Last Days in Phuket

After our mad scramble across the country, our time in Phuket was a lot of sabai sabai living. We went to the beach several times per day, swimming in the ocean and eating fresh seafood at one of the many seaside restaurants.

We did manage to schedule a boat tour of the surrounding coast on Tuesday, our last full day in Thailand. For this we were crammed into a bus with a bunch of youngish Thai people and carted around to various touristy locations. For me the main attraction was just seeing a little more of the surrounding area. I didn't really care too much for the actual stops. The first of these was at a sort of cave with some Buddhist statuary, which was kind of neat, and some very friendly and overfed monkeys, which were also kind of neat. We then got herded onto a boat and went to visit "James Bond Island," which was featured in a James Bond movie in the 70's and which marketing types are still milking for all its worth. Even in the low season it was overcrowded and rather underwhelming I thought, but the boat ride was pretty and it was neat to see a different side of Thailand. We then stopped at a Muslim Thai village, which I think stopped being a legit fishing village a long time ago and is now filled with market stalls selling the usual souvenirs. The village was built entirely on stilts over the water, a la Venice, and we wandered through the residential section, which was made of some pretty nice houses and some not so nice houses and featured a lot of pet cats and caged birds. I couldn't help imagining a bus load of Muslim Thai tourists being dropped off at Fairfield, walking the streets with their digital cameras and taking pictures of Kelly's Thrift and weird lawn ornaments. The locals would be out selling "America" t-shirts and hats, the town mayor pushing to get more tours scheduled to save the town's economy. It made me smile to think of this alternate universe. I felt like a strange sort of intruder, interested, but ultimately finding it weird to think of someone's home as a tourist attraction. We had a good day though, touristy as it was, and I was glad we'd done the tour. 

We had perfect weather for our entire stay except for the very last day. On our final day in Phuket, I woke up to gray clouds and drizzling rain. Usually to get to the beach we had to go on an unglamorous walk past various construction sites before getting to a smaller path sheltered by a tree canopy. It was always kind of refreshing to make your way through this after the initial slog on the pavement in the sun, but after the rain it became something between a swamp and an obstacle course. Once I reached the beach, I hoped that the clouds would disperse, but after sitting it out on my beach towel for a while I gave up hope. The light drizzle was turning into actual rain. The clouds glared down at me menacingly, as if telling me my time was up and it was time to pack for home. I grabbed my things and headed back, tiptoeing around the mud and catching my bag on the barbed wire fence on the right. Yes, Thailand was no longer welcoming and it was time to go. 

We did have one last meal by the beach. I ate a fantastic crab curry with rice and a mango shake to wash it down. Later in the evening we got cocktails and appetizers, enjoying one last evening by the beach. Memories of right before I came to Thailand kept playing in my head: the guy at the spokane airport who told me to try some "dang mo," getting lunch (or was it dinner?) at the Greek/Italian restaurant next to Whitworth with Laura and the book club, saying goodbye to my brother and niece... I can't believe it's been a year. Our taxi will arrive in 30 minutes. soon I will be flying back across the Pacific. Hopefully everything will go smoothly. Can't wait to see home.