Day #9. My bus left Surat Thani at 8:00 this morning... 30 minutes late but it's okay because it was a straight shot there. Well, not really because it was more or less a public bus and I'm learning that in Thailand there really is no such thing as a bus stop. Whenever people want to get off they just say so. Same with getting on- just stand by the side of the road and wave the bus down when you see it. I finally got to Phuket at 12:00, found my NICE hotel, Golddigger's Resort... don't judge by the name, and immediately went to the beautiful Nai Yang Beach. It was more crowded then I expected but, wow, the sand is so so white and clean and the water the most brilliant shades of blue. I'm excited to go back tomorrow with my journal, book, and a little bit of money so I can stay all day. Lets go! Get at me Phuket.
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My dinner was fried noodles and squid. I really like all the
side dishes that accompanies Thai food... see behind my main
plate all the vegetables, broth, and peanuts. Yum! |
Day #10. Another day of lying in the sun... over. Actually, today it wasn't as nice as yesterday. There were more clouds in the sky. At first I was rather disappointed but then I realized how wonderful it was that I didn't need to keep moving my chair in and out of the sun. If I started to get too hot I would look up and see that a cloud would cover the sun in a few minutes so I would just stick it out. And then sure enough, natural shade.
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| Green papaya salad |
I don't think I needed to book four days here in Phuket. Don't get me wrong, I really am enjoying it here but after 2 beach days, I'm ready to be on the move again. So tomorrow afternoon I am moving to the provincial capital, Phuket Town. Today for lunch I had green papaya salad. This is a famous Thai dish. I really enjoyed it- it is served with a fresh chili, well it's optional but of course I wanted it because that's how the Thais eat it. Also, it has crushed peanuts on top. It was delicious but my mouth was on fire! For dinner I ate on the beach. I had glass noodle soup with seafood. The seafood here is super yummy. I am definitely eating only seafood while on this island.
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| table for... 1 |
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| seafood glass noodle soup |
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| And while slurping up the last noodles I watched the sunset |
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| my favorite local restaurant |
Day #11. I woke up early this morning and went to Nai Yang beach for one last sun soaking session. Then I returned to my hotel to check out, grabbed lunch at my favorite little spot- this time a thai omelette with prawns (it seemed to be a regular omelette sitting on a bed of rice), then I waited for the bus. And waited. And waited until 40 minutes later it showed up. I rode this bus 30 kilometers south to Phuket Town, found a hotel, and then figured I would hop back on a bus to Patong– the beach and the town. This is the hub of the island. Once again it was a really long bus ride for a relatively short distance but I didn't mind because Phuket is so gorgeuous and there is so much to look at. And then when we arrived to Patong, there was pleeeenty to keep my head turning. Patong is by far the strangest town I have ever seen. There were so many tourists first off, actually I only saw tourists. And everyone was walking around the town in their bathing suits. Every building was either a bar, restaurant, hotel, or a "lady's club." The beach was just as entertaining. The moment I set foot onto the sand I realized what a smart move it had been to book a hotel at a northern beach, a slightly higher price but totally worth it. Patong Beach is very beautiful, but really big and so crowded. I walked for thirty minutes and I still hadn't reached the end of the beach, but there were no breaks in the lawn chairs and umbrellas. The water had buoys in it separating the swimming areas from the designated landing areas for the parasails. I must admit, I did enjoy watching them take off and land. Seeing Patong Beach made me realize just how beautiful Nai Yang Beach is. I think Co Thanh has forever tainted my opinion of beautiful beaches after bring us to Cham Island. That set the bar pretty high! Prices at Patong Beach are also super high but I ended up going back to Phuket Town for dinner. I found the nicest street food vendor. She only sells vegetarian food (tofu yay!) She had six or seven different options, all curry or soup that pour over a plate of rice. After staring at all my choices and being pretty indecisive the lady motioned for me to come behind her cart and then she put the spoon in my hand and had me ladle whatever I wanted onto my plate. Once I finished my first dish I got a second one. I was really full but it was so good! One of the dishes I ended up choosing was really spicy. My tolerance for spice has gone way up in the past few months, but still- wow, that dish had my eyes watering!
A summary of Phuket in photos....
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| beaches & umbrellas |
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| pineapple |
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| "massages??" |
Day #9. My bus left Surat Thani at 8:00 this morning... 30 minutes late but it's okay because it was a straight shot there. Well, not really because it was more or less a public bus and I'm learning that in Thailand there really is no such thing as a bus stop. Whenever people want to get off they just say so. Same with getting on- just stand by the side of the road and wave the bus down when you see it. I finally got to Phuket at 12:00, found my NICE hotel, Golddigger's Resort... don't judge by the name, and immediately went to the beautiful Nai Yang Beach. It was more crowded then I expected but, wow, the sand is so so white and clean and the water the most brilliant shades of blue. I'm excited to go back tomorrow with my journal, book, and a little bit of money so I can stay all day. Lets go! Get at me Phuket.
Day #11. I woke up early this morning and went to Nai Yang beach for one last sun soaking session. Then I returned to my hotel to check out, grabbed lunch at my favorite little spot- this time a thai omelette with prawns (it seemed to be a regular omelette sitting on a bed of rice), then I waited for the bus. And waited. And waited until 40 minutes later it showed up. I rode this bus 30 kilometers south to Phuket Town, found a hotel, and then figured I would hop back on a bus to Patong– the beach and the town. This is the hub of the island. Once again it was a really long bus ride for a relatively short distance but I didn't mind because Phuket is so gorgeuous and there is so much to look at. And then when we arrived to Patong, there was pleeeenty to keep my head turning. Patong is by far the strangest town I have ever seen. There were so many tourists first off, actually I only saw tourists. And everyone was walking around the town in their bathing suits. Every building was either a bar, restaurant, hotel, or a "lady's club." The beach was just as entertaining. The moment I set foot onto the sand I realized what a smart move it had been to book a hotel at a northern beach, a slightly higher price but totally worth it. Patong Beach is very beautiful, but really big and so crowded. I walked for thirty minutes and I still hadn't reached the end of the beach, but there were no breaks in the lawn chairs and umbrellas. The water had buoys in it separating the swimming areas from the designated landing areas for the parasails. I must admit, I did enjoy watching them take off and land. Seeing Patong Beach made me realize just how beautiful Nai Yang Beach is. I think Co Thanh has forever tainted my opinion of beautiful beaches after bring us to Cham Island. That set the bar pretty high! Prices at Patong Beach are also super high but I ended up going back to Phuket Town for dinner. I found the nicest street food vendor. She only sells vegetarian food (tofu yay!) She had six or seven different options, all curry or soup that pour over a plate of rice. After staring at all my choices and being pretty indecisive the lady motioned for me to come behind her cart and then she put the spoon in my hand and had me ladle whatever I wanted onto my plate. Once I finished my first dish I got a second one. I was really full but it was so good! One of the dishes I ended up choosing was really spicy. My tolerance for spice has gone way up in the past few months, but still- wow, that dish had my eyes watering!
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