Lynn's Trip to Thailand part 8: Another Day, Another Beach

Actually Part 9, but who's counting? As usual I will quote the text of interest and make comments on it.

We’re retracing our steps, now. We've left the bustle of Ao Nang and are now at a swanky spot just across from Karon Beach on Phuket Island. (Or Koh Phuket - pronounced "Goh Phuket". Whot fun!) There were few places able to accommodate 3 people for 4 nights at the same place, this being Chinese New Year and all, so we're ruffing it at a place where the pool goes right up to your room - no nude bathing allowed, which is a good thing. The clientele is Russian for the most part and the shapes are North American... not good viewing before breakfast.

Chinese New Year. That was February 14?!! However, this website says that it was celebrated in Phuket on February 19-21. This trip was back in February? Then why did Lynn go through all the elaborate description of how she was having to type up her travelogues on the one working computer terminal in her hotel, so we would think she was writing these while she was in Thailand? According to this website, Chinese New Year in Phuket is a big deal. You can look at it and see all the things Lynn could have done, but didn’t do.

As for Koh Phuket being pronounced Goh Phuket, that’s not correct. This website has the pronunciation for Phuket as “poo – keht” and this website has the pronunciation for Koh as “gaw”. “Whot fun” to make risque jokes on the mispronunciation of foreign languages. Can you imagine the fun Lynn had all those years being married to Rod Johnson, I mean Rod Johnston?

Lynn doesn’t say where she is, but based on the picture and her description, my guess is that she is at the Karon Sea Sands Resort. However, the Thai food cooking class references coming up may refute that. You can look at this map for Karon Beach and find where Lynn is.

Before leaving Ao Nang, we went to a Thai boxing match at the local arena. A free van takes you there but first you ride it up and down the street picking up patrons as the loud speaker blares out messages about the matches, the stars, and the time of entry. The arena was spacious and hot. Lane got us executive seats on long leather couches next to the ring. The executive seats were on 3 sides of the ring, the 4th left for a throng of family, fans, and wagerers. A loud bell and 2 fighters emerged to a crash of cymbals, drums, and the tuneless wailing of what we called a "snake charmers flute". The fighters bob and gesture, screw up their faces, and almost dance as they work to psyche out the rival. Then the fight begins. It's over fast as the kicking is hard and the punches are deadly. The winner is declared to the shouts and waving of the rabble on the side. Despite the din, I found it hard to stay awake. Kate too was OK to pass up the last 2 rounds, so we left Lane to enjoy the rest of the matches on his own. Been there done that! HOO, was it noisy!

This website has a better description of kick-boxing (as we call it) or Muay Thai as the Thailanders call it. Considering Chinese New Year was celebrated in Phuket from Friday, February 19 to Sunday, February 21; and these boxing matches are held on Fridays, this must be February 19 when this occurred. The part I don’t understand is how in the world Lynn Johnston could find it hard to stay awake. Why do I have this feeling the situation was more like, “Lane. Mom drank too much and she’s about to pass out. I’ll take her back to the hotel and you can stay and watch this. It’s too violent and too loud for me.”?

An insight into one of the World's most excitng martial arts and the Thai national sport. Ao Nang Boxing stadium presents the ancient art of Muay Thai.

Kick-boxing or Muay Thai is the fighting system or martial art practiced in Thailand as well as several other South East Asian countries. Muay Thai literally means "Thai Boxing" and evolved from its ancestor "Muay Boran" or "Ancient Boxing". Known also as The Art of the Eight Limbs, Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand and has differed slightly from Muay Boran since King Rama VII sanctioned a code and set of rules that was successfully put into practice due to the regular occurrence of death during bouts. Since then, the sport has introduced the wearing of padded boxing gloves and a western style boxing ring.

