First Full Day in Phuket

I love the free breakfast I get from Hilton and the breakfast here at the Doubletree in Phuket is amazing! They have whole sections for baked goods (including making your own pancakes), various coffee options, and a fresh fruit bar. Along the wall were cast iron pots each filled with so hot food options: bacon, pesto baked tomatoes, baked beans, potatoes, sausage, rice, chicken curry, even dim sum...you get the picture. Then there's a cold food area and a made to order area.

Buffet Coffee Bar

Buffet Juice Bar

Buffet Cold Food

Buffet Hot food

After my excellent breakfast, I went back to my room, crossing the super cool pool (there are three of them, one for each building) and realized how foolish it was of me to decline the free upgrade to a pool entry room. At the time, I was really tired and didn't understand just how nice it is to walk off your "balcony" area into the nice cool pool. It's sort of like having your own private cabana just outside your room! So I talked to the front desk and they were still able to switch me to a nice pool entry room at the other end of the complex. The one bummer about moving, which I didn't realize was that being so close to the water/ground there are mosquitos! I killed 3 in my room and saw 2 more. I managed to get my mosquito net hung up to keep me from being snacked on at night. It did occur to me that Hilton being a pretty high end brand might do something to fix the situation so the next day I mentioned it to housekeeping. They immediately pulled out a giant spray can of mosquito killer and sprayed everywhere I pointed to. They then left me with the can and also had someone drop off a plug-in scent thing that must repel them as well. Later that day I got a notice in my room that an outside pest control company would be spraying the common areas, which may cause some noise between 7pm and 8pm. Yes, we can safely say that Hilton is very responsive!

First Room, no mosquitos and you could see a tiny bit of ocean from the balcony

my deck with private pool entry, posh, right?

birds enjoying the pool

My next mission was to find a good cheap massage. I had found one via TripAdvisor, Healthland (ironically not the same on Google Maps as "Healthland Massage"...that is a completely different place), who had good massages for 200 baht/hr. They were a good mile away from my hotel, but I determinedly set out to find them in the 85 degree 67% humidity heat. Once there, I did see that their prices had changed and they were now 350 baht/hour, but as the reviews had been a 4-6 years old, that made sense. I ordered a 30 minute foot massage with 60 minute shoulder and back massage for 500 baht. It was very solid, middle of the road massage, and for $15, it was completely satisfactory! Even better, the whole place was air conditioned so the sweltering heat outside did not interfere.

Part 2 of massage on table

My daily plan will be:
- morning jog before it gets hot
- shower, then stuff myself at the delicious buffet
- 90 minute massage
- who cares, just relax!

Around 8pm I got hungry and headed to Food Street to pick up something from the many food stalls there. It's about a half mile from my hotel and as I wandered down the street I could see that Patong does come alive at night. There were the same vendors but also food vendors and more people in general. When I turned down the street leading to the Food Street, there was a controlled entrance to the area and you had to pass a temperature check to get through. Once in, the place reminded me of a year round Florida Spring Break or perhaps all the bars and clubs in Vegas crammed really close together. There were two long blocks of mostly bars and clubs with some souvenir stores and food stalls mixed in.

Bangla Street Tiger Club

Then in front of one place I noticed a couple rows of young women, some chatting with each other, some not, but all were facing towards the street and all dressed for a night on the town. That was when I remembered that Patong is the seedy city in Phuket with lots of prostitution. On the way back I passed by them again, but then noticed that other places had girls in front. The woman I saw earlier who I thought was waiting for her friends to catch up was still standing in the exact same spot, which happened to be in the middle of a rectangle. Three more rectangles were next to it each with one girl. It was like a blindfold had been lifted and almost everywhere I looked I saw young Asian women with short skirts and high heels sitting with older white men. And of course, none of them had masks on because while masks are many things (safe, smart, healthy), they aren't sexy! There were also regular couples as well, but I think it depended on the bar. The worst part I realized, is that I have to pass through this every night to get to Food Street.

Food Street is worth it! Food stalls run down either side with yellow metal tables in between. They have raw seafood and meat waiting for you to select and they will cook it for you. Other stalls have a variety of Thai dishes, juices, ice cream, and even a Greek stall. The hawkers pursued me pretty aggressively so I just ignored them as I browsed down "Food Street" until almost the end where people were less pushy. I paused by one promising booth and the owner came out to offer me a menu. I ordered calamari in oyster sauce and Tom Ka Ghi, my favorite soup. While waiting I noted a few nearby stalls that I decided to patronize in the coming days. I decided to take my food home and eat on my deck by the water, with lit mosquito coil (so glad I brought those!). The meal was excellent! Both dishes had wonderful flavors. If they are all like this, I may have to stay here forever! And the whole meal with rice was just 320 baht, about $10.

First Dinner