Beautiful Phuket

Story and Photos By Laura Rog

It’s not hard to see why Thailand is a common vacation destination for many JETs. With friendly people, incredibly cheap travel costs, and deliciously spicy food, it’s a great place to spend an extended national holiday week. Phuket in particular provides an oasis from the heat and humidity in Thailand and is a welcome destination after exploring the steamy streets of Bangkok or Chiang Mai. My friends and I visited the island for five days over Golden Week this year and loved every minute of it. For those considering going, here are my Top Ten tips on traveling to Phuket.

1.) Don’t worry so much about reserving domestic plane tickets in advance.

An island located off the southwestern end of Thailand, Phuket is easily accessible by plane from either Bangkok or Chiang Mai. We only booked round trip travel from Osaka to Bangkok and then reserved our inter-country flights the day we wanted to change regions – a surprisingly easy and cheap option. We ended up paying about 5,400 baht, roughly 15,000 yen, for the flight from Chiang Mai to Phuket. A little pricier than we had planned – and we’re pretty sure we were swindled a bit by the hotel staff in Chiang Mai who made our reservations for us – but still a deal in the grand scheme of traveling between the northern and southernmost ends of the country. You can arrange flights through many hotels, go to travel agencies that are everywhere in the major cities, or even just show up to the airport as there is likely to be an open flight within a few hours.

2.) Check out Kata Beach!

There are dozens of areas to stay in Phuket depending upon your preferences – we opted for Kata Beach because it features beautiful beaches and resorts but is out of the thick of the 24-hour excitement of the entertainment area. Kata is a slightly expensive taxi ride away from the larger shopping areas, but also has its own small strip of shopping areas and restaurants to keep you busy and well fed with plenty of Thai and Western options. Additionally, it features resorts large and small with a lot of beachfront property.

Kata Beach

3.) Do your homework before booking a hotel.

If you think you have found a hotel you like in Phuket, go to at least two or three travel websites and read the comments for the place left by previous travelers (agoda.com and tripadvisor.com are two that I found most helpful). Also consider what you really want out of the vacation and the level of comfort you are expecting – you can find a lot of great places within just about any budget, but what you pay often reflects the types of service you will receive (Internet, beach front location, quality of air conditioning, bugs in the room, etc.).

4.) Check what facilities are available where you want to stay.

Our hotel was right on the beach and had two pools, and while the pool chairs were free and open for use, you had to pay an independent vendor if you wanted a chair and umbrella down on the beach. (Lying on a towel was free, though!) Additionally, the hotel charged for Internet, about 100 baht (280 yen) for a half hour, a real downside in a country where Internet is plentiful and free in many cafes. All in all, though, not big sacrifices to make for a cheap and gorgeous room with access to two pools and a beach!

5.) Take a peek at the travel agency brochures.

I will be honest; I didn’t explore many of the activities around the area because I loved just relaxing at the pool and beach all day. We did look over brochures at a couple travel agencies on the shopping strip, though, and there are plenty of activities to choose from. From island tours to paragliding to SCUBA diving, you won’t be disappointed if you are looking for adventure. You can book these day trips at many of the numerous travel agencies all over the island, and hotels tend to also have deals through specific companies.

6.) Go snorkeling!

The one thing that did pull us away from the beach for a day was snorkeling on Phi Phi Island, which I highly recommend. The island was featured in the movie “The Beach” and in one of the James Bond movies, and is simply stunning. We paid 3,000 baht (about 8,500 yen) for our day trip, which included lunch, and it was the best money I spent during our 10 days in Thailand. You are picked up and dropped off at your hotel, stop by a couple islands for beach time during the day, and of course are taken to various coral reefs for snorkeling. Diving into the ocean is amazing – crystal clear water and a huge number of colorful fish surround you, making for an unforgettable experience.

7.) If you’ve ever wanted to learn to SCUBA dive, do it!

For those of you who are more adventurous and want to swim below the surface, Phuket offers world class SCUBA diving. There are plenty of places to get SCUBA certified in Phuket, and it’s much cheaper than doing it in Japan.

Phi Phi

8.) Buy your souvenirs before getting to Phuket.

We noticed almost immediately that Phuket is not like Chiang Mai when it comes to bargaining for goods. The initial quotes were much higher than the vendors in the north, and the sellers were much less willing to drop prices to make a sale. (And they wouldn’t come after you with a rock bottom price if you walked away!) If you are looking for souvenirs and will be in Chiang Mai or Bangkok, it is probably better to get them in those cities if possible. The goods available between cities were basically the same, but the prices were close to double in Phuket.

9.) Resist aggressive sales tactics.

