Phuket Thailand - 27 Mar - 2 Apr >>>> Home

Phuket .... the 'ph' is NOT pronounced as an 'F'    :)

 

Phuket was our next destination.   It is a peninsula, and we were on the west side, the BEACH side!   The first place we stayed was at Touch Sea Boutique Hotel.   It was just across from Karon Beach... one of the many famous beaches on the West Side of Phuket.

 

We migrated there every day around 3pm and walked way to the far end and rented some chairs and an umbrella, and stayed until Sunset

 

The water was nice and warm and it was easy to stand out there and visit until our fingers were wrinkled.  There were some nice big waves every once in awhile that we floated over.    I honestly could have been on a South Haven beach looking out over Lake Michigan .... but not at this time of the year.   It reminded me though, ... we are so lucky to have Lake Michigan.

Back home, a quick shower, and then time to find a place to eat.   We didn't have kitchens in our rooms, so we HAD to go out to eat.   

The food was truly AMAZING ... IF you didn't get it too spicy.   We each seemed to take a turn at getting it just a bit too spicy.   They ask if you want 1, 2, or 3 chili's.    We usually said 1, which was ok, unless they chopped it up in tiny pieces that you couldn't tell that you were eating it until it was too late  :)    We splurged a bit this night and ate up above the water at a place called On the Rock.

 
I don’t know if i’ve mentioned this before, but the restaurants are open-air and none of them air conditioned.   It was imperative that we had a strong fan on us,  It is ‘Bloody HOT and HUMID’ here.   It’s impossible to walk more than 12 steps before you have sweat literally running down your body.   There is just no getting around it.   Even walking around in the night time is no better.   We all had those little foldable fans to try to keep us cool.  

This has to be yet another change as i get older, i don’t tolerate it like i used to……or maybe it just IS hotter.   You just wanted to be in the water at the beach, pool, or sitting inside with the AC on!

Shari lived in Phuket 5 years ago, teaching.   So, she was really happy to be reliving memories and sharing them and the places with us.  While she lived here, she traveled around which is why she was able to organize such a wonderful tour for us.   She put a lot of time and effort into it:  where to go, how to get there, how long to stay, which hotel, which flight, and what activities while we are there.   None of us had a clue.  We are all forever grateful to her!

At one evening meal, she suggested we go to Patong the next night … and we should be prepared to leave around 9pm and stay out late.   This really isn’t ‘us’, or hadn’t been.  As usual, we didn’t really know what we were getting into.   So at 9pm, we piled into a 'party bus', it had lights everywhere and speakers for music... just to get us in the mood.

Patong is many streets that are blocked off, and almost anything goes.  Girls dancing at the entrances and inside; and honestly they looked very bored and not really even dancing.   Lots and lots of people in the street holding signs in front of your face advertising cheap drinks, buckets of drinks, and we were buying 6 shots for 100Baht … that’s 2usd!  and lots of live music, and oh Cannibus is legal in Thailand, and every 3rd store is a Pot Store.  Maybe Kalamazoo will be like that one day.

This is the sign at the entrance

 

It was like Bourbon Street, LasVegas, and Nashville on steroids, and all rolled into one big body to body party.  We had many videos, but I like this one that Brian took… pandemonium !   

Sylvia was impressed with this BurgerKing ... look closely at what she has circled ... a young lady ‘dancing’ in the window above. 

 

So fun!   We got there at 9pm, and did not leave until 2am.  That was too long for me…but we all hung in there.  Mostly because it was a 30min ride and i had no idea how to get back  :)
Another great experience that i don’t need to repeat.

Most of the places we stayed had breakfast included.  I was not a ‘big breakfast person’, but I was there every morning.   At Touch Sea, breakfast menu was available all day, which we loved; because none of us seemed to be ‘early-risers’ unless we had to be.   Most of us fell in love with their ‘set’ breakfast called Shakshuka,  it was like lasagna!    Crushed tomatoes, garlic, olives, lots and lots of cheese (we really have not had any ‘cheese’ on this entire trip) .. and 2 eggs on top.   It was SO GOOD !    ...and yes, they did serve a salad with it for breakfast.   And, the dressing was very good, a bit of soy and sesame seed oil.   I might have to start eating breakfast when i get home .. oh ... but who will fix it  :)

