Karon Beach and the Big Buddha

Phuket Island, Thailand: 7-8th December

I treat myself to a lie in today, not up until 11am, it is magical. A double bed, a room with only one other person, a friend at that, and a private bathroom – by my travelling standards I am in heaven. After I have showered and got dressed I drop a message into the chat. Alex is already up because he’s out and about but seems like the other two are still dead to the world. I head on out and meet up with Alex and we go for a wander around the town. It is a relatively small place but we are right on the beach which is nice. Alex and I find a lovely little cafe called the Sandwich Box and treat ourselves to a nice tea/coffee and an egg drop. Now this egg drop is the best breakfast I have had in Asia thus far: two thick slices of toast, toasted to the perfect degree crispy and golden on the outside still soft and fluffy on the inside, filled with eggy cheesy bacony goodness, a little ketchup and tabasco – a delicious way to start one’s day! Finally we are met by Scott and Jon who indulge themselves in the same heavenly breakfast. Anyone who finds themselves in or around Karon Beach, Phuket go to the Sandwich Box for brekkie and get yourself an egg drop.

After we have all indulged in the deliciousness Alex and Scott head off to get their haircut while Jon and I find a beach front restaurant and pass away the next few hours watching the world go by over a cold beer. Jon is into drawing and is rather good so he spends a lot of this time finishing off a picture of a dwarf, like from Lord of the Rings, he has been working on – it is good! After the boys are done with their haircut we get dinner and head back to the rooms to have a shower and change. We get in a bottle of whiskey and coke and have a few drinks while playing cards in Scott and Jon’s room. After a few drinks and games we want to head into town for the night so we do a quick google and find a road full of bars that looks like the main strip a short walk away and head on out. Once we are there we realise it is rather dead, not busy at all. In fact most of the people we find here are clearly escorts touting for business, a mixture of women and lady boys. So the boys and I find a bar with a pool table and settle in for a few games, after a while we are joined by some of the workers and prostitutes. To be honest in bars like this it is hard to tell who is a waitress and who is a lady of the night. Nonetheless once they realise you aren’t a potential customer, I have found that lady boys and prostitutes in Asia make for good company and many of them are bloody good at pool. I guess a career that sees you in a bar most nights has that side effect. After a few games in a few different bars Scott and Jon head on back and Alex and I decide to sit at one of the bar carts in the middle of the road for another drink or two. Once again we are quickly joined by some of the workers and end up having a nice chat about life and family. After a while Alex and I say our goodbyes and head back to the room; it is a rather wholesome end to the day. Although it is Alex’s night on the double bed, so I am back to a single.

Even though I am in the single bed I manage to have another lie in and, same as yesterday, Alex and I decide to start our day at the Sandwich Box. I have another egg drop and tea but this time I add a honey lime soda which is also sublime. Once again we are slowly joined by Jon and Scott, those two do love to sleep. After we head to the beach for some sunbathing and a dip in the sea. It is a nice area Karon Beach but clearly a big holiday destination for Russians. Every other person I see seems to be a Russian family on holiday, not that this is an issue, it just means it is a little touristy around here. The boys and I decide today would be a good day to go see the Phuket Big Buddha, Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Eknakiri, a local statue on the top of Nakkerd Hill which has become a bit of a tourist attraction due to its rather large size. We decide to hike up to it though, rather than take a taxi as it is only about an hour or so journey and we all agree it would be good to do some exercise. However, about half way up I think we all start to rethink our decision; it is sweltering even if the hike is in the shade, and for some reason I am the only one that has brought any water and we are in need. Jon, Alex and I stop and wait for Scott to catch up at one point and realise we are getting absolutely swarmed by mossies so continue on until we are out of the forest and luckily find a restaurant with cold water. We patiently wait for Scott. After what feels like an eternity he finally joins us and he isn’t looking so good, this kid’s definitely got heat stroke so we give him the water we have bought and take a breather before carrying on up the road for the final part of the hike.

Once we are at the Buddha we all agree it is deserving of its name, the Big Buddha; it is massive. The views are also beautiful. We make our way around the area avoiding the monkeys as well as the people who are ignoring the signs and are feeding and interacting with them. One woman screams in pain after getting bitten on the bum by one of the monkeys – Karma! I feel bad but can’t help but feel like all the people who are ignoring the signs are kind of asking for it. After taking in all the statues and the Buddha itself, we find a nice place to sit and watch the sunset. Afterwards we start to make our way down. As the taxis here are absolutely taking the piss with the prices we decided to walk on back but this time sticking to the road. After what feels like about an hour we stop at a road side bar and have a drink while enjoying the beautiful view of the town below. After enough whining by me about how hungry and tired I am the others agree to just get a taxi back. We head to a beach front restaurant for dinner and once full I head straight back to the hostel to watch a movie and have an early night.