Saturday
Today was mostly about the journey rather than the destination. Misty and I spent our last night in the loft at the main Mercy building. We went back to Soi 40 to do a couple of loads of laundry before we had to catch our plane.
At noon we hopped on a flight with her family to Phuket, the dream beach destination in the south of Thailand. We grabbed a taxi to Kata Beach, which is an hour from the airport. We spent some time swimming in the pool and then walked on the beach at sunset.
I have not really been here long enough to tell you what I think about it or compare it to other places. So far I have noticed that because of all of the foreigners coming here for vacations and honeymoons, the prices are really high. It is the low season now so prices are half the price they normally are but they do not compare to prices in other places in Thailand. This was not a surprise to us.
As much as I am excited to breathe some fresh air and get away from the city, coming to Phuket has been challenging. I cannot stop thinking about how privileged I am to even come here in the first place, where as many people only dream of seeing their own country, I dream of seeing the world. I felt guilty telling coworkers where I am going as we both know the costs associated with such a trip. Sitting on the plane today I felt awkward looking around and seeing all of the tourists, wondering if they even know the real Thailand. To them Thailand may only be beaches and sun tanning, not the Thailand I have been fortunate enough to see and experience in the past few months.
I cannot believe how limited our time is here now, I feel like there is still so much I need to see and explore. I look at daily things with sad eyes now, wondering will I ever see or smell the same smells, or hear the children getting ready for school in the morning. I know there is always a chance for me to come back and visit, but I also know that it will never be the same. Thailand is now a home away from home, when I leave and come back, I will be like all of those tourists on the plane. I will be excited to see Mercy again but I know that I also know that the connection and the feelings will not be the same. Oh Thailand.
In the evening we relaxed in our room and then watched fireworks from our balcony at dusk as they were set off the beach.
Kata BBQ
June 22, 2008
This morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then walked about a 3 minute walk to the beach. We spent the day on the beach, relaxing in the sun, watching the surfers and being amazed by the waves. The waves here are incredible, but the undertow was very powerful. Unfortunately today was not the safest day for swimming, but thankfully we also an always fall back on our resort’s pool.
I was shocked by the prices of things that the vendors were selling on the beach. I think our money saving skills are getting hit here. After anticipating the upcoming rain we headed back to our pool.
We got dressed up in the evening and then went out for supper at a restaurant down the street. There are not $1 street vendors here. I miss Bangkok.
June 23, 2008
This morning I was one of the first people on the beach. I could not sleep an y longer so I figured Id just sit alone and think. A few surfers were out early in the morning catching the waves. The water was very rough this morning.
I had a nice chat with my parents, and by the end of the conversation I had stray dogs sitting around me. I wish I could have got a picture of that as it was pretty funny.
When the girls woke up we took a truck to Phuket Town which was about an hour from our beach. The town was tailored to tourists and I did not care for it much. We did find a Swensen’s though so I was pretty happy about that. It rained off and on throughout the entire day.
One thing about Phuket town is that on every street corner you will be hassled by tuk tuk drivers and taxi drivers, all trying to give you a ride to the market. We forgot our map and all of the places we checked were out of maps so we decided to improvise and take a picture of one of the maps on our digital camera. If you are ever in a bind this is an excellent idea, you can even zoom in on streets.
After our shopping adventure we rode on the truck back, went swimming in the pool, did some water aerobics and then had a nice hot refreshing shower. We had supper at one of the restaurants down the street, once again I went for Thai food. I am not able to pick out some of the sauces and spices they use to cook the food, so mom and dad be prepared for A LOT of Thai food when I come home.
I thought it would be a wonderful idea to walk back along the beach, instead of by the tailors who love to hassle us. This would have been a smart idea if there was more light out, however it was pitch black. Halfway on the walk home Tiffany freaks out, saying that she stepped in something sticky like dog poo. We all had a good laugh. Her and Misty ran to the water to clean it off, only to find out that Misty too stepped in it, and it wasn’t doggy do at all, but some kind of tar. Misty’s mother and I had a really good laugh until we came upstairs and realized we also had it all over our feet! Down to the outside shower we went with a few bars of soap. After that didn’t work we sat on the side of the pool with the soap. Once it started raining we moved our party indoors into the bathtub where we all sat and scrubbed for a very long time, without any luck. I think this is going to have to wear off with time.
June 24, 2008
I cannot believe I just wrote June up there for the date. Hearing that it has been around 27 degrees at home is so confusing as I still feel like it should be winter there, just like when we left. I cannot believe 4 months has gone by so fast. We finished teaching on Friday. I was excited to be done teaching but also sad to think that soon we will be saying goodbye. We added a few extra weeks on to the end of our teaching so we can see some of the country and possibly some of the neighboring countries. As I write this I am sitting in a resort in the south of Thailand.
Unfortunately our vacation time also happens to be during rainy season so we have been experiencing a lot of rain. We arrived here on Saturday and it has been raining the last two days. Although it does suck, I am just thankful that we are not one of the many vacationers who are only visiting for the week. We expected rain, many of them did not. Even though I would much rather be swimming or sitting on the beach, getting away from the city and watching tv and having a warm shower is also sort of a vacation for us.
