Why not?

As we walked into quite possibly the most American bar we could possibly find on Patong beach (only because they advertised the best: self proclaimed "Rock your ass off"), we were greeted by apparently what epitomises America the best. No, not our contributions to the arts or sciences... not our diverse cultures, dialects, and foods... not even a 4th of July celebration. Nope, apparently what says "I *heart* America" the best is Jackass (the Movie). I can't tell you how proud I became when I saw a fat sumo chasing a midget sumo down some random street in Asia. God bless America.

We landed in Bangkok last Saturday afternoon, and quickly jumped a flight down to Phuket. The first night we spent at the "On On Hotel" in Phuket Town was... umm... interesting. Apparently parts of the movie 'The Beach' were filmed there. While I haven't seen the flick myself, I can say with utmost confidence that none of the good parts of that film were shot there, but hey, what more can you ask for for 300 bhat/night (roughly $9 usd). We quickly booked it to Patong the next day and were greeted by more farangs (tourists) than you could shake a stick at. The motto around these parts thus far has either been "Why not?" (hence the post title) or "same same". Can we find pad see ew at midnight tonight? "Why not!?!" Do you think renting a motorbike is safe? "Why not?" Are tranny shows as fun as everyone says? "Why not?" The "same same" applies to negotiating street markets. Everyones' stuff is apparently just as good or better than their neighbor's, but the one you're currently talking to will obviously give you a much better discount. Oh! I don't know what it is, but everyone around here has been offering me discounts! ("..for you, I give discount. How much you can pay?") Guess I'm just lucky. (shucks) We did find a really nice place 5 min from the beach here in Patong for 650 bhat/night. (seriously, clean and safe... you do the math)

After driving around the island riding elephants and watching monkey shows (the former for Felicia, the latter for myself), we decided to head to the grand-daddy of beautiful islands. Even though it may be small, Phi Phi Island (pronounced "pee pee", kinda cute) is seriously one of the most beautiful places I've seen. We took in the beach area yesterday, and hired our own long-tail boat today to drive us around. We taxied around to some great sites, and dove in some of the clearest blue/green waters ever. (also the warmest natural open water I've ever been in) Attention divers: this is a must see.

Granted everything here is tourist oriented, but even so, all the Thais have been honestly very friendly. They're easy going and very respectful. I'm even getting their bow/sawadee thing down (hello in Thai). Well... maybe I'm not, but it's good of them to humor me. All the women in the bars are really friendly as well. They keep saying "hiiiii" and inviting me in for a drink. (I think they can spot an award winning personality when they see one) I'm sure they want to talk world events or something along those lines. If I wasn't already with a friend, I might have to take them up on it.

Note: Thai massages are very... umm... personal. Not even the shady kind. I'm just talking about your everyday, run of the mill, bring home the bacon massages. With that being said, I think I'm developing a 300 bhat/day massage habit.

Note 2: Durian IS as bad as people say, although the taste still beats the smell. The random durian/garbage/sewer smells kind of balance out the nice Thai food smells. Such is life...

Off to Bangkok tomorrow, then Chiang Mai.

Choc-tee!