Day 26 - Phuket
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Friday 3rd September
I woke up early-ish on Friday morning, still not quite realising that Thailand was an hour behind Malaysia. First stop was to the breakfast buffet, which was included in the price of the room. Pancakes, waffles, eggs cooked as you please, cereal - you name it, they had it. You could tell that Aussies dominated the hotel as the 'toast bar' even had vegemite!
From there I took a walk around the resort, sussing out all of the facilities. It really was massive, almost like a mini-city. I walked up to the tennis centre and made a booking for a tennis lesson on Monday and game of squash Saturday - I hadn't realised there was a squash court (two in fact), so this was a bonus. A trip into Patong was next on the agenda. I felt like royalty as I was taken in one of Le Meridien's fleet of sedans - they even had the daily paper in the back to read on the way! I asked to be dropped off at Jungceylon, the shopping centre several blocks back from Patong Beach. I thought it opened at 10am like the other stores in Asia (Asia isn't a place for early-birds - nothing opens until at least 10am) but it was still shut, so I hit up an ATM and nearby bookstore (Lonely Planet for Thailand; The Beach, and New Moon, the next Twilight instalment).
The crowd had gathered for the 11am opening, and it was soon apparent why as the security guards performed a military-esque ceremony to open the store, and then saluted each guest as we entered. (Daily ceremonial openings seem to be common - Japan and Switzerland are two other countries I can think of that do it). The shopping here wasn't that great, but I most enjoyed wandering through the Carrefour grocery store. I don't know what it is about them but I love looking at foreign grocery stores, examining all of the foreign products and looking through their delis and in-house bakeries. The bakery here was great - everything was laid open, so you went around with a tray and tongs to pick your items, and then the staff would count it, label it, and tie it up. I purchased a mini-loaf of wholemeal bread and individual butter portions ... that would be dinner sorted!
From Jungceylon I walked down to the Patong Beach strip, first passing through the infamous Bangla Street. Although it seems fairly innocuous during the day, this is the seediest place in Phuket, with bars (most aimed at Aussies, playing sport 24x7) packed with Thai women dressed in micro-skirts trying to draw in the tourists. Touts try to draw men into the bars or to see a 'ping-pong' shows (sorry, not explaining that one) - I remember when Adam and I were here in 2008, we were walking down the street holding hands and the touts would come up to him and try to convince him to go to one of these shows or get himself a Thai girlfriend, as if I didn't exist!! The thing that disgusts me the most is the older, caucasian men who walk down the street with their teenage 'Thai girlfriends'. I've never completely understood how this works - how do they pick them up? Are they paid? What do they do? But regardless, it's disgusting but you see it all the time in Patong.
The street that runs parallel to Patong Beach is tourist central and packed with fast food stores, travel agents and shops. The shops sell everything a tourist could need - counterfeit bag (Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Louis Vuitton ...)? Counterfeit surf shirt/singlet? Counterfeit Tiffany and Co jewellery? Everything you could possibly need is crammed into this street, with literally hundreds of stores all selling the same items. Needless to say, competition is fierce (particularly in low season) and the shopkeepers will try anything to drive you into the store - anything from physically dragging you to mimicking an Aussie accent to strike up a conversation (the Indians are amazing at it!) It does get extremely annoying though - no wonder the t-shirt 'No, I do not want a f&%$% massage, tuk-tuk or t-shirt' is the best seller here!
I had a list of items I wanted and did pretty well to purchase most of them at satisfactory prices. The only 'need' on the list was a shoulder bag - the 'LV' one I had purchased in Kuala Lumpur in May was a poor quality with the shoulder strap continually breaking. Thailand definitely has a better selection of bags (and better quality), and I was hoping to find a Marc Jacobs bag similar to the one I purchased last year. I ended up with a navy-blue 'Marc Jacob' bag - I would love to have purchased a handbag or two (the quality of the knock-offs is remarkable) but since I a) couldn't carry it and b) didn't want to send it home it wasn't feasible. Whilst here, I also purchased a Trilby (straw hat) and 2 singlets (one with an image of a pair of sunglasses on it - very trendy at the moment - it was either that or with an image of Kate Moss with her finger up, and I have more taste than that).
As it was about 2pm I returned to Jungceylon for lunch (Japanese) and hailed a taxi back to Le Meridien. Whilst in Patong I had picked up a number of pamphlets on day trips to 'James Bond Island' - I wanted to do a trip which included some kayaking - but decided that whilst I was staying at such a nice place I should enjoy all the facilities it had to offer, and could do the day-trip from Phi Phi island when I was there next week, so abandoned those plans. (Tips for purchasing in Phuket - 1) Go in the off-season, as the shopkeepers are much more desperate for money; and 2) Always feign disinterest. When talking to the tour touts, the prices would dramatically fall from 3000 baht ($100) to 1000 baht in a matter of minutes!)
As the resort spa had a special of 50% off all treatments, I treated myself to a back, shoulder and head massage. I was then overjoyed to find the TV had an Australian channel and so settled in at 4:30pm (given the 3 hour time difference with Australia) to watch the Saints beat Geelong - go Saint Nick! - whilst eating vegemite sandwiches, and planned out what activities I should participate in over the next few days.
