arnie's jaunts: Get me out of Phuket!

If you have a shopping fetish, you may want to come to Thailand. On every street corner, there is someone selling illegal copies of movies that are still in the movie theaters, or fake designer clothing. If you want a Rolex, a pair of Diesel Jeans, a new Prada purse, they got it. And if you want that copy of Brokendown Mountain (still in the theaters) – well, they got that too. The copyright laws are completely ignored in Thailand. For a couple of years, I’ve been looking for an Omega watch but I never bought one because they were very expensive. In Thailand, the going price for a good fake Omega is around 1200 baht, or 30 dollars, which sounds more reasonable than buying one at home. While bootleg designer clothing and DVDs are openly displayed in store shops, shopping for designer watches, and bags is slightly more secretive. Most proprietors will ask quietly if you are seeking a Rolex, or Prada. Once you confirm you are, you are whisked away into a backroom where all the watches are displayed as well as all the designer bags. This is where the action begins. First, you pick what you are looking for then you haggle. It’s quite the shopping experience. I haven’t got the price I’m looking for, but I’ll try in Bangkok this weekend where there are a lot more vendors. There are over 9000 vendors in the market we are planning to go to!

All day today, I’ve been counting the hours until we get to leave Phuket. I’m not in position to complain since I am on vacation, but Phuket is not for me. I’m happy we leave tomorrow for Bangkok. Phuket is boring unless you are over 55!

Yesterday, we rented motorcycles and drove around Phuket to the Gibbons Rehabiliaton center. Harvey got on a motorcycle for the first time in his life. He was afraid at first, but then Harvey settled down and started to rip down the highway at speeds of 80km/h and higher. The Gibbons are monkey like animals that are an endangered species. The center we visited rescues Gibbons that have been abused, and rehabilitates them so that they can return to the rainforest – their natural habitat. An astonishing fact about Gibbons is that they have 95% of the DNA humans have. They are very smart, and much like humans.

At night, we visited Patong Beach. When we arrived, we were greeted by Thai women dancing on tables, and women asking us to sit with them. We walked by laughing at all the requests. Because Dan and I blend in well with rest of the Thai people, we weren’t bothered at all. Harvey sticks out, because he is not Asian. This was evident, when he was groped by a few Thai women trying to get his attention. After the first hour on Patong, we were bored, and were disgusted by the behavior of the male tourists immersed our surroundings.