March 18, 2006
I was walking from the Tsunami damaged area when I saw a 7/11 store for the first time on Phi Phi and was dying for some milk. As I got closer to the store I realized that this store has been closed since Dec 26, 2004 since the whole store was basically destroyed and never repaired again. On Thursday I was having dinner when I saw a guy wheeling 6 backpacks into town and saw 6 guys walking behind him. 5 tall guys and a short guy and I then recognized the short guy as Paul from Wales who I met with Alex in Vietnam (Hue and Halong bay). He had just finished Laos with 13 other people and was traveling with another English guy and was planning to do his diving course in Phi Phi and later on we went to the Reggae bar where there is a boxing ring and they had a Thai fight but within a minute or two most of us realized it was WWF type of Thai boxing since it was completely staged and phoney with each fighter kicking the other and the other guy doing a flip and just over-dramatizing it.
I have never been into reggae but all I hear here are Bob Marley songs and it is starting to grow on me since I find myself singing his songs all the time when I go for my daily hikes in Phi Phi.
Later, tourists could get into the ring and fight other tourists and get a free bucket of booze. Then this Israeli guy was being cocky and arrogant in the ring asking if anyone would challenge him so I told him I would (with a smile on my face) and the manager who promoted the fights said "No way, you are too big, too big!". I was dying to get in the ring and knock this guy around and wanted Paul to jump in and fight him but he originally wasn't into it since he just finished traveling for 9 hours and just wanted to relax and have a drink or two. This Israeli and his friends were parading him around the ring like he was some kind of champion. Then this Canadian couple who were the same age as myself leaned over our table and said "Are you guys going to take this? This guy is so arrogant and cocky he is just laughing at you" (She did a good job to egg Paul on) and Paul reluctantly said "OK fine I'll do it".
The Israeli may have had combat training or something because he was flabby and didn't look like a boxer and thought he had an easy match when he saw Paul enter the ring. Paul is 5'6 140 lbs so definitely not the most intimidating guy but Paul is on the verge of turning professional when he reaches Chicago but I am sure the Israeli didn't know this haha. When the bell rang the Israeli came out with a kick which was the only thing he would land in the match and Paul carefully boxed him and through typical boxing combinations where you go to the body and then immediately up to the head with right hooks and the Israeli would drop his defense to protect his body just when Paul was about to hit him in the head.
I was enjoying myself as I watched Paul pick this guy apart in the first 40 seconds and then Paul realized the guy had nothing so he just started throwing bombs and thrashing the guy around the ring until the promoter jumped in to stop the fight. Paul is a really nice guy and always the gentleman and went over to shake his hand after the fight but the Israeli wouldn't even acknowledge him and just left the ring. After that Paul had diving the next day so left to go to bed and I stayed at the bar until it closed talking to the Canadian couple who had just gone to Egypt, Turkey, India, Nepal, and Southeast Asia and gave me lots of tips on what to expect in India and Indonesia.
Then next day I met a 59 year old guy named Vern from Kelowna BC. He is recently divorced and now doing his lifelong dream of traveling but unfortunately Vern is a traveling rookie and booked a flight to Beijing China without realizing he needed a Chinese Visa until he tried to board the plane but the woman helped him change it to Bangkok so he didn't waste his trip since he booked his whole trip in advance. He is learning the hard way and what not to do since booking ahead doesn't allow any flexibility in his trip since things do change. Vern is a really good guy and I told him I would add him to my email list since he is interested in hearing about other peoples traveling experiences which most other backpackers are too.
It is Saturday and I just arrived in Phuket and hope to drop off some of my stuff here and to travel lighter. I have been carrying around a marble chess set and it is weighing me down plus a suit I never wear. I think I will stay here a week before I have to move on to Malaysia when my Thailand 30 day pass expires. Air Asia has some cheap flights to Brunei, Philippines, and Indonesia and to Hong Kong so I may fly to all these countries.
Kevin
On Wednesday Alex and I left our bungalow and he went north where I am going south from here after Phuket. I have been hiking everyday for about 2 hours which is great for getting back into shape. I walked along the beach and when I came to the end of the beach where it meets the jungle area a big monkey (twice the size of the ones in Angkor wat) jumped out and walked over to the Monkey beach pub where I got a picture of him under the "Monkey beach pub" sign. He jumped on a log and was looking the other way when I snuck up to him and was about 5 feet away. I know that the monkey is wild but I thought I could get a close up of him with my camera and as I was looking through my view finder as he turned around and saw how close I was to him and then saw his eyes dilate for 2 seconds (realizing I was in his space) and then he showed his teeth and he had razor sharp 2 inch fangs and lunged at me as if to try to bite me. He freaked me out when I saw those teeth and got the hell out of there. I guess because they are furry and cute you still shouldn't pet them right? haha Then next day I met a 59 year old guy named Vern from Kelowna BC. He is recently divorced and now doing his lifelong dream of traveling but unfortunately Vern is a traveling rookie and booked a flight to Beijing China without realizing he needed a Chinese Visa until he tried to board the plane but the woman helped him change it to Bangkok so he didn't waste his trip since he booked his whole trip in advance. He is learning the hard way and what not to do since booking ahead doesn't allow any flexibility in his trip since things do change. Vern is a really good guy and I told him I would add him to my email list since he is interested in hearing about other peoples traveling experiences which most other backpackers are too.
It is Saturday and I just arrived in Phuket and hope to drop off some of my stuff here and to travel lighter. I have been carrying around a marble chess set and it is weighing me down plus a suit I never wear. I think I will stay here a week before I have to move on to Malaysia when my Thailand 30 day pass expires. Air Asia has some cheap flights to Brunei, Philippines, and Indonesia and to Hong Kong so I may fly to all these countries.
Kevin
I was walking from the Tsunami damaged area when I saw a 7/11 store for the first time on Phi Phi and was dying for some milk. As I got closer to the store I realized that this store has been closed since Dec 26, 2004 since the whole store was basically destroyed and never repaired again. On Thursday I was having dinner when I saw a guy wheeling 6 backpacks into town and saw 6 guys walking behind him. 5 tall guys and a short guy and I then recognized the short guy as Paul from Wales who I met with Alex in Vietnam (Hue and Halong bay). He had just finished Laos with 13 other people and was traveling with another English guy and was planning to do his diving course in Phi Phi and later on we went to the Reggae bar where there is a boxing ring and they had a Thai fight but within a minute or two most of us realized it was WWF type of Thai boxing since it was completely staged and phoney with each fighter kicking the other and the other guy doing a flip and just over-dramatizing it.
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