Ao Nang Boxing Stadium stages Muay Thai contests every Friday from around 8 pm onwards, attended by hundreds of tourists and local Thais. Groups of Thai men with their cries and shouts elevate the atmosphere to what at times can only be described as frenzied. Be warned; these are no exhibition flights - it's the real deal! The only concession to tourism is the cost. Prices start at 600 Baht and go up to 1,200 Baht for a comfy ringside sofa.

Meanwhile back in Phuket:

This morning, Kate has gone to a Thai cooking class and we are keeping cool in one of the many internet shops. It's morning and by 8:30 it's already steamy hot.
The Thai custom of leaving shoes outside is getting to be familiar, although many places are too dirty for us to comply. Massage places have rows of shoes outside as do many private shops and even the hotel rooms have shoes outside the doors. People are easy going and accept the fact that the foreigners have their own customs. Everything seems to be tolerated. Girls in modest dress and hijabs walk past tourists with bare bulges flapping in the wind. Speedos leave little to the imagination. Boys who for all the world are girls (breast implants and shapely curves) give tourist info. to Harley riders in chains bearing tattoos of skulls and other gruesome imagery.

Apparently Thai cooking classes are all over Phuket Island. According to this website, at Karon Beach, the Thavorn Palm Beach Resort Hotel Phuket and Karon Villa Phuket both offer Thai cooking classes. As for Thai customs, this website has this to say about dress:

Do dress modestly. Thais now understand that Americans may show up in shorts and tank tops in public, but would never do so themselves. Wearing long pants, and clean, neat clothes, will gain you an extra measure of respect.

As for shoes, this website has this to say about taking them off. Considering the shoe-shedding obsessions of the Pattersons, you wouldn’t think this would be any problem for Lynn Johnston.

Do remove your shoes when entering a home or temple, or any place where you see other shoes left at the entrance.

Now Lynn will talk about the hillsides. It doesn't say she is actually going into the hillsides to see this stuff. It makes me wonder if Lynn has done a little research herself to fill out this travelogue. Unlike her prior travelogue entries, the next several part of this travelogue just seem to be random things Lynn is saying about the area with no particular connection to what she is doing there.

The hillsides here are fewer and less imposing and, between the cliffs, the countryside levels into wide, flat farmland. Rubber trees are planted in great rows. Small coconut cups fastened to the sides collect the sticky, white, smelly sap which when dry is like an elastic band. There are pineapple plantations, bananas of course, and some fruits and veggies we have never even heard of. Dragon fruit, for example is like a huge red turnip with curly red leaves coming out of it. The fruit inside is white, full of tiny black seeds and tastes to me like a mix of potato and watermelon! Breadfruit, mango, papaya, and the strangest citrus fruits are all so tempting. This is what makes the markets such a joy to explore. Interestingly, you can give a banana as an offering at the temple, but it has to be unpeeled. A peeled one is… an insult.

Also a peeled one is unsanitary. Notice once again Lynn refers to the food as tempting, but does not actually mention tasting any aside from the dragon fruit. With respect to rubber trees, this website has this information. Lynn description appears to be basically correct.

The first rubber tree on the island appeared in 1903 and steadily expanded to the point where rubber plantations covered more than a third of the land area of Phuket Island.

A cut is made through the bark of the tree; this cut extends one-third to one-half of the circumference of the trunk and is made in the shape of a chevron. The latex exudes from the cut and is collected in a small cup, the amount of latex obtained on each tapping is about 30 ml (about 1 fl oz).

The dragon fruit is the Pitaya which, according to this website, like the rubber tree is not native to Phuket.

And now on to music:

The music here sounds very western. We hear little of the traditional stuff. They have a karaoke style of entertainment here where a single singer wails out the Thai equivalent of "Thriller" to the recorded din of synthesized accompaniment. Most restaurants play the North American hit parade. After awhile, you get pretty tired of Celine and Shania.

