It was a Sunday and 9am at that. I awoke with a headache from the night before, even after I had taken 2 panadols before I fell asleep. Jas was awake too so we headed downstairs to have some breakfast and build up our energy. I thought we would see the two others there but this would not be so. The breakfast room was next to the far end of the pool and not far from the gym as well. It was a big room with a lot of food to choose from. I kept to my vows and had my standard breakfast of rice-related products, a few eggs and fruit etc. It was quite busy but not many of the crowd were of similar age (maybe one or two groups). Most of the people there were
Chinese, Arabic or young Aussie families. Jas and I would have been there for a good 40 minutes and then headed back to the room.
Jas wanted to go to the markets so we left the hotel and went for a walk. It was 10am, overcast and a bit humid. This was one of the few times I'd actually been on the streets at this time in the morning. In earlier years when I had come to Phuket I was still in bed at this time as I used to drink more at that stage of my life. We walked all the way to Jung Ceylon which was not yet open but there were quite a few people standing out the front waiting to go in.
Jas wanted to go to the markets so we left the hotel and went for a walk. It was 10am, overcast and a bit humid. This was one of the few times I'd actually been on the streets at this time in the morning. In earlier years when I had come to Phuket I was still in bed at this time as I used to drink more at that stage of my life. We walked all the way to Jung Ceylon which was not yet open but there were quite a few people standing out the front waiting to go in.
We
walked further down the road, past many places which we had visited before. There was the place where I had gone before to get facials - I liked this experience because it was so relaxing and revitalising. We went into the markets - we used to come here to buy clothes, handbags (mine was for my mum and not me) and check out sunglasses too. Between each row of stalls were small bars - these could get quite busy at night (and even during the day) with men who just wanted to drink beer and relax. These bars were not seedy but they were always interesting to watch.
We crossed the road to The Hard Rock Cafe which was a revered place which we had patronised on the last night of each visit. It was starting to get fairly hot now so I had to load up on more sunscreen. We were finally on Phuket Beach road now and it seemed to get a little busier. We could see the ocean now and we started to pass other places of importance i.e. Hungry Jacks (Whoppers), The Holiday Inn (we had lunch there once with two other Perth locals), more and more markets and then we reached Banthai. This was the hotel we used to stay at and we all very fond of this hotel, not just because of the memories but also because it was just such a great location.
There was Banthai which was at the end of a driveway off the main road so it was quiet and also inconspicuous. Then at the front there were Starbucks, McDonald's, a Mexican restaurant, a steak house, a pharmacy, a franchise pizza shop, an Irish pub and an outdoor cocktail bar. I liked the vodka bar the best: it was small and simple but it was my favourite place to have a cocktail each night before heading onto Bangla Road.
We kept walking and passed Banana Bar which was a lone nightclub across from the beach. It was from enough away from Bangla Rd that it didn't attract the attention of some of the roudier types. This was the first nightclub I had ever been in Phuket.
Soon we turned onto Bangla and then soon we were back at Jung Ceylon.
Jung
Ceylon hadn't changed much since I had been here last but I still liked it and it was still the focal point of Patong (during the day anyway). It is always so lively and there are many places to eat. Jas and I didn't buy anything, only looked around and soon headed back to the hotel to see if the others were awake.
Time lapse - 6 hours pass (sleep, tv, Aussie Bar, food, pool and gym)
We had been in the pool for at least an hour; it was getting dark and most people were having dinner or were getting ready to head out. There was one, strange Iranian boy who had been causing trouble in the pool by approaching others and mumbling incoherent noises. We referred to him as "Golem" and he had stolen a lot of the balls we were using to play basketball with. LV launched a ball at him as the whole pool watched... he was startled and soon left the pool. This would not be our last encounter with Golem.
It became dark and the pool was being closed for the night so we headed back to our rooms to get ready for the night ahead.
Jas turned all the lights off in our room except for the flourescent ones which made our room look like a nightclub. Fashion TV or one of the music channels was on the tv in the backround. We had a shower, I put on some fluorescent Phuket shorts and a generic Phuket tee-shirt. Vesper and Kelmar were both ready so we met outside our rooms and headed to the lift. We got out of the lift and walked through the lobby and down the stairs and onto the road. The atmosphere was lively again and it was warm but not too hot. We walked past all the usual Thai people on the road (i.e. the ladies who worked in the massage parlours, the men offering Tuk Tuks everywhere and the merchants trying to sell you clothes and souvenirs).
