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| A beautiful sunset to end our first day in Phuket |
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| Off to the Chiang Mai airport- luggage on the roof without straps! |
After a short flight, we arrived to Phuket, an island in the south of Thailand. The first thing we all noticed as we stepped out of the airport was the humidity! In Chiang Mai, the weather had been a consistent 24-26 degrees during the days with very little humidity. Phuket, however, has been a consistent 32 degrees with 90% humidity, feeling like 34-37 degrees for most of our trip. It has not dropped lower than 28 degrees at night, either. With these temperatures our daily plan was simple- stay by the water. Pool, beach or boat?!
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| One of the many stretches of white sand on the island |
Our friend's father Jim lives in Phuket in a gated community on a golf course. He was kind enough to arrange for our family to have a 3-bedroom condo a building up from his own condo. The interesting part about the community is that the condos are all owned by foreigners but no one lives in them. Other than Jim, there is only one other family in the entire complex of over 40 condos. Kind of eerie. However, this meant a private pool for us!
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| Many hours of fun |
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| Staying fit with stairs and hills in the condo complex |
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| Our private pool |
In addition to finding ways to stay cool, we had fun sampling more delicious thai food. Jim's partner is Thai. She took us to her favourite local spots to eat and acted as a translator. When she couldn't join us, she called ahead with our orders and the food was ready when we got there. This was such a great treat as we ate some fantastic food that we otherwise would have looked past due to the uncertainty regarding cleanliness and hygiene.
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| The kids with our hosts- Jim and Ae |
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A popular spot for Thais to eat lunch is in the food court of the mall. It is air-conditioned which offers respite from the heat. We loaded a food card with money and went around to various stations to choose our food. The cooks swiped our card and we were reimbursed the unused portion when we left. The kids loved the independence of being able to select and 'pay' for their own meals.
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| Ordering custom soups |
We experienced a BBQ buffet thai-style. There were buckets of raw meat and vegetables to be collected and brought back to the table where hot broth cooked around a small grill. It was a unique experience for sure.
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| We were the only farangs at the restaurant |
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| Cooking our supper at the table |
Another day, we were taken to a small restaurant where the cooks only made pad thai. They had a small kitchen set up on their front lawn and did not speak a word of English. Delicious food though!
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| Hope you like pad thai- it's the only thing on the menu! |
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| Prep table and small kitchen serving pad thai |
Some days we arranged for takeaways. However, the amount of styrofoam and plastic used bothered us so we limited this habit!
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| A beautiful selection of food from another hole-in-the-wall spot |
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| Even the shakes came with excess packaging - no recycling! |
One of our favourite spots was called the Hill Bar. It had funky decor and overlooked the ocean. The kids liked the dart board and Mike enjoying grabbing a nap!
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| A great spot in the jungle |
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| Open-air like everywhere else in Phuket |
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| With a nice breeze and a cool drink, the afternoon heat was bearable |
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| We had the place to ourselves so Mike took a snooze |
We also took the opportunity to put our new thai cooking skills to use. We cooked quite a few dinners at home and tweaked some of our go-to thai recipes from home.
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| Room for everyone around the table |
Erin, Mike and their kids aren't so into spicy food, so we whipped together meals that catered to everyone. It was awesome to share our Thai experience with our friends!
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| Curries and more curries...and don't forget the pad thai |
In order to find fresh ingredients, we visited a few local markets. Again, it was great to have Ae along to point out new fruits and vegetables. We also enjoyed a couple of dinners at the lively Night Markets.
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| Boat Avenue Friday Night Market |
Our friends left this morning so we finished their trip to Phuket the way it started...with dinner on the beach. There is nothing like eating delicious food with great company with your feet in the sand.
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| Truly magical evening |
Stay tuned for upcoming posts about beaching and boating in Thailand!!
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| Beautiful scenery in Phangnga Bay |
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