We stayed there on the west side for 5 nights (maybe the longest we stayed anywhere).  Then we hired another driver and BIG van, and I mean it has to be BIG for 6 people, when we each had 2-3 large bags, and smaller ones.  Honestly, we barely fit.   He drove us 1 hr to the East Side of Phuket, to 'The Old Town'.   We stayed at Patra Mansion, which is where Shari lived when she was there.  Great rooms, nice pool, and within walking distance to restaurants and Night Markets.   We arrived on a Sunday, and Sunday Night Market is huge.  Again streets blocked off, mostly food stands were set up.   But all the stores were also open… so a lot of time could be spent there.   The entire trip everyone was buying buying buying, to the point of having to buy another suitcase, honestly!   It is contagious, when one starts, then someone else, on and on.   I even got pulled into it, especially when i didn’t have the proper clothes.   But not even close to what they were doing.  I am trying to down-size, but it was hard not to get caught up in it.   You know girls .. ‘oh that is SO CUTE on you, it’s perfect, buy it’  :)

On the east side, there is a place called Monkey Hill, and since we didn’t get to see many monkeys at the river, Sylvia, Julia, and I wanted to go.  And at the top, there was supposed to be an awesome view of Phuket and the ocean.  We got a Grab to take us to the entrance where there was a long up-hill.   But the car was not allowed to go up there.   We had to walk.  Shari wasn’t with us, and we obviously didn’t research this the way we should have. 

Julie paid a guy to take her up on his MotorBike since her foot still isn’t healed.  Sylvia and I started to walk… how far could it be anyway?   Oh that must be the top up there … nope … more climbing.  It’s mid afternoon and hotter than hell.  About 1/4 of the way up we started seeing a few monkeys along the road… cool…aren’t they cute.  They were not in the trees or hillside, but on the road.   We respectfully gave them their space as we passed by.

...

 

Until, ...until, the next thing i knew, i had a money grabbing on to my water bottle.   Now, i’ve had problems leaving my water bottles behind, and he was not going to take this one.   But he was hanging on tight with those long strong fingers, and not letting go.  And i am thinking about the List of Rules … ‘Do NOT attempt to retrieve items that a monkey has taken from you’.   But he was not getting my water bottle … watch the video…. it’s hilarious … well it is now, but i was scared.   he was relentless, had claws, and canine teeth ~

 

the end, notice how i've wrapped everything up and holding it close ..

We watched, and finally decided that they were attracted to anything that ‘dangled’.  And i was ‘dangling’, even swinging, my water bottle.  So we shored up the straps on our bags and held them against our bodies, and picked up a stick.  We didn’t have any trouble after that, but they were looking you over, and we were watching carefully.   We saw a monkey take a bracelet right off a girls wrist (she was trying to get him to climb on her scarf though).    He was NOT going to give it up... it was his prize

We climbed for a long time, and sent Julie a text asking where she was, and ‘how much further’.   Her driver dropped her off when the hill went too steep for him to take her, so she was walking too, and still not at the top.   We told her we couldn’t go any further.  Our clothing was absolutely totally soaked with sweat.  We waited and she walked down to meet us.   We rested and saw a small ‘overlook’ and took some photos.   We look tired and hot ... and we were !

Then continued our walk.  There were LOTS of monkeys out now, maybe b/c it was cooler?   And they were interacting with each other so not messing with us.   Mommas and babies, Males and Female doing their ‘thing’, and many grooming each other.   Monkeys climbing in the trees and jumping from place to place.  Like it should be  :)   They were so fun to watch, and we have many many videos !

 

Three monkeys

Our clothing was completely wet with sweat.   We could not wait to get back to our air conditioned room, cool off, and take a shower.   That was an exhausting, and fun day.

I had made my return trip reservations a couple weeks ago, and my time was coming to an end.  

We had a great Sunset dinner at The Beach Bar, which is no longer on the beach; but has great views of the bay and sunset.  We took a lot of photos for ‘Donna’s Last Night’.

My last day i spent in the A/C, online, and re-packing, for the last time.   How many times did i pack and unpack these bags?   

I left on 1 January, and was in Indonesia and The Philippines until arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam on 15 Feb; and leaving on 2 April.    That's 3 full months of moving from country to country, place to place.  Here's a map just of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.

It has been quite the ‘Adventure’, and so much fun with this great group of people, now friends forever with this bonding experience.   I appreciate those of you who commented on my posts on my Blog and on FaceBook.   It means a lot to me, when I am so far away, to know that your enjoyed my photos, as much as I enjoyed living them.

Thank you !
 

 

This was a 'relax' week before the rest of the group headed South to Koh Lipe for more diving.   I opted to return home since I had already been to Koh Lipe in 2017 ... and I was ready to be home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Khao Lak and Khao Sok - 20-26 Mar

Khao Lak is one of the areas where the 2004 Tsunami destroyed homes and lives, in fact, all along this coast.

