Adventures in Asia--Thailand

For the second part of our holiday, we headed to the island of Phuket, Thailand. It was a short hop over from Singapore, but even on that 1.5-hour flight we were served a full meal!

When we arrived, we were greeted with the most glorious......torrential downpour....womp womp! We had been warned that October was still technically rainy season there, but they weren't kidding...this was some serious rain! Despite that, we had a snazzy Mercedes waiting to take us to our hotel and that was totally worth the $1400 Thai baht that it cost (NOTE: $1400 THB is roughly only $40 USD!)

We got to our hotel about half an hour later and were not disappointed. For me, one of the biggest things I remember about places is the quality of service and the JW Marriott in Phuket had some of the best....it doesn't hurt that Drew is a platinum Marriott member so we get lots of extra perks! Anywho...we were greeted with iced herbal tea and a cool washcloth in the open-air lobby while someone took our bags straight to our upgraded suite of a room. After getting relatively settled, we went and had lunch at the deli where we both got...wait for it...turkey sandwiches!!! Score!

The weather cleared up briefly so we threw on some bathing suits and got in the pool for a few minutes. That afternoon we relaxed, watched the storm roll in, and checked out the little shops they had just down the road at the other Marriott property. Drew still wasn't feeling 100% but we opted for the traditional Thai restaurant on site for dinner. I thought the food was delicious and easily agreed that we would go back there on our last night so that Drew would really get to enjoy it as well.

The next day we woke up to a beautiful blue sky filled with sunshine and no clouds in sight! We grabbed breakfast at the expansive buffet before walking on the beach and sitting by the pool. On our way to lunch we opted to get one of the beachfront massages that costed a whopping $12! For an entire hour, Drew and I sat under a little hut getting pampered...best $12 I've spent in a while! The afternoon was filled with more pool-sitting, a little exploring and some indulging in the 2-for-1 drink specials at the pool bars.




That night we had a really nice, romantic dinner at the beachfront steakhouse--the restaurant was so cool because it literally had a floor and roof and no walls...just sea breeze to accompany the delicious meal.

Wednesday morning we got up early to grab breakfast before we set out on our big adventure--elephant trekking! The hotel had a shuttle that took us to the site about an hour from our hotel so we got to see some of the city area along the way. We got there and took a tractor up to a lookout point where they keep all of the elephants. Drew and I volunteered to be in the first group to go so we were off and running before we knew it. We had an elephant (we couldn't pronounce her name so we called her Polly) and she was 40 years old. The trek went through the jungle and provided us with some great views of the Phuket harbor. The whole thing only lasted about 30 minutes, but it was one of the coolest things we've ever done. Afterwards, we got to see some of the baby elephants and watch them paint pictures...so we had to buy one of course!


The good news about this whole set up was that it was supported by the government and proceeds from various merchandise go to the elephant camp to help provide them with great treatment.




After we got back to the resort, it was time for more sunbathing and swimming before heading to a wonderful Japanese dinner. At dinner, we met a lovely expat couple from Texas who is currently living in China but hoping to move back to South Africa for their next assignment.

            


Thursday was our last full day in Phuket, so we indulged in some drinks by the pool, did some souvenir shopping and went to happy hour up in one of the cool bar lounges. We ended up going back to dinner at the Thai restaurant so Drew could experience it...but even after requesting that his food be 'not at all spicy' he was rather overheated by the time we left. The food was delish though!

Friday morning we packed up and headed to the airport after lunch and had a relatively smooth trip back. We actually enjoyed our time in the Singapore airport believe it or not...and found ourselves saying that we actually wish we had a longer layover! Probably won't ever say that again...

Even though we had received a lot of warnings about various circumstances and we took lots of precautions, everything at our resort was perfectly safe and wonderful. So just a word to the wise if you ever plan to visit Phuket (or Thailand in general)...it is smart to be safe and take precautionary measures if you'll be out exploring, but if you're staying at any sort of chain hotel/resort like we did, you should be perfectly safe eating and drinking anything they offer you.

It was a truly great tropical vacay...very relaxing and full of fun! I would love to go back if it weren't so far away from North Carolina. Maybe someday...

Cheers,