September 4 (Tuesday)
Questionable Decision-Making
Since we got in rather late on Monday we didn't get a very good look at the hotel, but now that we had some time to check it out, it was actually pretty nice. The Wi-Fi was really spotty and the part where our room looked out over what appeared to be a small shanty town was less than ideal, but it was clean, affordable, and pretty close to the beach. One thing this hotel didn't have was a restaurant, so we found breakfast at a place down the road. After that we headed for the beach.
We walked southward first and, as we neared the end of the beach, a guy approached us and asked if we wanted him to take us around the bay in his longtail boat. This, like the "taxi" in Chiang Mai, is something that you'd never even consider doing in the US. Imagine if you were walking along the Chicago lakefront and some dude was like, "wanna get in my boat?" There's no way you'd do it, right? Not so in Thailand! The guy offered us what seemed like a reasonable rate for an hour-long boat ride and so we went with it. It turned out to be a fantastic idea, because I can't think of any other way we would have gotten to see everything we were able to. I'll admit that there was a point where we were at the mouth of the bay where I thought, "if he's going to shanghai us, this would be the time to do it" but he never did!
Exploring
Once we got back to the beach we headed for a 7-Eleven to pick up some water and happened across a kiosk where a woman was arranging tours. We'd been looking at booking a boat tour to some of the islands northeast of Phuket so we decided to see what she had on offer. It turns out that she was booking some of the exact tours we'd been looking at for less than half the list price, so we bought tickets for the next day. We were going to be taking ferries to Koh Phi Phi and Ao Nang on Thursday, so we decided to get that all booked through her too.
Tickets in hand we resumed our stroll along the beach. If you're in the market for jet ski rentals or parasailing then there are a ton of opportunities. We didn't partake, but we did get a kick out of watching the parasailers. One of the operators actually goes up with the parasailer, only he's not strapped into anything. As soon as they're off the ground he just hefts up and rides in the lines of the chute. When they're coming in for a landing he climbs down and hangs, helping guide it in for a landing. It's crazy to watch.
When we hit the north end of the beach we spotted a restaurant right on the water and, since it was about lunch time, decided to stop in. It ended up being a great place to have a leisurely meal and take in the sights. After lunch we decided to find some open beach chairs and kick back for a while. We alternated between playing out in what has to be some of the warmest, clearest water I've ever seen and relaxing on the beach. The only downside was that, despite my best efforts, I ended up burning the absolute hell out of the tops of my feet and my knees. I suppose that's just the price you pay for being incredibly white and hanging out on a beach near the equator.
Evening
After the beach we headed back to the hotel to clean up and change before setting out to watch the sun set and find some dinner. Since Patong is on the west side of the island the sunset ended up being pretty incredible. The effect was further enhanced by the parasailers who were silhouetted as they zipped back and forth across the sky and the guys down the beach setting off fireworks. For dinner we picked a seafood place near the beach (I think it was actually Patong Seafood) and enjoyed some more prawns.
The walk back to our hotel took us through the "Spring Break Woooo!" part of Patong. Being just after dinner time I suspect that things weren't in full swing yet, but apparently it wasn't too early to see some dude laid out on the street, presumably after a fight. Still, if you're in the market for a bright, loud place to drink near the beach it seemed like it would be hard to beat.
One other thing we encountered on our walk back were some very aggressive masseuses. In Bangkok and Chiang Mai we'd grown accustomed to hearing high-pitched cries of "maaaaaaassaaaaaaaaage," but in Phuket it wasn't uncommon for a masseuse to actually grab hold of your arm and try to drag you over. The worst (best?) example we ran into was one girl who apparently thought that slapping Charlie's ass and calling me four-eyes would be an effective sales tactic. Who knows, maybe that normally brings all the boys to her yard.