Phuket is full of annoying “MASSAAAA!! MASSAAAA!!, sir” women trying to sell their massage services to you – with or without an exultant finale. Our hotel’s spa was however professional and über relaxing. The herbal detoxification wrap with lymphatic zone massage was particularly great. It was scandalously cheap. We’ve spend in total 12 200 Baht (R2 832.11) for over 6 hours each of total indulgence.
Speaking of massages. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, but a full/half day companion, however, is not. The authorities intended this to be sort of like a tour guide where these people will take the tourists to local places and generally show them around (and supposedly negotiate better prices for their shopping). In practise, this is not the case. To circumvent the law, the parties are told to look romantically involved. So one sees a lot of Thai women (and often even the odd guy) next to a grabby sweaty old overweight has-been loser who appears ecstatic to the point where he cannot believe his luck. The “day companion” on the other hand seems distant and often on her phone yapping away. We thought we will get used to this, yet every time we encountered this odd pairing, we couldn’t help but stare. In future I will be skeptical of any man (single or not) going to Thailand on holiday. Why would one publicly wish to display that you are too sad to score for free?
Apple Inc has a stronghold and cell phones in general are huge. Not to mention cell phone covers. Think of a design, shape, and colour and multiply it with too much. Piracy is also a lucrative business. Take poor old Louis Vuitton for example. What do you want, LV flip-flops, or LV towel? They have no regard for the original product line. They’ve figured that LV is popular with the tourist and now you get it on everything … yes, you’ve guess right, even cell phone covers.
Mosquitoes in South Africa are at least decent and retreat when the sun rises. In Phuket, PF and I hosted many an eat-as-much-as-you-can 24/7 buffet. They even got to us, whilst we were in the pool. They were also completely disrespectful towards our SA’s “Peaceful Sleep” repellent.
Continue reading Thailand – 8 (of 9).
