My first trip to Thailand came in my mid 30's after several years of turmoil in my life.
The breakdown of a decade long relationship and then a short failed marriage had left me feeling lonely, broke and lacking any of my usual level of confidence and general passion for life.
This is not exactly a unique story i know."
Thailand, in fact alot of Asia had always been on my list of places to visit and while i had made a few trips overseas previously i had never quite made it to South east asia.
I had some money put aside that was originally intended to go and visit my now estranged wife's family and enough annual leave available, as well as the need to get away from my world for awhile. So armed with this i found a great deal on the internet for flights from Sydney and booked a ticket to Phuket.
The plan was to go and spend a week laying on a beach, drinking beers and just forget the world. I had done a lot of research on the internet by the time i left.
I had beaches and a few attractions i wanted to visit. Id covered the basics on getting around, riding scooters, prices, accommodation, scams, nightlife, wildlife, locals, food and everything i could think of.
In my research i had often come across the phrase never make plans in Thailand.
Little did i know how true that would turn out to be and little did i know how unprepared i was for the impact Thailand would have on me.
Landing in Phuket when the day finally arrived, i was certainly unprepared for how relaxed i would instantly feel.
Before i had even left the airport i was feeling more relaxed than i had in several months. At the time i put this down to having arrived at my destination and being away from the everyday life.
My first experiences of Thailand were an assault on the senses. The heat and humidity hit me harder than expected as i first walked out of the airport to my pre booked hotel transport. The noise, a chaotic mix of cars and languages, of police whistles and phones ringing, laughter and the airport PA system. The familiar smells of exhaust fumes, planes and hot asphalt mixed with unfamiliar food smells, people that smelt different, incense and everything else.
It was overwhelming and exhilarating and little did i know it would come to be the smell of the place i most wanted to be.
By the time i had arrived at my hotel it was early evening. After around 12 hours of travel all i wanted was a quick shower and to head out for some local food and several drinks.
I had booked a hotel in central Patong so everything was within walking distance.
It didn't take long before i was sitting at a bar trying to decide what to eat, while enjoying.an ice cold beer ( or maybe several )
It must have been obvious to everyone in the place it was my first time in Thailand, im pretty sure i was the butt of several jokes between the staff but they were friendly when serving and generally were happy to chat away. Eventually i asked one of the ladies named Oi what she recommended to eat.
Oi่ asked if i eat pig ( I would find out this is a common question ) and after i answered i did she walked outside to a street vendor and order for me. Several minutes later she came inside with a bowl of rice noodles in a brownish soup and filled with pieces of pork and meatballs as well as bean sprouts and thai basil. Oi told me it was 100 baht, around $3.50 Australian at the time and i handed the money to her so she could pay the old lady cooking at the cart on the side of the rd. Two minutes later Oi returns with another bowl, sits beside me and digs in to eat.
I was stunned.
Not stunned she had ordered for herself too, but stunned that the 100 baht had been for both meals.
The bowl of noodles was amazingly delicious, much better than any Thai food i ever had at home and two bowls had cost around a quarter of what i would pay for a single bowl of similar size.
More To follow soon…..
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