Dinner with Min and Mimi is always a treat. I love that Mimi will shut down the Art C and take off like a rebel to meet up! I honestly don’t think in the 3+ years that she has been working there that she ever did that before I came. (heart emogi)
I wanted to treat these amazing women to dinner before the holidays and before I took off for a few months. I picked the restaurant this time, hoping to offer an experience more high end as a special occasion for them. Found out Min has been here 3 times before, but for Mimi and I it was our first time!
We tried to catch the sunset by meeting up at 6:30 but discovered we were a little late.
The view is incredible. Can see such a large part of Phuket from here.
The weather here has been simply perfect. Was such a great cool night.
Min was in charge of ordering. I tried green curry for the first time! I literally stuffed myself here and they both were making fun of me because they have never seen me eat so much. The bill was only 35$. Amazing. Not sure if I got special pricing because I was with locals.
Love this shot of Mimi by the entryway.
We were being silly and I was so happy Mimi was enjoying the experience. She kept taking photos throughout the restaurant.
Mimi taught me about Burmese Thanaka. This is a powder that the Myanmar people put on their faces. You see a lot of people in Phuket wearing it. It seems strange to me. So I wanted to know more about it.
It’s a beauty secret made from a log of a tree. The older the tree the better. She was saying in Myanmar the trees are 35 years old before you use it, but in Thailand the trees are younger and so the effect is not as good.
I asked her if she could get some for me to try. She did. I am going to try it out with my daughters when they come tomorrow!! It’s such an authentic natural cultural skin care treatment. I feel so lucky to have friends that are teaching me new things. Mimi said she stopped wearing Thanaka powder when she was 15 years old because she started to think it looked silly, but admitted she still puts it on every evening and sleeps with it as a beauty treatment still.
Min was concerned about the road I took coming to Rang Hill where this restaurant was located so we followed each other out a different way where there were more street lights. It was hilarious because Min was driving her daughter’s scooter and Mimi was driving her cousin’s. So we all looked like kids driving away together. Tia is so small compared to the more modern scooters, and Mimi’s cousin’s bike looked like a boy’s hot rod. 🙂
The banks at the malls are always open late so I headed there after lunch to get my rent paid on time. I google mapped my way there from the We Cafe and was taken down some new roads. I was happy as can be, a pig in mud. I wasn’t sure how to get to the parking lot from where I was now entering so in true expat style I simply followed another scooter hoping she knew what she was doing. I ended up in a massive scooter underground parking garage. I followed other scooter riders to the elevators and wha-la—–I ended up in a totally different section of Central Mall.
Christmas was showing up in small ways. This was a Louis Vuitton tree display.
I saw an escalator going down to what looked like a grocery store so I followed to discover an awesome food hall. They had a booth called “mango mania” and I thought about Traci.
They had a fake floating market which was clever.
Good crotch shot eh? This statue is huge!
This gorgeous woman was playing an instrument which I had never seen before but the sound was so authentic and sweet. It was amplified throughout the hall.
Above the musician at the entrance were these elaborate bells and gold leaves.
Sometimes just the little discoveries in a place you have been so many times, is all it takes to jump start your senses. I think because I travel “blindly- meaning I really don’t research areas fully and prefer to just wander sometimes and discover as I go, this happens a lot to me. I am not thorough. But I enjoy the treasures uncovered along the way and will continue to share for those that continue to read.
When taking time today to consider all that I am thankful for, one thing that comes to mind is when my sister Tiffani stepped up and came to Thailand with me when my friend had to cancel. Her decision to accompany me during my first couple weeks in Phuket was life changing.
She remained calm on the back of the scooter in the middle of traffic when I barely had control. She encouraged me to continue exploring. And she never shared a doubt that I was in the right place for me.
She jump started this adventure of mine, and I will never forget how impactful that was. I am sure she has a fun memories from the trip too, but not the life changing input she so gracefully gave to me. Thank you Tiff.
Our memories from Promthep Cape, which was a huge mega bus tourist attraction but beautiful nonetheless. It’s the best place on the island to catch the sunset. People were lined up all along the edge of the peninsula to watch the simplistic natural wonder.
Poser Tiff 🙂
We arrived early and were able to sit and eat while the sun slowly settled.
This was at the end of a long day of scooter adventures and beach stops.
