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17 Jan 2004

My Phuket Trip

IT SUCKS..
I hate Phuket. I think its a lousy place for anyone to go
as a holiday destination. Its a sleazy place. Well, some
guys would probably like it cos of all the attention they
can get. And so many stupid things happened during the trip
which totally pissed me off. The main things which pissed
me off were my travelling companions. They are such total
idiots! Let's call them Z and J.

I don't know Z very well, but I thought he was okay
initially. J is Z's fren whom I didn't know until we went
for this trip. I decided to go with them because Z said he
would pay for me. ???? I told him I couldn't afford to go
on the trip, but he said if it was below 1k, he didn't mind
paying for it. wow! I didn't argue. Yes, I don't know him
all that well, but I get along pretty well with people on
trips. I'm used to meeting people on trips, going along
with mostly people I don't really know. Anyway, this was
supposed to be a diving trip, if there's diving, I'm in.
And how often is it that you have someone willing to
finance your trip? So that's how it was I went on the
trip with Z. And he got another fren to come along too. i'm
cool with that. But i got a bit peeved when a few days
before we were supposed to leave, Z told me that actually
both him and J were financing my part of the trip. I told
him that wasn't very nice as I didn't know J at all. I
mean, okay, so i met him when we went to book our trip, but
i've only seen him once or twice. and he's willing to pay
for me? that's really strange! But Z told me at length not
to worry about it... and in the end, I said 'well, if
you're sure about this whole thing, then okay.'

And then departure date...
you know how you have to check in early (recommended 2
hours before) at the airport just in case there are delays,
long queues etc? well, i respect this 'rule'. and i was
totally shocked when Z told me that we were going to meet
30 minutes before take-off time. 30MINS BEFORE TAKE OFF
TIME?! What if there's a queue?! What if our luggage
doesn't get to the plane in time? After a long debate, it
was decided that we'd meet 1 hour before take-off time.
(still not enough time, in my opinion! but i relented) And
guess what? the idiots were late! My ticket was with them
too! argh!!! They arrived 15 minutes before the scheduled
plane take-off time. Well, the advantage was that there
certainly wasn't any queue at all BECAUSE EVERYONE ALREADY
CHECKED IN! I was so stupefied by their daring stupidity,
but as they are the bosses (cos they're paying for the
trip), i shut my trap, and didn't go on and on about it. We
did a run-walk all the way to the plane through the transit
area. And I was praying my luggage i checked in finds its
way to the plane safely. I'd really hate my dive equipment
to end up in another country.

When we reached our hotel in PHuket.. Now which hotel was
it? It's been quite some time actually.. the trip was in
Nov 2003. Oh yes, our hotel is called Aloha Villa. Its more
like a budget hotel, but its not so bad. Its better than
most budget hotels I've been. The place is clean, there's a
balcony (though the view wasn't to die for), lots of space,
cable tv.. But oh no, they had to complain. Z & J
complained about the hotel when they got there. "There is
no swimming pool, no bathtub.." I thought they were being
too much. I mean, hey! You knew this was a cheap hotel when
you booked the tickets. You want budget, you get budget. It
was the cheapest hotel in the list the travel agent showed
us. What did you expect? A 5-star hotel on a shoestring
budget? GET REAL! If you pay peanuts, you can't expect all
the luxuries to be there. I didn't know what they were
whining about... the place is clean, the staff clean the
room everyday, its not luxurious, but at least its
comfortable. right? right? Besides, I thought we were there
for the diving?!

The place we stayed in was totally touristy.. too touristy
for my taste. Sidewalks are lined with pubs, and when you
walk past the drinking holes, the girls would try to pull
the guys in. talking to them with their honeyed tongues...
man, Phuket was really sleazy! It is actually very well-
known for its sex-trade in case you didn't know...
Everywhere you go, you see The Caucasian Male With A Thai
Girl (TCMWATG). It was so rampant! And there are
tranvestites who grab your arm and won't let go until
you've taken a picture with them and then they ask you for
money because you took a picture with them. And the
shopping is really lousy in Phuket. The shops are always
selling the same things. Usually fake branded goods like
Diesel. And they had beachwear too, but they weren't very
nice.

If you went there for the sun, sand and sea.. the beach
isn't very good. The beach isn't very nice. Its totally
crowded.. and its packed with beach chairs which you have
to pay to sit in them. 50baht per day it was..

argh! lousy phuket.

So anyway, we did only 2 days of diving out of the 6 days
we were there. We shopped for a dive shop only when we got
there. Diving was okay. The rest of the time we were out
shopping or discovering the place. Most of the time, I was
in the hotel room watching tv as you will find out why
later...

Z & J turned out to be really big spenders.. (well, they
could pay for my trip..) Every meal, they went to eat at
the more expensive restaurants, ordering whatever they
pleased. I mean, wow! I was going to be content eating at
roadside stalls because i didn't bring all that much money,
and here they were blowing 500 to 700 baht per meal for the
3 of us. I was intending to pay for a few meals just to
show my appreciation, but man! I wouldn't be able to afford
it! I only brought bout 2000 baht (hey, give me break... I
ain't working!). And I still had to keep at least 500 baht
for the phuket airport tax when i leave, and not to mention
a bit of 'spare' money for those just in case incidences..
So in the end, I had to survive on their charity. I didn't
pay for any of the meals.

