THAILAND: Fishing and Island Hopping

PHUKET, THAILAND

My friend Mon took me fishing with his family when I visited Phuket. His father is a fishing aficionado and so was the rest of the family. We rode their fishing yacht from Ao Chalong (Ao means "bay" in Thai) and spent the morning trying our luck at catching our dinner for that evening. Finding where the fish were was easier than I thought. With just a push of a button, their on-board sonar device that detected how many fish were under the yacht. However, catching the fish was quite a challenge, not to mention a test of patience and timing. Our fishing rods had about 10 hooks so that should have evened out the odds.

Fishing, we go!

Mon

The deck

Enjoying the morning sun

Reeling in

Caught any?

It's not the quantity but the quality

For lunch, we docked at Coral Beach where Mon's family owns a restaurant by the coast. While waiting for lunch to be served, we went snorkeling in the nearby coral reef. The island was totally deserted except for the restaurant staff -- a welcome retreat from all the tacky tourists in Patong Beach. It was as if the whole island was reserved just for us. The view was absolutely picturesque. After eating, we spent the rest of the day just lazing around on the beach. The breeze was gentle and the waves were hushed. With a cold watermelon shake in one hand and sand in between my toes, I was all set to enjoy some peace and quiet.

Fetching us from the yacht

Waiting for the boatman to come back

Chill

It's all ours!

Winding down

We left Coral Beach at dusk. The ride back was shorter than it seemed and the waves were not as roused as they were in the morning. We brought the day's harvest to Mon's other restaurant, Kan Eang @ Pier which was right beside Chalong Bay. This has got to be my most favorite restaurants in Southeast Asia. Not only are their Thai dishes fantastic, but the ambiance -- the view of the calm bay, the fresh air, the austere furniture, the customer service fit for a king -- was absolutely wonderful. At night, they have live jazz music to soothe the soul while sipping a mojito. This place is perfect for a date. The chefs of Kan Eang (which means "at ease" in Thai) prepared half-cooked sashimi out of the fish we caught that day.

It's time to go

Retake

Ao Chalong

The dock

Dinner

THAILAND: Promthep Cape

PHUKET, THAILAND

Promthep Cape is a small rocky hill in the southern tip of Phuket Island. The locals say that this is the perfect sunset viewpoint in Phuket. I went here with my good friend Mon who is a well-established local and future business tycoon in Thailand. Whenever Mon has guests, he brings them to  Promthem Cape to enjoy the relaxing ambiance of the setting sun before having dinner at his place.

Mon trying out his new cam

A small shrine on top of the hill

Tourists from all over

The sun in Promthep Cape is notoriously known for causing sun burns but on the day we went, the sun was mellow and weak. The clouds were thick but, fortunately, there was no rain. In spite of that, I still got to take some lovely photos, thank god. There were couples seated on the ledge of the viewing area at the highest point of the hill. They all seemed lost in each other's presence, making the most of their quality time after a hard day of work.  It was obvious, though, that people go there only for the sunset. Everyone seemed to disappear with the sun.

That's where I want to go next...

Take me away!

I'll stop the world and melt with you.

Promthep Cape

THAILAND: The Grand Palace

BANGKOK, THAILAND

Bangkok has always amazed me for its similarity in appearance with Manila -- the deluge of Japanese cars, huge shopping malls, a "noodle-bowl" of flyovers, rice-based meals, even the kinds of trees we have look similar -- yet, despite looking alike, Krung Thep (Bangkok's Thai name) carries such a strong and unique Asian charm that it has become the most popular jump-off point in the Southeast Asian backpacker circuit.

EDSA?

Local street food shack

Tomyam Rice

Ma Bun Krong mall 

(an affordable shopping option)

Inside Siam Paragon 

(high-end shopping center)

Siam Paragon food court

Quite appropriately, on my way to the Grand Palace, a policeman stopped me from crossing the street because the car entourage of the royal princess was about to speed by. I said I'll just use the overpass instead but he said that Thais give tremendous importance to one's head. It's considered an insult to whack or to even just touch it. One's feet should never be over another person's head because it's a sign of utmost disrespect. So to walk on the overpass while the princess was passing under it is tantamount to putting my feet over her head. Of course, I wouldn't like that. What a coincidence it was, "meeting" the princess! Because the Grand Palace used to be the residence of the Thai royal family!

The royal princess' car

Outside the Grand Palace gate, I met a friendly tour guide who informed me that the Palace was closed for day because the King was entertaining a royal guest. He suggested that I take a tuk-tuk to this other temple, visit a Thai art exhibit and then make my way to Khaosan Road. I pulled out my map, he scribbled his directions, encircled the landmarks and he even wrote down his name. At the snap of his finger, a tuk-tuk arrived right in front of us. Grateful, I bid him goodbye and left. I went to the temple he suggested but it was small and almost empty. There was a dubious-looking monk inside who taught me how to put golden paper leaves on the Buddha -- a temple ritual. The Thai art exhibit was dark, dusty and the sales ladies were such hard-sells. I felt harassed into buying but I kept my cool and politely declined. When I arrived at my hostel that night, I asked the receptionist who the visitor of the King was. He replied, "The King didn't have any guests. And besides, he doesn't live in the Grand Palace."