After returning from our Liveaboard, we stayed in Khao Lak at Pratum Resort for 4 nights.   And we joined back up with Brian and Julie.

Then the whole group ventured an hour to Khao Sok for another 3 nights at Morning Mist Resort before heading to Phuket.

Details of both areas follows.

 

Khao Lak

Our first night in Khao Lak, we caught the sunset with dinner and drinks at the Flying Pig   :)

 

Our resort was very nice, with beautiful gardens and a babbling brook water feature, and lots and lots of orchids.

 

Everyone other than me, has been getting lots and lots of massages during this trip, and they are really inexpensive.   I finally joined the group and had a Foot Scrub.

Sylvia, Brian, Julie, and I spent one day at the Khao Lak National Park.   It was a great day.    

The first thing we saw was this Gecko, and Sylvia got a good photo of it.

We did a short trail to the north, where they allowed some campsites along a rocky shore.

 

Then we headed south on a trail that was hilly, rocky, and lots of tree roots

 it was much more difficult than we thought it would be ... but we took it slow

but had beautiful views of the Sea

 

We took breaks, and at this one, watched the waves crashing against the boulders.

 

It was a hot sweaty trail, but we persisted.   And again, Julie was a trouper, with her just-healed broken foot.

 

We were rewarded at the end with a nice beach, with waves big enough for Brian and I to do a little body-surfing.

 

There were not many people there, and we spent the rest of the day, just laying in the shade of the tree and listening to the waves.

We seemed to have established a ritual of visiting the 'markets', where you can buy things cheap.  We've been relieved to notice that the people selling things in Thailand are much less 'pushy'.   They just let you look without asking you every second if you would buy.   It really gets annoying, so this was a nice change.

They are all pretty much the same, rows and rows of 'stuff'.   However, this was a first.   I was horrified at first, because i thought it was dead ... but no, just lazy and very trusting that no one would step on him.   Crazy Cat !  

I have also noticed that the cats and dogs are not running lose everywhere, and the ones we see are healthy, very friendly,  and even have fancy collars on.   There were a lot of Calico cats here.  Most other places we would see an abundance of 'yellow' cats with crooked or twisted tails (and not healthy nor loved).  It's been great to see these loved animals.   This one was so cute !

 

In addition to the nice gardens, we also had a nice pool at Partum Resort.   And actually spent quite a bit of time relaxing there.

 

 

Khao Sok

After 3 nights here, we drove about an hour to Khao Sok, near the Khao Sok National Park.   We stayed at Morning Mist Resort, which was a more 'natural' environment.    Beautiful walkways and flowers

I mentioned in my Angkor Wat  Cambodia Blog about the locust/cicadas/katydids sounds that were deafening.   It sounded a lot like what we hear in the evenings in late summer.   A little research tells me that Katydids are nocturnal singers.   Cicadas, also known as Locust, are mostly active during the day.  But the difference in what we HEARD was dramatic.

Here in Thailand, on our Khao Lak National Park walk, we thought we were hearing an alarm of some kind, it was really high pitched and so loud it hurt our ears.... and then it stopped ... only to start up again.   We realized it was not an alarm, but Cicadas.    We also heard the same sound when we got to Morning Mist at Khao Sok.    We decided it sounded like a tea kettle going off.  I got a video / sound track.   The Video shows a bit of the walkways and flora... but the sound!     We eventually got used to it ... kinda ..

 

We had organized a Day Trip to the Khao Sok National Park.   I don't think any of us knew what we were going to see/do.   Other than a boat ride, swimming, and a cave.   Pom was our driver and guide.   He was a character, ... the way he said Oh My God was precious .. and he said Oh My Buddha; which became our group mantra!

It started with a Long Tail Boat Ride with about 15 people.    We had to wear our life jackets, or Pom would get ticketed.

We were amazed at the mountains surrounding us

and the massive limestone rock islands that jutted up out of the water.   It was beautiful.   We've seen so many beautiful places on this trip.   What a wonderful world we life in.

 

We stopped at a floating restaurant for an hour or so, swam, relaxed, and then had lunch.  They had the pods that you could sleep in, also floating

After lunch, back in the boat (without Life Jackets). 

for more jaw-dropping scenery

 

So many rocks straight up out of the water, and you could see stalactites, stalagmites, and caverns.

 

And then we got to go into one named Pra Kai Pelch Cave.    It was a climb up some steps to get into it.

