Time to go home

Leaving Thailand. From Phuket on a domestic flight to the new airport just outside Bangkok to swap to the flight home to Sweden.

Bar girl's beer

Bar girl and Per chatting...

Bar beer waiting to be used in the heat.

Thai massage for 200 Thai Bath

It's impossible to avoid hearing phrases like "Massaaage!", "Massaaage! Miiisteeer!", and "Miiisteeer! Massaaage you liiike!" (one of my personal favorites) if you're strolling around in Phuket's tourist traps.

So, what's Thai massage really like? Is it rough? A handful of violence mixed with two cups of pure rage? Is it true that the massage girl / woman is walking and climbing all over your body making it look more like an expedition to Everest than traditional massage? I had to find out. Since no one - except Per who had done this a number of times already - volunteered, I had to use my own body, roughly 2m of prime Swedish male, for the experiment.

"Ok. I'll go for a one hour Thai Massage. 200 Thai Bath."
"I have one condition though. Must be able to sit upright afterwards."
"Haven't had lunch yet you know. Yes. No. Never tried it before."
"Will like it? Yeah, I really hope so."
"Must be able to sit upright afterwards - Oh, yeah, sorry. You already know. Yeah."

It was dark inside the massage institute. Reminds me of the phrase "It's always darkest just before it goes pitch black"...

Me to the left, Per to the right. No oil, just one tough Thai woman kneading my body like dough.

Aouch. What's this move called? Was it even in their massage instructions?

Almost done. Putting the pieces together again.

Done. One hour. It felt great. At least afterwards. Per told me that this was one of the toughest he'd experienced so far - and it was my first encounter with Thai massage. But I'll definitely do it again. Maybe a two hour session next time...

For reference: This took place at "Hakone Thai Style Massage", one of the massage institutes in Patong Beach, Phuket.

Frog market

Me trying to deal on the local frog market:

Pusher: "150 Bath, special price for you miiiister..."
Pusher: "Special frog you see..."
Me: "Na... You get it for like 10 Bath at your distributor..."
Pusher: "Noooo miiiiister... Not possibleee..."
Me: "Ok, say 15 Bath. I'll give you 30 Bath for a frog. Happy?"
Pusher: "Nooo can doo. Nooo can doo... Not possibleee..."
Me: "The problem is that the market is flooded with frogs."
Pusher: "Eh?"
Me: "They're jumping all over the place..."
Pusher: "80 Bath... Ok?"
Me: "Nooo can doo... I'll give you like 40 Bath for a jumper. Max."
Pusher: "60 Bath? Ok?"
Me: "50, and it's a deal."
Pusher: "Deal!"

Not every frog is worth the initial claimed 150 Bath. I'm not interested in frogs, it's the action dealing with the frog pusher that I'm after, that's what's worth 60 Bath to me.

50 Bath.

I could go on dealing the whole night here...

The Famous Old Dutch in Patong

Anonymously located at Soi Patong Tower, one of the quieter and not-so-crowded side streets in Patong, just off the beach, you'll find The Famous Old Dutch, a small Thai bar and restaurant.

The Thai food at the Dutch is superb, spicy, and perfectly balanced - exactly how Thai food should be prepared and served. Try it!

Introducing Sor Fee, aquaintance from the Similan dive trip, to the delicious food at the Dutch.

Per is trying out one of the hats sold by a local fake-frog-hat-bracelet-dealer. Fake since it's wooden frogs they're selling, not real ones. The dealers (they're all dressed in the same way) circulate around bars and restaurants, trying to make you buy something you have absolutely no need for at all - but since it's so cheap, and you get "special price for you my friend" it's sometimes hard not to... Next time maybe.

An article mentioning The Famous Old Dutch and its restructuring after the tsunami can be found here.

McThai's in Patong

Ronald and one of his Thai-dealer-friends hanging out at the local McDonald's restaurant in Patong. Dealer to the right.

Didn't try it in Patong; McDonald's burgers taste the same all over the world. Almost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's

Diving Similan sites with Similan Diving Safaris

Every morning starts early to get the most out of the day. Four dives are planned each day, including one night dive. Around 06.30 wake-up calls can be heard in the corridor.

The dive crew at the table, planning todays dives for the different groups.

Since there's eat-what-you-ordered breakfast right after the morning dive a few toasts and a coffee is more than enough before the first dive in the morning.

Into the blue; giant strides from dive deck into the Similan ecosystem. The water was clear, blue, warm, ...

Lunch time. Mm... Always lots of food, lots of great Thai food. Delicious.

A visit to one of the Similan islands. I have climbed up on the rocks to get the view - fantastic... A few dive boats can be seen anchored in the sea.

Night dive. Had to watch out for the barracudas.

Time to go to bed. More diving tomorrow...

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Boon Sung

Fun dive; Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

18.1m, 47 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Koh Tachai

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

21.2m, 48 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Richelieu Rock

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

Night dive; Per didn't join since he had problems with an ear.

16.0m, 39 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho

Eleven Minutes is a fascinating story about Maria, a young woman from a small Brazilian village that gets heartbroken at a tender age. She becomes convinced that true love doesn't exist, that "love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer . . .".

After a chance meeting in Rio with a mysterious European man she decides to leave Brazil for Geneva, for what she hopes will be a fresh start with new possibilities in life. But life is sometimes like a big maze, it's difficult to find what you're looking for - and maybe you don't know exactly what it is that you're hoping to find...

I had a hard time to stop reading it once I had started. Finished it on the Similan liveaboard boat just before the trip was over. It's definitely one of Coelho's better stories.

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Richelieu Rock

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

26.4m, 53 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Richelieu Rock

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

29.6m, 52 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Koh Tachai

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

30.4m, 52 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Koh Bon

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

13.2m, 39 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, North Point

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

22.7m, 45 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Breakfast Bend

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

24.6m, 57 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, Elephant Head Rock

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

30.4m, 40 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, East of Eden

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

8.0m, 34 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com

Dive log; Thailand, Similan, West of Eden

Fun dive; guide #624813 (Matthew Norman), Similan Diving Safaris, M/V Dolphin Queen.

27.3m, 53 minutes; Suunto D9 dive log.

http://www.asiadivesite.com
http://www.similan-diving-safaris.com