Phuket Trip - Arbor intrat

Continued from Canna intrat

Saturday 21^st

I woke up at 4:30am -- couldn't sleep; played with the dogs and was briefly on the net. Then I packed after having a shower. It was easier to pack this morning as I'd already picked out everything I was taking. I was travelling light. I had: three sets of Clothes, two sets of sandals; toiletries and a week's worth of panties; drawing equipment; passports, money and tickets.

All this fitted into a travel case, my shoulder bag, and a blue drawing folder I'd made myself.

Jo drove Robyn and me down to Mascot in the Rauni. Robyn sat in the front, Jo drove, and I sat in the back with the dogs. It wasn't long before we at the airport and we both had about 1.5 hours before the flight left. This was just long enough to check in, go to the toilet, and board. I was nervous of course.

I'm fine with air travel -- mostly bored except for two short bits -- taking off and landing. Robyn really did have to hold my hand when we lifted off! The flight took just over 7 hours to reach Changi Terminal. There were inflight videos and I only slept for about ½ hour. Then we had a 45 minute wait for the connecting flight to Phuket, which was another 1.5 hours. I started pencilling in a comic for that trip.

We arrived on time and the Surgeon's driver met us at the airport, which seemed to be full of smiling locals. It was dark and wet on the trip down the highway to the hotel. All along the sides were small shops and houses, made from concrete. There were mostly shut, though there were a few cafes that were still open. I saw my first taste of Thai traffic too -- a group on motorbikes cut in at a traffic light and seemed to ride all over the place.

We got to the Imperial Hotel without too much fuss though, and settled in. Each hotel room has the power set by placing the key tag in its placeholder. Each also has its own air conditioner, bar-fridge, bathroom, and cable TV. I watched some TV, had a long chat with Robyn, and finally fell asleep.

Sunday 22^nd

Woke up again about 4am, and watched one of the movie channels. Robyn woke up towards the end of a film, and we talked a lot about life, love and the divine. The surgeon phoned and arranged to have me picked up at 8:30am on Wednesday. After doing a tarot reading for Robyn we went out for a wander. It was then that I first felt the heat and humidity of Phuket.

The island is just North of the Equator and very tropical. It drizzled warm rain on and off all day. We had lunch at a cafe over the road and then sent emails at a net cafe inside a bookshop. Then we went downtown to the local equivalent of Grace Bros, called Robinson's, where we bought a few items of snack food.

I was amazed at the traffic. There are four main types of vehicles driven around here (in order of frequency): motorbikes/scooters; TukTuks; Utes/Pickup trucks; and regular cars/taxis. There are also some trucks and colourfully painted buses of various descriptions, and only a few pushbikes.

The biggest difference though is the way in which the vehicles are driven. It's almost as if the average driver thinks that road rules are optional, and that the crosswalks are merely conveniences for the Tourist Police, so that they know where to pick up the bodies of the tourists that have been run down. You have to be very careful crossing the roads, as vehicles will probably not stop for you.

Also, people pack themselves into what they can, to get places. Many scooters have sidecars. These are not smooth sleek aerodynamically designed cockpits however -- they tend to be metal cages welded onto the side. It was not uncommon to see 2-3 people in these (and maybe a pet as well) and another two passengers on the scooter. If you're lucky, you get to sit on a plastic seat. Other folk have vendors stalls attached to their scooters, and travel around the city selling their wares. People also pile into the backs of Utes, with anywhere between 3-15 holding on in the back. News reports of multiple deaths by road accident are not uncommon!

There are heaps of TukTuks (which are minibuses converted into open-air taxis) and their drivers are quick off the mark to soliciting business. Robyn and I would be walking along the streets and they'd come up (or shout from across the street) "Madam, where you from?" or "Madam, where you going?" or "Madam, see sites, real cheap!?" Just today though, we didn't need one. We went back to the room and dozed for a bit, then had tea at the cafe again and watched films.

Monday 23^rd

We didn't get out until about 11am today. I seem to be a slow starter over here. We caught a TukTuk to Patong Beach after breakfast.

The humidity is the same as yesterday, though travelling around on the back of a TukTuk you don't notice it as much. A lot of things here are subject to bargaining. There isn't really a "standard" fare between Phuket Town and Patong -- sometimes its 350 baht, sometimes its 200. Robyn is good at bargaining.

We had lunch at a food hall on the beach, at one of the family cafes there. Afterwards we wandered about the main streets. There are plenty of people all trying to get your attention here, for tuktuks, tailoring, sex, anything. The heat was almost unbearable. We watched para-sailing for a while -- here you get a "guide" who goes up with you! Later we went into a (air conditioned) tailors shop while he tried to get orders for suits and dresses. That was the last thing I was thinking of in this heat!

