Secret Safe With Me: Phuket, Thailand!

One more day left? Yes, I would fly back to Bangkok the following day and I was not feeling alright about that! I made that final paradise day in Thailand's Krabi count with a bumper day trip around the bay to Phuket. I wasn't playing with those final 24 hours, I paid for the driver and car to take me round trip and I wanted to embrace as many places in one day! I was ready! 

The conveyor belt of drunkenness and hangovers had finally stopped with a full nights sleep secured after my James Bond Island Tour ended. I boarded my private car with ease, I had refreshments and a toastie from 7 Eleven, with a 10 hour day out I needed to keep my senses together. Hitting the road, the driver from Ao Nang to Phuket took around three hours, it was nice to relax into that outward bound journey. Why Phuket? Why not! One of my students had recently enjoyed his time on that resort island with his family, I wanted to be able to tell him that we had both been to the same place during that Chinese New Year holiday! The Big Buddha was closed, something about a government decision had closed that Phuket attraction. I said, let's go to the beach first! I kept an open mind because I had heard Phuket's main beach was very commercial, I embraced that energy with a Burger King lunch. I had a little walk along the beach with the sun beating down on me, it was not right that I would need to return to 'reality!' Nooo!  

I clocked the energy at the beach, it was a pay for your own spot situation! I would never discriminate against people wanting to make a quick buck but surely a public beach should be free to use a lounger? I did not sunbathe, I did not have the time because it was wise for me to keep moving until I reached the Old Town in Phuket. The beach was beautiful for such a commercial situation, I definitely appreciated the last view of that Azul blue ocean because the water looked extremely clear from where I was gazing into the distance. I did see a cruise ship, I was kind of on my own short excursion from Krabi if I thought about it clearly. I did see the 'Walking Street' and could just imagine after hours, well it would probably be like carnage. Make no mistake, I ate my Burger King without guilt felt whatsoever! I knew that my last meal in Thailand the next day would be a Thai choice! Bidding farewell to the beach, it was back on the road towards the next stop, I had asked to see some flowers but would that be possible? Please? 

I was in a desperate state to find some flowers, orchids to be exact because the flower of Thailand had not crossed my path! I felt like I had let myself down but I had been extremely busy, I had clocked many places in a short space of time! The Botanical Gardens? The driver did his best to take me there but unfortunately it was closed. Not stressing, I knew that I would be returning to Thailand in the near future, it wasn't all bad! With the Big Buddha out of bounds, I asked to see Wat Chalong, one of the 29 most important temples in the Phuket region. The sun was doing the most, the heat of the midday sun was really testing me, I required sanctuary! My driver was a gem, he showed me where he would be waiting and I headed towards the temple worry free. Stood within a complex of several temple-like buildings, I made my way to the most famous one. Where was he? No, everything was fine, I had agreed to spend around 25 minutes at this temple, maybe it was less? I had my eye on the time. PH, those temple stairs were no joke!

Wat Chalong commemorated two specific monks? It seemed so! I found out from some further reading that this Phuket temple had been built during the 19th century with the victory over the Chinese Rebellion won. Wat Chalong didn't look like a super old temple, something told me that this temple had more to tell me, age is only a number! I climbed what felt like a hundred steep marble steps, the terrace/viewpoint revealed the temple complex with rugged hills in the distance. The interior of this temple impressed me much, I was able to respectfully take some photos in-between the steady flow of visitors passed me by. I knew that other temples lay in that complex but I wasn't bothered because Wat Chalong gave me everything I needed! Calm, collected and done with the temple, Wat Chalong chilled me out and I knew that flowers would find me in Phuket's Old Town. The day had been busy but I needed to keep on moving, done with the beach and the temples, it was to the final segments. Colonial history, she better don't! 

So, Phuket's Old Town didn't show me any florists with photo opportunities because I needed to look down those forgotten and unknown alley ways and side streets. After agreeing the final pick up time and location, I headed down the main tourist streets, it was overwhelming but needed to be done. The humidity was horrendous, I knew that a certain libation would need to be found! When I blocked out those visiting tourists and gimmicks to keep them spending, I was able to see some rather 'colonial' looking buildings. While Thailand was never colonised like Vietnam or Myanmar (Burma), a certain European flare could be seen as I walked further into that tourist trap setting. No shade to Phuket, I was just overheating with the sheer amount of people who were walking in the same direction as me. I did find those period buildings appealing, I just needed a little drink to help me retox because that sober feeling was a bit much! Did I grab some lunch? You know what I did peer down a street food alley but the heat told me not to eat! Ooh! 

Sino-Portuguese architecture along those Old Town streets? Yes, that turquoise grandiose was built by a Brit? Yes, the former 'Standard Charter Banking Building' stands on the corner of Dibuk & Yaowarad Roads, I took several snaps of that intriguing building. Taking a sly turning away from the noise allowed me to absorb a quieter vibe, I had a feeling that the ruin-like old buildings and renovated houses would give me a less 'flashy' notion. In a rather gritty part of the that alley I saw a lovely orange floral arrangement outside of a white washed town house. I felt like I had snatched those floral tones that I had wanted to. I knew that in my heart, another visit to Thailand in the near future would allow be to consciously tick off those final requests. At that point, Phuket had showed me enough, I enjoyed one ice cold pint of Liefmans in a quirky establishment. Heading back to Krabi was the thing I needed to do, another long drive allowed me to wrap up my unplanned day in Phuket. I tell you, the sleep I had that night was bliss. Bye! 

Phuket... I Liked It! 

Desperately Seeking Adventure