One thing to be aware of is the pushy nature of salespeople in Phuket and Thailand in general. For example, our taxi driver from the airport to Kata Beach had to stop by his agency to “sign some papers” before he could finish the trip – i.e. he walked into the office and a travel agent came out to ask if we had booked our adventures on the island.  Additionally, people would sometimes come up to us on the beach with traditional crafts, snacks, and a variety of goods for sale. The people were generally polite, but often did not take no for an answer right away. It wasn’t constant or something to worry about, but it’s good to be prepared for it. Be firm when saying no and go back to reading or shopping. With overly persistent travel agents I found the best route was to just say we had everything booked already through our hotel.

10.) Don’t feel obligated to tip.

Finally, tipping. This really only comes up with those from North America and our home culture guilt for not doing it! Tipping is optional in Thailand – a few restaurants will add a tip to the bill automatically, but most don’t. We sometimes tipped and sometimes didn’t, and when we did it was usually when someone at a hotel went above and beyond for us, or a driver that took us a long distance (more than 30 minutes).  But if you feel the need to tip, please do. Workers everywhere in Thailand are earning incredibly low wages, so even a small tip makes a big difference.

I highly recommend a visit to Thailand while on JET, and especially encourage including Phuket in your travels. If you take the time to look around you can find some incredible deals and fantastic adventures… or relaxing getaways, if that is more your style.

Blue Nudibranch

By Joshua Zimmerman

This photo was taken Sept. 28, 2009 in Shizuoka Prefecture, in the waters surrounding Izu National Park.  It is of a small Nudibranch (sea slug) about 1 cm long.

By Joshua Zimmerman

Palau is one of those places that you only hear about in wacky travel magazines or on mass emails that you get from that hippy guy/ girl you hung out with that one time in college. It’s a place that exists in the real world, but that no one you take seriously ever goes to. For instance me.

If you check out a classroom globe sometime, Palau is a set of islands to the East of The Philippines. By “group is islands” I really mean “a few specks of land in the middle of ocean.” Its many islands only make up 43 square kilometers in total size and are home to only 20,000 people. It’s so remote that two seasons of Survivor have been filmed there. There isn’t a whole lot to Palau and the only reason you’d ever want to go to Palau would be for the amazing diving.

Back in February I somehow ended up in Palau with a tour group from my local dive shop for a week of diving. I don’t know why I decided to max out my credit card on such a venture, but I think it had something to do with people showing me photos of massive schools of sharks. To get to Palau our group traveled from Fukuyama to Okayama, then caught a flight to Guam. After a lunch at the Guam Airport Burger King we caught another flight to the main island of Palau, Koror.

For me the best part about Palau was that it reminded me of what I always had dreamed Hawaii to be. Everyone spoke English or Japanese, was wearing sandals, and the grocery store sold large amounts of root beer. Coming from Japan I felt like I was in a weird world that was part Japanese and part American, which says more about Palau’s history than my drinking of too many root beers. Over the years Palau was controlled by many groups, the Spanish, the Germans, and in most recent history the Japanese and the United States. Still today many older natives of Palau speak fluent Japanese; and while being an independent nation, Palau and the United States hold special diplomatic relations. But besides these most dry and interesting points the island of Koror was really just a small beach town of 12,000 people and a launching pad to the smaller islands.

Most visitors to Palau head off to one of the many smaller islands for easier access to the many spectacular dive points. The geographic regions that make Palau so remote also make it an impressive dive location. More or less Palau is a mid-ocean feeding point for large schools of fish with massive 300-meter wall faces and impressive amounts of coral. Diving is such an important tourist draw for Palau that the country has imposed strict fishing laws as to not harm the local stock. Daily my group saw sharks, manta rays, and massive schools of feeding fish. It was like being in a National Geographic movie, except much more wet.

Besides being impressed with the big fish in the water I was always on the lookout for really small and weird things that lived on the rock walls. At every turn I found weird crabs and shrimps, and an ever-impressive variety of colorful sea slugs. Even with the high volume of divers in the area we never felt crowded or found the dive sights in bad shape. Palau is a rare diving jewel in the world, a place that’s not been spoiled by too many holiday travelers or nearby beach parties.

One of the weirdest things to do in Palau has nothing to do with the ocean and everything to do with a lake. Palau is special in the world in that it has several salt water lakes on its islands that are home to non-stinging jelly fish. A long time ago these jellyfish got trapped in these salt lakes when ocean levels dropped. Eventually they lost their ability to sting and spend their days eating green algae and amusing tourists. For a small fee you can snorkel in one of the lakes and be surrounded by millions of grapefruit sized jellyfish. If you don’t believe me look it up on youtube. It’s really weird and really fun.