Have to appreciate the color combination of this one!
As I laid on the beach last week, I spent an hour just watching the clouds. Every few minutes, they changed. Transformed. Moved. Parted ways. Regrouped. I watched in awe of the symbolism as occasionally they allowed a glimpse of the clear blue hidden above.
They went from thin grey to fluffy white. And soon became heavy grey low hanging threatening the day we were enjoying.
The wind out of nowhere picked up and started easily bending the top of the palms. Yet I felt nothing. It was as if I was in a protective bubble where everything was happening around me, but not to me.
The workers on the beach started telling people to take cover and pointed to the protective areas where there was indoor seating. I was confused. It hadn’t started raining yet, and although the wind was strong above us, it was not affecting the beach. Most of the tourists vacated the property and decided their day was done. I waited it out. Wanting to see what would happen next.
I laid there in the shade ready to go, but enjoying the storm view. I refused to leave when they warned me of the rain. I mean, I was already wet. Did it matter?
I watched the palms straighten back up and the clouds move off over the mountain out to the sea. Their idle threat vanished. The sun reappeared just as quickly as it had gone. I wondered yet again what life lessons I was witnessing in nature. If we only took the time. I am lucky to have the time. To observe, witness, and think.
“A great storm is like a sunny day to a person of great faith. A gentle wind is like a great storm to a person of great fear.“
Speaking of Phuket Town, I popped in to say hi to Min and Mimi at the Art C earlier this week. I brought them some electronics I wasn’t using. (figured they could use or sell them) I am being diligent about if I am not using something, I am not keeping it! It was so good to see them, they are so sweet!!! They ordered a pizza for us for lunch, and even got chicken on it since they know I prefer that over any other meat.
As if that wasn’t generous enough! Mimi ran upstairs to her room and told me she had something custom made for me in Burma. Mimi is originally from Burma and has quite the story about how she landed in Thailand as a young girl due to war times. Terrifying to hear and yet inspiring seeing how she survived. (she was 7 with no passport or parents)
Her cousin was back in Burma and was coming to Phuket, so she told him exactly where to go and what to have made. I can never outgive her.
My new Burmese dress and purse! I love! They are so me!
I was deeply touched. She is seriously the kindest person and I am so lucky to have met her! She’s heading to Burma after the Art C closes and invited me to go with her. It’s a 12 hour car ride. I would love to, but I need to find out timing wise if it works! Would be an awesome adventure to do it with her.
Virlane and I planned our Saturday night starting with an Italian restaurant neither of us had tried and then bar hop our way home. We started off with what my friend Stephanie labels “a road pop” and started walking from her condo toward Old Town. I asked her what this beautiful house was, and neither of us knew, so we wandered up for a closer look.
It was a Michelin star winning Thai restaurant. Was a gorgeous setting but nothing on the menu looked appetizing to either of us. In typical Virlane style, she took off her shoes and walked barefoot in the grass to get grounded. She is such a hoot! We also stopped to talked and touch a tree later in route. They built the sidewalk around it and it had quite a presence. I wish I could’ve captured a photo of its magnitude.
Beautifully restored Sino architecture.
Our Italian spot was very close to the Corner Bar so we stopped in to say hi to Sonia. It was two for one every day here so that was enough incentive to stay a bit.
Next stop was Mixology. And it did not disappoint! I had a cucumber, tequila, green apple, frothy cocktail which also had a hint of cinnamon. Was seriously worth every bit of the 10$ I paid!
Then the craft brew joint. The special of the day was 2 for one Space Craft stout from Cambodia. Was delicious! And we got to take the glasses home!! So cool right?
After closing this joint, we wandered to the Timber Hut, a local nightclub with live music. Remember they had the 29th Anniversary sign out front and I wondered if they really changed it every year? Well, they do! It’s now 30. But I didn’t get a photo. At this point we were dancing and joining in with the Sabai Sabai attitude of the Thais. Was a wonderfully fun evening, a Saturday night to remember!
Monday was a fun day here in Asia I wish I would’ve known sooner but there are two events that were happening on this 11-11 date.
Singles Day. This is the Asian version of Cyber Monday. There are huge sales going on and the internet starts accepting orders at 1 am on 11-11.. I heard about it from my Chinese students who could not attend Cambly due to this :0 She and her friends were already busy pre- shopping and preparing their carts with excitement for the big day.
