Thailand Part 3 - Patong Part 1

After a long night of freezing cold AC and constantly jolting awake after having started dozing on each other's shoulders, Navid and I finally arrived blurry-eyed in Phuket, under-slept but optimistic.  Upon awakening in Phuket, I immediately noted the change in scenery. We had left behind the grit and grime of Bangkok and had exchanged it for a more dusty, natural kind of dirty. The sidewalks were still cracked and the buildings still had a simple, ramshackle quality about them, but there was much more greenery and the rooftops were lower, leaving the sky more open.

The beautiful blue sky of Patong

We pulled into the main bus station ready to go but not yet ready to move. While Navid and I were still groggily shaking off the night's poor rest, the station was buzzing with the early morning activity of hard work and travel. Everyone was eager to get a head start on the day while the day was gracefully cool. After having set one foot on the ground off the the bus, we were immediately greeted by a forceful and energetic woman of four feet and maybe an inch, couldn't have been any more. A barrage of questions, "Where you going? You want taxi? Where you going? I take you there. Where you going?" It was all too much with a stiff neck and an empty stomach. So I turned on my classic, Chicago-style ignoring, blatantly ignoring the woman as I wandered through the station, looking for a map of some sort. The ignoring, I found, was actually proving completely ineffective. As the woman remained by my side, talking loudly and incessantly, working hard for her day's money. And at such an early hour.

Navid and I being in no mood to deal with this sort of business, decided to hoof it and check out the surroundings. We began walking down the main street near the station in a direction that felt good and, after finding all the restaurants completely empty, decided on a nice looking one with outdoor seating. We each ordered the "American style" breakfast, complete with eggs, toast, coffee, and weird looking red hotdogs substituting sausage (I imagine) and hungrily set to eating without more than a word.

It was a good opportunity to clear our heads and get centered for a long day of god-knows-what. We had a hotel booked in our names, somewhere around here. So it was a simple matter of tracking
the place down. The sun wasn't too hot yet, we had food in our bellies, caffeine in our blood, and cash in our pockets. Things were looking up.

We wandered the town for a bit after breakfast to get a lay of the land, and soon realized that the only thing going in the area was the big bus station to get us out of the area. Returning to the station rejuvenated, we were immediately greeted by several of hawkers that had hounded us before.

Awake and significantly less irritable, we took the first opportunity that presented it self and set to bargaining for our fare.  The driver was a short, sun-wrinkled old man with tattoos up both arms and an honest enough face. He ushered us into the back of a "taxi", which was just some car, and, after we insisted on keeping our bags with us and not in the trunk, gave a nod of understanding and hopped driver's seat. We were in Phuket City, but needed to get to Patong. It turned out to be a good 15-20 minute cab ride up and over a small mountain. Navid, the fool, had wanted to walk it. But about halfway into the ride, feeling the sun getting noticeably hotter and the soothing AC in the car, we realized that listening to my whining about not wanting to walk was the best decision we'd made that morning.

We made it to the other side of the mountain and were silenced a truly stunning view. Looking down from the top, we could see steep, twisting roads snaking through the town. Brightly colored homes and shops covered the hills from top to bottom, giving the appearance of neighborhoods stacked upon neighborhoods. All of this was framed by beautiful green foliage of the mountain on the outskirts of the town and the beautiful open sky and ocean. It was a kaleidoscope summer paradise.

We slowly rolled down the mountain road behind a line of cars. 9 a.m. and Patong was already an anthill of activity. The streets packed with honking cars, sidewalks crammed with shouting, laughing people. It felt a bit chaotic, but the energy was everywhere and it was infectious. Navid and I kept quiet and just soaked as much of it in as possible. I could feel the excitement brewing in my stomach.

I handed the cab driver our hostel's address and he took a look at it, then gave it back to me smiling and shaking his head. He had no idea where it was, and it was no wonder, because the roads in Patong seemed to twist off in every and any direction they chose. I'd figure it would be a miracle if he knew where it was solely from the address, and apparently he did too. So, not knowing exactly where to go, we decided on hitting up a central area and working our way outward. And if Patong was known primarily for Patong Beach, then the beach was where we were going. To the beach, driver!

He dropped us off on the beach with no idea where we were. But it didn't matter, because we were here... we'd made it. I gave the guy a big tip because he'd been such a cool guy, and he drove off smiling. It took all of three seconds to realize we'd wound up on the beaches of a ritzy hotel tourist getaway. That being said, the influx of money had apparently created a legitimate city of its own. So we set off into the city in search of a net cafe and found one in no time.

Finding the hotel on a map took no time at all. It looked like a good hike, but manageable on foot. I was still keen on taking a cab, but Navid, being more money conscious and eager to see the town on foot, convinced me that we'd better walk.

So we moved on, me whining and moaning along the way from the time we set foot in the heat outside. I still wasn't really feeling 100%, but Navid argued that I'd chosen to take the taxi into town, so now it was his turn to choose. I couldn't argue with that, so, being the trooper I am, strapped my pack to my back and pushed onward. Not without a fair share of whining, I'll admit, but good lord it was hot.

We had to make a few pit stops. First in the McDonald's of a mega hotel's mall complex, where I chugged strawberry soda like it was the essence of life itself and had this nice portrait done by Navid.

I don't think I was really smiling this much...

After the next few blocks we started our uphill hike (which was not shown on our map.) The sun beat down and smiled it's sunny smile, almost mockingly. It started to occur to me that I was not 100% and wouldn't be getting there anytime soon. But, I kept on best I could because there wasn't any way I was going to feel better passing out in the hot sun. Navid kept me going with promises of cold beer every few blocks. Until I realized what he was up to and demanded that we actually stop for a real beer. Phantom beers can only keep a man going for so long.

Blessed shade

We took it easy in the shade and had our cold ones while I recuperated. We calculated that we must have been close and, when I was satisfied, we continued our trek. Honestly, the walk probably only took about 30 minutes without the stops. But I swear it was like the search for the holy grail for me.

A shot from our balcony at the hostel

At last, we spotted our place. "The Gypsy Room"'s sign towered above us, protruding from the hostel on top of yet another steep, steep hill. But our goal was finally in sight, and with one last push, we moved on up the hill, stepped into the cool air of our hostel, and kicked off our dirty sandals and shoes.