We arrived in Phuket from Bangkok (after a long and annoying bus ride that started at 5:30 pm on 8.Jan... won't bore you all with the story) at 3 pm on 9.Jan. The island is nice enough, and we're staying in a really fancy schmancy resort with my sister (for free, mind you, so I can't complain about that), but everything here is so expensive: J and I paid like 40 bucks for a crummy lunch at the resort the other day, and about 2.50 USD for a coconut! On the plus side, we haven't paid for almost anything else, ate tons of food (I've put on 5 kilos since I arrived in Singapore), have been hanging out with family, swam in a really nice pool and hung out at the beach.
Despite that, it's been a weird experience for us the last few weeks because we went from totally roughing it backpacker style to my uncle's house in Singapore, back to being backpackers for a week in Bangkok and living cheaply, and now we've been living in relative luxury for three days. Tomorrow we leave Phuket for Ko Phi Phi and are on our own again. It kind of messes with my mind and my attitude to flip from one to the other... other travelers must be able to relate to this feeling even though I can't explain it well here, as I imagine it's somewhat like the feeling of going home and ending the trip. There's this sense of relief to be around family or friends or to take a hot shower and sleep on clean sheets, but there's also an uneasiness to switch lifestyles to this ritzy place which isn't really our thing (and wasn't really our thing before the trip, anyway) now that we expect (or tolerate) much simpler conditions and a simpler way of life. Maybe that's the real appeal to traveling like this: Our day-to-day lives are often about survival and basic needs (shelter, food, laundry). Simple things and amazing, complex experiences define our lives and no longer do we worry about the kinds of problems or stresses that bog us down in our lives before this trip and it bothers me that we'll have to leave this simplified life some day. Maybe that's why I've been feeling so weird lately.
But we've also learned that we need to take experiences for what they are... so J and I have been doing some serious relaxing here, including taking a long nap on some hamocks yesterday after lounghing around the beach and taking a late breakfast. Today, we went to the beach with Lisa, got stung by some jelly fish, and promptly left to go swim and spend the rest of the day at the pool. I'll write more about Bangkok another day (when some pictures are online), but we did a bunch of sight seeing there and got a few Thai massages and of course, we ate excellent food all day long! Enjoy the pics.
Despite that, it's been a weird experience for us the last few weeks because we went from totally roughing it backpacker style to my uncle's house in Singapore, back to being backpackers for a week in Bangkok and living cheaply, and now we've been living in relative luxury for three days. Tomorrow we leave Phuket for Ko Phi Phi and are on our own again. It kind of messes with my mind and my attitude to flip from one to the other... other travelers must be able to relate to this feeling even though I can't explain it well here, as I imagine it's somewhat like the feeling of going home and ending the trip. There's this sense of relief to be around family or friends or to take a hot shower and sleep on clean sheets, but there's also an uneasiness to switch lifestyles to this ritzy place which isn't really our thing (and wasn't really our thing before the trip, anyway) now that we expect (or tolerate) much simpler conditions and a simpler way of life. Maybe that's the real appeal to traveling like this: Our day-to-day lives are often about survival and basic needs (shelter, food, laundry). Simple things and amazing, complex experiences define our lives and no longer do we worry about the kinds of problems or stresses that bog us down in our lives before this trip and it bothers me that we'll have to leave this simplified life some day. Maybe that's why I've been feeling so weird lately.
But we've also learned that we need to take experiences for what they are... so J and I have been doing some serious relaxing here, including taking a long nap on some hamocks yesterday after lounghing around the beach and taking a late breakfast. Today, we went to the beach with Lisa, got stung by some jelly fish, and promptly left to go swim and spend the rest of the day at the pool. I'll write more about Bangkok another day (when some pictures are online), but we did a bunch of sight seeing there and got a few Thai massages and of course, we ate excellent food all day long! Enjoy the pics.
Relaxing in a hammock in the Hammock District of Laguna Beach, Phuket, Thailand.
An expensive coconut drink on the beach in Phuket. Check the muscles, Mom... I've put on some weight, too!
One of the 178 mural paintings of the Ramayana at the Thai Grand Palace in Bangkok.
2 comments:
I do know what you mean about swinging so widely between environments, but for me it was a lot different than coming home. It is hard to explain, I agree. But it sounds like you guys are rolling with it and enjoying yourselves while still being aware of the differences. That's all you can really do right? Have such a great time!!
Jen
Expensive? Well, yeh, things are going to be expensive in front of a 5 star resort! The rest of Phuket is rather different. You have seen but a tiny part of the island.
Enjoy the rest of Thailand!
Jamie
Phuket
http://jamie-monk.blogspot.com
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