Thailand: We Aren’t In The Caribbean Anymore…

Last you heard from me, I was writing about my travel fears and anxieties while waiting with my husband at the airport for our daunting journey to Thailand to begin. Spoiler alert: Although I did use a A LOT of the medication I brought, I lived through my journey and nothing especially terrible happened. In fact, we had some amazing, once-in-a- lifetime experiences and an epic adventure, which I’ll fill you in on over a number of blogs, I’m sure. I have so many things I want to share about our  21 days in Thailand. It was such an incredible trip, and my longest abroad so I’m a bit lost as to where to start, so I’ll start at the beginning:

The flights: Edmonton, Alberta to Vancouver, BC, Vancouver to Hong Kong and Hong Kong to Phuket, Thailand, were not as bad as I had been dreading. The longest haul; 14 hours from Vancouver to Hong Kong, stuck in cozy economy at the back of the plane, was challenging but not awful. I don’t sleep on planes well though, and unfortunately our seat-back USB charging ports weren’t working, so we had to ration the devices we brought along. The Cathay Pacific service was great despite the tight quarters and the food was surprisingly good, if a bit strange based on my western tastes.

Sunrise somewhere in Asia

Economy

Time had lost all meaning to me by the time we arrived in Phuket; I think it was late morning. The familiar wave of vacation heat and humidity hit me as soon as we entered the jetway to head to customs. That’s where all my previous travel experience came abruptly to a halt and I had a realization: We didn’t book an all-inclusive, we had no shuttle bus scheduled to pick us up to take us to the hotel. We were on our own, in a different hemisphere, half a world away from home. We were on an adventure.

Customs was smooth; staff were professional but friendly, language barriers weren’t much of an issue and there was enough English signage to figure out where to go to for baggage and taxis. We stepped just outside the airport and found our first 7-Eleven convenience store (which I was told was the cheapest, fastest way to get nearly anything one needs in Thailand) and loaded up on water- a necessity after being dehydrated during 17 hours of flying and arriving to 32 degree Celsius temperatures.  The next part of the voyage proved to be a bit of a challenge. We found a van service just outside the airport doors claiming to be headed Patong, the area of Phuket we were staying in, and paid a flat rate of 160 Baht. At the time we thought maybe that was pricey, but we didn’t realize how far away from our hotel we actually were. While waiting to depart, I began making conscious observations of my surroundings. I found myself comparing things to Mexico and other places in the Caribbean we’d been to previously, as it was really my only point of reference. Palm trees and that stifling, oppressive, humid heat were familiar (and welcomed as we had escaped the beginnings of what would prove to be a long winter back home). I was watching Thai airport employees walking to and from the staff motorcycle parking area and noticed how warmly dressed they were in the heat; long sleeves, long pants, and even jackets. Then I realized they had entire parkades just filled with motorcycles; thousands of them, lined row upon row, making me wonder how a person would find their own at the end of the day, let alone retrieve it. Most of the staff carried a form of meal with them in plastic grocery bags. I noticed birds flitting about; none of which I recognized from my North American birding. After a wait of over an hour (not so different than Caribbean island time) while the van service waited for a full load of tourists before departing, we finally headed out for what would end up being a very long drive.

A home-based business selling Thai floral garlands and other spiritual items

Along the way we passed small, dilapidated houses serving dual purposes as home-based businesses; mechanics, food stands, restaurants, massage parlors, floral shops, and souvenir stands. Many of the houses were two floors with the main floor area serving as an open-air business in what might be recognizable to us as a garage-type space. It appeared that the family living spaces were on the second floor. Buildings were brightly painted and highly disorganized with heaps of scrap and junk piles off the the side of most of the businesses- definitely an organized chaos; reminding me of having a pile of junk on my desk and unfinished tasks going on, but I could still find anything in the pile if I needed it… even if it looked like a mess to an observer. There were spirit houses outside of nearly every home and business, ranging from the size of a microwave to a washing machine. Spirit houses are wooden shrines to the spirit world in the shape of houses, ornately painted and decorated with trinkets and effigies and offerings of food, drink (strawberry Fanta is a popular choice). I knew about them before coming to Thailand, but I didn’t realize they were everywhere, giving me a clue about just how spiritual the Thai people are.

