Me Voy Por Ahi Que cooomo?!

I'm afraid I picked up the wrong brochure.  What the heck.  I couldn't have chosen a more jarring awakening from the slumber of the Himalayas mountains if I had tried.  I almost took a plane back (anywhere) when I arrived here at midnight and saw the neon signs for massages, drinks, cheap everything.  But after a good night sleep, and booking several visits to nearby islands (which is the real reason I'm here), I got in a very good mood of exploring this bizarre city and even got a foot massage last night (for $7USD).  And it was nice to have a western salad after so much rice, vegetables, and chicken in sauce.  Imagine if the tackiest areas of Atlantic City and Cancun had a baby, throw in the sweet smell of duck sauce, and a few buildings with Thai architecture...that's the city of Patong in the island of Phuket. It's insane.  But take a 1 hr drive to James Bond island, and you're in paradise.  Huge mountains coming out of the water, a floating market, caves with prehistoric drawings and a giant gold bhuda.  It's gorgeous.