We awoke in Phuket to the lovely noise of construction at 8am. Nothing like a good nights sleep after a horrible journey the day before...oh wait. Also, John , Stu and I didnt realize just how bad we were sunburned from the boat ride the day before, until that morning. It wasnt good. Because of the sunburn John did not wanna go to the beach that morning with me and Stu. Whatever, me and Stu went anyway and I slowly realized how good of a choice John had made. It was hottttt. Like 95 F hot. And the clouds which I had hated the previous days were nowhere in sight. I was attempting to hide from the sun in the water but it didnt work too well.
After about an hour or 2 in the sun I realized the ginger needed to flee the beach for the comfort of shade. So I left Stu and headed back to the hotel where we were staying. As I was walking back to our hotel I realized just how touristy Phuket, especially Patong Beach (area we stayed) was. Dont get me wrong, I like touristy types of areas. But sometimes they can be too touristy. That afternoon John, Stu, and I tried to imagine what the area we were staying in was like before tourism had become the focal point of their economy. Im sure it was just as beautiful, but probably much more peaceful.
The whole time we were on the islands we had hoped to be able to take a pic of the sun setting over the water. Clearly with nonstop rain and clouds that wasnt possible. With a clear sky in Phuket we finally had our chance. However, Patong Beach didnt seem like a perfect location. So we asked the people at reception if there was a nice beach nearby that was a little more secluded. There was but it was not within walking distance and getting a cab seemed pointless. Thankfully in many places in Thailand people can rent mopeds as long as they have a drivers license. Also it costs around $6 a day to rent a moped. Not not sweet. John decided he was gonna be old and not come so it was just me and Stu. Unfortunately Stu didnt have a drivers license with him so I would have to be the driver. Yes folks, I was going to drive a moped for maybe the 2nd time in my life. Luckily I was given very in depth instructions in perfect English...oh wait. I will quote (as well as I can remember) the instructions. "On...off...go...stop" Okkkkkkkkkkkkk. With that, we decided to head out, with not the best directions ever, in hopes of finding a beach where we could get photos of the sun set.
Lets just say Stu probably lost about 10 lbs from sweating and nervousness, just on the way to the beach. We were driving thru some mountains with skinny roads that had cars flying by us. Did i almost end our lives 4 or more times? Sure. Would I do it again? Oh hells yea. I would say that by the time we were coming back my driving skills had improved dramatically. I now see why people who drive motorcycles love it. The rush was something I havent felt since skydiving wit MC.
Anyway, what I thought would just be a relaxing day at the beach turned into one of the more thrilling experiences in Thailand.
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