Phuket

We were in Phuket July 26 – July 30 and stayed at the Pacific Club. I had expected Phuket to be fairly developed with high rise condos dotting the coast but was pleasantly surprised that it was not. Like M says, the atmosphere is very saabai saabai. Most of the time, we spent trying to overcome jet lag which was part of the plan. The hotel was not able to provide the 2-bedroom unit we wanted saying that the AC was broken but it turned out fine since we didn't really need all that space and it saved us some money. They also threw in one airport transfer for free which saved us an additional 1000 Thb.

We drove up to the Big Buddha and went to Nai Harn beach. The waves were bigger than I was accustomed to (perhaps because of the monsoon season) and it was great to see most of the farang tourists thrown themselves with abandon with each coming wave. The beaches were also extremely clean – apparently the Thais have learned something that Penangites have not.

We also managed to squeeze in a show – Fantasea which was part Vegas and part Circque du Soleil with animals (elephants, hens, pigeons, sheep, water buffalo) thrown in for good measure. K1 and K2 enjoyed this and the place was teeming with tourists – busloads (us included) were being disgorged prior to show time. Skip the buffet – to say that it was average would be generous. The best part were the baby elephants standing in the grand entryway ready to be stroked and touched as we file into the auditorium. After the show, they were also outside for photo-ops.

This being the monsoon season, it was no surprise to us that it rained daily and was incredibly humid even though it did clear up enough for us to venture out to the beach and the show. We also managed a walk into Karon town from the hotel. The town is small and caters mainly to tourists – laundry services, various food & drink establishments (which we did not try), and other smaller hotels. We mostly ate at the hotel – the breakfast was good (go for the Thai food) and also a restaurant up on one of Phuket's many hills as well as lunch by the beach