Today was mostly about the journey rather than the destination. Misty and I spent our last night in the loft at the main Mercy building. We went back to Soi 40 to do a couple of loads of laundry before we had to catch our plane.
At noon we hopped on a flight with her family to Phuket, the dream beach destination in the south of Thailand. We grabbed a taxi to Kata Beach, which is an hour from the airport. We spent some time swimming in the pool and then walked on the beach at sunset.
I have not really been here long enough to tell you what I think about it or compare it to other places. So far I have noticed that because of all of the foreigners coming here for vacations and honeymoons, the prices are really high. It is the low season now so prices are half the price they normally are but they do not compare to prices in other places in Thailand. This was not a surprise to us.
As much as I am excited to breathe some fresh air and get away from the city, coming to Phuket has been challenging. I cannot stop thinking about how privileged I am to even come here in the first place, where as many people only dream of seeing their own country, I dream of seeing the world. I felt guilty telling coworkers where I am going as we both know the costs associated with such a trip. Sitting on the plane today I felt awkward looking around and seeing all of the tourists, wondering if they even know the real Thailand. To them Thailand may only be beaches and sun tanning, not the Thailand I have been fortunate enough to see and experience in the past few months.
I cannot believe how limited our time is here now, I feel like there is still so much I need to see and explore. I look at daily things with sad eyes now, wondering will I ever see or smell the same smells, or hear the children getting ready for school in the morning. I know there is always a chance for me to come back and visit, but I also know that it will never be the same. Thailand is now a home away from home, when I leave and come back, I will be like all of those tourists on the plane. I will be excited to see Mercy again but I know that I also know that the connection and the feelings will not be the same. Oh Thailand.
In the evening we relaxed in our room and then watched fireworks from our balcony at dusk as they were set off the beach.
Kata BBQ
June 22, 2008
This morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then walked about a 3 minute walk to the beach. We spent the day on the beach, relaxing in the sun, watching the surfers and being amazed by the waves. The waves here are incredible, but the undertow was very powerful. Unfortunately today was not the safest day for swimming, but thankfully we also an always fall back on our resort’s pool.
I was shocked by the prices of things that the vendors were selling on the beach. I think our money saving skills are getting hit here. After anticipating the upcoming rain we headed back to our pool.
We got dressed up in the evening and then went out for supper at a restaurant down the street. There are not $1 street vendors here. I miss Bangkok.
June 23, 2008
This morning I was one of the first people on the beach. I could not sleep an y longer so I figured Id just sit alone and think. A few surfers were out early in the morning catching the waves. The water was very rough this morning.
I had a nice chat with my parents, and by the end of the conversation I had stray dogs sitting around me. I wish I could have got a picture of that as it was pretty funny.
When the girls woke up we took a truck to Phuket Town which was about an hour from our beach. The town was tailored to tourists and I did not care for it much. We did find a Swensen’s though so I was pretty happy about that. It rained off and on throughout the entire day.
One thing about Phuket town is that on every street corner you will be hassled by tuk tuk drivers and taxi drivers, all trying to give you a ride to the market. We forgot our map and all of the places we checked were out of maps so we decided to improvise and take a picture of one of the maps on our digital camera. If you are ever in a bind this is an excellent idea, you can even zoom in on streets.
After our shopping adventure we rode on the truck back, went swimming in the pool, did some water aerobics and then had a nice hot refreshing shower. We had supper at one of the restaurants down the street, once again I went for Thai food. I am not able to pick out some of the sauces and spices they use to cook the food, so mom and dad be prepared for A LOT of Thai food when I come home.
I thought it would be a wonderful idea to walk back along the beach, instead of by the tailors who love to hassle us. This would have been a smart idea if there was more light out, however it was pitch black. Halfway on the walk home Tiffany freaks out, saying that she stepped in something sticky like dog poo. We all had a good laugh. Her and Misty ran to the water to clean it off, only to find out that Misty too stepped in it, and it wasn’t doggy do at all, but some kind of tar. Misty’s mother and I had a really good laugh until we came upstairs and realized we also had it all over our feet! Down to the outside shower we went with a few bars of soap. After that didn’t work we sat on the side of the pool with the soap. Once it started raining we moved our party indoors into the bathtub where we all sat and scrubbed for a very long time, without any luck. I think this is going to have to wear off with time.
June 24, 2008
I cannot believe I just wrote June up there for the date. Hearing that it has been around 27 degrees at home is so confusing as I still feel like it should be winter there, just like when we left. I cannot believe 4 months has gone by so fast. We finished teaching on Friday. I was excited to be done teaching but also sad to think that soon we will be saying goodbye. We added a few extra weeks on to the end of our teaching so we can see some of the country and possibly some of the neighboring countries. As I write this I am sitting in a resort in the south of Thailand.
Unfortunately our vacation time also happens to be during rainy season so we have been experiencing a lot of rain. We arrived here on Saturday and it has been raining the last two days. Although it does suck, I am just thankful that we are not one of the many vacationers who are only visiting for the week. We expected rain, many of them did not. Even though I would much rather be swimming or sitting on the beach, getting away from the city and watching tv and having a warm shower is also sort of a vacation for us.
1 comment:
Hi girls, love seeing some recent pics! thanks for keeping us updated jodie! : )
Angela
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