Tambon Kammala, Thailand

Today we decided to all split up and try something different. Some of us went shopping at the largest mall in Phuket , others went surfing. I decided to take a walk on our beach, and explore the town of Kamala. Because of the monsoon, the beach and the water are filled with plastic bags , bottles and even needles according to some of our group who went surfing. Too bad they don’t have a clean up crew, it would be a stunning beach if it was well maintained. I walked about one kilometer observing newlyweds taking photos on the beach, surfers catching the waves, some people picking coconuts from the coco palms on the beach and swimmers taking a risk with this opaque water. Finally I get to the small town and walk the streets, there are many inns with rooms and scooters to rent, lots of massage parlors with massage for less than $10. An hour and street vendors. So do I get a massage, rent a scooter or eat a grilled corn?? I’ve already had at least 6 massages, so I opt for the scooter. They gave me a new scooter and a new helmet for $15 a day! Wow! So I take a two hour ride and choose the windy road on the coast. I stop every so often and take in the views, which are spectacular. There are some mega mansions and some beautiful resorts being built on these very steep lush hillsides right on the ocean. Kamala point must be where the more discriminate buyers want to be , as it is much more secluded and low density. After that I come back on my step and decide to go north and drive through the beach town of Surin; it’s a busier town with lots of condos being built and a lot more tourists. On the way back, I meet someone on scooter at a stop sign yet! who tells me, tourists buy their scooters here because it’s so cheap. He was from Geneva and staying here for 4 months. It feels Ike it wants to rain so I return the scooter. Sure enough it starts to drizzle . So I walk back on the beach and get to the hotel. We decide to meet on the roof and have cocktails and a lite dinner to recap our day. It’s been another interesting day.