The Secret Garden

Part of the fun of travelling alone is designing your itinerary for the day. Since I severely burnt my legs at the beach two days ago, that activity was out of the question. Less than an hour in the sun and my legs are burnt! I scanned the map for an intellectually stimulating activity. The Phuket Botanic Garden sounded promising, so I researched the website and looked up the typical taxi fare since it is outside of Patong and not walkable. Tip: Always know a ballpark figure for taxi and tuk tuk drivers in Thailand.

I discovered that the fare should be around 500 baht (about 15 USD...100 baht equals about 3 USD), which I confirmed with the concierge at my hotel. I walked along and hailed a tuk tuk. I'm newly skilled at hailing taxis, tuk tuks, and even buses, which you must do in Australia if you want them to stop for you. The driver stopped, I told him where I wanted to go, and he stared at me blankly. I said, "Map?", which he produced. I found my destination on the map and asked, "How much?" "600 baht," was his immediate response. "600!!!" I said, "500?" and smiled politely. "Okay." And we were off.

I noticed that he was driving in the opposite direction from where I thought the garden was located. The map was up front in the cab with him and I cursed myself for not bringing my own. You see, in Patong, the tuk tuks are designed with a driver's cab in the front with a glass partition. The back consists of two rows of seats and no door. Luckily, there are bars to hold on to. Actually, I think that vehicle is called a songthaew...hard to keep them all straight.

Soon we were at the beach, then further south toward Karon Beach. I was trying to stay calm and assure myself that he knew where he was going, as this is his job and his country. We arrived at a town called Chalong, which I remembered from the map, but didn't think the Garden was there. We turned down a deserted road and I started getting panicky again. Suddenly...hallelujah...I saw a sign for the Garden with an arrow in the direction we were headed.

We arrived and I was greeted by a hostess, the typical hospitable Thai style. I handed the driver his money and thanked him. He said, "I wait for you?" I started to say not to worry, but then thought about the deserted road and wondered how I would find a ride back. Yes, he was motivated by money, but I appreciated his offer nonetheless. I said, "Two hours."

I could write an entire post of the beauty of the Garden, but I'll just leave it at that. After two hours, I exited, and there was my driver, right where he said he would be. I told him I wanted to go back to Jungceylon Mall in Patong. I don't usually frequent malls, but the free toilets and air conditioning beckoned. I asked how much it would cost and he said, "500 baht." I didn't try to negotiate, as I was just grateful he was willing to wait. He delivered me safely to the mall.

Trust has played a fundamental role in this trip. From trusting that Airbnb locations will meet their descriptions to trusting that people will keep their word, it really is a necessity. Americans are typically skeptical of others as a result of watching the nightly news. Of course, trust your instinct, but if you walk around paranoid, questioning every person's motive, you won't enjoy yourself. That's why it's essential to experience different cultures, so you can form your own opinion.