Adventures in Thailand: Tour groups and why I hate them

Where I last left off, I was beginning to accept that my beach vacation to Thailand was going have very little beach and a lot more rain. However, I was determined to try see Phi Phi Island, which is where they filmed The Beach, otherwise known as the prettiest beach ever. So Sunday night, I went and paid for a boat trip out to the island. The water was looking a little rough, so I asked the person at the front desk if they could call and confirm if the tour woul still be happening. They assured me it would be, and I happily paid, went upstairs, and went to bed.

The next morning, I was woken by the roar of the ocean, but the skies were clear. I went downstairs far earlier than I would have liked, ate breakfast, and waited in the lobby for my minibus to take me away.

And I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Forty-five minutes passed, and there was no bus. So I asked the tour planning guy, and he said it was just late. Then I asked the front desk, and they called and said “Oh, it’s cancelled! The waves are too big!”

…Thanks for letting me know.

When I asked about a refund, they said I’d get it back on my credit card, and it would take about three weeks to clear. Aka, I should be hearing about it soon. But that’s a giant pain. With a bit more poking around, they told me there was another tour that afternoon, a city tour, that would be visiting a temple, aquarium, and the giant Buddha statue.

Now, I’ve always had this thing with giant Buddhas. I think they’re really cool. It’s never really been a solid goal, but I really would like to see as many of them as I can.  So at the mention of the giant Buddha, I signed up for the tour and wasted time in the pool until it was time to get ready.

It seemed like a handful of other people from my hotel were going too, so we ended up having a full van. Right away, I was wishing I hadn’t gone. My tour guide’s English was really hard to understand, and had enough quirks to it that it drove me insane slightly. As well, there were a handful of people on the tour that were the type of tourists I prefer to avoid like the plague. If you don’t know what I mean, go watch “My Life In Ruins” and check out all the annoying tourists on there.

First, we went to Chalong Temple. We were supposed to go to the Buddha first, but the weather was rainy, so they put it off until later. I was annoyed, but whatever. I also like temples.

Chalong Temple was so completely different to what I’m used to when it comes to temples. Japanese temples are really calm and relaxing, and I find them very zen feeling. I could sit in a Japanese temple for hours and hours and just feel my worries melt away. Thai Buddhism seems much more intense. There were explosions going off inside one shrine, and the smell of incense was heavy in the air. Along with my irritation at the tour guide, lack of beach, and bad weather, I really only wandered a little before going into the main temple.

Before we had got to the temple, in the van we were asked if there were any questions. Since we all were in tanks and shorts, I asked the obvious (or what seemed to be) question: should we be covering up when entering the temples? Everyone in the van seemed really surprised at the question. Perhaps I’ve lived in Asia too long, but it just seemed obvious. The guide said there was no problem, and we would be fine. Just to be safe though, I covered my shoulders with my new wrap. As I walked into the main temple, I laughed to myself, seeing a giant pile of wraps and scarfs, and a sign over them saying “Please use if your shoulders are bare or if you’re wearing very short shorts.”

I love being right.

The temple was gorgeous, filled with different types of golden statues. I took a lot of photos, and kept getting annoyed at the people using their flash even though the signs all said no flash. Really, tourists. The view from the top of the temple was really nice too, but I soon got bored.

After, we went to the Phuket Aquarium. Worst kept secret ever: I LOVE AQUARIUMS. To me, they’re another really fun potential date place (apparently, staring at animals appeals to my interests?) I adore the Busan aquarium and the Osaka aquarium, so I was really excited.

Sadly, I’ve seen seafood restaurants with more variety.

The most interesting part of the aquarium was the display on the 2004 tsunami and how it affected Phuket. I’ve never been anywhere that had been affected by the tsunami, so it was really strange to see photos of places that had been flooded and destroyed and be standing there a few minutes later.

We ended up going up this ridiculously tall hill after to go to the Khao Kad view point. I’m sure it would have been really gorgeous… If it had been timed better. We went during low tide, so this normally gorgeous bay was drained, all mud, sand, and grounded boats. Far in the distance, there were dark rain clouds looming, which looked kinda cool. But really, had we gone there first or last, it would have been much more effective. Not at the lowest point of the day for tide.

The tour seemed to get progressively worse from here. We went to a Cashew Nut Factory, apparently. I really liked seeing the cashew nut plant, and was really surprised to see how they grew (attached to a cashew apple! It looked like a pepper!) so it explained why cashews are so expensive. Problem is… We didn’t see a factory. We were taken to their gift shop, and that was it. I bought some cheap cashews (chocolate covered and BBQ flavoured) but I was a little annoyed at how we were taken to, essentially, a store.

At least we were given something to see though.

We were told that there would be a coffee break about half way through the trip. Instead, it was near the end. And by coffee break, it meant they took us to a duty free jewelry warehouse. I was PISSED. When you tell me you’re going to take us to get drinks, I like to think that I’m not going to have stupidly expensive stuff sold at me, and have people pressuring me to buy diamonds that cost my whole pay cheque. I’m sorry, I’m just a teacher. I’m in Thailand on a tight budget. I really didn’t appreciate that.

And then. In case things couldn’t get any better.

Lets review: I took the tour to go see the Big Buddha. We’d been everywhere BUT the big Buddha.  When we finally finished at the duty free shop,  we were told that the weather was too bad to go up the hill, and the tour guide then went on to try explain that the last van that tried to go up there had an accident. In case I wasn’t annoyed enough.

So, I paid 1000 baht to go on this tour around the city, and to see the buddha, and all I got was a crappy aquarium, a really nice temple, and I was taken to duty free shops.

…If you think I let them get away with that, you don’t know me that well.

When I got back to the hotel, I complained to the front desk who booked my ticket, along with another Australian couple who were bitching with me the ride home. (Nothing is a better ice breaker than a mutual dislike of something.) After a phone call or two, the front desk were able to get them to refund me about 200 baht, which I thought was fair, considering I did get to see everything else on the tour.

I still think that, if it’s rainy season, and you know the trip up the mountain isn’t safe… Don’t offer that part of the trip. TELL PEOPLE there is no Buddha part to the trip. The weather was nice enough I could have been swimming all day instead.

Ah well. After that, I ate a ridiculous amount of Thai food, which I was quickly developing a taste for, and went to bed, my last night in Phuket. The next morning, I was bound for Bangkok!

~*~To Be Continued~*~