The Best of Everything in Phuket

Phuket is famous for a number of things like exotic beaches, island hopping, vibrant nightlife, delicious seafood, elephant sanctuaries and of course SCUBA Diving. Well...since we were here we had to try it all out to be sure it was living up to its fame.

We stayed in a quieter area of Phuket called Kamala Beach, and we had a wonderful resort with everything we needed and more.  As luck would have it, we were also just in time to celebrate Songkran. Songkran is also known as the Water Splashing Festival, which is celebrated to mark the New Year in Thailand. As a symbol of renewal in Buddhism, water is splashed on statues of Buddha for good luck, and younger generations bathe the hands of the elderly to receive their blessing in return. Finally, people gather in the streets to join in huge "water fights" — fun and celebratory mutual splashing. So of course we joined in too, purchasing small water guns that was no match for the buckets of waters these professional were sporting.

Aside from lounging on the beach and enjoying local cuisine, we tried to make this part of our trip more relaxed as it was coming to the end.  More relaxed meaning we only planned a couple of excursions. One of them being a full day of island hopping on a speedboat to see the famous waters of Phi Phi. We also had the opportunity to stop and snorkel along the way in the emerald waters of Phuket. The pictures do not even do it justice as the reflections from the sun hitting the water made for one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. The only advice I have is maybe checking out some of the less popular islands as many of our stops were crowded and very touristy.

As many of you know, Rob loves to SCUBA Dive and he wasn't leaving Thailand without checking out the marine life under the sea.  He was able to see beautiful fish and a huge oyster just to name of few of his finds.  While he was diving my cousins and I after a lot of research found a local Elephant Sanctuary to spend the afternoon.  We wanted to make sure we went somewhere where the animals were treated well. This particular camp had rescued elephants from circuses or took in injured elephants that would not survive in the wild.  So glad we added this one in at the last minute because it was one of those experiences that will hold memories for a life time. We got to partake in the daily feeding, mud massages and bathing of the Asia Elephants. I also learned more about elephant poo and it's uses than I could have imagined. They feed their babies their poo for two years and they also make paper out of the poop just to give you an idea of how much "crap" we learned!

The nightlife in Phuket was definitely interesting, we were only 15 minutes away from the famous Patong Beach area where you find Bangla Road. Bangla Road is a nightlife place like no other. Once you enter Bangla Road, you will immediately feel the lively and energetic nightlife atmosphere. So many things to look at and something you wish you never saw... but I guess that's the point! 

The food in Phuket was absolutely amazing, I couldn't tell you my favourite dish or place as they were all unique and truly authentic.  We ate in some places many of you might have walked right by... and we were so happy we risked it and our tummies were too.  We tried all kinds of Streetfood and cocktails made in little huts / tents and survived... Guess we have stronger stomachs than we thought!!

If you are ever in Thailand, you have got to go for a Thai massage.  We managed to fit a couple in and they were incredible. WARNING! It's not relaxing but it feels good as they use their hands, thumbs, elbows, and knees to stretch, pull, and rock different parts of your body. One moment the therapist would be sitting on my butt, and then the next, she’d be asking me to sit up so she could pull and stretch my arms and legs in surprising directions. They even sit and walk on you purposefully hitting just the right spots, giving you a sensation of pain and pleasure at the same time. A one hour massage will run you about $10 US, a bargain for the beating that leaves you more refreshed and alive then when you entered.

Our three weeks in Asia went by so quickly and it was a blast! It truly is a different part of the world but one I would definitely add to your list.  I'm hoping my travels will take me back there again one day to see what I missed and explore more countries. Until then I'll have the amazing memories we made on this trip of a life time! 

Stay tuned for the next blog were I will to my Top 21 things I learned on travelling in Asia and give you a quick tour of our layover in Taipei.

ขอบคุณสำหรับควา ทรจำ TRANSLATION:

Thank you for the memories.