Stewart Adventures in the City and Beyond: Thailand!!! and Hong Kong, too :)

Wow, I've gotten so far behind in my blogging. This is partly because the internet connection was pretty costly in Thailand, so we just used our online time there to email as necessary and video chat with the kids, partly because while we were in Thailand, just a couple of days before we flew home, my grandpa passed away, and I just didn't feel much like doing anything... including keeping up this blog, and lastly because when we did get home, we hit the ground running in the usual Stewart fashion.

So, here I sit, ready to get back on track in a "hit the highlights" sort of way ;)

We had four nights and three days in Thailand, and we squeezed in as much as we had energy for. It was such a different experience from our time in Vietnam, and honestly, if we hadn't come off of such an amazing experience, we surely would have LOVED Thailand, but in comparison, it didn't hit the mark for us. Most of that lack of "hitting the spot" had way more to do with the fact that we were in an incredibly touristy area (which is not usually the way we choose to do things) and because it wasn't the type of vacation where we had the opportunity to get to know and become friends with locals. For us, that always enriches the experience.

We stayed in Phuket, specifically on Patong Beach. This is the crazy, busy beach in Phuket. It is miles and miles and rows and rows of the same storefronts selling the same stuff with the occasional restaurant, bar, or massage parlor stuck in there. We likened it to a combination of Cabo and Waikiki on steroids... Bizarre, but we did manage to leave with knock-off sunglasses and purses and Calvin Klein underwear that turned out to be for Gaige instead of Steve. You know, you think you know your size, even your "Thai" size, but those people are just LITTLE, and it catches you off guard when you're squeezing into those designer boxers :)

There are very few Americans in Phuket. At least, we didn't see too many, and we think it's for a few reasons:
1. It's a stinkin' long plane flight.
2. You have to be a fairly adventurous American traveler to venture to Thailand.
3. And if you are, then you wouldn't choose to come to a resort town like Phuket (Pooket). You'd trek around the less touristy areas and really enjoy the natural beauty and history of this country.

That was just our guess anyway. We did a day trip out to the Phi Phi (Pee Pee) Islands and around, and that's the first we saw of Americans. We met a couple of young-ish brothers from San Francisco, a fun couple from Maine, and a family from Texas, but they are currently living in Malaysia. They had two little ones, probably around 3 and 5, and the little girl was wearing UV Skinz (a swim shirt company owned by a friend in Sonora)!!! Crazy small world ;)

There are, however, LOADS of Australians and Europeans who vacation there (I think Thailand is their Mexico), and we love them, too :) We had to pay to sit in chairs on the beach one day, and even our "beach" guy (who swept the sand off our feet and chair while we sat there) spoke French, English, Thai, and who knows what else. Our guide on our trip to the smaller islands spoke Japanese, French, Thai, English (in an amazingly bizarre manner), and he might have piped up with something else if it was needed. And at a restaurant one evening, the Thai waiter started speaking Italian with the Italians who sat down at the table next to us. There's clearly a heavy European presence, and the people employeed in the tourist industry (really anything in Phuket) make sure that they are fluent in as many languages as possible.

We'd been avoiding street food in Vietnam because of Robert's recommendation, but we went back to our old ways here. They have out crepe carts in the evenings, and they're cheap!! You can get a banana and nutella crepe for under $1.50. We ate crepes for dessert every night, and now I'm in a terrible rut here, making crepes almost every night!!

Oooh, another good deal... MASSAGES!!! Our first night there, we both tried a traditional Thai massage. It was $10 for one hour. It wasn't as gnarly as the Vietnamese "Foot Massage," but it still had some off things. They don't really "rub" you. It's more of a pressure point thing with some serious stretching... masseuse sitting on your buttocks or thighs and pulling you up by your arms into an arch like a swan. That doesn't necessarily feel good ;) On the whole though, we liked it, and we definitely like that we tried it. We even got to wear some spiffy pants (see photos below).

On our last night there, we had a "foot massage." It was $8.50 for an hour, and we made sure to give our girls an understanding of what we wanted. It was best $8.50 we've spent in a long time. Actually it was more than that because we tipped them so big. That part is almost as great as the massage, just seeing them so thrilled with a nice tip.

Walking around at night, we did see girls that we assumed were hookers and girls that we assumed were boys. There is a seedy element in Patong Beach and big cities like Bangkok. That particular strip feels like Vegas on steroids. Thankfully I had been warned by my sister-in-law (who had heard from a friend who had been here) that the "Ping Pong Shows" aren't exactly ping pong tournaments. You know how we love our ping pong, right? So, when Steve was offered a ping pong show by some vendor as we walked by, he said to me, "I didn't know they were good at ping pong in Thailand." Not exactly, darling. I love that I got to enlighten him.

On our way home, we had an eight-hour lay over in Hong Kong. It was perfect really because we had just the right amount of time to take the Airport Express train out to Kowloon and see Victoria Harbour at night, watch the laser show, walk the Avenue of the Stars, and have some yummy Chinese food. Hong Kong is seriously cool. They say it's East Meets West, and you can see that that's the case. It is extremely clean, which is lovely, and there is a ton of shopping. I had worn my cute little sundress from Thailand, thinking that I'd be dressed appropriately when we arrived, but it was cold in Hong Kong, and I changed into my airplane clothes (sweats, basically) and Uggs in a hotel restroom. I was so bummed because we were in this high fashion area, walking through all these serious shops above ground and below, with fashionably dressed people, and I'm dressed like a dork. Even Steve said I looked frumpy, and he doesn't care about that type of thing at all. We got a good laugh out of it.

We got back to the airport in plenty of time to relax and get ready for our flight back to SF. It turned out to be just over ten hours instead of the nearly fifteen hours it took us to GET to Hong Kong. The difference is due to the tail winds versus the head winds. Amazing! Our flight took off just after 1:00 a.m. our time, and Steve slept well on the plane. I, on the other hand, got NO sleep as I was scrunched between Steve and this big guy who smelled really bad, REALLY bad. I felt sorry for him, but it was seriously a bummer. I was wedged as close to Steve as possible to try to get clean breaths of air, but it was tough. I watched movies and old episodes of "Friends," and counted down to touch down. We were so excited to see the kids. It had been a great trip, but it's always better to be home.

Our first night in Phuket. Our "beach" hotel was on
this road, tucked back in a way, across from the beach like all the other hotels.

This is what Rock Lobster looks like...prehistoric

The lobster and tiger prawns were SO big, and they were everywhere.
We expected them to be a bargain, but it was about $6 for one shrimp.

Chocolate and banana crepe
I stepped up to the Nutella ones later on.

Steve in his fancy Thai massage pants

Matching pants for the happy couple

In the Andaman Sea
You can't see all the people in the water to the left because
I went in on the boat side of the rope ;)

Scoping things out at the end of our first day, and learning the
hard way NOT to drink iced coffee and Coke in the evening

Yummy pineapple shake at dinner
They make the BEST fruit shakes in Thailand.

Steve with my newest favorite fruit, dragonfruit!!!

Steve in soft-focus in our tuk tuk
The soft-focus effect is from going from our AC room to the humidity outside.

Tuk tuks ROCK!

Our favorite restaurant!
After Beach Bar and Grill in Kata Beach

Kata Beach was still packed, but much more our style

Check out the structure of these trees...similar to Mangroves.

We were out of the tourist district here.
The tuk tuk driver laughed that we were seriously going
to get out and eat at this place, "Fried Chicken Muslim."
They were out of fried chicken though, unless you count the chicken feet.