Phuket, Thailand

November 4, 2013: This was a magical day, and I don’t want to forget a moment. My sister and I intended to spend our first day resting by the pool and maybe taking a beach walk. That lasted about seven and a half minutes before we decided to check out what sorts of other trouble we could get in to. We settled on a day-long boat and kayak trip that went in to the evening. It started with about a 45-minute drive through Karon and Surin Beaches. What a city of contrasts! I had heard that Phuket had, for the most part, recovered from the 2004 tsunami. And it had … for the wealthy. The less fortunate have patched up their homes with old wood and rusty, corrugated metal sheets. There are roadside shrines, construction, and ghost homes that were a mere shell of what they once had been. We saw goats and cows wandering roadside, and small motorcycles rule the roads. People load their motorcycles down with their families, and we saw everything from a man riding wearing nothing but a speedo and a good tan, to a local woman in head to toe traditional Thai clothing, completely adorned with sequins. Helmets are NOT preferred. The electrical system here is comprised of hundreds of loosely-draped wires. I am bewildered as to how an electrical issue is found and resolved.

Once we arrived at the pier, we took about an hour ride out to the smaller islands and did some cave exploring by kayak (including one with thousands of bats!), had a wild monkey jump in to my lap, and participated in a Loi Krathong ceremony, where we made lotus flower floats, and sent them off, lit with candles, into the hong (lagoon). This last part was done in the pitch dark, and it literally took my breath away. As we made our way out of the hong, I dragged my hand through the water. The phosphorescence was like watching hundreds of fireflies dance from my fingertips. The last and final adventure of the day (you know me – there had to be at least one more) … we grounded our (big) boat, lost a propeller, and had the boat spitting black smoke and spinning. I think there is something just the tiniest bit wrong with my psyche that this can happen, and all I can think is, “this is going to make a hell of a story.” The scenery and the people here are like no other. I said this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I hope that’s not true. There is a specialness to this place that will never leave my heart. Wonder what tomorrow will bring?