I ended up booking a trip to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand using my booking.com Singles Day discount. Happy to get this plan on my 2020 calendar! I messaged Nom, who just returned from a visit there, to ask for any “must sees”.
He replied “Happy Loy Krathong Day”. I then immediately googled to see what the heck he was talking about.
2. Loy Krathong. Is a celebration in the evening, where people release a lotus shaped raft decorated with flowers, candles and incense into a body of water making a wish as they do. The floating away symbolizes letting go of hatred or any anger. It is rumored to have started in ancient times as a ritual that was paying respect to the water goddess but now seems more of a Buddhist tradition.
The celebration takes place annually on the night of a full moon during the 12th month of the lunar calendar.
Found this info online
I stole this photo from Nom’s FB. Trek taught him how to make these!
Thought these fun facts found were worth sharing.
I stole this photo from Trek’s FB post showing the release at Laguna Beach.
Today when walking on Coconut Island, we saw several of these washed ashore.
On my drive to Kamala, I couldn’t help but notice the beauty these parked boats added to the landscape. I pulled over and decided to wander back to take a few photos.
A great place to dry your laundry.
These wooden shacks are everywhere along the roads providing shade to the taxi or boat drivers.
This is my favorite shot.
I joined a local and sat along a concrete edge for a bit to simply admire the view before taking off again.
I’ve been here before but had not seen it from this perspective.
This is the first beach north of Patong.
Love this giant swing! I almost stopped here to eat but it was mostly seafood so I scurried on.
Just as I was saying I needed to buckle down and not spend money due to car repair expenses of the kid’s cars, I ended up out and about all weekend acting like $ is no object. But it was totally worth it!
I was invited to an expat party celebrating Jeanette’s birthday. It was a lethargic Saturday. I wasn’t sure if I could muster up the energy to go but I am so glad I did. This group is entirely eclectic and beautifully diverse. I love all of them in their own way and feel completely honored to be invited to join in the fun of this already established group of friends.
We had a long table and Rebecca assigned seating which made it fun. I was put between Non and Jason. The food just kept coming out. Dish after dish. Was so well orchestrated and made our time enjoyable.
Rebecca is at the head of the table. (rightfully so) The white guy next to the gal in teal lives 6 months in America and 6 months in Thailand. (love the idea!)
Love this guy! So glad he accepts me into his life here in Phuket.
Jeanette turned 40 and started running marathons recently. She qualified and is running the Boston marathon soon and just finished Chicago’s. There’s this race where you run a marathon on every continent in one year and she is doing that next year! I wanted to go to Antarctica with her, but she explained that trip is about 8,000$. YIKES. What an amazing race that would be to see!
I just met Tek last week at a luncheon. He’s from Singapore. Recently moved to Phuket with his husband.
Non is a local from Northern Thailand. Partners with Sterling the diver from Ohio. He is an amazing photographer. He needs to start publishing or finding a way to get some of his nature shots exposure. They are beautiful. The world needs to see them.
Sunday I planned to go to Paradise Beach with Blair. (The Patong gal that dared to go to the ping pong show with me) It was her last day in Phuket and was heading out to Singapore and then eventually back home. I dragged my hungover ass over the crazy mountain and joined her for a coffee poolside. The weather was overcast and threatening rain, so we decided to hit lunch and of course bar hop a bit after. I mean it was noon already!
I’ve heard about this bar named The Drunken Leprechaun. Their happy hour started at 1pm, so that seemed right. We parked on stools along the street for enjoyable people watching and a pint.
These guys would just walk around and put their hands out and say “Happy Happy”. It was hilarious. So Blair and I got our picture taken with them. She is squatting down to their height so I look like a super model!
Blue skies started showing up, so we headed back to her poolside and chilled until the band started playing at 7pm. (felt like we entered a time warp)
She was staying at the Pride Resort which was right on the corner. Perfect for swimming, drinking, beach watching- in the heart of it all.
Blair is from Upstate NY but now lives in NYC. She is quite successful for 33-!She recently quit her job which was tearing her down, saved $ and has been travelling in Asia now 2 months.
We are kindred souls. Spent 12 hours just talking. Was never boring. She was making fun of how I approached her at the bar the weekend before. I was so direct it threw her for a loop to the point where she started questioning herself. She had been travelling a week before completely alone in Chiang Mai and was used to being in her own world, and then I busted right in. No regrets! Been such a fun adventure.
