06.30.08: We only planned to stay here for a few days. But, we ended up at Kata Beach for a week and a half. Yes, we really got sucked into this place! As a matter of fact, we probably would have stayed longer, but our 1 month visa’s for Thailand ran out on us. Sure, we probably could have gone down to some “official” offices to have them extended. But in the end, we still want to have time in Bali/Indonesia. So, it was time to leave….
The past week in Kata Beach, we didn’t venture far at all. Most of the time, we woke up, had the hotel breakfast included in our room rate, and went to the beach to play in the sand and switch off surfing. The swell picked up, then it rained for a day (internet and “getting stuff done” days), then the weather got better and we surfed again. Another day or two, it would rain again, but only long enough for us to duck into a restaurant for a drink or lunch. When the swell started dying, we rented a longer pink, flowery Walden board. Then, borrowed Kevin’s really, really long board. (He’s pretty tall. Plus, more about him below.) We made some great friends who all hang out at the surf shop, Phuket Surf, that we’ve been renting our boards from. Every few nights, we’d go to a BBQ at the bar, The Tube, also managed by the same as Phuket Surf and where the Kata Krew hangs out at. Kailani’s best playbuddy is Jum, who works at Phuket Surf and at The Tube (and needs to take a day off!) and charges on the waves with her gal friend who she lives with (wish I could remember her name!), both of whom I think of as a “Thai Blue Crush…without the scardey-cat white girl”. I kept talking Jum to come home with me to surf the waves in Santa Cruz!!!! I’m sure she’d just love it! There’s also Jenny the sweetheart, radio station DJ, who is half American, grew up in the states as a kid, but then moved to Thailand the later half of her childhood years. She also charges in the waves. Next, there’s Caleb, born and raised in Bangkok, but now lives in TX as a teacher and comes here every summer. He was nice enough to give us the scoop on everything that goes on here. Then, there’s Marco, originally from So. Africa, then he decided to move to Asia. He said this was one of the first places he stopped at and he has now been there for 2 years. I can see why! Also visiting Thailand while we were there was Kevin, originally from Belgium, then moved to Thailand but now lives in Melbourne, Australia with his Thai wife, Nup (sp?), and their two kids, Catlin (sp?) and 3 ½ year old Anthony, who Kai had fun playing with. And, of course there were a few others: Mark (half Thai too), Jum’s friend’s mom, who does all the cooking at The Tube and also lives above The Tube, the bleached blone guy who does all the instructing, and some of the other members of The Kata Krew that I’m failing to mention. We all appreciate their hospitality and friendship!
After almost of week of extending our days at Kata Poolside Resort, they finally told us someone else had dibs on our “poolside” room. That ended up being OK though, because we were spending more time at the beach and not “poolside”. We also had troubles with their wireless access that we had to pay for. So, we moved next door to the Sugar Palm Resort, a swank modern place that had free wifi for a few hundred Baht more AND it worked. Foodwise, we really never found a place that we really loved. Mostly, we ate at Kata Mama, next door to Phuket Surf, only because it was more reasonable and we could hang out and chat with the Kata Krew. The last night that we were there was the best meal so far. Somehow, we ended up conveniently getting ourselves invited to a dinner at The Tube that was really more for “family and friends”. We had some great grilled squid, fish, mussels, and clams and some saucy chicken wings, spicy noodles, veggies and other home-cooked Southern Thai food, made by “Mom”. The company was great and it was the prefect way to end our stay at Kata Beach and say goodbye to “The Krew”!
Overall, I think it’s safe to say that this has been the best stop on our trip so far….especially because of the friendships we have made….ok, and because of the surf too! Who knows, maybe we can come back and Gloria could help Walup (sp?) put together the next Kata surf competition, considering that they need volunteers and I could bring some materials to make some boards for the local crew.
The past week in Kata Beach, we didn’t venture far at all. Most of the time, we woke up, had the hotel breakfast included in our room rate, and went to the beach to play in the sand and switch off surfing. The swell picked up, then it rained for a day (internet and “getting stuff done” days), then the weather got better and we surfed again. Another day or two, it would rain again, but only long enough for us to duck into a restaurant for a drink or lunch. When the swell started dying, we rented a longer pink, flowery Walden board. Then, borrowed Kevin’s really, really long board. (He’s pretty tall. Plus, more about him below.) We made some great friends who all hang out at the surf shop, Phuket Surf, that we’ve been renting our boards from. Every few nights, we’d go to a BBQ at the bar, The Tube, also managed by the same as Phuket Surf and where the Kata Krew hangs out at. Kailani’s best playbuddy is Jum, who works at Phuket Surf and at The Tube (and needs to take a day off!) and charges on the waves with her gal friend who she lives with (wish I could remember her name!), both of whom I think of as a “Thai Blue Crush…without the scardey-cat white girl”. I kept talking Jum to come home with me to surf the waves in Santa Cruz!!!! I’m sure she’d just love it! There’s also Jenny the sweetheart, radio station DJ, who is half American, grew up in the states as a kid, but then moved to Thailand the later half of her childhood years. She also charges in the waves. Next, there’s Caleb, born and raised in Bangkok, but now lives in TX as a teacher and comes here every summer. He was nice enough to give us the scoop on everything that goes on here. Then, there’s Marco, originally from So. Africa, then he decided to move to Asia. He said this was one of the first places he stopped at and he has now been there for 2 years. I can see why! Also visiting Thailand while we were there was Kevin, originally from Belgium, then moved to Thailand but now lives in Melbourne, Australia with his Thai wife, Nup (sp?), and their two kids, Catlin (sp?) and 3 ½ year old Anthony, who Kai had fun playing with. And, of course there were a few others: Mark (half Thai too), Jum’s friend’s mom, who does all the cooking at The Tube and also lives above The Tube, the bleached blone guy who does all the instructing, and some of the other members of The Kata Krew that I’m failing to mention. We all appreciate their hospitality and friendship!
After almost of week of extending our days at Kata Poolside Resort, they finally told us someone else had dibs on our “poolside” room. That ended up being OK though, because we were spending more time at the beach and not “poolside”. We also had troubles with their wireless access that we had to pay for. So, we moved next door to the Sugar Palm Resort, a swank modern place that had free wifi for a few hundred Baht more AND it worked. Foodwise, we really never found a place that we really loved. Mostly, we ate at Kata Mama, next door to Phuket Surf, only because it was more reasonable and we could hang out and chat with the Kata Krew. The last night that we were there was the best meal so far. Somehow, we ended up conveniently getting ourselves invited to a dinner at The Tube that was really more for “family and friends”. We had some great grilled squid, fish, mussels, and clams and some saucy chicken wings, spicy noodles, veggies and other home-cooked Southern Thai food, made by “Mom”. The company was great and it was the prefect way to end our stay at Kata Beach and say goodbye to “The Krew”!
Overall, I think it’s safe to say that this has been the best stop on our trip so far….especially because of the friendships we have made….ok, and because of the surf too! Who knows, maybe we can come back and Gloria could help Walup (sp?) put together the next Kata surf competition, considering that they need volunteers and I could bring some materials to make some boards for the local crew.
2 comments:
i really think the people you meet make a place that much better...it may be the best part of traveling, more so then "seeing" places. those will be the memories that stick. yeah!!!
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