Phuket Thailand

Now in the South of Thailand and on the island of Phuket. I am staying in the South of the island in an area called Karon Beach.  There are beautiful beaches here and the water is very warm.Today the surf was up and no one was able to get into the water. I went to the neighboring town of Patong. This was made famous during the Viet Nam War by the US solders. That city sits on a horse shoe bay with a white sand beach. Yep there is a Starbucks on the water front. It is very hot during the middle of the day and you can walk to a lot of spots but can be a bit of a haul. There is no bus system so the only way to get around is by cab or what they call Tuk Tuk here. It is like a small truck with seats in the back. Today I heard from a Tuk Tuk driver that the cabs have kind of a Mafia going on. The Tuk Tuk guys can't pick you up from the airport and there are some kind of rule about them stopping for passengers along the road. But not sure how that works. I took a Tuk Tuk over and back to Patong and just hailed them on the road. Local politics who knows. Walking around some time can be risky.They have lots of motor bikes and seem to drive them not only on the roads but sidewalks,stores, and you name it. There is a four lane road near where I am staying and you would think you could walk on the shoulder of the road but nope.They park on the shoulder and even block one lane of the road.So you have to just walk in traffic Hope my insurance still works