I’m heading out to Greze to meet Virlane for lunch. She is moving back to the USA in February. We only have a few short months left to hang here together and it will be terrible to see her go. One thing I am learning here in Phuket, is nothing is permanent. Then again nothing in life truly is. It just is a tad quicker here.
One of my Cambly students wanted me to experience an Aloe Thai Facial. I never had one before so I googled some of the best facial places in Phuket and landed myself with an appointment at Tarn Tarn Spa. We were going to talk the next night, so I challenged her to watch a movie I liked (Phantom Thread) and we were going to discuss both when we spoke again. (odd side note, but did you know any movie can be watched on the internet for free in the Ukraine?)
The day I picked to head to Chalong could not have been worse. I ended up literally drenched upon arrival. I packed an extra set of pants just in case I got caught in the rain. (smarter than I look these days with experience in the unpredictability of the rainy season here) But the drive back was an experience I won’t soon forget.
Arrival to the spa. Everyone was taking shelter as the rain was coming down hard.
My view while sipping some hot tea trying to shake off the chill.
This spa is located right beside the Wat Chalong Temple and is a compound of its own.
There were boardwalks to many different houses that were part of the various spa treatments. Had it not been pouring down rain, this would have been a beautiful walk. Unfortunately I was trying to concentrate on not slipping, avoiding the random downpours from the overhangs and stepping onto towels they threw onto the floors.
A lady named Tar came and spoke with me because I had a lot of questions. She decided a facial with a mix of aloe and cucumber masks along with an hour long massage would be best for my skin needs.. It was amazing! They wanted me to shower first, but it was cold water only and I had enough of that already. But listening to the pouring down rain hit the roof while being pampered was perfect. I literally feel asleep at one point.
When I was leaving Tar read how I found the location and said if I left a review I would get a free gift. This was the free gift. 🙂 Basically one of those menthol sticks everyone is addicted to sniffing here, but this concoction was made at the spa.
The weather radar showed that there was no rain happening in Phuket. It is literally the most bizarre radar system I have ever seen. I don’t know why I ever bother looking at it. Guess more out of habit but it truly is useless here. I decided to suck it up and throw on my rain poncho and head out. I started encountering roads that were flooded.
This one looked too deep for Tia and I. So I google mapped a turn to see if there was an alternative route. While I was driving along the side roads the locals were literally giving me that look. I’d seen that look before. It’s a look of “where does she think she’s going”. I should have known.
Ended up on this jungle road. Completely alone. Mudslides started to come down. Running on an empty gas tank, I laughed at myself literally for getting myself into this situation. But nonetheless enjoying the view of the shacks in the mountains and wondering if they would welcome me should Tia run out of gas here.
It literally downpoured for 2 straight hours. I have never seen it like this since I’ve been here.
When I got to the top of the mountain, google maps told me to turn right in 200 meters. Then it said turn right, turn right. The only thing to my right was a dirt path. No thank you. I stopped only to discover there was a local man on a scooter following me. As if I knew a way around and he trusted my directions.
I did my shoulder shrug and he spoke fluent Thai to me. Then he turned around and took off. I took the phone out from my helmet and cursed google. Decided I was going to have to risk the flood waters and head back in that direction. Oddly, if I was on a jungle road in America and found a man following me, I would have the fear of God for what he was going to do/try. But here, it never occurs to me. I love the safety I feel here living in a non-predatory environment.
Was quite an adventure. I arrived back at the condo with 15 minutes to spare before my next student appointment called in. I was able to squeeze in a hot shower and pulled my hair back answering the call jovially as if all was perfect in Phuket.
My weekend started off with lunch and a ticket on Tia. It all just got crazier from there! You’ll want to read to the bottom of this one, if you dare.
Alison, Steve, June and Kathy at lunch.
A cute outdoor seating cafe called Annie’s Bowl. I would’ve walked right past it as there is no sign out front.
I sat with a view of a boutique which was part of the alleyway. Tempting me to buy many things I didn’t need.
Cute little statues and planters lined the bench behind us.
We decided to meet up later that night in Patong at Bangla Road, the ever- crazy -always- party -walking street. It is known for its bars, live bands, lady boys, strip clubs, people watching- you name it! It’s all there.
