Surfing in Phuket Part 1

Location : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

If my website had been online throughout the 2 months I was in Phuket, Thailand, I would have had so many funny stories to tell you! But because of what happened to my blog, I have recollected them all by memory and instead of making one long post and boring the wits out of you, I've decided to split them into 3 parts so here's the first.

Despite close similiarities between Thailand and Malaysia, the Thai people are in fact still a whole different culture from Malaysia. For example, there are a trillion ladyboys that roam openly in Phuket without fear of reprisal from society. That has not really happened on a large scale in Malaysia yet. My interest in this phenomenon got the better of me for a few days after I had a close encounter with one of them. I started noticing them everywhere - they are in bars, they serve you your drinks in restaurants, they are in shopping complexes, they sell cinema tickets, they suck your gear stick...heck, they even appear on national television!!! Nonetheless, whenever there was one of them in my path, I would cross the road or at least keep my distance as I pass them.

The last time I posted from Thailand was about a close call with a ladyboy. There were other positive and negative occurences in my trip. Here are the highlights :-

Lost
I lost an important and sentimental anklet given to me by Nadine, a girl from Norway. It's the only thing I have to be reminded of her because we've lost touch. All I have is this string of sea shells that she made on her own around my ankle. Plus the fact that she was oh so cute doesn't harm at all!!! All that sun and sea water everyday must have been too strenuous for the anklet to hold. Change is good so at least now there isn't an anklet to give me a scare whenever I feel it around my ankle in the water. Moreover, if I lost it by accident, it was meant to be and it's time to let go.

Baby Crab
Met another baby crab while I was out surfing at sea! The same thing happened but this time, it scratched my sides. And again, I panicked, lost my balance and fell backwards into the water. Whenever I'm paddling out in the water, I'm obviously exposed to the dangers of the ocean so I always try to be on the lookout. In Phuket, there is quite a bit of crap floating around in the water although the sea is bright green. Once, I almost surfed over 2 long logs washing ashore! These rubbish float over to greet me sometimes when I am in the water and I always panic whenever something touches me because I tend to think that it's a jellyfish...

Urine Shower
I got stung by a jellyfish. Twice. Separate surfing sessions. I got so pissed off with the bugger I wanted to smash it to pieces with my surfboard, Kelly, and eat it for dinner. But then poor Kelly....always having to step in, protect me and all I ever do is ride her. I think the title gives you an idea of what happened next (Urine or vinegar is the antidote for jellyfish stings).

Up and Around
After a while, I left to go on short overnight trips to the town of Krabi, Phra Nang Cave Beach and the islands of Koh Phi Phi. Krabi is at centre of the rock climbing scene in Thailand because there are many beautiful limestone rock formations surrounding the area. Krabi can be an interesting social centre - laidback and relaxed. Don't stay in town. Go to Ao Nang or Ao Phra Nang which is by the sea and has got a much better atmosphere. From Ao Nang, you can hire long tail boats that go out to the little beaches on small islands a short distance oversea. On those islands, you can chill(or roast) on the beach from sunrise to sunset and do some people watching, read a book or doze off in a hammock. I have heard of some travellers comparing Koh Phi Phi to the Perhentian Islands(Malaysia) but in my opinion, it is NOTHING compared to the Perhentians. But of course, you must understand that I am a bit primitive because when I go away, I am running away from development and crass commercialism. Not that case in Koh Phi Phi - it seems every available piece of land that has commercial value has been built upon. Concrete buildings and shops almost everywhere walkable. It suddenly struck me again why so many travellers fall in love with Perhentian Islands - settlement is only on the beach so every traveller that travels to the Perhentian Islands meet at one place, Long Beach. It's like a little community living somewhere unbelievably beautiful. Development doesn't stretch inland. The jungles remain jungles. But like most things, there are positives and negatives. Development is a result of increasing competition and with competition among businesses, the consumer benefits. For example, the accommodation on Perhentian is limited and expensive but it is largely available in Koh Phi Phi and cheap. Anyway, Koh Phi Phi is a heckuva lot more laidback than Phuket and I really enjoyed checking out these islands that I've heard about for so long.