Celine Dion has not had a hit in Canada since "I Drove All Night" in 2003. Shania Twain has not had a hit in Canada since "I Ain't No Quitter" in 2005. Why do I have the feeling that Lynn Johnston has no idea what either of these ladies sound like? Even so, if these two represent the hit parade, then it is taking a little while to get to Phuket Island. According to the Phuket Gazette, they don’t like this karoake music in Phuket any more than Lynn Johnston does.

I asked about varmints and the most dangerous thing in the area is the cobra. We were told that cobras don't like bug spray, so it's worn when tramping through the woods with a dual purpose. I see a marketing opportunity for "OFF" here. Note: elephants really do have flat feet and don’t leave much of a footprint. I looked… not even the toes make much of an impression… everything just gets pretty flat. Elephants used to play a serious role in both logging and agriculture, but machinery and worldwide pressure have changed their lot. Now they are paraded for tourists and kept as pets. They appear in much of the local artwork and are considered very good luck.

Cobras in Phuket Island. I can just see OFF protecting me from that bad boy. Right.

This website agrees elephants were used for logging, but not on Phuket. According to this website, the elephants were brought to Phuket for the tourists.

Not many years ago, there was considerable debate about elephants in Phuket. Elephants are not native to Phuket – they come from the cooler northern part of the country – but were brought here to work in the tourist industry. As Thailand’s logging industry declined, out-of-work elephants and their mahouts headed for Phuket.

This website disagrees and says that at one time elephants were native to Phuket, so who knows?

In former times wild elephants roamed Phuket Island but as tin mining and rubber plantations changed the natural environment elephants slowly disappeared.

And now on to Good Luck:

Good luck is a big thing here and many things are done to generate it. The first sale in the morning must be followed by a prayer and then the money given to the vendor is wiped across the merchandise. This encourages further good luck. If you can score the first sale, you might get a bargain or you might be one of many “first sales” which makes for a good pitch at the doorway.

I can’t find anything to confirm or deny this statement. However, the association of “first sale” with “bargain” not only would attract Lynn Johnston’s interest, but also gives me the feeling Lynn may have been scammed.

In the big temple, boys line up to take part in a religious ceremony. They are required to enter the monastery as rite of passage. Some stay 10 days, some several months, and some for a lifetime. One of our guides told us he enjoyed his life in the monastery; he learned from it to be humble, caring, and grateful. Maybe this should be required in other countries.

According to this website, the rite of passage is typically 3 months. As for Lynn’s remark about being “required in other countries”, maybe Lynn should refamiliarize herself with the churches in Canada before she makes such remarks.

Mainland Thai culture is heavily influenced by Buddhism. However, unlike the Buddhist countries of East Asia, Thailand's Buddhists follow the Therevada school, which is arguably closer to its Indian roots and places a heavier emphasis on monasticism. Thai temples known as wats, resplendent with gold and easily identifiable thanks to their ornate, multicolored, pointy roofs are ubiquitous and becoming an orange-robed monk for a short period, typically the three-month rainy season, is a common rite of passage for young Thai boys and men.

And now onto the Big Buddha:

On the crest of the highest hill in the town of Phuket, a giant Buddha is being built - it can be seen for miles. The “Big Buddha” signs lead you up a winding road to a large newly constructed landing and the marble base of this huge monument. Because indentured servitude can’t supply free labor, the costs escalated and now there’s an effort to complete the project with the help of grants, donations, and volunteers. We bought marble tiles and autographed them, to be placed alongside thousands of others which will soon become part of the towering form. Someday we’ll come back to see it finished, knowing we have played a minute role in its completion.

The Thailanders call it Phra Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri Buddha. This website has more information about the marble tiles:

This touching message is typical of those written on the thousands of bricks and white marble slabs used to make up the image. On a good day more than 1,000 people visit the site, many of whom donate money for building materials and write messages on the purchased items for good luck and in memory of passed-away loved ones.

Lynn does not end this one with a promise to write more, so this could be the last Travelogue entry for Thailand.