After a week of diving in Palau I really did not want to return to Japan. Life really doesn’t get better than that. I almost stayed behind until my tour group reminded me that I had already maxed out my credit card and that the hotel was hiring. If I had the money I’d go diving in Palau again in a heartbeat, but sadly my plan of marrying a rich doctor hasn’t really worked out yet. Oh well.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNjrfQQl5U8

Nemo and anemone (Photo by Joshua Zimmerman)

By Joshua Zimmerman

When traveling throughout Asia you’ll no doubt see a lot of beautiful temples, landscapes and wildlife. However, you’re probably missing out on the some of the most interesting sights that lie just a few meters below the waves.

Learning how to dive is surprisingly simple and cheap. You can get your diving license just about anywhere there is diving. This includes Japan. Throughout Asia, the set rate for a beginner course in diving is around $300 USD. This usually includes all equipment rentals as well as 4 skill dives, but it’s best to contact the dive shop to find out the local rates. The course takes around 4 days and afterwards you can use your license anywhere in the world.

Once you have a license, the oceans are yours for the taking. Living in Japan gives you access to some of the best diving locations in the world, as well as some of the cheapest. Below are some of the places I’ve been to during the past year.

Japan: One of the more expensive places to dive in Asia, but it’s also the most convenient for us. There are a large number of dive shops in Hiroshima Prefecture that offer weekend trips around Japan as well as longer trips to Okinawa and the rest of Asia. Okinawa has some world class diving, as well as many dive shops that speak English. I recommend Kashiwajima Island in Kochi for its beautiful ribbon eels. To find a dive shop in your area try a quick google search, or ask a JTE for help.

Thailand: A lot of people end up learning how to dive in Thailand. While the diving in Thailand does get crowded, it is completely geared-up for foreigners, as well as being very cheap. It’s very easy to add a diving course to your vacation package. I recommend Koh Tao Island for a relaxing getaway and numerous foreigner- friendly places to learn.

Fiji: Many divers will tell you that Fiji has the best diving in the world (trust me on this: divers love to brag about where they’ve been). They may be right. There are hundreds of islands with thousands of dive sites for you to pick from. With world class coral and year round diving, Fiji is tough to beat for a dive location. Plus you’re guaranteed to see sharks almost everywhere you go. With so many great locations it’s tough to recommend only one single spot. I recommend doing heavy research and finding a location that suits your needs. The only problem with Fiji is the price of air tickets, due to its rather remote location.

Philippines: With over 1,000 islands, it’s no wonder that diving is a main staple of the Philippines’ tourism industry. The dive sites range from whale shark watching to vast coral reefs. The Philippines is well known for its large variety of shipwrecks. One popular location is Subic Bay near Manila. There you can see the remains of the USS New York, scuttled when the US fled during WWII. If you can get to Busuanga, you can dive the remains of a Japanese supply fleet sunk at the end of WWII, as well as search out the elusive dugong, a manatee-like marine mammal. I recommend Bohol Island. Not only is the location known for its wonderful diving, but there are plenty of sites to explore and activities to do out of the water as well.

Diving is a hobby that you can do both while living in Japan and traveling throughout Asia, as well as a hobby you can use when you return home. It’s safe, easy and will always impress a date. You might as well give it a try during travels to some of the top locations in the world.

If you’re interested in diving tips as well as diving information, Japanese dive shops, photos and links, please visit my blog at joshuazimmerman.com, or feel free to email me.

An underwater wonderland

With its 10,000-odd islands offering beaches galore, geological wonders like the Chocolate Hills, an abundance of endemic wildlife, a turbulent but fascinating history, and astounding rice terraces that are considered by many to be the 8^th Wonder of the Ancient World, there is no shortage of things to do and see in the Philippines.

Like in so many Southeast Asian countries the prices are dirt-cheap and the people couldn’t be nicer. Yet due to its isolated location away from mainland Asia, the Philippines is often left off many travel itineraries, therefore making it an ideal destination for those in search of a country not yet spoiled by the wrath of tourism. Travelers to whom this unique experience appeals should book their tickets to the Philippines now – before the secret gets out and tour groups flock to this Southeast Asian treasure. Then, 20 years down the road you can boast about ‘What the Philippines used to be like’.

Here 5 Hiroshima residents share their top tips on how to make the most of your time in the Philippines – once you manage to drag yourself away from your beach towel.

