Kata Beach
Bangkok was great. An experience that would make a trip to Thailand complete, however we were very anxious to get to Phuket. The tropical paradise we dreamed about. Phuket is a providence island located about a one hour flight from Bangkok. Connected to the mainland by a bridge and surrounded by 32 smaller islands. Known for its amazing beaches, and it definitely did not disappoint. Flying into Phuket was like a scene out of Jurassic Park, dozens of islands jetting straight out of the Andaman Sea. Their small regional airport is one of those that you see on social media where the planes practically skim the beachgoers below. Touching down and stepping off the plane had an immediate different feel than Bangkok. We just arrived in paradise.
Phuket is fairly small, only 30 miles from north to south and about half that distance wide. Presumably it shouldn't take long to go from end to end. However Phuket is very hilly/mountainous, jungle and has a very dated road system. Not gravel roads but definitely not a freeway running end to end. Crowded roads twisting and turning through villages made our car ride to the far side of the island a bit longer than we expected. It took about 1.5hrs to travel the less than 20 miles to our resort. We chose this particular area, Kata Beach, for its amazing beach, arguably the best in Phuket and for the beautiful beach resort located there. Surprisingly enough, there are really only a handful of resorts right on the beach. As mentioned, the area is very hilly. Most beaches are in coves that require a trek down a cliff to get to them. Or the beaches are public and the resorts are across the street. We stayed at the Katathani Beach Resort on Kata Beach. The beach itself is public but because it is in such a quiet, secluded part of the island, it felt more like a private beach. Our room was gorgeous, with sunset views to die for. We stayed in a one bedroom Thani suite and found bit perfect to settle into for the next 5 nights. With panoramic floor to ceiling windows, we had the best view on the beach. The patio wrapped around the corner which provided the perfect place to soak it all in or do some seriously good people watching. Not trying to be judgmental but there was an abundance of Russians. Here in Kata and everywhere that we went. That or Aussies. We really only met or overheard a handful of Americans the entire time we were in Thailand. Strange really. A large melting pot and we seemed to be the minority tourist.
We arrived in our room just before sunset. Just in time to run and grab a bottle of over priced champagne from the hotel store to enjoy for our first sunset. It really was a surreal moment. We made it. Nothing like we thought it would be, it was everything and more. And with each setting sun, we knew it was a sunrise for our babies back home. Watching the sun dip below the horizon to begin a new day for our littles was actually a really comforting feeling.
A walk down the street to a local restaurant was our dinner agenda. With entree prices around $4, we ordered way more than we were actually hungry for. The little restaurants across the street became a favorite and never did disappointed. Aside from breakfast, we never found a reason to eat at the resort.
Beach day
We had a really amazing itinerary planned for our week in Phuket, but first things first. Beach day! Of course we woke early. Partially because of the lingering jet lag, part from work calls Brett would receive in the middle of the night, and part from the crashing waves. We were so close to the water that after a few nights the constant waves actually made it hard to sleep. While the beach was incredibly calm most of the time, every now and then a long tail would go past and watch out, the waves would sound like thunder and could knock you off your feet and out of your swim suit, if you weren't paying attention. Okay, not all of that is true. Mostly the part about the long tail, I have no idea why sporadically a giant wave would come, but I joked it most have been boat traffic. Which there was none. Ok. Ill get back on track now and stop complaining about the chatty waves. It really was peaceful but just hard to tune out.
Breakfast at Katathani was shockingly good. I say shocking because we didn't even realize breakfast was included in our room rate, so when we found out at check-in we assumed it would be a light fruit and pastry type thing. Wrong. Pretty much any breakfast food you could imagine, most of it made fresh on the spot. Or pretty much all traditional Thai food as well. Remember when I said Thai eat whatever, whenever. Rice, stir fry, kabobs, beef, seafood, etc. If you left breakfast hungry, there may be something wrong with you.
We were early to breakfast and early to the beach. Grabbed two chairs and an umbrella and did some walking. The water here at Kata beach was unlike any ocean/sea water I've ever seen. Prior research told us that this time of year the water was warm, but really how warm can an ocean get? Well when the air temp is in the 100s, it turns out the water stays warm as well. It was like bath water and crystal clear. Clear enough to see your toes and the small jelly fish. Yes, jelly fish. Mostly "harmless". You sort of got used to them being in the water, as long as you didn't brush up on one. Not painful, but just creepy. Our day was filled with lots of sun, beach and vodka schweppes. One regret was not bringing a thermos for drinks. It was nearly impossible to keep a drink cold. Most times we didn't even bother with ice.
happy birthday angela
Shortly after Brett surprised me with Thailand I was chatting with my long time bestie, college and post college roommate, Angela. She mentioned to me that her and BF Matthew were planning a trip for her 40th birthday. Long story short, they were planning a trip but didn't have a destination yet, but knew they wanted to go international and we had plans to be in Thailand on the exact dates of her birthday vacation. So there we were, on the other side of the world, in the ocean to be exact, when we saw two familiar faces waving out to us! We were going to get to spend Angie's birthday with her! And experience a few nights together in Thailand! Angie and Matthew live in LA so seeing them in general is a big deal, let alone in Thailand. This was not surprise appearance, we knew they were also going to be in Southeast Asia and we spent countless hours daydreaming together in the months leading up to the trip. They had spent a few nights earlier in the northern part of Phuket in the jungle and had plans to visit Chang Mai and Singapore next.
We spent the night before Ang's birthday at the Sunday night Old Town Market. Many drinks, laughs and delish street foods later and we were having the time of our lives. Matthew in the front seat of every Bolt ride, chatting with the drivers in a language that neither understood had our sides aching. We learned so much about the personal lives of these drivers. From how many wives they had, to Muy Thai lessons, to what their kids names were. What a night! The market was so great! Street performers, street food, street everything! We wandered, ate, drank and sweat. It was bliss. It wasn't early to bed but it didn't matter. Tomorrow the four of us were island hopping to Phi Phi and celebrating a milestone birthday for one of my dearest friends!
