Aruba and Phuket — A Comparison, Boss

Similarities between Aruba and Phuket

1.  Both are islands.

2.  Aruba and Phuket are tourist traps.

3. There are lizards in both places. This little guy made it into our bathroom somehow.

4. The food is excellent.

5. It’s hot enough that you break a sweat just walking down the road.

6. So many stray dogs; it’s sad. This guy tried to interrupt our happy hour picnic on the beach. When we weren’t any help to him, he went down aways and dug up a crab.

Differences between Aruba and Phuket

1. Aruba is a desert and Phuket has jungles.

2. Some of the cockroaches in Phuket have wings.

3. In Aruba the water is clear and blue. Phuket’s waters are a bit murky.

4. While shopping in Aruba the salespeople ignore you and in Phuket they won’t leave you alone. They like to call Jason “boss” and engage him in conversation. They say things like, “Where are you from?”  They also try to shake his hand. We think this is so they won’t let go and lead him into their shops.

5. Phuket has several Starbucks locations, while Arubans are mostly Dunkin’ Donuts drinkers. We made sure to leave our mark at the Starbucks. It’s called marketing folks.