Josh Zimmerman says:
Take a trip under the sea

With thousands of islands it’s no wonder that the Philippines has become one of the most popular scuba diving destinations in the world. With a wide variety of dive sites surrounding most of the major islands, there are opportunities for divers of all skill levels to enjoy the underwater scene year round. During Golden Week I traveled to the Island of Bohol, close to Cebu, where I spent a week studying and diving. I was pleasantly surprised by the wide range of plant and animal life, as well as the relaxing atmosphere of the beach. If you want to give diving a try the Philippines is an excellent place to visit. Basic certification runs at about $250 USD and takes about three days.

Chocolate Hills

Barbara Lewis says:
See chocolate mounds and monkeys all in one day

On their own, I didn’t feel that the chocolate hills were unmissable, but they are on the general ‘must-see list’ while in the Philippines since it’s the only place this natural geological phenomenon exists in the world. They are located on the island of Bohol in the group of southern islands referred to as the Visayas. In the summertime these grass-covered granite hills turn brown, hence their name. There are two viewpoints of the chocolate hills where tourists can get a “postcard” view. For me, though, the hills were at their most majestic when viewed from amidst them, driving between the 1200+ mounds. For those wanting a real challenge, try hiking one!

If, like me, you don’t feel that the hills alone are enough of a draw, I recommend combining them with a visit to the nearby tarsier sanctuary – together they make for a great day trip. The tarsier is the smallest monkey in the world and is predictably cute!

Marc Milsten says:
Step back into WWII

Roughly 48 kilometers from the city of Manila, at the entrance to Manila Bay, lies Corregidor, an island full of intrigue and wonder. A visit to (the island of) Corregidor has the incredible ability to transport one back to the thundering explosions and harsh realities of World War II. The 1942 Battle of Corregidor resulted in Japanese forces taking control of the ally-occupied island. This takeover was short-lived, however, as less than three years later U.S. Forces returned and successfully recaptured the island.

Today, tours take visitors all over the island, telling the incredible story of Corregidor and its strategically important place in the Pacific theater of World War II. Bombed barracks, 12-inch mortars, anti-aircraft artillery, war memorials, and the Malinta Tunnel sound and light show highlighting life on the island during the war, are a few of the many attractions. Educational and interesting, Corregidor will surely provide visitors with a tangible and unforgettable understanding of World War II history.

Larissa Kirkland says:
Indulge in some daring local cuisine

A common favorite eaten by virtually all Filipinos is adobo (it was even referred to in the Black Eyed Peas song “Bebot!”). It is made with either chicken or pork, cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, black peppercorn and ginger. It’s a simple but delicious dish that is commonly eaten over rice. Despite having been a vegetarian for over a decade now, my mouth still waters at the thought of my mother’s chicken adobo! If you’re looking for more of a culinary adventure, keep your ears open for street vendors at night selling balut. Balut, a Filipino delicacy, is a duck egg that is fertilized and given about 15-20 days to develop before being boiled and consumed. It is paired well with a beer – both for courage and to help wash down any stray feathers.

Jeff Niemetschek says:
Get in with the locals at a cockfight

If you’re looking for fun and excitement with some locals in the Philippines, definitely ask where you can watch a cockfight. Cockfights are not for the weak-hearted or squeamish. This fowl sport promises an exciting after-Mass activity for you to win back your Sunday tithings. You can easily find cockfighting anywhere in the Philippines from the large city arenas to rural neighborhood backyards. La Libertad stadium in Manila is my personal osusume. Although you don’t have to bet, it’s worth putting down a few pesos on either the favorite or the underdog – you may even come out on top as I did. But while no cocks were harmed in the writing of this article, the same can’t unfortunately be said for this battle to the death.

TRAVEL TIPS

Getting there

There are flights to the Philippines from Hiroshima and Fukuoka that go via in Taiwan. There are direct flights to Manila from Kansai and Tokyo International airports.

Getting around

Boats: If you like boats, then the Philippines is your country! Departure times vary and change frequently so go to the ferry terminal to check schedules and buy tickets.

Air: If you are going longer distances, more often than not flying is cheaper (and of course quicker) than taking a long distance ferry. Philippine Air is the largest carrier in the country. Also check out Cebu Pacific, and Air Philippines (website addresses below).

Jeepneys: Jeepneys are by far the most interesting way to get around town. After WWII the US military had no use for their jeeps, so gave them to the Filipino government. They have become the backbone of Manila’s intercity public transport system. With their bright colors and crazy drivers, they’re a fun and cheap way to get around.

Buses: Buses are another great mode of long-distance transport. Make sure you carry some warm layers with you as some of these buses turn into iceboxes.

Safety

Although most of the Philippines is very safe and Filipinos go out of their way to help foreigners, there are still frequent terrorist threats and there have been bombs placed in tourist areas. Check your home country’s travel warning before going – most recommend avoiding the southern Muslim islands where tourist kidnappings have occurred.

Helpful Links