Chat chai. I wont forget that name or the precious times spent there.
At the top of Phuket province far from the crowded sands of Patong and Phuket town lies a deserted beach with a few old fisherman trailing the beach by foot looking for their dinner.
The village is just before Sarasin bridge and at the top of Phuket province.
Walking the streets you see the way Thai’s really live. Washing their clothes in basins, their chickens next to them in cages, their children playing in the dirt with elastic bands. It’s so beautiful. You go to restaurants in the front yards of their houses where they cook your meal where they cook for their family. Their children bring out your meal with a complimentary salad of leaves, cucumber and ice.
Walking along the Sarasin bridge fisherman are catching fish with old fashioned nets with weights hanging from them. The fish they catch they put right on the fire to sell to passer bys. Their family lying on a blanket next to him sleeping or simply laughing with each other. Groups of thai ladies sit playing dominos out the front of their home. We go to an Internet cafe which is just a room at someone’s house with 5 computers in it, only 2 have Mouses connected and work. The young thai girl runs to her room only meters away and returns with her own laptop which she let’s us use.
We went to the local factory where the village work and make beautiful batik clothing and sheets. When I say factory I mean the front yard of a house where tables are set up with white sheets and young and old alike paint in wax then colour it in with water paints from little cut off bottles of pepsi. They then chemical the fabric, wash the fabric and boil the fabric so that the wax falls off. The end result is a beautiful hand made shirt, hanky or a piece for a frame.
This is the village’s bread winner you could say, the best in all of Thailand. Their famous trade. But from what we saw no tourists know as we were the only ones there besides the workers. The owner took photos of us looking at the fabric perhaps for advertising. The group was working on pieces for a big buyer in bangkok. The kids would come and paint in their breaks from school and blend the colours so beautifully it was amazing the artwork that was so quickly produced with so much variations of colour and light.
I advise you to look up the history of batik and visit this village and perhaps have a go at making it yourself!
The Russian with the yellow eyes.
A man we met on the beach the other day who had rode up from Phuket decided to move here to finish his thesis. He is staying in one of tip’s rooms. Tip also has a restaurant in the village. We met the yellow eyed Russian as we were riding our bikes down the deserted forest paths looking for a new beach to check out. He was one of the only other tourists we saw in the village and we got to talking about his life as an astronomer and shared a meal.
The speed bumps here are interesting. The speed bump is a simple thick rope laid across the road, wearing in some places, completely flat in others.
The people here ride mostly on motorbikes that have little rafts attached to the side with wheels which hold their family members or cooking utensils for the market under the bridge.
The market under the bridge. Where we spent most nights, eating, laughing, learning thai and testing foods we didn’t know. My favourite would have to be the Thai twist on a snow cone. They had 6 different jars holding pineapple pieces, green sweet bread cubes, something that looked like fish eyes, black smelly jelly, white smelly jelly and pumpkin pieces. The lady used a small, foam bowl and we chose our fillings. I chose the sweet green bread and pineapple. She then put sugar syrup on top. She took a huge block of solid ice over to this old fashioned machine where she fixed the ice in place, put my bowl underneath and started turning the machine. It made shaved ice perfectly. We then chose from 5 bottles of liquids for the topping. Don’t ask me what they were, I don’t speak thai but to say the least – delicious. I chose green and red and she then asked, “Milk?”
And of course I say WHY NOT! I think it may have been condescend milk but on top it just finished off the Thai snowcone perfectly. My absolute favourite dish so far!
It is an amazing feeling sitting in the back of a pick up truck, your hair blazing in the wind as you go 100km down a highway. Your backpack lying at your feet and police men waving to you as you go.
Round the World on a Budget 