Travel Tuesdays – Phuket, Thailand
Phuket, Thailand
(bucket list item number 1)
Have you ever been able to check off a top item on your bucket list? That’s exactly what I was able to do when I had the opportunity to visit the island of Phuket, Thailand. OMG, what an amazing vacation. The clearest water I have ever seen, the whitest sandy beaches, elephant rides, Muay Thai fights, tuk-tuk rides, temples, massages, mani/pedi’s. It was a dream come true for this wanna be island girl!
When the plane touched down in Thailand, I was scared to death. So foreign to me, and a language I had never heard. I thought, “what did I get myself into?” We loaded up on the shuttle and made our way from the airport to the beach resort area of Patong Beach in the dark. Upon arrival at our hotel I felt so much better and knew I was in for an adventure of a lifetime.
When I travel there is no time for rest, I want to take it all in and do everything I possibly can in the short time I have. We took a tuk-tuk tour of the island. Good thing we found a guy who spoke English! He took us to Wat Chalong, the most impressive temples we saw while in Asia. They were all gold, marble and just all around impressive! Note when traveling; take something that covers your shoulders and knees. I had to borrow a wrap to enter and explore, but it was soooo worth it!
The next day we took a trip inland to the jungle to go visit with the Elephants. Wow, they are some impressive animals. I am in LOVE with them now. They are so smart, gentle and loving animals. Once we made our way back to the hotel, it was off to a Muay Thai fight at Bangla Boxing Stadium. This is a must do for any sports nut like me and my other half ~C. There was one American fighting during the night so of course we were pulling for him. He lost. Oh well.
The next day was the adventure I went to Thailand looking for, the Phi Phi Island tour. Remember that Leonardo DiCaprio movie from 2000, The Beach? Well this is where it was filmed. Remember the Christmas Earthquake and Tsunami of 2004 that devastated the entire Indian Ocean? Yup, that was here also. I could see signs of the devastation from the minute we arrived in Phuket. It was like nothing else I’d ever seen…and we were there 5 years after the tsunami. The warning signs were ever present, the people spoke of it like it was yesterday and images I saw while there showed devastation like I hope to never see again. We visited some islands that were completely washed away and had to be rebuilt from the ground up.
We visited some islands that to this day are still uninhabited by humans. We visited an island that is only inhabited by monkeys (Monkey Beach). Hin Klang had the clearest water and best snorkeling. You didn’t even have to leave the boat to see the colorful fish.
Maya Bay is the most famous and was where the movie, The Beach was filmed. It is an uninhabited island that just made me say WOW. The white powder sand was warm on my feet and the view while I stood in the middle of the beach was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.
We stopped by Viking Cave where the locals go to collect Swift’s nests used to make Bird’s Nest Soup, a Chinese delicacy. And yes it is what it sounds like and no I did not try it! Pileh Cove, Lah Samah, Khai Island, and Yao Yai Island were all stops on our journey and all amazing in their own right. Again WOW is all I can say! Now time to add a new adventure to the top of my bucket list. I’ll close with, I am a lucky girl!
Let’s give a great big “THANK YOU!” to Jama from Jama Pantel Photography for sharing another awesome Travel Tuesday post with all of us! If you would like to be featured in our Travel Tuesdays segments we would love to hear from you! For more information on Travel Tuesdays CLICK HERE!
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2 Comments:
Amazing shots Jama. Great job. What a special time and place for you to experience.