Krabi - Wally and Yakki Go to Patong Beach

Spot the Difference!

Answer: Half-naked man on right picture.

Driving south along Highway 402, we finally reached Phuket town.

We were to chill and grab a couple of beers before making our way back to Krabi. The destination of choice for our night out was a random bar at Patong Beach, about 20 minutes from Phuket town.

So at ease with our compass-led driving, we knew we just had to hit east on road 4020 and road 4029 to get to Patong.

As the hilly terrains of Phuket tested Yakki's mountain-driving, the mood within the Toyota Gxi was upbeat. It felt like we were about to achieve something great, something monumental.

Dudes, can you hear that?

"Nah, the radio's crap. Turn it off, man. We'll get some real music at the pub."

No no, listen.

Ten seconds of awkward machinery noises followed.

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"**** **** ****! The engine's dead. CB CB CB! Steering's gone."

For the second time in a day, we looked like we were in serious trouble. Our car was going downhill and all we had was Yakki's hand-braking technique.

!@#$%^& (braking sound)

Fortunately, we were at the gradual end of a steep slope. Yakki had brought the plane safely down and we were alive.

"Oh man! Did the battery die?"

Dude, that can't happen when the engine's running, right?

We were bewildered and lost. The engine had overheated. Perhaps it had overworked on the Phuket hills. A bunch of grown men boys, we didn't know what to do. Disgrace to man-kind.

Still, Yakki and I burst out in uncontrollable laughter, amused by our predicament. Daniels stood still, possibly re-enacting a concoction of Fino-Toyota disaster.

"**** it man! Let's go grab a beer."

We felt like Harold and Kumar going to the White Castle. We abandoned our car in front of a empty rental house.

Kidding!

Having drinks and returning to the wrong spot would be pure stupidity. As if we had not displayed enough of that in a day. So, we took down the GPS coordinates on my BlackBerry, marking our dead car's position.

Still, we had a mission to fulfill. We flew to Patong on a tuk tuk.

Dizzy Tuk Tuk Ride

The ice brr cold beers. Shiok.

Three hours of driving, two near-death experiences and two ice cold beers later, Yakki was drained. It would be unwise for us to drive back to Krabi. We returned to collect our car, hoping it would work after it cooled down. And it did. 谢天谢地!

We drove to a nearby hotel to get a room.

Finally, we were of some use to ourselves. We bargained the room rates from 3800 baht down to 2625 baht. Wally and I shared a room (don't worry twin beds, not double), while the bigger Daniels enjoyed the neighbouring room.

We committed room adultery, deserting our cosy Aonang Cliff Beach Resort room for the sluttier, sexier Ibis.