When you travel the way we do, with 3-5 days in a number of locations, there’s bound to be some transitioning. Sometimes good, sometimes challenging. That is the hardest part about planning the itinerary. I never know how much we will love a place. I continue refining the schedule over many months trying to anticipate the perfect amount of time. Our hindsight is always 20/20. But looking at a map and reading about a country doesn’t always paint the picture accurately. Many times we’ve found ourselves too long in one location and not long enough in another. What I planned for this trip was small city experience, rural, big city, then beach. Of the places we were to see, the big city experience was the least exciting to plan. What I didn’t anticipate was falling in love with Bangkok. As Dayne and I reflected, we realized more than ever, that in many of our travels, it was the bigger cities that stood out. We loved Tokyo more than picturesque Kyoto in Japan. The buzz of a big city gives us an energy.So, after landing in Phuket, we experienced some culture shock. I made a key error when selecting our hotel. It was too far from the main action. Being a Marriott Gold member, I booked at a beautiful resort, with probably the biggest pool I’ve ever seen. It spanned the entire complex, complete with swim up bar! Who doesn’t love a swim up bar?However, for us, it felt like we suddenly boarded a cruise ship. After the luxury and lights of bangkok, it immediately felt like a manufactured experience, rather than a real one. We will never be the type of travellers who seek out a Disney-like experience. I understand that people enjoy a sanitized commercial experience. It’s just not us. One cruise in our lifetime was one too many. But not everyone is the same, and I know many many people who live for cruise vacations. They aren’t wrong, it’s what they like. People are different.So our Grab driver, Yasmine, dropped us at our hotel an hour from the airport, but not before plugging her driving services for the rest of our stay. We connected on WhatsApp and it she would turn out to be a valuable resource. Plus, I admired her hustle.Our room wasnt ready which irked me since I was Marriott gold; it should have been. It was 1:30, not horrendously early for check in. The manager said she had a beautiful upgrade for us, a beach access room, we were sure to love. I was reluctant, since beach access means ground floor. But I let her talk me into it. She walked us over to the bar and arranged a drink on the house. Okay, nice gesture. Dayne and I were both feeling a creeping sensation that we weren’t ready for this. It was like a Caribbean resort, huge, with all the amenities. Nothing wrong with that in general, I love beach vacations! But we just weren’t in that mode. We were in the mode if tuk tuks, street food, and something new around every corner. Weird smells were our tour guides! Its hard to describe what we were feeling. To say this gorgeous resort was a disappointment would be the height of first-world problems.We finally got into our room two hours later. I should have gone with my gut and not taken the “upgrade.” The beach access room had a marginally good view due to it being ground level. Plus, the beach was more of a coral reef, given it was low tide. I missed my highrise home in Bangkok.
We decided to get some lunch. After some time spent being ignored by the waitstaff, we scored an overpriced sandwich. We felt trapped. The shuttle service to the strip turned out to be a sham. It ran about 4 times a day and you had to book three hours in advance! Are you kidding me? That shuttle should have been running every half hour, Patong was only 15 minutes away. I selected the hotel because it offered a shuttle!We decided to spend the first night at the hotel. Since it was already 5pm, it seemed smart to just relax. That’s why I put Phuket at the end of the journey. To end the trip on “Island Time.” After a Trip to the pool (and swim up bar) we started feeling relaxed. We ended the night at the rum shack at the waters edge, imagining the tsunami that hit the island 10 years earlier. It was eerie to contemplate the magnitude of what happened in the center of the tourist district of Phuket. Two thousand tourists lost their lives on the day after Christmas. Sitting at the epicenter was sobering.The next morning we decided to forego our rocky beach for one of Natgeo’s “10 most beautiful beaches,” Karon Beach. What a great idea. We texted Yazmine, who picked us up an hour later. The time spent at Karon was magical. The beach was perfect, with soft sand, blue water and playful waves. We spent hours in the warm water. The waves pounded into us and we took to diving straight into them. It was thrilling and exhausting. I remember looking around trying to burn the images into my brain. I was 100% present. For the umpteenth time on the trip, I reflected on my blessings with awe and supreme gratitude. It was a perfect day. Phuket was growing on me! I texted yasmine to come get us. She was at the airport but sent me a photo of her husband who would pick up up in his party van. Hustle level: Family!
We got back to the hotel and took a mid day nap, which was somewhat of a pattern all trip. A time difference of 12 hours meant it was around 3am back home. No wonder we were tired!We got the shuttle into Patong after our nap, fortunately having booked the day before. Ok, Patong beach area is…I dont know how to sufficiently describe it…Like aggressive, polynesian New Orleans on steroids. Its fabulous! Our first stop was a brewery nearby. I knew Dayne had to get that out of his system! Full Moon brewing turned out to be a frequent haunt for us during the trip. The first time we left, the waitress said randomly, “See you tomorrow” talk about foreshadowing!We wandered around the streets of Patong, which were packed with bars, shops, street vendors, massage parlors, anything you wanted. All vying for attention, trying to get you in. We stopped at an outside bar for drinks. This lady came up to us with a bunch of bracelets. Saying nothing she kept shaking them at us. We kept saying no, but she wouldn’t leave. I would shake my head no, and she would slightly smile and nod hers yes. She had this weird charm. I think like Kaa, the snake in junglebook, she was hypnotizing us! Then she pulled out an eyeball bracelet. Dayne, mouth agape said “its like she read my soul.” He negotiated the bracelet for three bucks, wearing it with pride until it broke a day later.
We had our mandatory thai noodle dish of the day and ended the evening in a bar with an excellent thai cover band. Thai Ed Sheeran was like the original, sans the red hair, pale complexion and british accent. We missed the shuttle back to the hotel so we had to take a Grab. The other downside to our hotel location is that no matter where you went, the grab cost was 12 bucks one way. So going into town was pricey. But totally worth it.
Drink and Go Places 