Barbie noted today that she has not felt this relaxed in a long time. And I have to tell you that the weather of Phuket, which is basically 90℉/32℃ during the day and and 75℉/24℃ at night and humid as heck, is basically perfect for me. I can breathe easily in this warm, moist air and my skin feels great. I know that some people love the desert with its dry heat, but I have concluded that it is the tropics for me.
Today I made the switch to egg white omelet. Bold, I know.
We have noticed a significant lack of bugs around this J.W. Marriott Phuket. Today I noticed these sticks on our breakfast table. A Thai version of fly paper, for certain.
I do not expect you to read this. But I show it to you because it opens the door for me to talk about democracy. The above notice from the J.W. Marriott is informing us that because Sunday is Thailand's national election, alcohol will not be served from 6 PM Saturday to Midnight Sunday. A day and a half.
Do I have to pontificate? Yes. It is who I am. Some nations simply take democracy more seriously than others. And Thailand does. Their election day is on a day when people do not have to take time off from work to vote, and they actually ban alcohol to make sure that people are sober. (I am sure the sobriety makes for both a more solid decision and a more calm reaction to results.) Some nations make election day a national holiday so that people can vote with ease. In the USA, we vote on a normal Tuesday and voter turnout is literally restricted by the realities of voting before or after work; particularly voting among the working classes, who have less freedom to take time away from work.
And we wonder why our political climate is suffering. We need to not take democracy itself for granted.
And by the way, it is VERY HOT AND HUMID IN THAILAND. There. How was that for a change of subject.
After breakfast, we did the usual work and such in the room and then headed over to Turtle Village, the shopping area built for and surrounded by the resorts we have been frequenting along this Northwest coast of Phuket.
Turtle Fountain and Wasteguy.
Soon she will be posing with the real thing, but I suspect this statue smells better.
I am not sure why these letters are in front of the Swensen's ice cream parlour. Perhaps love can be found in iced creams?
We walked from Turtle Village to the Marriott Vacation Club next door.
Geared for families, this Vacation Club sure looks fun.
Barbie took this one, of course. The next shot was of me moving the Knight, but it looked like I was trying to choke a horse. I opted to show you this, the contemplation shot.
Man vs. Woman. Good vs. Evil. Shaken vs. Stirred. Who wins?
Barbie wins!
We walked back to Turtle Village and decided to eat THERE. There would be an Irish Pub recreated here on the coast of the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean.
Fact break. Before we head into lunch, allow me to remind you that earlier, when I learned that the Andaman Sea was part of the Indian Ocean I pondered the whole ocean/sea thing. After some research, I have learned the answer. With the exception of land-locked bodies of salt water, which are technically called seas (Caspian Sea, Dead Sea, etc.), every sea that connects to an ocean is technically part of that ocean. It took me until middle-age to learn this.
Okay, lunchtime.
Every culture has its sauce. Here we see the UK, Thailand, and the USA lined up and ready to go. And note: Digging your sauce did not make the cut and is not being repeated as a motif.
Since we were in an Irish pub, I ordered an appetizer sampler. But note there is chicken satay on that plate, as well as chicken wings, nachos, fries, onion rings, and garlic bread. A Thai twist on Irish pub food, for certain. The chicken satay, for the record, was the best thing on the plate.
Barbie ordered the Pad Thai. It was excellent. Truly excellent. And very much like the thai food found in the USA. This has lead me to create a theory. Thai food in the USA is more true to its roots than other ethnic foods in the USA, as it was introduced decades later than foods such as Chinese and Italian which have definitely been Americanized and therefore when you visit those countries the food you are served is not much like what you are served in the USA. And perhaps it is not just that Chinese and Italian have had the time to Americanize, but that whereas Americans of the early 20th century basically demanded that ethnic foods be Americanized, Americans of the late 20th century and now the 21st actually demand that their ethnic foods be unlike traditional American foods.
I choose to believe that this theory, for which I have done no research and very little critical thinking, is exactly correct. It is my right as an American to think this way.
When Barbie placed her pills on a plate to take during lunch, the waitress saw them and became very distressed. She was certain that Barbie might be very ill. Barbie explained that they were supplements and that she is fine, and the waitress calmed, and we all learned a little bit about ourselves.
I have seen this advertisement repeatedly since arriving and watching Wimbledon on the international station. The tourism board of Thailand needs to hire a better ad agency. Amazing Thailand, Always Amazes You. When your slogan is five words and one word is used twice, someone is overpaid.
We walked out of lunch and over to Anantara, a Small Leading Hotels of the World resort between our J.W. and Turtle Village.
This is the hotel lobby. Anantara surrounds this lagoon, and it is an extremely classy and beautiful resort. A bit higher than both the J.W. Marriott and even the Ranaissance, though clearly someone who wants a modern feel would prefer the Renaissance to Anantara.
The Anantara pool is one beautiful place.
I took more Anantara pictures, but you get the vibe. A smaller, higher end boutique resort for the demanding traveller.
We walked towards the beach and saw that we can walk right back to our resort from here. Bueno!
All of the pool pictures you have seen the last few days were taken here. And the red circle marks where we always sit.
And sit we shall!
Note: Room 345. I shall record all of our room numbers. I have not really told you this, but the last two years we have sense a pattern in our room numbers. This year I will gather the data.
