Scooters, First Impressions, And a Whole Lotta Smiles
My friend and I visited Phuket, Thailand for a holiday over a month ago. When I travel, I like putting on the hat of a traveller and that of a tourist. This way I get to experience the place in two different ways. It can never be enough to explain experience in a blog because as people we experience things differently. I am here to share my experience nothing else.
Let me tell you, it wasn’t just a vacation; it was a plot twist. When people say we going to Thailand, and you think, “Okay, beaches, night life, night markets, pad Thai, cool”. There is more to it than that. We ate the most delicious Pad Thai and tasted the best vegetable stew, yes you heard me, vegetable stew!. We truly enjoyed Thai cuisine. Our breakfast buffet at our resort was food you eat for lunch and dinner. We were in heaven. Phuket is a full-on sensory event, and it comes at you fast, especially if you’re not ready for it, and I wasn’t. LOL) I didn’t get to hike, but boy did we walk! I guess that’s what one does when on holiday… I love Thai culture and traditions, I was intrigued. It is so rich and vibrant. Quick lesson 101 about Phuket Province: It is one of the oldest cities in Thailand, with population of over four hundred and fifty thousand. It is one of the 77 provinces in Thailand. We were in the West Coast of Phuket; Patong. Patong is a centre of night life , night markets and shopping, let alone amazing shorelines.
The First Impressions:
Phuket is clean. Like, confusingly clean. I walked through busy markets expecting a bit of chaos; maybe a stray chicken or someone yelling over a fish head, but nope. The place is spotless. Even where you expect grime, like the little alleys behind food stalls, I saw zero trash, and that confused my inner Joburg instincts. The scooter invasion, I was not prepared for so many of them. Phuket has scooters like Joburg has potholes (I love my city even with potholes): everywhere and unapologetic. At one point, I was convinced every man, woman, child, and probably a few brave cats had their own scooter. I saw a family of three on one scooter. Not even kidding. I clapped. If balance was a sport, these people are in the Olympics. The confidence while riding was on another level. I saw most women and teenagers riding without helmets. Those not driving not holding on, busy on their phones. I remember myself and Bobo we looked at each other with the disbelief. Anthony Bourdain said” travel is not reward for working, it’s education for living”, I totally agree. Theres few traffic lights, so we relied on pedestrian crossings, I can tell you this much, if you fear jay walking like me, you are in trouble. I relied on my friend Bobo to lead me just taking a leap of faith and cross because those scooters were hardly stopping for any pedestrian to cross. She’s always been the Queen of jaywalking
. I remember at some point she shouted , let’s go now and I froze , she crossed. The next thing I see her on the other side of the road, and I was still standing still. She had to cross back to me and held my hand. LOL you get the picture right!? LOL
Something that really stood out to me; every single business I saw was run by locals. Just Thai people, doing Thai things, with such pride and professionalism it warmed my South African heart. Coming from a place where jobs are a huge deal, this hit different. Respect.
The Friendliest People on Earth?
Listen, South Africans are friendly—but Thai people? Next level. I’ve never said “Khop Khun Ka” (thank you) so many times in my life. And each time, I got a genuine smile back. It’s almost suspicious. Like, how are they this consistently nice?
Part 2 is where things get sandy, sunburnt, and mildly spiritual. Beaches, Old Town Phuket, and my new obsession with island hopping (shoutout to Phi Phi). But that’s a story for another day—or probably next week, after I recover from my post-vacation existential crisis. I figured let me write two parts to this story; the traveller part and then part two would be the tourist part.
Until Next time Fabtastic People