Our New Office

Here are some more events that took place during the 2 weeks Sara and I stayed in Phuket. Most of the time was spent working, but there were quite a few cool experiences.

- We saw an elephant play in the ocean. We saw a 40ish woman (who was staying at the resort) feed this elephant watermelon she bought and cut for it. She played with the elephant. She swam with the elephant. Essentially, she acted exactly like a small child would. I admire her for it – most people (myself included) can’t revel in the simple joy that life can offer for fear of looking foolish. Not this woman.

- I turned 30 in Phuket. Leading up to the big day, Sara often asked me “What do you want for your birthday?” I usually responded with “I don’t need anything,” but after being asked enough times (I guess my wife didn’t like that answer), I got a little fed-up and said “I’m in Phuket, Thailand, at the Marriot. What the hell else do I need?” That put an end to the questions (and got me a dirty look too).

- We rented a car in Phuket and I drove on the “wrong” side of the car (right side) on the “wrong” side of the road (left side). I can mark that off my “list of things to do before I die.”

- We went on a bike tour of Phuket, and we saw photos of the 2004 Tsunami. Our bike tour guides each lost friends and family in the tsunami, helping me to realize the tremendous impact of this disaster (40,000 Thais died, plus many more in Indonesia). Seeing a wall of graphic photos of bodies and destruction strewn across beaches is something I will likely never forget.

- We also went on a limestone sea cave tour – very exciting. Sara wrote about it a little bit – we saw bats! If only it hadn’t rained the whole time.

Wreckage left-over from the 2004 tsunami at Koh Phi Phi.

- We visited Koh Phi Phi, a small island near Phuket that was almost completely destroyed by the 2004 tsunami. It’s difficult to comprehend, but nearly every building on the island was washed away. Four years later, it was difficult to tell that anything had happened here. It was a beautiful, nice place, and we wished we had spent more time their. It was also quite popular with young western tourists (mostly backpackers).

November 2nd -16th, 2008. After leaving Cambodia, Sara and I traveled to Phuket. We stayed at the Marriot Resort (HUGE shoutout to Kim and Ian for such a great wedding present!) for two weeks, and I finally had a chance to relax. I was able to buckle down and catch up on some work, as well as get rid of a persistent cough that was becoming a nuisance.

Rather than keeping a daily (or almost daily) log for our two weeks in Phuket (which were mostly filled with work), I’m just going to give you the highlights.

When we first arrived in Phuket, weary from a full day of travel (we flew from Cambodia to Bangkok, then Bangkok to Phuket, with a healthy layover in between), we had an odd experience. When our taxi pulled up to the Marriot resort, a security guard checked the trunk before letting us thru the gate. At the time, I wondered if they were checking for someone in the trunk. It wasn’t until another taxi driver made a joke – he said “BOOM!” when the security guard checked his car – that I realized what was happening. They were checking for bombs – yikes. I started a lot of checkpoints for bombs in the area, and I even found a news story about a bombing in the very south of Thailand while we were visiting. Not a good feeling.

We stayed at a tremendous resort in a two bedroom apartment. We had a kitchen, a laundry room (YEA!), our own private balcony, and plenty of room to spread out. We stocked up on food at the grocery store, and for the first time in nearly a month, I had some scrambled eggs that weren’t grossly under-cooked. In China (and in Bangkok), the style for scrambled eggs is runnnny. Making my own breakfast (bacon, eggs, cheese, and toast) the way I like it was one of the most comforting experiences in Phuket. Sara really appreciated the free Yoga classes, the beach, the cheap massages, and the three different swimming pools. The Marriott Phuket Resort is definitely top-notch.

For the first (and likely last) time in my life, I enjoyed a “house call.” The doctor came to my room, sat down on the floor, got out his stethoscope, and listened to me cough. Meanwhile, the two nurses that accompanied him feverishly took notes, filled out prescription forms, administered drugs, and completed other various paperwork. For $150 (US), the doctor made me feel like a “somebody.” Even more, I really respected these people for being medical professionals that didn’t make you feel like a schmuck. Unlike a visit to a US Doctor – who makes you wait, doesn’t always give you time to ask questions, and generally makes you feel rushed – this Thai doctor was a “regular guy.” I can understand now why many US citizens retire in Thailand – the doctors here are much nicer (not to mention less expensive).

More highlights are on the way…

On our last day in Phuket we took a ferry to Koh Phi Phi. Every one we talked to said this was a must see when in Phuket, but what we didn’t know is that its a place definitely worth staying for a few days.

Koh Phi Phi is very remote and it took about two hours to reach the island. Lucky for us we were able to sleep the whole way there. A combination of the heat, the ocean waves, and our spoiled selves not used to waking up at 6am allowed us to nap peacefully.

