Phuket - Day 5

Day 5

We slept in quite late today and rolled around around 1 p.m. We headed towards Patong and make a quick stop downtown for a late lunch. After that we headed further north to try and find some of more isolated beaches on the north-west side of the island. We successfully navigated to two of the northern beaches and they were basically exactly like every other beach on this amazing island, except they had even fewer people. Maybe a three mile beach with a total of 8 people? Phuket is just so empty this time of year. It makes me happy to know that I'll probably be returning around this same time next year so I'll enjoy the conditions.

After the two beaches we decided to try and find another waterfall. This time we were actually successful and found this marvelous jungle waterfall at the end of a very rural road. Despite our lack of climbing clothes (swim shorts and flip flops don't exactly fit the bill) we were able to climb up through the jungle and see some incredible sights. Again, we were the only two people at the entire waterfall. The humidity must have been at least 200% and I was very close to taking a proper dip to cool myself. This waterfall was just as cool and awe inspiring as the other we saw earlier in the week. One minute you're on the world's most fantastic beach, an hour of motorbiking cruising later and you're at the top of a jungle waterfall.

After the waterfall we cruised in dusk/dark back along the western coast on our way to Kata. We resolved to finally get a Thai massage. Now, I would bet every dollar I have that Phuket has as many massage parlors as it does restaurants. You cannot go more than 100 yards in any direction without running into a massage pal or. Our major concern was getting a proper massage without any "funny" business. We walked around trying to find a highly populated parlor and finally settled on one that looked the least shady. The point out two beds and start pulling the curtain closed and Ben summed up both our feelings with, "Really? A curtain?" Luckily no funny business occured and we got pretty decent massages for about $8 for an hour. Obviously when half the island's female population is in the massage business they can't all be certified professionals but they did a fine job, especially considering the price.

After that we hit up a steak house in Kata, enjoyed dinner, and also enjoyed the site of the baby elephant across the street. Some dude had his baby elephant out so you could buy peanuts to feed it or take pictures. Ridiculous.

Take it easy, but take it.