Once at the entrance, looking back 

After the Cave we went on an hour long hike through a RainForest with massive trees

Then back in the boat again for another scenic tour of the sea and mountains

and solid rock walls

The next day was a 'Girls Day' ... to the Buathong Elephant Sanctuary.   We started our visit making the food for 'our' elephant:   sea salt to make them drink more water, palm sugar discs, bananas, and tamarind

 

She put the salt and palm sugar in giant mortars and we pulverized it.

Then she scooped it up into these bowls and we mixed in the bananas, including peels, and tamarind.   Then added some 'elephant meal' which included some vitamins.

We then rolled into balls about the size of a tennis ball, and fed our elephant.   We put that ball right into her mouth that was open and ready to indulge.

Then the 'trainer' walked her down the road, and down the hill for her Mud Spa where we were anxiously waiting

There was a huge mud pit, with some water shooting out of tubes, and gooey gooey mud in it.    He gave us small buckets full of mud and let us go at it.  He just said to make sure we didn't touch her trunk.

and he meant for us to cover her ENTIRE rough wrinkly body !   They said she is 50yrs old.

After the Mud Spa

We saw these elephants and people in the river when we first arrived.  They were gone by the time we got down there. 

Then he lead her down another hill to the river.    She was really lumbering ... almost limping.   She did a loud trumpet at this point.  We all wondered if she was saying, 'I'm doing the best i can'.   I was starting to feel bad.   Now, watching this video ... i do feel bad.

 

When we got to the river, the trainer made her lay down, so she would get wet, and also so we could reach her back.

But twice she got back up, and finally he let her stay standing.   Being a senior citizen myself, i could see that she probably had pain in her joints, knees, and hips, and didn't like it.   Of course, i don't know any of this, and am just imposing my human 'feelings' on an elephant .... i don't suppose that is fair.   Any way, we washed the rest of the the mud off of her while she was standing.

After we were finished, he signaled for her to use her trunk to spray water over her back.   She wasn't doing any of this on her own free-will.

These elephants were rescued from an abusive environment, and i am happy that they are getting good care here.   There was another 'sanctuary' just down the road that we saw that had carriages/seats on the elephants' backs for riding!!!!!!!!!     So, ours is a good one.   I think if we had a younger elephant, i wouldn't have felt so bad.  In fact, I plan to write to the Sanctuary and request that they retire BaiTai, and not make her 'perform' any more.  I've read that "median life expectancy for female Asian elephants was estimated to be 47 years old".  She should be able to just 'do' whatever she wants.

After her bath, she came back with us, and we got to feed her lots and lots of bananas.   She opened her mouth wide to receive them.

Afterwards they gave 'us' some snacks, and our driver stopped at this scenic overlook, with this beautiful tree blooming bright yellow

 

and we practiced our 'posing'   :)

 

Morning Mist Resort really lived up to it's name... in the morning the mist was heavy over the mountains in the distance.   They had beautiful flowers all along the paths to our bungalows.  

Shari, Butch, Julie and Brian had bungalows on the river.  They were rewarded with the antics of the monkeys that also lived there.   Julie had one come right up on their porch and 'growl' at here as she was eating potato chips... she did not feed him and he moved on.   Sylvia and i went down one afternoon and got to see a couple of them.   Here is a video that i took of a couple bigger ones jumping rocks.

 

We agreed to come back for 5pm Happy Hour to see if there would be more activity.    Unfortunately, around 4pm, they watched a 'mass exodus' from across the river where they were 'living' ... they were going down the bank, into and along the river, and 'moved' down stream.   They never saw another monkey after that..... ???   what was that about ??   Did they need to relocate because their food sources were being depleted?   They said it was amazing to watch, especially watching the monkeys swimming, underwater, in the river.   Here is their video.   Look for the monkey swimming underwater at about 30sec . amazing .. who knew ?

 

another video ... around 30sec, a baby appears in the bottom left corner; and at about 50sec, another baby jumps on Momma's back to get across the river.   The baby that was left behind, jumps from rock to rock to rock and falls into the river... and jumps out !

 

The next day we got 'another driver in another car', that took us from Khao Sok to Phuket.   We took a rest,(P) break and i took this pic of Butch and Brian ... because the 'girls' always get their picture taken.

I took a lot of photos of the flowers at Morning Mist Resort ... so you can just skip the rest of this if you want.

However, stay tuned for the next Blog with our adventures in Phuket ... and by the way ....the Ph does not make the 'F' sound  :)

The first 2 photos are kind of special.    It was outside of Sylvia's Bungalow, and i watched and waited 3 days for it to bloom.   The last night we got back after dark, and there it was.   It was a big bloom, 4" long

 

 

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