I woke up early-ish on Friday morning, still not quite realising that Thailand was an hour behind Malaysia. First stop was to the breakfast buffet, which was included in the price of the room. Pancakes, waffles, eggs cooked as you please, cereal - you name it, they had it. You could tell that Aussies dominated the hotel as the 'toast bar' even had vegemite!
From there I took a walk around the resort, sussing out all of the facilities. It really was massive, almost like a mini-city. I walked up to the tennis centre and made a booking for a tennis lesson on Monday and game of squash Saturday - I hadn't realised there was a squash court (two in fact), so this was a bonus. A trip into Patong was next on the agenda. I felt like royalty as I was taken in one of Le Meridien's fleet of sedans - they even had the daily paper in the back to read on the way! I asked to be dropped off at Jungceylon, the shopping centre several blocks back from Patong Beach. I thought it opened at 10am like the other stores in Asia (Asia isn't a place for early-birds - nothing opens until at least 10am) but it was still shut, so I hit up an ATM and nearby bookstore (Lonely Planet for Thailand; The Beach, and New Moon, the next Twilight instalment).
The crowd had gathered for the 11am opening, and it was soon apparent why as the security guards performed a military-esque ceremony to open the store, and then saluted each guest as we entered. (Daily ceremonial openings seem to be common - Japan and Switzerland are two other countries I can think of that do it). The shopping here wasn't that great, but I most enjoyed wandering through the Carrefour grocery store. I don't know what it is about them but I love looking at foreign grocery stores, examining all of the foreign products and looking through their delis and in-house bakeries. The bakery here was great - everything was laid open, so you went around with a tray and tongs to pick your items, and then the staff would count it, label it, and tie it up. I purchased a mini-loaf of wholemeal bread and individual butter portions ... that would be dinner sorted!
From Jungceylon I walked down to the Patong Beach strip, first passing through the infamous Bangla Street. Although it seems fairly innocuous during the day, this is the seediest place in Phuket, with bars (most aimed at Aussies, playing sport 24x7) packed with Thai women dressed in micro-skirts trying to draw in the tourists. Touts try to draw men into the bars or to see a 'ping-pong' shows (sorry, not explaining that one) - I remember when Adam and I were here in 2008, we were walking down the street holding hands and the touts would come up to him and try to convince him to go to one of these shows or get himself a Thai girlfriend, as if I didn't exist!! The thing that disgusts me the most is the older, caucasian men who walk down the street with their teenage 'Thai girlfriends'. I've never completely understood how this works - how do they pick them up? Are they paid? What do they do? But regardless, it's disgusting but you see it all the time in Patong.
The street that runs parallel to Patong Beach is tourist central and packed with fast food stores, travel agents and shops. The shops sell everything a tourist could need - counterfeit bag (Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Louis Vuitton ...)? Counterfeit surf shirt/singlet? Counterfeit Tiffany and Co jewellery? Everything you could possibly need is crammed into this street, with literally hundreds of stores all selling the same items. Needless to say, competition is fierce (particularly in low season) and the shopkeepers will try anything to drive you into the store - anything from physically dragging you to mimicking an Aussie accent to strike up a conversation (the Indians are amazing at it!) It does get extremely annoying though - no wonder the t-shirt 'No, I do not want a f&%$% massage, tuk-tuk or t-shirt' is the best seller here!
I had a list of items I wanted and did pretty well to purchase most of them at satisfactory prices. The only 'need' on the list was a shoulder bag - the 'LV' one I had purchased in Kuala Lumpur in May was a poor quality with the shoulder strap continually breaking. Thailand definitely has a better selection of bags (and better quality), and I was hoping to find a Marc Jacobs bag similar to the one I purchased last year. I ended up with a navy-blue 'Marc Jacob' bag - I would love to have purchased a handbag or two (the quality of the knock-offs is remarkable) but since I a) couldn't carry it and b) didn't want to send it home it wasn't feasible. Whilst here, I also purchased a Trilby (straw hat) and 2 singlets (one with an image of a pair of sunglasses on it - very trendy at the moment - it was either that or with an image of Kate Moss with her finger up, and I have more taste than that).
As it was about 2pm I returned to Jungceylon for lunch (Japanese) and hailed a taxi back to Le Meridien. Whilst in Patong I had picked up a number of pamphlets on day trips to 'James Bond Island' - I wanted to do a trip which included some kayaking - but decided that whilst I was staying at such a nice place I should enjoy all the facilities it had to offer, and could do the day-trip from Phi Phi island when I was there next week, so abandoned those plans. (Tips for purchasing in Phuket - 1) Go in the off-season, as the shopkeepers are much more desperate for money; and 2) Always feign disinterest. When talking to the tour touts, the prices would dramatically fall from 3000 baht ($100) to 1000 baht in a matter of minutes!)
As the resort spa had a special of 50% off all treatments, I treated myself to a back, shoulder and head massage. I was then overjoyed to find the TV had an Australian channel and so settled in at 4:30pm (given the 3 hour time difference with Australia) to watch the Saints beat Geelong - go Saint Nick! - whilst eating vegemite sandwiches, and planned out what activities I should participate in over the next few days.
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