If you ask me why we went to Phuket, I have no idea. If you ask me if I wish we had chosen another island, I would say yes. When we arrived in Phuket, we were shocked by the hight that the tourist industry has taken. Everything seemed to be working for the tourists. The whole city seemed like a cheap reproduction of Europe - with all the english pubs, karaoke bars, shopping centers and italian restaurants. It was miserable. But what could be worse than that? Well, it didn't stop raining for once while we were there.
Luckily we heard about the Simon Cabaret show. It's a ladyboy show and it's SPECTAULAR. We couldn't think of a better way to spend our night, so we went and bought tickets for it.
As you might have guessed, its very popular. Once you are there it is totally forbidden to take photos. If you dare to do it, you would be immediately shamed with a torchlight by one of the security guards.
The show consists of breathtaking costumes, flawless choreography from all over the world (there was even a russian performance - seems like the russian tourists are a majority in Phuket) and very talented ladyboys. Filip was very popular amongst them, so they quickly stole him for a photoshoot.
One of the reasons why we ended up on this island is because we wanted to go to island and marine park trips, where Phuket offered many.
The rain was interfering with our plans, but on our last day the forecast seemed optimistic. We bought tickets to a popular marine park, which we managed to bargain for half the price and got stuffed in a speed boat.
Worst idea ever.
The moment we set of it started raining. The skies became grey, the wind was blowing and waves started to form.
So we ended up here instead, with 1000 more tourists in the same situation as us.
We were given snorkels and masks and were pointed to the place where the pretty fish were swimming. Naturally, there were 500 other people trying to find the pretty fish.
We were wet and cold so we went under the shelter of this "deserted" paradise island where there were the rest 500 of the tourists. We bought an overpriced grilled corn to pass the time and win permission to warm ourselves around the fire. This is where we stumbled to our Chinese friends from the night train to Chiang Mai.
It was like in one of those school trips where you really want to go home, but the teacher doesn't even want to hear about it. Eventually we managed to persuade our tour guide to put us in the boat and take us back home.
Just smile and make a good story out of it.
The ticket that was granting us a refund of half of our money.
This adventure was enough for the whole day, so we went to treat ourselves with some authentic thai food.
It was Saturday, so the place to be was Naka Weekend Market. The little sister of Chatuchak Market in Bangkok, here you can find anything you need. We did shop a bit, but what we were really after was the food. Those were the best Thai fish cakes I have ever tried.
And this lady here is what made our whole trip to Phuket worthwhile. Containing all the energy and happiness in the world, as only Thais can do it, this lady was a master of her tool and was making these little pancakes as fast as the light. If I didn't find her at the very end after I have eaten too much, I would have probably stuffed myself with these crispy bites until I can't no more.
A great end of a not so great day.
And finally on the plane to Singapore, curious about our next adventure!
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Or watch our video from Thailand & Singapore here.
