The Sundry Life of Sage: City Review: Phuket

This is my last post from my two week trip to Asia on points travel. Phuket always had been my final destination, I just chose to terminate in Hong Kong and make my way to Phuket through various means for which you can read about here, here and here. As I have mentioned in my review of the Radisson Blu Cape Panwa, Phuket is a very large island about 30 miles long and 13 miles wide. That fact becomes apparent when you chose to stay in the quietness of Cape Panwa and wish to visit other portions of the island.
Overall, I wasn't overwhelmed with what Phuket had to offer. It was nice, the food terrific and inexpensive but islands in the caribbean offer just as much and are significantly closer. I know there are many beautiful places to stay on Phuket but once you step foot off the property its a different world and the occupants of that world for whatever reason do not have the same respect for the natural resources that many travellers are willing and able to pay top dollar to visit. On our final full day on the island we took a tour of the out islands via speedboat. On this all day tour which really should have never taken place since the sea was so rough, we saw how endangered the beautiful natural resources were. One particular island had a beach made entirely of coral. To dig through the coral would have been a shell collectors dream. Unfortunately, mixed in with the coral were shards of broken glass from beer and soda bottles that were never properly disposed of. So much glass that you had to wear hard soled shoes just to walk to the water. It wasn't uncommon to see trash lying on the shore or in the water. You could see this island was a standard stop for the dozens of tour boats hauling passengers and it should be because of the beauty until you arrive and take note of the neglect. While I was snorkeling, Diva witnessed a man taking his toddler into the sea, she watched as he pulled down the child's swimsuit so he could take a nice big crap right in the open water. Once I found this out, I refused to get back in the water. Can you blame the man for leading his child to the ocean, not really, because before we disembarked the speedboat our group leader reminded us all that everything was very expensive on the island and that if we needed to go to the bathroom for free we were surrounded by ocean rather than pay 25 baht (.75 cents) to use the restroom located on the island. Seriously?
I don't claim to understand the politics of having such beauty at your disposal 24/7 and not being to provide adequate, safe basic needs (food, water, shelter) for ones own people with all the tourist dollars supporting the economy but exactly where are those tourist dollars going? While waiting for our speedboat to board, the harbor where we embarked was a cesspool of floating trash, spit, discarded liquids, dead fish, cigarette butts etc., at this rate it won't be long before all is polluted. I have Bachelors degree in Natural Resources Management and know this problem can be fixed starting with some basic education but the King and his Ministry do not seem to see the need to manage these resources by making them a priority. Phuket and the surrounding region were hit with a devastating tsunami on December 26, 2004 killing over 5,000 people. Perhaps some force greater than our own was not happy with Phuket that day and mother nature unleashed her wrath practically destroying the area from a direct hit. You'd think those who survived would wake up on December 27, 2004 to a clean slate and fresh start but they did not heed the warning and old habits do die hard for as they approach their 10 year anniversary of their most devastating natural disaster it doesn't appear much has changed.

This is where the famously expensive birds nests for birds nest come originate from.

My favorite place on Cape Panwa I never visited becasue of a muslim holiday that shut down all bars for 3 days...Small Bar

It was not unusual to see 4 and 5 people riding on one scooter, this little girl had a seat especially crafted for her.

The famous Patong Beach...take the raunchiest of Vegas throw in a beautiful beach and you have Patong.

One of the endless Patong bars...

A cute way to indicate men's and ladies rooms

Gorgeous flowers were everywhere

A kite surfer on Kata Beach

Beautiful Kata Beach

This dog appeared to belong to no one nearby, he just hung out at the beach and visited whatever struck his interest

Me being crushed by a wave on Kata

My absolutely favorite store product, I never had a clue this was an issue for anyone, I am so kicking myself for not purchasing this product just because.

My next project.....

The harbour in Phuket where we boarded the speedboat

I have no clue why this man 1) chose to pick this bag as his own or 2) what on earth was so important in that bag that he felt he had to lug it on a boat for his island day trip