January 3, 2007 by zankbennett.

Patong Beach.
It was bananas!  This place is easily one of the craziest places I’ve ever seen.  It’s like some sort of spring-break mecca with the capacity to house and provide drinks for thousands of partiers.  The endless rows of beach-style bars was daunting.  Thai girls, unfortunately for sale, were omnipresent as we walked through the endless maze of neon-lit streets in search of the “right spot”. Ha ha.
On the beach there were people selling cylindrical hot air balloons.  They came in two sizes: 2-foot diameter and 4′ tall or just smaller.
We bought the larger one for 100 baht (about $3) and lit the fuel source, waited for it to generate enough lift to fly and….it was gone.  It flew into the sky along with hundreds, no thousands of others. I’ve never seen anything like the sky that night.  With the full moon as a backdrop, the brightly glowing balloons dotted the sky as far as any of is could see.  It was really a special new years, seeing the fireworks amidst the balloons alongside the thousands of onlookers.

The Aussie guys with Aly.  Notice all the illuminated hot-air balloons in the background; some are just about to take off and the other are cluttering the dark sky.
Back on the streets, people were lighting giant strips of firecrackers (some up to 10,000 long!). The idea was to unroll the strip as quickly as possible while people passed close by, so as not to draw too much attention to the miniature BOMBS.  Then light the fuse and watch people jump out of their skins.  It worked!  We’d be walking along and a machine gun would start going off at our feet.  Soon a big circle would clear where the strip was laid until the bangs were done and the procession would continue normally, if not a bit more leery than before.
These guys would never fully get the whole roll laid out and when the explosions reached the clump there was a HUGE bang.  It was really fun running around trying not to get our toes blown off!  Really

One of the top new years ever!

Me, the two Aussies and Aly.

This terrible picture was taken when I picked up a real police helmet from the scooter-backet of his official police scooter.   It HAD to be done.  I’m not in jail, so I guess it was ok…not my general rule of conduct

What would a new years be without a homelessZank photo?  That stuff on my face is from getting mauled by silly-string at the festivities.  Ha ha.  Please ignore the man-pris.  I think I was doing some wading before the pic was taken.

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January 3, 2007 by zankbennett.

From Krabi, it was on to Phuket for another four days.
Phuket is bigger and I booked a hostel outside of town, a but closer to the beaches…close being a relative term!
There was another night market there and, of course, pad thai to be had…along with various grilled seafood, dim sum, and coconut desserts.

Day trips from Phuket:
Nai Harn (or Han, depending on the map) beach- a tranquile, open beach with lots of reclining beach chairs for rent and a a relaxing atmosphere.  Apparently there’s good surf there, but not that day.

Patong (must be Thai for CHAOS) beach-for new years with two Aussies from the hostel.
Kata beach-got a free ride from a local.  Sweet.  Had an evening swim…sunset…some reading…dinner…does it get any better?  …more on New Years post…
Island trip from the hostel near Wat Chalong to the Royal Phuket Marina (about 25 km, 3 hrs!) and from there took a long boat to Ko Yao Noi island.  The island was fair, but refreshingly incrowded.  We had a coconut drink at a great viewpoint off the eastern coast looking out to scattered islands stretching straight towards the sky.

Here’s the view…amazing!!!

That night, came home and met up with the two Aussies from new years and went to Cobra pier.  We played guitar for a while and eventually jumped into Chalong Bay, doing flips, exchanging stories and having another unforgettable time.  The water housing for my mini digital camera has been a huge asset.
Really good pics of that night…

Playing some songs before the swim…

This type of notice can be found all over.  I don’t see anything about flipping off municipal piers

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January 3, 2007 by zankbennett.

Bus-ferry-bus from Ko Samui to Krabi.
Nice town.  Not much to report.  Stayed at City Hotel, directly across from Krabi’s well-known night market.  Ate fish and pad thai and all sorts of fresh fruit.  The food selection was awesome!  I was eating so much pad thai (I still am) that I became known around the pad thai stand.  The cook would see me coming and just fire one up for me.

Took a few day trips to the local islands/beaches including Ao Nang beach, Railay beach, Chicken (it looks just like a chicken!) and Poda islands.  It all sounds much more impressive than it was, but the water was warm, mildly clear and there were many caves and interesting coastline features to explore.

 
Going DEEP…

 
White-boy crossing the distance between Railay and the nearby island.  Carrying my bag above my head to keep the video camera dry…

Going inside a cave…

 
At Railay beach there are wild monkeys living along the path connecting two long beaches.  It was really cool to get within inches of these tame monkeys.  We saw four adolescents and a mother.
Ate pad thai right off the bow of a longboat at Railay beach!  :)

The long-boat driver.  Note the rock overhang in background…we drove right under it.

Aly and I take a taxi ride…the camera’s view is from front looking out the back of the mini-truck-style taxi thing.

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