "oh she was so beautiful", oh the death of a wonderful talent", No, i am sorry, its the death of a good and talented person who was hijacked by a chemical that eventually took her life, or at least was in some way the cause of it. We have lost many talented people, many REALLY talented people, Mrs. Houston one of them, to the same horrible, CURABLE, condition. Her death will be met with an outpouring of emotion and tributes, however when all that is over we will go back to our lives and think nothing of the cause and the consequence of the loss. Is there ever public outcry for more drug treatment centers, and better techniques and technology, is there ever a call for more research and education...the answer...NO, there is not. Do we open more drug treatment facilities to deal with this growing problem in our country, that even our own government in their infinite wisdom called "an epidemic"...no, no we don't, we take beds from treatment facilities, we take money for programs that attempt to help people dealing with this problem and we force them to the medical profession that uses drugs (more often than not) to deal with a drug problem...that would be like sending a fat person to a bakery to lose weight. Or we send them to Jail/Prison, and as you know there is tremendous education and rehabilitation that goes on there, i think he last recidivism statistic for the state of Florida was like 79% repeat offenders...yep that system is working. So what will we do, this great nation of ours to deal with this "epidemic" that affects every aspect of our society, from celebrities to the hell's kitchen junky...nothing...I'm sorry Mrs. Houston, your death was not a shock to me, it was however tragic, the big book of AA says "There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault". I failed you Mrs. Houston, because as a professional in the field of addictions I should be working smarter, not harder. Your country failed you, because we have a leadership in this country who cares more about what happens in China and Iran than they do in their own backyard...i mean do you really think that President Obama has been to the "bad" part of DC since he was on the campaign trail?? Mit Romney?? oh yeas I'm sure that this trust fund baby knows the plight of the working man, who sees the destruction of his livelihood, his family and his community all at the same time...I saw a commercial on "You Tube" that was broadcast during this years Superbowl, it was about Detroit, and it featured Mr. Clint Eastwood, he talked about how it is "halftime in America" and that we need to decide what we are going to do in the second half. i liked the message and could see the appeal, however the problem is that in that "American Stadium" most of those people are out of work and have no idea when they might find it. most don't have health insurance and no job that will offer it to them, some are homeless, some are hungry and a good deal of them are addicted to some chemical, and are finding it tough to quit....I digress...and Mrs. Houston you failed you, I'm sure with your wealth and fame, you were offered the best treatment money can buy, the top notch specialists in the discipline using the most up to date methods and research, but i don't think anyone of them ever told you the truth, and made you look at yourself, stripped of all your fame and notoriety, because you see Mrs. Houston that crack/cocaine, it never cared who you were, it never mattered, it wanted you dead. Without help, addiction always gets what it wants. We were all a party to the failure that led to your untimely death...I will however continue to do my part in being the solution I can only hope and pray that the rest of our country will wake up and do the same...maybe then we will never again have to say, "she/he died tragically...of their addiction."