We went to The Pizza Co. for dinner at the top of Bangla Rd and across from Jung Ceylon. I don't really eat pizza anymore so I only had an appetiser. After dinner it was about 930pm and it was time to walk the gaunlet that is Bangla Rd. We walked halfway down it and turned left down one of the small side roads. I was hungry so I made everyone wait whilst I had a Thai curry for dinner. So we had all finally had dinner and were ready to "hit the sherp", so to speak. Kelmar and Vesper had convinced Jas and I to play beer pong for pre-drinks. I had never played this game before. We continued further down the alleyway which seemed vaguely familar but I wasn't sure why. At the end of the road on the left was a Swedish bar called "Stockholm Syndrome". We went inside and it was empty except for a few young Scandanavians and a bartender and English club promoter... I had to think for a second but then I realised that this was the place that use to be called "The Viking Bar"... no way! The same place that we had spent a lot of time at three years earlier! This was so strange.
It was getting close to 1030pm now so it was time to leave. We walked back to Bangla where I was harrassed by a Burmese tailor who tricked me into coming back the following night to buy a suit as I am a man of my word. We kept walking and ended up at Seduction again and did the drink special as we had done the night before (and would do for every other night for the rest of the trip). This time I opted for the cup option instead of the bucket; I think Jas chose the bucket. This was one of the times when I stand there drinkin' my sherp quietly, I wait there until I see an opportunity to leave and go somewhere else.
My night was short-lived. I had told Jas that I was going to go exploring for a while and come back to Seduction later. When I left the other 3 had followed me. I didn't really have a plan and was just walking around seeing what was out there. We ended up going into a Russian stripclub for a bit. The dancers were hassling us for money and people started to get angry. I did the polite thing and had a lap dance from one of the women. It was good. We left. The crew headed back to Seduction for the late run, I was fair dinkum sherp'd off so I just went back to the hotel. I watched some tv and my night soon ended; I fell asleep. When I was awoken late in the night, Jas was in a bad way. The next morning would be a challenge for him.
Jas turned all the lights off in our room except for the flourescent ones which made our room look like a nightclub. Fashion TV or one of the music channels was on the tv in the backround. We had a shower, I put on some fluorescent Phuket shorts and a generic Phuket tee-shirt. Vesper and Kelmar were both ready so we met outside our rooms and headed to the lift. We got out of the lift and walked through the lobby and down the stairs and onto the road. The atmosphere was lively again and it was warm but not too hot. We walked past all the usual Thai people on the road (i.e. the ladies who worked in the massage parlours, the men offering Tuk Tuks everywhere and the merchants trying to sell you clothes and souvenirs).
We went to The Pizza Co. for dinner at the top of Bangla Rd and across from Jung Ceylon. I don't really eat pizza anymore so I only had an appetiser. After dinner it was about 930pm and it was time to walk the gaunlet that is Bangla Rd. We walked halfway down it and turned left down one of the small side roads. I was hungry so I made everyone wait whilst I had a Thai curry for dinner. So we had all finally had dinner and were ready to "hit the sherp", so to speak. Kelmar and Vesper had convinced Jas and I to play beer pong for pre-drinks. I had never played this game before. We continued further down the alleyway which seemed vaguely familar but I wasn't sure why. At the end of the road on the left was a Swedish bar called "Stockholm Syndrome". We went inside and it was empty except for a few young Scandanavians and a bartender and English club promoter... I had to think for a second but then I realised that this was the place that use to be called "The Viking Bar"... no way! The same place that we had spent a lot of time at three years earlier! This was so strange.
It was getting close to 1030pm now so it was time to leave. We walked back to Bangla where I was harrassed by a Burmese tailor who tricked me into coming back the following night to buy a suit as I am a man of my word. We kept walking and ended up at Seduction again and did the drink special as we had done the night before (and would do for every other night for the rest of the trip). This time I opted for the cup option instead of the bucket; I think Jas chose the bucket. This was one of the times when I stand there drinkin' my sherp quietly, I wait there until I see an opportunity to leave and go somewhere else.
My night was short-lived. I had told Jas that I was going to go exploring for a while and come back to Seduction later. When I left the other 3 had followed me. I didn't really have a plan and was just walking around seeing what was out there. We ended up going into a Russian stripclub for a bit. The dancers were hassling us for money and people started to get angry. I did the polite thing and had a lap dance from one of the women. It was good. We left. The crew headed back to Seduction for the late run, I was fair dinkum sherp'd off so I just went back to the hotel. I watched some tv and my night soon ended; I fell asleep. When I was awoken late in the night, Jas was in a bad way. The next morning would be a challenge for him.
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