Once we got close to Koh Phi Phi the scenery looked very similar to what we’d seen on our caves tour, but with the sun out this time it was much greener.

Koh Phi Phi was one of the many places destroyed by the 2004 tsunami. From what we understood the whole island was devastated. They kept some of the wreckage in place as a reminder, but even without the wreckage it was hard not to think about what it must’ve been like.

We only had a few hours before the return ferry left so we played at the beach and ate and drank.

We’re glad we went to Koh Phi Phi. We only wish we had spent a few days here instead of a few hours. It would’ve been nice to stay in our own little bungalow, snorkel, and jungle trek…maybe next time.

Phuket is a much bigger island than we anticipated. In fact, we were pretty surprised to find ourselves 45 minutes away from the popular, touristy areas. We weren’t prepared for its size and felt a little stranded in our hotel. However, if I were ever to be stranded at a hotel, I’d pick this one. We had everything we needed and more.

Although Phuket itself was great, the best part of our time here were the side trips we took to some of the smaller islands nearby. We were told there are more than 130 small islands within two hours of Phuket. We only  made it to a few.

The first adventure was a caves tour. It took about 1 1/2 hours by boat to reach a cluster of uninhabited islands where we disembarked from the big boat onto canoes. We had a guide that paddled us through different caves and around some of these islands.

This is by far the best tour we’ve taken while on our travels. That’s saying a lot especially considering the fact that it was raining like crazy and we had to float in and out of caves (you all know how much I like caves).

Yes, those are bats. The guide told us to keep our mouths closed to prevent bat poop falling into our mouths. I’m serious.

Not all of the caves were overtaken by bats. In others we saw beautiful colors and awesome shapes. From our canoes we saw a lot of wildlife living in the water and on the islands. We saw sea spiders, lizards (of course) and a family of long-tailed monkeys…baby monkeys and all.

Some of the caves we toured were so small we had to lie down and suck it in.

The neat little object you see there is a traditional Thai offering that people make in November for Loy Kratong Day–a celebration of the full moon in the twelfth lunar month. Made of banana leaves and orchids, the idea is to take the offering to the river and send it off with a wish. The celebration comes at a time during the year when water levels are high and the dry season begins.

Here we are sending off the offering that we made ourselves (with the help of our guide). The last of the caves we toured was after dark. This was so we could see the water sparkle from all the phosphorecence in and to send our offering with lit candles and incense. If it hadn’t been raining we could’ve gotten video, but trust us, it was beautiful.

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Black Friday Shopping for the Avid Traveler

What do you buy someone who has no home and nothing more than a piece of luggage or a backpack?
Travel supplies, that’s what.

Check out the Our New Office travel packing list for some excellent holiday gift ideas.

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.

Yes please.

After our short hiatus to Cambodia we flew back to Bangkok and then down to Phuket, which is a pretty popular place with the tourists and the place where I found my most favorite thing about Thailand.

Thai massage.

For only $12 I got to enjoy one hour of serious kneading, pounding, and pulling…on the beach no less.

This is the beach (Mai Khao) right near our hotel.

My other favorite thing about Thailand is the elephants. They are a symbol of good luck. It’s also sort of coincidental that the country of Thailand is shaped a little bit like an elephant too.

While in Phuket we we would see a man with a small elephant on the beach. You could pay to ride the elephant or just watch him go for a swim, which is what we did. It was pretty amazing to see this huge creature rolling around in the waves like a little kid.

Who knew elephants were such good swimmers?

Wondering where we are and what we’re doing?

Today we arrived in Phuket, which is an island in Thailand and staying at the nicest resort I’ve ever been to, thanks to my friend and former co-worker, Kim, who hooked us up through her timeshare. We’ll be here for two weeks so that we can enjoy the beach and catch up on all kinds of work. With our stable setting we should also have more time to fill you in on all our adventures so far.

Since Beijing we’ve been to:

Xi’an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.

Shanghai to see … we’re not really sure what we were supposed to see, but it was nice anyway.

Bangkok to check out temples and to eat some great food.

Siem Reap, Cambodia to tour Angkor Wat.

After Phuket we plan to visit:

Chaing Mai, Thailand for some serious elephant riding and jungle tours.

Penang, Malaysia to see more beach and hopefully to get a taste of what Malaysia is all about.

Singapore for a full city tour.

Hong Kong to see the sites and Macau to gamble and hopefully win all the money back that we’ve spent on this trip.

Wish us luck.

After our Asia excursion we plan to spend one month in Costa Rica and then its off to New York City where we will stay for awhile. We were thinking about a South America trip too, but we’re both really looking forward to living in NYC and for all of the business we can drum up there.

Buenos Aires will just have to wait.