And Not So Beautiful...

Okay, so not ALL of Thailand is sandy beaches and sunshine. On our third day we decided we wanted to experience the non-resort side of Phuket. Several people told us that an area known as Patang catered to Westerners, so we decided to give it a shot.

We got a taxi for the 45 minute drive. It was a silver Toyota Camry that had no signage indicating that it was a taxi. As we drove, we didn't see ANY vehicles marked as taxis and wondered how in the world we'd ever find a taxi to come home! Fortunately, the taxi driver quickly solved that problem for us - he said if we wanted him to drive us round trip, he'd wait 3-4 hours for us at no extra charge. What a deal! It wound up costing us just $50 US for tying up more than half of his day.

After seeing Patang, knowing that we had arranged a way to get home was a comfort. Wow. Paradise it was not! While there was a Western-style mall, complete with Starbucks and Pizza Hut, the area around it was like the seamy side of old Las Vegas with pool halls and seedy hotels combined with Mainland China. Motorcycles, tattoo shops, and street vendors were everywhere!

There were many trucks driving with music blaring, announcing that there would be a Thai boxing match that night. I feared that we'd actually witness one!

Then, a moment of excitement - a Mexican restaurant!

The menu had some tasty items listed...but the crowd was rough and the conversations at neighboring tables were definitely not appropriate for five year old ears. So, sadly, we moved on.

Safely back in the mall, we found a restaurant much to our liking - the menu had something for each of us and the people eating there were (or at least appeared) civilized. Lydia enjoyed it.

Though Patang certainly wasn't the environment that these Westerners would seek out again anytime soon, we're glad we went...just another interesting life experience!