Phuket, Thailand, Thursday, 3/14

Today we wake up on the ship in Phuket and have a leisurely breakfast in the buffet. We stop by reception afterwards to pick up our passports (which the ship holds against our desires). They delay us from doing so appropriately as they are using them to get us into Thailand. We go to our room and pack our short term bags for our side trip for the next 4 days. We get a call in our room that our passports are ready to be picked up.

Packing finished, we get our passports and leave the ship. The typical negotiating with the taxi vendors ensues and we pick one that will take us to Nai Yang Beach Resort for $100 US or $3000 Baht (Thailand dollars). Since it is over an hour ride diagonally across the island, it seems reasonable. On the map, the ship is on the lower right and our destination is on the upper left! We arrange with him to take us to an ATM as we don’t want to drain our cash reserves. We commence driving across the island and with a little difficulty finding the correct resort, we eventually get there. Sure glad we aren’t required to read road signs, as evidenced by a couple photos! We do spot a local stop sign because of the shape and color though!

The scenery is beautiful and we are excited to be here. This is my 48th country and Elee’s 45th. We are at a beach resort on the northwest coast of Phuket, Thailand. We are 5 minutes walk to the ocean and to get there we have to be ‘ferried’ across a small canal. We step on the ferry and it rocks in the water. Sure glad it had railings or I would have been in the canal! Once on the ferry (okay, it’s a small raft with railings! LOL), a little man pulls us across with a rope. Fun!

Then we walk on to the ocean, another 2-3 minutes. Beautiful scenic beach views adorned with mountains sloping to the sea and islands standing proud in the water! Looking the other direction, scores of fishing boats float, awaiting tomorrow morning when they will once again seek out the bounty that will get their captains their days wages!

We walk into the mellow surf and keep walking deeper. Approximately 100 yards (think a football field) into the water, we are barely knee deep in the bath water temperature water! This is truly paradise (if you could forget the humidity!). We vow to return and give Thailand some serious notice! We come across a couple dozen tables in the shade of the trees at the edge of the beach adorned with tablecloths and we take seats out of the harsh sun.

A waitress soon spots us and brings menus. Elee orders a cold drink of rum, ice and soda water. I order a cold Thai beer called ‘Chang’. Even though my beer preferences of late lean towards IPA’s, this is a very refreshing Pilsner made locally. And, they delivered it with a 3/8 inch thick rubber ‘coozie’ to keep it cold! And sure enough, the very last sip was ice cold!

So several photos later (to keep the cameras from revolting), we walk an inland path back under the trees with cool island breezes keeping us as cool as the climate will allow. Did I mention the temps today reached 36 degrees Celsius and 85% Humidity, That would be 97 degrees Fahrenheit! We arrive back at our hotel and spend some time in the double pools and arrive at the swim up bar!

The pools are refreshing yet we choose to sit out at a table next to the bar and have our drinks. Refreshed, we retire to our room for a nap in air conditioning. A couple hours later, we dress and go back downstairs for dinner. I order a deep fried soft shell crab dish that is fantastically flavored. Elee orders Sea Bass. All the food is prepared perfectly and we are happy campers.

The remainder of a Chilean Cabernet brought back to the room is the perfect accompaniment to writing this blog! So tomorrow builds more upon this adventure! See you then!

Goodnight!