Traveling in Phuket, Thailand-Pad Thai, Coconuts and Sharks oh my!
oh my goodness! we are having an absolutely amazing time in thailand, despite it actually being rainy season with monsoon downpours multiple times a day. after we booked our trip i paid closer attention to this fact and it is indeed true.
our flight in was gorgeous and we even saw a rainbow from the plane! a first for both of us. this is not how phuket looks right now.
we opted to explore phuket (pronounced pooh-ket, emphasize the ooo and don’t say what i know you’re thinking), thailand because of unrest in bangkok and it’s was only an hour and 15 minute plane ride from malaysia, where we had quite the experience the week before. flesh eating fish anyone?
plus, we’ve heard the beaches are beautiful and the people friendly. you sort of of have to go to thailand when you are thiiiis close to it! sometimes i like to think that i have control over the weather so it wouldn’t actually be that rainy for us. wrong. maybe that’s why our hotels were so dang cheap!? there was a crazy storm that ended right before we sat in an hour of rush hour that flooded the town of patong beach.
i’d recommend visiting patong beach, which is about an hour’s drive from the airport. as you can see…there are also a ton of other beaches to choose from on phuket. if you follow me on twitter, i’m sure you saw my desperate call for assistance in choosing which part to stay in.
patong is a great option to start out exploring phuket and even better that we stayed about a 10-15 minute walk to patong beach itself because we found so many great things on our walk there.
it’s a bustling city with a good mix of very authentic thai lifestyle and restaurants as well as some western places to eat too. lots of shopping to be done here. we stayed at citrus heights hotel, which is a decent location. you do have to walk on sidewalks/streets to get to the beach but it’s relatively easy and not hilly.
we also arrived with delicious fruit waiting for us to hesitantly try. ryan is holding a rambutan, i’ve opened up a longan and that speckled poppyseed looking guy is a dragon fruit-my new favorite!
this was only after i could place the texture similar to that of a kiwi because it sort of freaked me out at first. as you can tell… sometimes we have a view from the 26th floor in malaysia and other times we have a view directly into another person’s room. the room was nice and modern though and when it comes bearing snacks, i’m usually in. the first order of business when the beach is walking distance from your hotel is to get there! thankfully that storm had cleared and we got to see a beautiful sunset before we had our first thai meal. those husband’s long arms are amazing for selfies and for reaching top shelf items.
my only requirement for dinner was that it be in viewing distance of the beach and not have an overwhelming smell of fish (i’d like to think i’m a simple gal). done and done AND i experienced a delicious pad thai dish that was wrapped in an egg shell (although that did sound alarming when i initially read it) it as quite delicious and cost about $4. that made it taste extra great. ravery got some curry but there is a certain spice in many curry dishes that i don’t like at all and that translates to me not taking its picture.
on the walk back to our hotel, we found an amazing market where all the action was happening. there were outdoor vendors selling all the interesting fruits of thailand (and yes durian…the rotten/corpse/onion fruit), fresh seafood and many thai dishes cooked fresh for you on the spot. behind them were vendors selling knock-off watches and purses, souvenirs, aloe vera, basically…everything you don’t need but kind of want. roughly, 100 baht (currency there) is about $3 US dollars so extremely fair prices happening here. please note the shark in the middle-right.
we made it back to the hotel before the rains started again and we both put lots of energy into the world that we would wake up and find sun. instead we woke up and found a torrential downpour and hoped it would break so we could at least walk to get food.
sure enough, about 45 minutes later it let up to slight drizzle, which meant i should put on my bathing suit because maybe mother nature would notice i was ready for the beach. i’d love to tell you that i was all positive and optimistic because heeeey thailand is thailand but really i was pretty pissed.
i wanted the beach and the sun and to lay and do nothing while i cooked my outer layers of skin and instead it rained. a lot. this is me trying to smile and change my attitude as well as chill out on the spinach because hello popeye arm.
my husband helped me through the negativity and gave me a bite of his brownie he got with breakfast so that helped. it’s a good thing i married an optimist because two debbie downers are the worst.
after breakfast, we walked along the beach and my hubs got a coconut. do you know what makes me gag…the liquid inside of a coconut. EW. he liked it and i took 3 sips to give it a fair shot and then thought about rubbing sand on my tongue.
i don’t know what the fad is with coconut water but ew. that whole coconut only cost $1.30!remember how we willed the sun to come out by wearing bathing suits? sure enough…after we got our brand new thailand beach towel-the sun came out and existed for a good 15 minutes!
as you can see…it wouldn’t last terribly long but long enough to singe our pasty white skin. rookie mistake: not applying sunscreen just because it was raining when you left. the UV rays in thailand are no joke and karate chop their way to your skin. for lunch we ventured to the same market and got pad thai for less than $3!!! best one we’ve ever had. EVER. you may also notice the large raindrops falling but they had great contraptions to keep the rain out of the food, like chopsticks pushing out the tarp for instance.
i’ve rambled enough for one post but as you can see…we are loving thailand, even if it’s rainy!
next up…adventures to ko phi phi island via ferry on rough seas and then long boat! craziness.
questions:
1) how adventurous are you while trying local food in new places?
2) how important is the beach to your vacations?
3) opinion of coconut water?
Jenny Burton
August 30, 2014 at 6:55 pm
Chelsea….I feel like I have traveled to Phuket virtually! Awesome photos and explanations. The beach is of PARAMOUNT importance when I travel. Like your mother says, water makes me happy! Love the sound of the ocean and the fact that it is constantly changing.
I simply adore coconut water and am convinced its full of trace minerals and vitamins that make all the difference.
Am always up for an adventure when I travel. Its the memories of trying new and different things that sticks with you through the years. <3 to you and Ryan…..JB
chelsea
September 1, 2014 at 12:05 pm
oh good i’m glad you enjoyed the photos and explanations, jenny! thanks for your comment and i believe it’s true that i’m a product of my mother and aunties…water makes me happy 🙂
love that you are a traveler, i really admire that in you and your family! xo
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