Day six of the Emory University Women's Tennis team's trip to Thailand, written by freshman Stephanie Taylor.
Monday was a rocky day for the Eagles. The day began with a 7:00 am wake up which allowed us to enjoy the last of Koh Phi Phi Island. It was a beautiful day with the sun shimmering down on the crystal blue water, a perfect boating day for us to take the two-hour Ferry back to Phuket. Unfortunately, on the boat a foreign man got a hit of sea sickness and four Eagles got hit with projectile vomit. Sydney, our volunteer assistant coach, took one for the team and saved Defne, Emma, and I from the worst of the impact noting she even had cabbage in her hair. She deserves, Assistant Coach of the Year for that one! What could of have been a leisurely drive up the mountains of Phuket to our hotel, turned into a forty-five-minute speed race, it was Epcot's Test Track only safety was no concern of the driver. Luckily, we all made it but unlike Test Track nobody wanted to go again.
After a recovery lunch from the morning, we took a sight-seeing tour which led to us to experiencing different perspectives of Phuket. Downtown Phuket was similar to our hotel- a bunch of vendors had shops set up on the streets. The scenery changed significantly when we began driving up a mountain to view The Big Budha, a ginormous Budha statue that overlooks all of Phuket. From the top, you could see all three bays that surrounded Phuket. It was stunning. The tour finally led to a street side view of the white sandy beaches.
Once we arrived back at the hotel, we split up to walk around, get massages and eat dinner. For dinner, some of us spent 1000-baht total on a meal ($30) while others ate delicious ped see ew from Phuket's market for 100-baht total ($3). Who can guess which Eagle went where?
To explore the last of Phuket, everybody including the coaches met up to walk through Bangla road, one of the most famous streets of Phuket. To start the night off right, three Eagles (Sasha, Elaine and I) were brave or stupid enough to try grasshoppers. They were crunchy but good enough to go for a second one. The social scene contrast was unreal. It went from a typical, precise mall with all American stores such as Oakley and Prada to a wide alley lined with bars, girls swaying on tables and people shoving flyers for night shows in your face. In the ally there was a virtual reality shop where a couple of Eagles went in, rode three roller coaster rides and fought off zombies alongside each other drawing in a crowd. For dessert, there was a mix divide between fresh fruit bought and chocolate crepes both bought at a local market. Overall, the Eagles can officially say they have experienced all Phuket has to offer and are ready to make our way to Chiang Mai tomorrow. Keep you posted!
Be sure to continue following the team's trip on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as with daily journal entries on emoryathletics.com.