My Thai Weekend

The BF and I took a little weekend trip to Thailand last weekend. We went to Patong Beach, on the west coast of southern Thailand, on the island of Phuket. It was lovely and beachy.

The busy street adjacent to the beach. See the shops
selling all kinds of things.

Beautiful soft white sand and warm water. The beach is on a little cove, so the water was shallow, with gentle waves. Very good for just splashing around; not so much for bodysurfing. Also, since the island is on the west coast of Thailand, the cove we were swimming in is actually part of the Indian Ocean. I'd never been in the Indian Ocean before! 

They have McDonald's in Phuket.
We didn't eat there. 

The main street by the beach was busy and kinda touristy, with restaurants (including McDonalds and Starbucks) and shops selling everything from knock-off purses, to flip flops, sarongs, luggage, t-shirts, aloe vera and miniature sculptures. I bought a tiny silver elephant to go with my tiny silver alpaca from Peru and a tiny silver water buffalo I bought in Cambodia. (Apparently I now collect tiny silver animals from foreign countries.) I also bought some knock-off purses, flip flops and t-shirts; The BF bought a backpack and almost bought some luggage. So, yeah.

The beach beds and a merchant offering robes
or something. 

On the beach itself, there were people walking up and down the beach selling all kinds of things: some merchants had coolers of water, beer and soda; some sold silk robes, some sold sarongs and dresses, some sold sunscreen or aloe (cut fresh from the plant, not the kind in a bottle). They even had people selling sunglasses and bikinis. For $3 you could rent a "beach bed" (a lounge chair with a cushion on it) and a beach umbrella. And the guy who rented us the chairs came by every hour or so to brush the sand off our chairs and adjust our umbrella. 

It kinda reminded me of the busy part of Myrtle Beach, by the boardwalk, for all the weird touristy shops and the concentration of rednecks. There were no confederate flag bikinis, but plenty of mullets and dudes in Harley Davidson or Jack Daniels tank tops. Only instead of bad Southern accents, they had Australian accents. We kinda came to the conclusion that Thailand (or at least Phuket) is like Australia's Mexico: cheap flight to an exotic and warm place, with cheap booze, cheap pills and cheap thrills. And lots of things that are illegal back home.

The busy streets at night.
More shops selling more things
and people advertising all
kinds of entertainment.

Very colorful side street lined
with bars and clubs.

Speaking of cheap thrills....it seemed like there was plenty of opportunity for that too. While wandering through town after dinner one night, we were presented with fliers advertising all kinds of adult entertainment. The bars and clubs along the main drag had women in costumes dancing on stages (and in cages) within plain view of the street. We opted not to partake of any of that nonsense, but saw enough to confirm that the things you hear about Thailand might be true.

By the pool at the hotel. It was
 multiple levels, very nice. Infinity
edges from one level to the next. Kids mostly stayed in the lower
level, adults in the upper level. 

It rained one afternoon on the beach.
So we scampered across the street
to the  shelter of a Mexican
 restaurant for nachos and
margaritas. This was the
view of the rain
from our dry seats.

After a lovely weekend of beach time, sun, sand, swimming and delicious food (including authentic, REAL pad thai), we headed back to Singapore. It's only about a 2-hour flight, so it made for a totally doable weekend getaway. I'd like to go back to Thailand for another weekend and maybe check out Bangkok. Or Krabi....I hear good things about its beaches.....
  

We ate authentic Thai food at a lovely outdoor restaurant
that had a live band performing. Any band that can
pull off better-than-decent renditions of both Adele AND
Pink Floyd, is a winner in my book.

Explaining: flip flops

Much like how animals are classified by Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species, shoes can be classified into various categories and sub-categories.


Let's take, for example, flip flops.


Flip flops are shoes, of the sub-category "open-toed shoes" and perhaps also of the sub-category "sandals". But they are NOT mandals. This is an important distinction. They come in many shapes and sizes, made of various materials and can be worn by men (see aforementioned distinction about mandals), women, children and everything in between.


Once you get to the sub-category "flip flops", you are likely looking at a shoe that consists of a piece of material between the big toe and the second toe. Beyond that, there are several options: ankle strap, heel strap, high heel, flat, etc. And then there are multiple materials: leather, pleather*, sequins, other shiny things, cheap plastic foam, etc. 


Now, generally, the type of materials used and general look and style of the flip flop determines the types of occasions for which it'd be appropriate. A leather-and-sequin-strapped shoe with a slim profile and stacked heel is probably appropriate for many summer occasions. Depending on where you live and the circumstances involved, I'd allow that these shoes would work for attending a bridal shower, baby shower, rehearsal dinner, birthday party, date night or a day at the office. 


However, footwear made of plastic-esque foam that may or may not squeak when you touch it is an entirely different story. This particular sub-segment of shoes can be further classified beyond "flip flops" to be described as "shower shoes". This moniker comes from the fact that these shoes are water-resistant and made of such lab-created materials as to resist damage from water, should they be worn in the shower. You know, like when you're camping - or in college - and share showers with a bunch of creepers/strangers/dirty roommates and don't want your bare feet to touch the tile. That's when you might want shower shoes.


Some people make the mistake of thinking "shower shoes" can be worn in public. This is a mistake. If they were meant to be worn outside of the shower, we would not all refer to them as "shower shoes". Now, before you get all riled up, there are a few exceptions to the "not in public" policy, as it were. Approved locations for these shoes: situations that immediately precede and/or follow a shower, e.g. wearing home from a soccer game, after removing your muddy cleats and socks or while walking to/from the beach (ocean/lake) or pool. 


Note: in the approved locations I did NOT list the office, the mall, a wedding, a bat mitzvah, or any other occasion that calls for make-up. 


I know that some people have trouble understanding that not at all flip flops are shower shoes (even though, generally, all shower shoes can fit into the sub-category of flip flops). I hope this helps.




*pleather = faux leather. In Seattle, we call this "vegan".