There was also a nightclub being built called The Platinum I posed outside the construction site next to a sign advertising for dancers of all types. : men, women and ladyboys. The last is a slang term for the local equivalent of transsexuals, also known as Katoey.

We stopped for drinks at a "24/7". One of the things that's noticeable here is that they have many of the same things as we do in Australia. It wasn't until I went overseas that I realised just how "International" Australia is. Much of what we see back in Australia in the way of shops, business and industry is here as well, sometimes renamed, but here just the same. Service stations are a case in point -- they have ESSO, Caltex, BP, and Shell, and the architecture for these is much the same as well. McDonald's, Burger King and Pizza Hut are here too. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't eat at any of these while I was over here.

In fact we were still in Patong in time for dinner, and ate at the same place we'd had lunch. A woman there recognised Robyn from the documentary she'd made here for Foreign Correspondent last year. There'd also been magazine articles in the local magazines, so Robyn was a celebrity here.

I had the runs and had my first real taste of culture shock here. I had to pay 5 baht to use the toilets, and they were Asian, not European style ones. What this meant was that they were elaborate holes in the floor, with foot grips on either side. You bent down to use them, instead of sitting. This took some getting used to, though while I had the runs I couldn't afford to be too picky.

We caught another TukTuk back to the Hotel and relaxed. I got to finishing the comic I'd started the previous day. Later Pim, the Surgeon's secretary and general go-between, phoned to see how I was. She also came over for a short visit -- she knew Robyn from two previous visits (the first when she had her own surgery and the documentary was being made, and the second when she came back for corrective surgery) and they had a lot to talk about.

After she left, I got a bit spooked. Pim had suggested that we go to a ladyboy nightclub tomorrow night and I was afraid that I'd look ugly and silly. I was in tears and Robyn had to comfort me. All the stress leading up to this was coming to a head. Seven years of transition, seven years and I was finally here, for that final step. I just lost it and was crying so much, letting it all out. Robyn told me that I was a "baby girl just waiting to be born". I guess it's true. I'm so glad she's here.

Tuesday 24^th

I woke up feeling very tired and spent the morning slacking around. Then there was a call to say that my driver was downstairs. I nearly panicked (was I going into hospital a day early?, but it turned out to be a wrong number -- the driver was there for another room.

I started feeling a sinus headache late morning. We went shopping: first went to an area along Poonpol Rd, and then back to Tilok Uthit Rd. This was where I bought two dresses and two sarongs after a little bit of haggling. We went back to the hotel for a short while, and then I changed into one of the dresses and we went out again.

Only I felt a bit paranoid. I thought the dress was on backwards (it was designed to have the zip in front -- I was wearing it in back) and felt like everyone was staring at me. Truth is, in Phuket everyone looks at everyone else, especially tourists. But for the first time I felt very self-conscious of this. I bought some postcards and extra film for the camera.

Back at the hotel I fell asleep and woke up later still feeling headachy. Pim phoned saying that a Canadian Girl will be coming to the nightclub as well. I got dressed and fell asleep again. Pim arrived later that night and we caught a TukTuk to Patong, picking Linda up at the hospital along the way. She's over here accompanying her friend Jenny, who was already in hospital awaiting surgery.

We went to the ladyboy club. It was dark and loud and you had to buy drinks at 100 baht each to watch the show. They had local Girls dancing topless up and down poles and there was a floor show. They'd have a "formal" dances (in traditional Thai outfits), solo acts, and a comedienne inbetween who would make fun of the audience. I was reminded of Carlotta's and Le Girls revues back at home. I'd seen a couple of these since I was in Newcastle and the routines were so alike to be uncanny.

Some of the local Girls came over to talk to Pim and us. They had a habit of squeezing the breasts of the tourists (whether transsexual or not) -- I was told to see if we had implants or not! You couldn't help but laugh when this was done -- it was just so unexpected. When they were told that I was here for my surgery they congratulated me.

I hadn't had any dinner yet, and wasn't feeling well. The seats were the elevated bar type, and I found them very uncomfortable. Then they turned on the strobe lights and I left. I have a history of epilepsy and flashing lights are something I try and spend as little time as possible around. It was a bit disorientating when I left. I took off my spectacles and couldn't see clearly. I held on to a street light and waited for the others to catch up with me.

We went to a nearby cafe where I had a late dinner and a drink and felt much better. We took a Tuktuk back to the hotel and packed, ready for to be picked up tomorrow morning. Looking back, I think that I was headachy and tense, not just because of general stress, but also because I hadn't had any hormones for 14 days, and forgotten to take my antidepressants as well.

Continued with Dies Sanguinis 1