The following day, again outside the Grand Palace at the exact same spot, I met the friendly tour guide again. I greeted him, "Hey! The King didn't have any visitors yesterday. What were you talking about?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," he replied with a certain discomfort.

"We met yesterday. You even wrote on my map!" I pointed at his name on my map.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you. Please leave me alone," and he immediately left.

Apparently, it's a common modus operandi for "friendly tour guides" to mislead innocent tourists into visiting "exhibits" for a commission from the exhibitors. Everyone was an accomplice. The tuk-tuk driver received gas vouchers from the exhibitors for taking me there. The "tour guide" received a small amount from the tuk-tuk driver for making me ride his tuk-tuk. I got punked. Oh well.

I continued on with my plans anyway -- the Grand Palace.

In the Grand Palace Grounds

Around the Palace

Palace Guards

Halt!

Thai Architecture FTW

It was scorching hot that day

Mirrors and Gold

Cooling down with the Palace monks

Inside the Grand Palace is Wat Phra Kaew -- considered to be the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. Rightly so, this temple houses the Emerald Buddha which is disputed by the Laotians, the Cambodians and the Thais. Each claims that they should keep the Emerald Buddha in their homeland because it was stolen from them. Wars were waged for the possession of this icon. Until today, this is a sensitive issue for the three. When I went inside the main hall where the icon was displayed, I was greeted by men and women of all ages peacefully chanting while seated on the cold marble floor. To show respect, visitors are required to dress conservatively and to remove their shoes. Everyone had to sit in such a way that their soles were not facing the Buddha.

Confronted with a totally foreign experience, I tend to quickly draw my camera to capture it in digital form. But sitting in front of this historic green statue, hearing the rhythmic chanting of Thai prayers and witnessing the possessed expressions of the worshipers, I knew that taking a snapshot would only ruin the encounter. Instead, I kept my camera inside my bag and just relished the moment.

Wat Phra Kaew

Emerald Buddha

A Closer Look

Demons guard the Palace Gates

Giants

Around the Grand Palace

Decorated gate

Monks

THAILAND: Phi Phi Island

Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed. For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it. 

-Richard, The Beach (2000)

Close to Phuket Island (Ko Phuket) in Thailand is the beautiful, almost unreal, Phi Phi Island (Ko Phi Phi). It became famous for being the fantasy-like beach in The Beach, a film that will surely catch the fancy of travelers and adventure-seekers. From Patong Beach in Phuket, I took a short mini-bus ride to the port and rode a speed boat to Phi Phi. It was a bumpy ride so I was glad our tour guide gave us anti-seasickness pills beforehand. Nonetheless, the sight of the blue sea and the green islands from the speedboat was a treat in itself. The scorching sun made the water glisten as we were speeding by.

At the waiting area for the speed boat

Boat men sitting on the motor

And we're off!

Turn left at the second island

Waterworld

As part of the tour, we went to several islands. The first stop was Maya Bay of Ko Phi Phi Leh, otherwise known as The Beach.  It was crowded with tourists, mainly Westerners, trying to escape the bitter bite of winter in their part of the world. As expected, the throngs of vacationers disenchanted The Beach of its mystique and intrigue as shown in the movie. I doubt, though, if the island is ever totally empty -- its popularity is both its bane and boon. Fortunately, despite the crowds, I was still managed to snatch some post-worthy photos of the lovely coastline.

Parking Lot

Mountainside

By the shore

Phi Phi

Crowded

Packed

Our tour group snorkeled and fed the fish bread before heading off to the following island. Sadly, the corrals were drab and almost lifeless probably because of unregulated tourist activity and lack of environmental protection measures -- quite precarious for a region that depends greatly on the tourism industry for its income. Up next was was Ko Phi Phi Don where we stopped by to chill under the colorful umbrellas set up by the locals. From above ground, the island is wide on one end then it becomes extremely thin in the middle before it gets wide again towards the end. This was briefly shown in the movie. Our boat stopped at the thin portion of the island. It was a welcome respite from the heat of the sun and perfect time to enjoy fresh coconut juice. It takes only five minutes to cross to the opposite beach of this small island.

Chill Spot

Less crowded than Maya Bay

The opposite beach

Coconut-nut

The whole Phi Phi Island tour lasted until about 4PM. I have finally ticked another destination on my "Places to See" list. Admittedly, if it weren't for the movie that made Phi Phi famous, I don't think I would have found myself there. Nonetheless, Ko Phi Phi definitely deserves a visit especially for nature-lovers out there.