We planted ourselves appropriately at a bar named The NewYorker. It had a live band. which rocked on the heavy metal tunes. Found a perfect spot for both people watching and bar life.
The gang as we were just getting started. I think we must have had at least 6 beers each here. And truth be known I had one in the cab ride over. So I was lit! Beers here were not cheap either! 150BHT. I kept telling them there were other cheaper places we could go where drinks were 80BHT. But we all were happy and comfortable, and they were on vacation after all. So 5$ a beer wasn’t unheard of.
Many people were selling things on the street and would come up and try to get you to support them. This gal captured Steve’s attention because she said she could custom make any bracelet for him in less than 10 minutes! I think June recorded her. It was seriously amazing at how fast she went. His bracelet sweetly was made to say “I Heart Ali”. (his wife) Ali is such a badass. She rides a motorcycle and was showing me photos of Bagdad where she was just on a business trip. I can see why he adores her.
This is Blair. Partner in crime as you can see! I picked her up at the bar 🙂 She was sitting alone drinking and she reminded me of me. So I asked if she was living in Phuket, she said no. I asked if she was travelling alone and she said yes. She has been kicking it around Asia for 6 weeks while in between jobs. So admirable. I asked her to join us if she wanted. A couple beers later she did.
This little person was challenging everyone on the street to a fight. He was in killer shape! Blair mentioned she wondered what he was packing. (I knew we would get along!)
June always seems to have a good time teasing the servers and chatting with others nearby. This server showed him how playful Thais are and brought his beer to him unopened. You can see the expression on his face and Steve laughing along. She later brought him another beer that was literally encased in ice. Hilarious.
Kathy kept wanting to buy the tattoo sleeves they were selling and finally did. It was a blast. Everyone tried it on and took photos
Ali was showing off the sleeve next to Steve’s true work of art. They are such an adorable couple!
I’m thinking I could rock one of these for real.
These folks were sitting behind us and we passed it their way.
About this time, we were pretty drunk and the gang was ready to head back. Blair mentioned wanting to go see the pingpong show”. I had always wondered what that was about and was just drunk enough to go do it with her. I withdrew another 1000 BHT from the ATM since I was running short on cash. The cost of going in was one drink. Sounded do-able.
There are men and women outside the venue with a menu showing you all the shows you can see if you go in. Some of them sounded quite vulgar and I told the lady I didn’t want to see those, I only wanted to see the ping pong one. She assured us that it would only be about a 10 minute wait for that part of the show to come on. So we wandered down the basement steps to basically enter a strip club. (I have never been to one before)
Blair and I saw the menu for the drinks and both literally laughed out loud, because one beer here was 900 BHT. $27—well, now the one drink fee makes sense actually!
There was a 5000 BHT fine for taking photos. It may have been worth it during certain parts of the show! 🙂 I saw a woman pull a live bird from her vagina. Then she put it back in! Another woman pulled a hamster out and let it run across the stage. I kid you not. I was in awe. It was almost as much fun watching the audience. Everyone was just speechless. There were a lot of women in the audience. A group of elderly Chinese women up front and center, a cluster of teenagers drinking Sprite and myself and Blair included. Guess mostly women are the ones truly fascinating by this skill set.
One lady who looked about my age, shot darts from her vag and popped balloons being held by audience volunteers. Truly impressive. A new Annie Oakley.
Two women came out in leopard bodysuits and were cracking their whips in a masochistic way. They pulled a guy up from the audience and whipped him. Then they literally depantzed him and he was butt naked with his junk hanging out for all to see. The Thai ladies laughed and he quickly exited. I felt a little bad for him, but not at the same time. He had nothing to be embarrassed about.
Finally as I was about to pass out, the ping pong talent came out and showed how she could bounce ping pongs out of her feminine parts. Was worth the wait. Made me want to try. But I can see it now, me at a Thai hospital trying to get it out. 555!!!
I have heard of the banana peeling show in Amsterdam, but never had the guts to check it out. Now my curiosity is satisfied. It gave me new perspective on this art form. I stumbled out and grabbed a tuktuk home. Video chatted drunkenly to Justin the entire drive home. I’m sure that conversation had his head spinning. Was quite a Saturday!
Tonya Takes Thailand 