We cleaned up and got ready for dinner, for tonight we dine not by ourselves (when we in fact seem to be skipping dinner altogether) but with a honeymooning couple. Yes! A honeymooning couple.
You see, just a few weeks ago a friend of ours who is shooting a documentary came to our home with a small crew and recorded us talking about, and I will be vague here to prevent bad people from stealing their idea, personal matters. It turned out that our friend, who deserves to be name-checked, Matther Mizel, is working on said documentary with a partner and his partner had just gotten married and would be on his honeymoon in Thailand at the same time as us. Kismet! Email address were exchanged and dinner was arranged.
And, as luck would have it, the newlyweds are staying at the Westin. This means that Barbie gets to site inspect the Westin. I think that makes six hotels in five days, allowing her to place clients with very different needs.
Since I have not given you much geography, allow me to add that our resort is located at the Northwest corner of the island of Phuket, while the Westin is actually on a little island on the Southeast corner of Phuket, Si Ray Island. (The bridge is maybe 40 feet long. It is not like Si Ray is a totally different island from Phuket.) We hired a car at the J.W. Marriott and off we went to the opposite corner of Phuket.
I wanted to include this shot of the Phuket highways, to show that their highways are basically two lanes each way with a planted divider in the center. Yes. I am doing it again. Blah blah Jeff. Other countries are not that different from our own, no matter how far away from home we get.
Of course, the highways of the USA do not feature motorbikes and people in the backs of pickup trucks. We have too many lawyers for that.
Our driver, Sohn, pointed out this statue. Apparently the leaders depicted lead a Thai force of around 400 against a Burmese force of around 2,000, and won. All the leaders of Europe put up statues and arches for all of their victories. Why would the Thai be any different?
A shot for my brother.
A depiction of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and his wife, Sirikit Kitiyakara. The royals are beloved in Thailand, and they do an excellent job of promoting democracy. In fact, the king has been able to calm violence and lead democratic reform here when needed.
On a side note, in 1987 in a college dormitory I met an American girl who had been born and raised in Thailand named Siri Kim Chandler. Her parents had named her after the queen, Sirikit. I will never forget her telling me this. I tried to google her, as she moved back to Thailand after graduation, but no dice.
The king looks particularly dapper in a cowboy hat, no?
It only took an hour to get here. By the way, I get many conflicting reports on if this is Si Ray island or Siray island. I will assume that it does not translate perfectly and that both ways are correct.
It is almost comical how today all hotels must be titled, Resort and Spa. I suppose if a hotel lacked this identifier, people searching online might think, "I don't want to stay there, they don't have a spa." How could a resort not have a spa? I suspect that internet search is changing the way we title everything. Companies feel the need to get as much data as they can into their names, so that when you get a search result you will see a nice little advertisement of what they offer. Ah, internet. Was there life before you?
Barbie with our driver Sayan, explaining that we will meet him back here after dinner. He was simply lovely, and pleasant to talk with. His card reads Mr. Sayan Srisuk, Taxi Service. 084-6896684. Use him when you visit Phuket.
The Westin featured this amazing art piece. It could represent coral, or it could represent green flames, or it could represent trees. I have no idea, but it sure is pretty.
The piece is made of stacked squares of green glass. Very good. Very nice.
We met up with the newlyweds, Michael and Sherry, and headed to dinner. (I sure hope that I spelled her named correctly.)
You know me. I love a phonetic spelling. This restaurant gets top marks just for its name.
The meal started with this sesame toast with a sweet dipping sauce.
The chefs really seem to enjoy flipping those woks, making the noodles and soups and such fly in the air before them.
First course, soups and thai iced tea. Confession. This meal, particularly my Thom Ka Gai soup, made me greatly miss my first favorite Thai restaurant, Santa Barbara's own Appethai. It was run by two sisters who had recently immigrated from Thailand and was, in a word, one of the best restaurants ever. Only John Gillis and Julie Crisafulli know this. Sadly I am no longer in touch with anyone else who knows the joys of Appethai.
Main course: Phad Sie Eiw, Massamun Nuea, Tempura, and Barbie. You cannot make me stop using QuadCam for meals. I love the effect and man does it save me time.
The Howards and the Simkins. Oldyweds and Newlyweds, in Phuket together at random on this small, blue planet. Barbie and I, as you know, tend to not seek out the night life. We have been there and done that, so to speak. But the Simkins are much younger than us, and it definitely sounded fun to go out on the town with them.
BAck to Patong Beach, where Barbie and I had been to the Hard Rock Cafe. One suspects that it was more mellow tonight than usual, mainly because the law against serving alcohol on election day. And I must to say, "Yay!" I would have hated having to push my way through crowds of drunk tourists.
Yes, at night in Patong Beach there are businesswomen looking for business. It is not at all over the top, and they were few and far between. But you certainly notice them, as their hair, clothes and makeup are significantly less resort and more business. Business meaning their business, of course.
Would you walk down this alley for a pay toilet? We did for Sherry. It was not a scary area, but I confess that I was more comfortable out on the street.
Out on the street, taking in the nightlife. Again, I think I would have hated this place had the bars been overflowing with drunk Australians.
We seriously enjoyed hanging out with the Newlyweds. I cannot repeat the stories that were told, but they involved our favorite topics. A great couple, and hopefully we will see them back in Los Angeles.
Sohn picked us up in front of the mall. And at the corner of the mall was this little Spirit House.
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