windblown: The high life on Kata Beach

After a long voyage South, though not as laborious as the reverse one from Koh Tao and with comfy sleeper berths, we landed on Kata Beach in Phuket. The town is packed to the brim with resorts and resort prices – not our usual backpacker standards.

Home breakfast, a rarity these days

But it was a nice change of pace, and we were only too glad to spend easy, languid days with Di and Andrew, catching up on news from home.

Welcome hug run

The beach was beautiful, with clear, azure waters you'd imagine on a postcard. We could have easily spent all of our time soaking in the water, but decided to change it up.

We tuk-tuked to nearby Patong, or dirty Vegas, as Di would say. Patong attracts the rowdier types in search of wild nights and entertainment of the adult variety – sex tourism at its best (or worst, depending on the perspective). The main strip offers everything from ping pong shows (use your imagination, we tried not to) to drag queen lady boy pole dancing. Curious at first but not particularly amused, we fled with relief back to Kata.

The next morning, we rented some scooters and cruised south around the coast. While in search of a secluded beach down some dirt back road, our fearless bike buddies took a spill, saving a bunny (wink wink Di) but getting banged up in the process. A roadside “doctor” lady took care of the scrapes with some iodine, and they continued the ride (mostly) unfazed.

In the evening, we feasted on some phenomenal Thai food with live music (a hit or miss feat sometimes, surprisingly), courtesy of Di, our resident TripAdvisor queen.

We continued the revelries with a night cap or two at their beautiful boutique hotel – pure, unmitigated luxury. We were impressed. For instance, the private jacuzzi flowed into a private pool, which then joined a bigger pool. Yeah, my point exactly.

To finish off in style, we took a ferry to the picturesque island of Phi Phi. Think DiCaprio's The Beach. Postcard perfect. Or so we thought. The views were admittedly simply scenic, but a closer inspection showed polluted water with a film of algae on top and sharp rocks on the bottom. Loud pop music, exorbitant prices and rude service deflated the vibe further. The double-edged sword of tourism. At least the photos came out great!