Just Back From Thailand

The following day we were back at Suvarnabhumi Airport for our flight down to Phuket.

Our accommodation for our 2 night stay in Phuket was at Ramada Karon Beach, the resort was family based, kids pool area & castle, Kids Club and themed bedrooms- Space & Under the Sea, as well as an American themed restaurant.

After a relaxing morning we had a message in the afternoon at a local Spa and a short walk back to the resort where we got ready for our night out in Patong.

A quick tuk tuk ride away was the hustle and bustle of Patong. Where there are markets galore and restaurant with a wide variety of night life. Here in Patong we finally got to spend some Thai Bhatt and bartered as far down as we could, in one store alone someone bought 97 DVDs, the staff were running left right and centre to get copies of some of the DVDs she bought. After and hour in the first store we walked into we, continued down the road before finally catching a Tuk Tuk back to our resort.

The following morning we went to a Thai cooking school. Stopping by a local market to look at the fresh food supply, the cooking school was situated along a beach with beautiful views of the coast line and some of the Islands out at sea. After our attempt at our 3 Thai dishes and garnishes it was time to head back to the resort for some free time, which was spent along the beach.

Later in the night we had dinner with the hotel manager and before heading back into Patong to do some more shopping.

Saturday morning we dove back onto the Mainland to the once Tsunami devastated town of Khao Lak, like much of the southern coastal parts of Thailand, Khao Lak was hit rather hard with much of the rebuilding still taking place.

Where we stayed in Khao Lak was pretty much in the middle of no-where so a great reason to relax and do nothing, the Resort Ramada Khao Lak was beautiful, right on the beach. All the rooms were of the same standard except for the beach front bungalows which where on the beach. The remainder of the afternoon was a chance to relax by the pool or beach. The Restaurant offered Thai, seafood and western cuisines including steak sandwiches on croissants – something for everyone.

The following morning we stopped by the Police boat that the Tsunami brought in from 2-5Km out at sea to about 2-3km inland you realise just how powerful the Tsunami was, along the road there are Tsunami evacuation sign with arrows pointing you in the direction to go and how far to go.

Once we arrived at our morning activity we sat in our small inflatable canoe boats and canoed through the muddy, sewage waters of the local mangroves and past some of the poorest neighbourhoods, and yet they seemed happy and waved hello as we canoed past and then onto our lunch stop at a local Thai family owned “restaurant”.

Back at the resort it was time to relax some more, some taking the opportunity to use the resorts spa and grabbing a facial, message or manicure & pedicure.

Our 2 nights here wasn’t long enough could have easily spent another week or two.

Flew back up to Bangkok on Monday and arrived at our beautiful 5* Hotel Lubua, by far this was the best hotel I have ever stayed in, the room was a good size with lounge room, kitchenette, good size bathroom and a very comfortable King size bed. The views over Bangkok were great too.

Our last day in Bangkok we took a Temple tour along the Chao Praya River, to see many of the Temples including Temple of the Dawn and the Royal Palace where the Emerald Buddha is. Passing though many suburbs where one side is a small shack and your neighbour lives in a big house, the contrast was amazing. After the river tour some of us got to do some shopping while a few of us went back to the Hotel and got some much needed rest.

My trip to Thailand was great. Loved it and can’t wait to go back and see some more of Bangkok without being so sick. The Thai people are so beautiful and happy no matter what comes their way they always seem to keep on smiling.