A spirit house outside of a hotel

The streets and neighborhoods were crowded, as I expected. There were scooters and mopeds taking up every available space on the streets; another form of organized chaos. Bikes were zooming in and out of traffic, honking, bumpers missing each other by millimeters. There didn’t seem to be any sort of anger or aggressiveness by the drivers, it’s just the way it’s done, and it somehow works for them. It’s actually impressive to watch the dance of traffic. One thing that really reminded me that I was out of my comfort zone: the Thai signs. It’s a beautiful language to look at, but unlike Spanish, not one you can guess at.

My first impression driving through the foreign streets was that Thailand, or at least Phuket, seems to be in conflict with itself. There’s a war being waged between modern and traditional; small, run-down, family businesses and restaurants and old, ornately designed Wats (Buddhist temples) are spaced between extravagant premium outlet shopping malls, yacht showrooms and Ikeas. There is an obvious dichotomy between the very rich and extremely poor. New, sparkling condos and mansions are snugged up next to weathered, crumbling homes. There is a lot of advertising on large billboards, and most of the models are thin, white “Westerners”.  There seems to be confusion between how Thai versus how Western they want to be, or have to be and I was unsure yet, having just arrived, if they have some balance of the two or not.

Fruit stand

As we drive on, I noticed that surrounding the infrastructure was dense tropical rainforests with graceful mountains rising in the distance. Everywhere you looked, there were showy tropical flowers flaunting their colours and size and some of the fattest stray cats and dogs I’d ever seen. Cows grazed in open lots next to busy residential and industrial areas. Every few blocks there was a shop for locals to buy religious statues and carvings such as spirit houses. There were even small, home-based greenhouses; essentially someone selling a collection of potted plants or flowers in the front of their property. There were a surprising number of office supply and furniture businesses as well. There were endless small, family-run restaurants and convenience stores; we even drove past a go-kart track and waterslides. The roads were winding and narrow with cutbacks into the hills that were growing steeper and I was glad I had a good supply of anti nausea pills in my luggage.

After about 45 minutes of gazing out at my new surroundings, we pulled into a sketchy “tour agency” where we were told in broken English we had to wait for a different van to transfer us to our correct area. We were encouraged to use their services and book tours while waiting. Our Spidey senses tingling, we suspected a scam, and feeling jet lagged and weary, were on guard. After 10-15 minutes of waiting around and keeping a close eye on our luggage in the van, we ended up being ushered back onto the same van (at this point we were getting a bit worried about making it to our destination without a scam of some kind). Another 30 or so anxious minutes of driving later, we finally began to see signs of being in the Patong area so we both started to relax.  I was able to start focusing again on the sights and sounds (and smells). There were apartments everywhere, crowded and in disrepair. Most had tiny balconies with colorful laundry hung out to dry. The telephone and power poles were so covered in draped cords and wires, they looked hazardous to say the least. We drove past a number of Wats and even a Hindu temple. We neared the beach and tourist area where there was a 7-Eleven on nearly every corner, plenty of vendors selling beachwear and souvenirs and more tattoo and massage shops than I’ve ever seen in my life.

Hindu temple on the way to Patong

Apartments and cable wires everywhere

Suddenly the driver pulled over on a busy street, pointed down an alley, and stated in broken English that our hotel was “that way”. We stumbled out of the van, retrieved our luggage, confirmed with him as best as possible that he was certain it was “that way” and jet-laggedly struggled down cracked and broken sidewalks in the direction he pointed. We had no idea how far “that way” it was. The streets were crowded and noisy, there were interesting new smells, the heat was oppressive, we were hungry and becoming nervous that maybe we weren’t out of the woods with our concerns of being scammed, especially since the strange and unnecessary “van transfer” earlier. We passed more massage shops, more 7-Elevens and numerous casual family-run restaurants. We were feeling overwhelmed and starting to get testy with each other when our hotel came into view in the distance. We’d made it safely, if exhausted, hungry, paranoid and a bit culture shocked. It was time to check in, find food and decompress.

View from our hotel, the Ibis Patong

View from our hotel

Thanks as always for stopping in to read my thoughts and see my photos. Check back again for more updates of our epic Thailand trip. Feel free to ask questions or comment and until next time, safe and happy travels!