Touring Phuket by car

Cloudy Day Again

Remember the tea we got from the owner of Herb Massage? The picture above shows what was in the bag.  It makes great tea, slightly spicy but it is refreshing.

It rained overnight but stopped when we got up this morning.  We Skyped with Linda’s Mom first thing so we could chat before her bedtime.  We mulled over what we could do today with the cloudy weather.  We decided to go for a drive up the east side of the island.  We had a light snack before we left, just in case.  

Before leaving we stopped by the front lobby where there is a garden hose.  We wanted to wash off all the bird poop on the car.  We never even got the garden hose out before 3 of the guys that work here ran over and started washing our car!  It needed a lot of scrubbing because the droppings had dried hard enough that even all the rain overnight never even touched it.  Soon we were on our way after the many thank you, thank you(s)!  I guess we have stayed here so long that we have really gotten to know them but truthfully we don’t even know their names. Some Thai and Burmese names are beyond our ability to say let alone remember.  They only have limited English but we do communicate with them pretty well.  They are always on the look out for us as we leave or return.  After a good ten minutes we were on our way with a sparkling clean car.  

We drove an hour and ended up checking out the Phuket Boat Lagoon, the location where 5 Star Marine Phuket operates from. Our original plan was to take a tour with 5 Star Marine one day during our stay here in Phuket.  So far, that has not happened due to inclement weather and our inability to forecast if tomorrow will be a nice day.  We have had several nice enough days, we just can’t forecast what tomorrow will hold.  That is a bit disappointing.  We have had a lot of help from Shaun, the owner of 5 Star Marine and we thought the least we could do is pop in for a visit.  The drive up there took about one hour, it’s mostly 4 lane road with some traffic lights along the way.  At the risk of jinxing our luck, we have managed fairly well driving here. Normal rules don’t apply and you just have to think ahead all the time.  Two people thinking ahead is better than one.  It’s a given that the guy up ahead will cut you off.  It’s also a given that you will be stopped for a light and bikes will pass you on both sides at the same time.  Some bikes carry 2 parents and an infant, of course no one wears a helmet. 

The most confusing thing is the red and green arrows, both straight and right turn arrows.  You can have a red straight arrow and a green right turn arrow at the same time.  The right lane can then turn but the straight through traffic should stop..  The opposite is also true.  A green straight arrow and a red right turn arrow means both lanes can drive straight through, but there may be a right turning vehicles stopped to turn right so look out.  That’s a good way to rear end someone or get rear ended yourself.  The speed is 50 km/hr along this road but we averaged about 80 km/hr, we were passed by faster traffic along the way.  One of those vehicles was a truck hauling long logs and bamboo.  He drove like there was no tomorrow, weaving in and out of traffic and passing anything in front of him. Slightly nerve wracking. 

On our way home, once in our familiar neighbourhood we stopped at the Family Mart. On the edge of the parking lot there is a fruit smoothie and refreshment kiosk.  We ordered 2 smoothies, a mix of mango, pineapple and passionfruit.  The smoothies were amazing.  The girl running the place already knew us.  She apparently met us at the massage place next door.  We are after all, the white, tall, old people.  

While we were sitting at the kiosk drinking, we saw the Russian couple from next door run into the Family Mart.  When they left we saw them on foot head back to the villa.  On our way home we stopped for an ice cream at the local store. Just as we left the the store the skies opened up again.  We drove in a torrent of rain back home.  We saw the Russians standing under an eve on a nearby building trying to keep dry, about 150 metres from our villa.  When we were backing into our parking spot they came walking in looking rather wet.  As we were getting out of the car,  2 of the guys that work here came running out with huge umbrellas to save us.  They are so thoughtful, but luckily we had our umbrellas in the back seat, just in case.  

For supper tonight we drove to the Smile restaurant.  The waitress had a big smile when she saw us!  Linda had Pad Thai, we shared spring rolls and Gary had Chicken and Vegetables with Cashew Nuts. We both enjoyed our meals and between the 2 of us we drank 3 bottles of Soda water.  Total price of food and drink was ฿280 or $10.60 CAD.  There are slightly more expensive things on the menu, like fish and chips for ฿150 or $5.70 CAD but it is not local fish.  Check out the spring rolls and Pad Thai photos below.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Pad Thai with Chicken

It’s doubtful you could even find bean sprouts at home that are this fresh unless you grow them yourself.  The food quality is excellent!

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