Destination Melbourne

I am currently at the Bangkok airport, cranky because the wifi is not working and there is nothing to do and tired cause I haven’t slept at all last night.

Phuket was a bit of a disappointment. In the evening when we went out, Patong beach seemed beautiful and I was quite excited to be there. Joonas had been throwing up the whole night and he didn’t feel good so he stayed at the hotel. When we got to Bangla Road I was shocked. Although I had heard how bad it is, it was even worse than I imagined… Old western men surrounded by hookers everywhere, it is pretty gross! We went to Hollywood bar, had a few drinks and played this stupid game where you have to hit a nail with the wrong side of the hammer.

When I saw Patong Beach in the daytime I was disappointed. I tried to sleep, but you really can’t get a moment of peace there. All the time somebody is trying to sell you something, whether it’s massage, t-shirts, food, drinks, jewellery… And the beach road is the same. Indian people selling you a suit or dress, girls yelling ‘massage, massage’ and all the time somebody is pulling your sleeve and trying to get you to buy something. The water on the beach is muddy and there is rubbish in the water. Patong is the worst tourist trap ever. It’s really expensive too. Food is almost as expensive as in Finland. Tuktuk costs 10 times as much as in Bangkok and the clothes and drinks at least double what they cost in Bangkok. In Phuket there are also probably more Finnish people than in Finland. I don’t want to travel to the other side of the world and only meet Finnish people.

After two nights the boys moved on to Koh Samui and the Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan. I decided to stay in Phuket because I only had a few days left and the one-day-journey felt too long for that… I took a room at the same hotel because the manager gave me the cheapest price that I could find (which was not cheap at all, 10 euros per night!). I went to Patong beach again and chilled with some crazy Brazilian boys that I had met at the Finnish club Seduction the night before.

The next day I had a moral hangover about not working out at all in 2 weeks and so I packed my bag and took a tuktuk to the only gym with bodypump classes in Phuket, in Kata Beach. It turned out to be a luxury resort and one bodypump class would have cost me more than 20 euros so I decided to skip it. I went to Kata beach instead. It was beautiful. White sand and clear water and nobody trying to sell me anything. I stayed there until the sunset.

In the evening, when I was walking around looking for a good internet café, I ran into two Finnish guys and later I bumped into them again at Tiger club. The next day I went to see the waterfall with the boys. We climbed 130 metres up just to find out that the weather’s been so hot and dry lately that there is no water at all. From the ‘waterfall’ we drove to the shopping centre in Phuket Town, Festival Centre. Not very good. After shopping we went for a quick swim to Kamala Beach, which wasn’t much better from Patong.

After that I was going to get my nails done, when I found the shoe shop of my dreams. I spent two hours trying on different boots and sandals and ended up buying 5 pairs and spending 4 days’ budget. My nails cost just 10 euros but the result was a disaster. I got my toes painted at the same time and that was also a disaster. I would have done a better job if I had done it myself.

I had some problems with the manager of the hotel who was coming on to me a bit too strongly and in the end I had to leave the hotel at night before I had a chance to get any sleep. I was outside on the beach until morning and then took a taxi to the airport. The beach in the moonlight is one of my favourite things in the world and with the right person it would have been really nice...

All in all, Thailand was a bit of a disappointment. The beach parties were fun and the water was clear, the snorkeling was really good in PP island and also Kata Beach was beautiful. However, I’ve seen more beautiful beaches with less tourists for example in Greece. I think that the tourists have ruined Phuket and Phi Phi. Even the partying wasn’t good, the bars weren’t good and they closed at 2am!!!

On the other hand, I only saw a small part of Phuket or Thailand. I wanted to visit Similan island cause I heard it’s beautiful but I didn’t have the money for it. Also, I should have rented a motor bike the first day I got to Phuket. I would have saved money and I would have got a better picture of the whole island. Although I don’t have a driver’s license, but from what I’ve heard it wouldn’t have been a problem =). I’m sure there are still good places in Thailand that aren’t yet ruined by tourists. However I’m happy to move on to Australia!