On top of all the "put-outs" i was having, my travelling
companions added to my 'pissed-off' factor.
The first nite, I was rather tired, so when the
guys went out for drinks, i stayed in. And we only had one
hotel key - which you have to leave in its place beside the
door to keep the electricity running. (the 3 of us were
sharing a room) So which means they had to knock the door
to wake me up so i can open the door for them. Well... that
was okay. But that night, only Z came back. In the morning,
when i realized that only one of them came back, i knew
something was afoot.. In the morning, I asked where Z where
J went. Z told me to ask him myself. I had the option to
act stupid and pretend nothing happened, but I couldnt'
stand it, and when J and i were at the breakfast table
alone, i asked him wat happened last nite. He said "oh, i
met an ex-colleague at a bar and after much drinks, i
decided to go bunk at his hotel instead cos it was nearer."
RIGHT...

After that, I didn't question their night activities
anymore when the next night, Z didn't come back. Again, i
was tired, cos that day, we went for a day trip out to go
scuba diving. So i didn't go with them again when they went
to drink. And so this went on... And I realized the full
story of what was going on. These two guys had gotten
another room downstairs in the same hotel and they were
taking turns spending the night there with whoever they
picked up that night!

But hey, dun get me wrong. I dun care about your nightly
activities... we are all adults here. You just had to let
me know where you were going... "Hey, we are going out to
have some fun. So you take care of yourself tonight, yah?"
okay okay.. I can understand how they can't say that to me.
But at least make up a lie!! Lie to me where you are going,
but just let me know that you're going out! When these two
guys go out on their nightly "hunts", they would do
something stupid like sleeping early and when they think im
asleep, they'd go off at like 1 in the morning.. or they'd
wait till i'm in the bathroom before disappearing without a
trace. i mean, i'd come out of the bathroom, and hey,
presto! they're gone! it was totally maddening. And when
the guy who has to come back to our room that night wants
to get back into the room, he has to knock on the door till
i wake up because he doesn't have the key. we were supposed
to be travelling companions for goodness' sake! you don't
pull this kind of stunt with your travelling companion, do
you?

And anyway, I still can't figure out why they'd ask me
out on this trip since it was quite obvious diving wasn't
their numero uno interest in this trip. Why ask a girl
along on your hanky panky trip anyway? And pay for someone
you don't know really well? Too much money to burn? Maybe..
But that still doesn't justify bringing a someone you don't
know too well out on your 'sleazy' trip.

And that's not all. The last day was the limit.

The previous night, it was J's turn to do the disappearing
act. In the morning, when Z thought I was still sleeping,
he went out. I waited for quite a while,but there was no
news from them at all. I decided to stop being pissed off
at them and go out on my own. So i sms-ed them and told
them i was going to the beach. (see, i'm a responsible
travelling companion) So I went to the beach alone, and i
found out from the reception that check out time was at
2pm. no problem, i still have plenty of time.. When i got
to the beach, it started to rain not too long after. the
rain got very heavy, and i was stranded there. There was a
nice little lady there who painted my nails while i waited
for the rain to stop. Seeing as how the rain wasn't going
to stop anytime soon, I sms-ed J and told him i'd be stuck
there cos of the rain and could he please check with the
reception and postpone the checkout time to 3pm instead. he
replied just by saying 'the pick up time is at 4pm'. Well,
from that reply, I thought he'd try to do something about
it.. when the rain stopped, I went back to the hotel. I
reached there bout 1.45pm. And the guys were in the room.
When they opened the door for me... lo and behold... thai
girl was sitting on their bed with J, and watching tv. Z
was busy packing his luggage. hmm... hmm...

Well, I had to say something! "Oh, we have a visitor?!"
"Yeah", says J.

I didn't know wat else to do, but I had to go take a
shower, and then i saw the thai girl's phone charging in
the socket on the dressing table. okay...

I went into the bathroom to shower. It was too awkward to
stay out there with them. When I came out, presto! They
disappeared again. There was nothing for it, but to pack my
stuff.. and fume. They left no note, they said nothing. And
all their luggage were gone from the room. I assumed they
had left their luggage downstairs in the holding room becos
there was still one and a half hours before the pick up. So
while i was packing, i got a call.

It was the reception, "Hello miss, can you please check out
now? Its already 2.30pm."

Fume fume... "OK, I'll be down in 5 mins."

I packed up, went down, left my luggage in the holding
room, and went out to a restaurant to eat and hang out till
the time came to go back to the hotel. There was no point
calling the guys.

I WAS SO PISSED OFF!

When we met back at the hotel, I didn't say very much to
them. I didnt say very much to them ALL THE WAY back to
SIN. I even sat away from them on the flight back. After we
collected our luggage (they were walking in front), i saw
my parents waiting for me. I didn't know they were going to
be there, and i went up to talk to my parents a bit and
when i turned to tell the guys i'm going off with my
parents, they were too far ahead to hear me, so i called
them on the mobile instead.

Both of them didn't pick up their phones.

So I messaged them "Hey, you guys did the disappearing act
again. Anyway, thanks for the trip!"

No reply.

And I was just so pissed off!!! I didn't hear anything from
them for weeks after that. And when Z sms-ed me
unexpectedly one day to ask me out for supper, I made up a
bogus reason about how I was out. I hope I never see any
one of them again.

GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH.

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