It was pretty dramatic before this trip. On April 11th, a large earthquake struck near Sumatra in the afternoon and a tsunami alert went out over the entire Indian Ocean. I was crestfallen when I heard Thai authorities closed the Phuket airport. I attempted to find out the situation in Phuket over social media but after 2 hours I was none the wiser as fools repeatedly retweeted outdated messages and rumors, drowning out most of the useful information. For e.g. at 8pm Phuket Time someone was still retweeting a message that the first tsunami waves will hit at 5:45pm Phuket Time. Just how that information would still be useful to anyone was beyond me. I ranted to my friends that the strength of social media – its users – will also be its undoing. Fortunately, the tsunami warning was lifted by 10pm Singapore time (information which I obtained from NOAA) and the Thai authorities re-opened the airport an hour later (information passed on by a concerned colleague who was following the news on traditional media). I quickly packed my stuff as the trip will go ahead.
This is my third visit to Phuket and the first time I stayed at a resort near Patong Beach. The last two times I had stayed at resorts in Karon Beach and then Kata Beach respectively. Personally I prefer the other two beaches as they are more tranquil and far less commercialised than Patong. That’s of course not mentioning that the resorts at the other two beaches are much cheaper and they have better amenities like swimming pools, and in my opinion better breakfast included. But Silver Resortel isn’t bad at all, the staff are polite and it comes with free Wifi. It’s also just about 5 minutes away from the beach, and within walking distance is Jung-Ceylon (perhaps the largest Shopping Mall in Phuket itself) and Bang La Road where all the interesting pubs are. In the case of my previous visits, I had to pay 500 baht at the hotel counter to purchase Wifi access and a lot of money is spent on transportation between the resort and Patong.
While I had enjoyed my last two visits (and still very much enjoyed it, considering the company I had), I enjoyed this visit even more because I get to experience the Songkran – the Thai New Year. I was however told that the Songkran in Phuket was way milder than other parts of Thailand, for e.g. Chiang Mai, which lasts several days. Basically, everybody just keeps making me wet (no pun intended!) on April 13th itself.
I wasn’t originally aware that I will be there during the Songkran. When I was told, I wasn’t particularly thrilled and in fact I felt dreadful since I don’t really enjoyed getting wet. I arrived a day before the Songkran and was exceptionally pissed when I repeatedly get sprayed on the face by irritating foreigners (not the local Thais!) with their super-soakers. Thinking back, I still didn’t enjoy that in particular because unlike the Thais who douse anyone with water as a cleansing ritual and to welcome the New Year, these foreigners were simply just picking on any unwary or unsuspecting passer-bys whom they know cannot retaliate. I really dreaded what is to come the day after.
Oddly, even though a lot of the Thais may are also just playing with the water, the Thai people themselves give us a lot more respect than the foreigners. Even while they might not actually be discriminating when splashing someone, they warned me in advance so I am ready for it. When they don’t, they just throw the water at my torso or lower body. Since this is part of their culture, I take it in my stride and either smiled or wave at them when it happens. Unlike the foreigners, no one deliberately “cums to my face” with their hoses or super-soakers, even when they are clear that I don’t mind getting splashed. After that, it’s no holds barred. I get splashed by the mobile squads on a pickup coming in the other direction or passing me by on the road. At times they come at me from the sides when I passed by their shops. I even recalled the Tuk-Tuk stopping by a traffic light and a pickup was just 2 car lengths ahead. A Thai chap smiled at me and then dipped his scoop into his barrel of water. As the Tuk-Tuk started moving past him, I quickly shout a warning to my friends to be ready and before I am even done with my warning, we were splashed. I realised that once I am wet from top to bottom, it simply means I am a “free-for-all” target for anyone. After a while, I just get used to it since for the entirety of April 13th, my friends and I went through several cycles of drying up and then getting completely soaked again. My only regret is that I didn’t have to equipment to keep my camera dry or the water resistant cameras which would allow me to snap photos of the Thais enjoying themselves, and I should have gotten myself a super-soaker too.
The Songkran allowed me to experience the Thai culture up close and unlike Chinese New Year in Singapore, it was a lively affair. From the chap spraying water at us with his water soaker while dancing to the loud music (see photo), to the chap running after our Tuk-tuk with a bucket of water shouting in Teochew – tan! tan! tan! (meaning: wait! wait! wait!) – it brought my friends and I lots of joy and laughter. Perhaps this is what happiness is all about, as for that one day they forget all their worries and enjoy themselves with abandon. Comparatively, we find Chinese New Year in Singapore a chore of constant feasts and dealings with pesky relatives asking dreadful questions. I find Singapore exceedingly boring, pressurised and mundane. Perhaps that’s the difference between a tourist and a resident of the area, though I will still insist the food in Phuket – even just their fried rice – is way better than that of Singapore. I won’t be surprised that at the rate we are going, sooner or later tourists will find no better reasons to visit Singapore where things are expensive and food really taste terrible. (Just today my colleagues from Germany who are here on business told me that the Pad-Thai at a Thai restaurant was terrible. The portion is small and there was more tofu than meat. Whatever happened to our reputation of being a ‘food paradise’? While those who own homes may not be affected by housing rents, this is a testimony that commercial rents is certainly killing businesses – at least the eateries. They are resorting to cutting down on costlier ingredients to stay profitable.)
Anyway, here are the photos I managed to take on this trip when it is relatively safe to take out my camera (or my mobile or tablet).
Recommended Reads:
Money Smart: Why Average Singaporeans ARE Hurt By Inflation