Days 165-166: Goodbye Malay, Hello Thai

July 21st – 22nd, 2019

Today we took a 1.5 hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket, Thailand.  It’s great how cheap the flights are within Asia once you are here.  For the flight, my checked luggage and a hot vegetarian meal on the plane was only $33.  Even though it was a short flight it still took most of the day.  We slept in and took our time getting ready but the airport in KL is about an hour from downtown by car.  We got to the airport two hours early and we needed every minute of that to go through the long lines at exit immigration and security.  After immigration and security, we went through a big duty- free area and then a food court.  We passed all that on the way to our gate and turned a corner to realize we had to go through a second security that seemed exactly the same as the first one.  It was where you have to pull out your laptop, all your liquids etc.  I felt so bad for this one guy who had JUST bought a Venti Frappachino from Starbucks after going through the first security only to get to a second surprise security where they make you throw anything more than 3 oz out. He was so mad, and they should have told him when he bought the drink he was about to have to go through another security. 

Anyway, I think Malaysia was amazing.  Besides a few days in the mega city of Singapore, Malay was my first introduction to Asia, and I think it will always hold a special place in my heart.  It was the biggest culture change out of anywhere I have been.  The people were really kind and welcoming.  I had interactions with women in full on burkas and their families treated me with kindness and respect, even though outwardly I was so totally different from them.  Malay was also very beautiful and very cheap.  I also appreciated that the sales people were not pushy.  It is definitely a travel destination I would recommend. Flying into Phuket, Thailand was really cool as you could see all these little islands sticking out of the ocean. 

We took a public bus from the airport to the hostel (which was at Kata Beach) and had over an hour of riding in the bus where we observed all the little beach towns.  It was pretty much a continuous stretch of restaurants, massage parlors, clothing shops, and minimart type stores.  

It was already dark by the time we got to the hostel and checked in.  We set out to explore the town and one thing was very apparent right from the start.  People come here to party.  The streets are filled with bars that have lights and music and games.  Everyone is trying to get you to come to their bar or restaurant or give you a massage.  We decided to have a couple drinks and Brendan found some cheap beer. 

After a late night the next day was pretty darn laid back.  We had a late start and had our first pad thai in Thailand for lunch which was $2.75.  We went swimming and laid out at Kata beach but it wasn’t my favorite.  I felt like there was a lot of trash in the water and the water wasn’t clear (the clarity could be the time of year as it is their rainy season).  I wanted to get a scooter and explore other beaches in Phuket but it was already pretty late in the day so we decided to do that tomorrow.  We hung out with a new friend from the hostel and went to dinner with him.  Excited to see more of the area tomorrow.