Pass on Patong

RAIN, torrents of it, falling like a waterfall. Patong just couldnt cope. Because of the scale of recent development here, and instead of natural drainage into the soils, water bounced off the concrete and into storm water drains until bursting. I had thought that, being a dull afternoon, I’d get a Thai Massage from accross the road. I couldn’t get across the road. The heaviest rain fell for only about 6 hours in which time roads floaded into low lying shops, streaming at speed. I watched from the lobby. A bycycle floated by.

Patong didnt excite me at all. Possibly its an odd coincidence too that Patong sounds a bit like Patpong, Bangkoks notorious ‘Ping Pong Pussy’ district. The night life was a hassle.

I had had my eye on a day trip to Phang Nga district which didn’t eventuate because of the weather. I might have been keen to dive in the Andaman Sea. But with the weather, and aside from hanging out with Matt and Faith (eng), I was happy to be moving on quickly. Phuket town has some beautiful Portugese influenced architecture from its old days on the trade route to China, but otherwise…

It’s not just about the destination, its the journey.. I told myself. From Patong my modes of transport took me to Phuket (Songthaw) > Surat thani (thai bus) > Bangkok (overnight train 10hrs) > Chiang Mai (overnight train 12hrs). Thai station Agents are really helpful. They see a Farang (foreigner) and they help you. In the train it’s a little like sleeping in a washing machine at first but by my second overnight train to Chiang Mai the shaking just rocked me to sleep. Wendy (dutch) was my train mate and we had some fun shooting the bull.

I did have a day to kill in Bangkok so to avoid it ridiculous heat I started at the zoo. 30bht ($1) entry. Amusingly to everyone I was as much an attraction to a group of school children as the elephant enclosure. Later I went to the Bangkoks CBD to catch a movie in the BMK complex. It showed to me that despite the povety in which some thai live there is a burgeoning middle class. Thai kids cram floors gaming. Shops and stalls are loaded with anything you could want or buy in NZ. And there’s the little differences, like standing in respect for the King before the movie starts and watching a 5min trailor on him.

I’m in Chiang Mai now with a bumper post to come.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 16th, 2004 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Thailand. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.