JAYWALKing the World : June 2013

Phuket, Thailand: Yep, I still can't believe I did that.

The Flying Hunaman in Phuket, Thailand.

My stomach still tightens a little when I watch the videos above. We came across a zip lining attraction online and decided it would be a fun thing to do while in Thailand. Nathan has been zip lining once before, but I was a first timer. But neither one of us had any idea what we were getting ourselves into. The attraction did not have a website, but the reviews on Trip Advisor were good, so we went for it.

Once they got you in a harness, there was no turning back. We moved so quickly that there was no opportunity to turn around, be scared, or exit the course. Looking back I am glad there wasn't, because there were a few times I would have been out of there. I am glad I hung in though because the views were incredible, and we had a blast. Looking back, it seems more scary then I realized at the time. I am not sure I would be brave enough to do it again, so I am glad that I did it once. I think the tour guides sensed my fear, because they really enjoyed teasing me, running up behind me to scare me, and giving me extra crazy pushes off the platforms.

Here is our adventure at the Flying Hunaman, Phuket, Thailand:

The first hike up to the zip line course

Too bad you can't see the fear on my face

I love the view in this picture. Nathan loves my crooked helmet!

Some of the intensely steep stairs we were constantly up and down.

If you look closely you can see people zipping in, climbing down the tree, and zipping off the other side.

Skateboard zip you had to do in pairs

More high and narrow walkways

Nathan repelling. We both agreed this part was one of the scariest.

Sounds a little crazy, right? This is the zip Nathan is on in the video above.

Phuket, Thailand; A slightly less glamorous look

So as I mentioned in my previous post, Thailand was a dream. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I have, and probably ever will visit. However, in an effort to "keep it real" I have to share some of the slightly less glamorous parts of our trip that nearly blew my mind. Obviously people in Thailand have an extremely different lifestyle then people in the US, so consider this your daily dose of culture.

Upon arriving , I quickly found this friendly notification placed in our room.

If you know me at all, you know that I found this note extremely unsettling. Sharing a private beach villa with a gecko? Ain't nobody got time for that. I made sure the doors were shut tight through our whole stay, so we never had any visitors in our room, but I took the picture below on an outside wall near the pool.

Excuse me, but that is entirely too many geckos in that small of an area.

A second extremely shocking cultural difference we noticed in a cab ride one day. Driving is the main form of transportation in Thailand. We even saw a few Ford and Chevy pick up trucks. And motorcycles were abundant, more so then any other place I have been. However, with all these cars around we never noticed a gas station. Well at least not a typical gas station. Instead we started to notice these small stands on the sides of the road:

Yep, that is for real. That is how people fuel their cars and bikes in Phuket, Thailand. If you look closely you can see an arrangement of different size bottles sometimes resembling former liquor bottles. These stands were usually placed in front of small personal businesses, adjacent to food stands, or even in front yards. We saw several people make purchases and pour the bottle into their bikes before taking off again.

Although I have no pictures to demonstrate this, it is also worth noting how extremely hot and humid Thailand was. I know, I know, I live in Houston, so I should be used to this. But in Houston we have AC, like everywhere. In Thailand, air conditioning is a rare luxury. Even at our resort the only place with AC was our room. The restaurants and even the front desk were open air. When driving down the street you could see people relaxing and watching TV or napping outside under a tent or a tree for shade with nowhere else to escape the heat.

I truly loved every second of Thailand, and I wouldn't change a thing about our trip. Not even the bugs, the lizards, or the heat. Sometimes its nice to take a step back from the 5 star resort, soak in a little culture to see how people on the other half of the world live.

A week in Phuket, Thailand

We had planned on taking a trip to another country before returning to the states. There is always a chance of us not returning to Japan, so we had to take advantage of being on that side of the world. We bounced around between a few different locations including Korea, Vietnam, China, and Malaysia before finally landing on Thailand. I have to give all the credit to Nathan for this one. He did all of the research and he was the sole chooser of our destination, flight arrangements, and resort. He told me he had chosen Thailand, but I actually did not know where exactly until a few weeks before our departure.

He chose Phuket because after spending 6 (9 for him) long cold months in the city, surrounded by sky scrapers and subways, nothing sounded better then laying on a warm beach and just relaxing. We had done all of the walking and sight seeing we could handle and we really just wanted to go somewhere beautiful and relax. We were also excited because Thailand was known for being inexpensive when it came to food and especially shopping. So to sum it up, it was going to be warm, sunny, relaxing, and cheap which is the complete opposite of Osaka in every way.

Thailand did not disappoint. It is the most scenic country I have ever visited. The clear waters and white sand beaches are completely surrounded by mountains of green jungle and the views are breathtaking. Everywhere we went we were met with Thai traditions; fresh papaya, guava, and mango juice, cool refreshing towels, and the bows accompanied with the greeting S̄wạs̄dī.

Enjoy the pictures below from our stay. It was hard to narrow down which ones to post!