Travel – Page 2 – KEVIN CRAIG

Thailand Journal – Phuket, THE END – All Good Things…

Like all good things, vacations also have to end. If not, I would never see home again.

I actually fantasize about that very thing all the time. Sure, I’d visit home…but I could also imagine never being anywhere longer than a few days or weeks. My soul is nomadic. The world often feels like home. There is beauty in every corner of this world we live in. I have an ache to see all of it. Or as much as I can before shuffling off this mortal coil. What is home, anyway? Is it a place, or is it the people you share your life with?

Enough pining and opining. We finished the last post on Bangla Road, near Patong Beach in Phuket. We definitely visited Bangla Road repeatedly. I guess we couldn’t stay away from the action. Kind of exciting and terrifying at the same time. But the next day was our first real day of exploring the resort we were staying at.

A woman selling scorpions on sticks while walking through the crowds on Bangla Road. NO…we did not partake.

The enchanting aroma of the plumeria makes it one of my absolute favourite flowers…

We spent quite a bit of our time around the gigantic pool at the resort. There were a few pools, but this one was sprawling…it included three water slides and waterfalls and it had an island at the middle making it a bit of a lazy river if you chose to make your way all the way around. It was a super huge pool.

There were plumeria trees all about the pool, which meant plumeria blossoms floated lazily about in the pool. You could swim up to them, pick them up, and take in their captivating scent. Heaven!

We went back to the same two side by side restaurants the next day, after spending a lazy day by the pool. We alternated between the two restaurants…which was a bit of a horror show. They did not have a wall separating them. There were people on the sidewalk on both sides, each chanting their reasons we should pick their restaurant over the other. Once we decided, there were victors and losers…celebrants and dejected. It was odd, but there was the added bonus of seeing the defeated the whole time you ate on the winning side. Avoid eye contact! (-;

Both restaurants offered pretty much the same food. The seafood was out front on the sidewalk in chillers or aquariums. You could choose your own seafood…either frozen or alive. We did not want to decide the fate of any of the live lobsters, so we picked a frozen one. We just could not do it. I know in the end there really is no difference, but we could not point at a live lobster only to have it served up on our plates minutes later.

What you see below is DEFINITELY a lobster that was on ice.

I guess other people always pose with their pick. The server practically insisted on this photo. I obliged and felt totally squigged out by it.

Pineapple rice in a little restaurant near Bangla Road…

These last days totally bled together. I couldn’t tell you what happened when. I guess if I follow the progression of the photos it will tell me…but as I said on a previous post, the photos sometimes jump around on my timeline when we’re travelling internationally as well. I think the time change does something to the timeline in Google Photos.

I tried several times to get the pool in one shot, but it seemed impossible. It was so massive. Here are some of my attempts…

Yet another angle from the top of the slide tower…

We were only a few hundred feet from the world famous Patong Beach, so we made a couple of walks down there throughout the days. It’s a gorgeous beach, filled with activity. I’m sure there were people from all points of the globe on that beach while we wandered it.

Michael, finding a heart stone on the beach…

Proof of our existence on Patong Beach, in Phucket, Thailand. (-:

The entrance to Patong Beach, just across from the entrance to Bangla Road…

This was an amazing way to end a dizzying two and a half weeks in Thailand. We did a lot of travelling…from Bangkok to Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai to Phuket. It was good to have this chill ending with pools and beaches and fun places to explore at our leisure. I would definitely recommend ending your Thailand visit on the beaches of Phuket. It’s the way to go!

Everything ends, or so they say. After three flights (Phuket to Bangkok, Bangkok to Taipei, Taipei to Toronto), we found ourselves back home. But truth be told, I was home the whole time. My home is not a place. Doesn’t matter how many times you click your heels together, if the right people are beside you…you’ll always be at home.

SHOUTOUT TO TRIPOPPO for putting together an amazing Thailand itinerary! We loved all of it!

If you’ve enjoyed this series on our Thailand adventures and would like to support this page, you can do so by buying me a coffee! KevinCraig-BuyMeACoffee

LINK TO PREVIOUS THAILAND POST

Thailand Journal – Phuket!

There’s a saying in Phuket, apparently. I would find it hard to believe if I didn’t run into its truth the very second we arrived. It takes two hours to get anywhere. HOW COULD THIS BE. It’s such a tiny island.

I don’t know if the following statement is true or not. I found it on the internet, so take it with a grain of salt…but I suspect that it’s pretty accurate: “Phuket is only 48 km north to south and 21 km west to east.”

The traffic in Phuket is among the worst traffic I have ever experienced in my life. It’s not so much chaotic and insane, like, say, Delhi or Varanasi, where anything goes. It’s just…solid packed vehicles crawling everywhere. If you’re going down the road, you’ll get there in two hours. Wherever that place is. You will SIT IN TRAFFIC. Be prepared to wait and it won’t be as annoying.

It was dark when we arrived at our hotel from the airport. It was so late, we decided to just eat at the hotel restaurant instead of taking to the streets to see what we could see.

I really liked this hotel…after the initial problematic check in. Bring cash money. They make you leave a CASH ONLY deposit. And if you don’t have cash, you’re invited to use their cash machine to take money out…and wouldn’t you know it, there’s a steep fee for doing so. Luckily, we had cash…but the practice made absolutely NO SENSE to anyone in our party. There was no getting out of that deposit. And you could not leave it with a credit card. CASH ONLY.

After that slight discomforting check-in, we were escorted to our bungalow. It was really nice. I was happy to call this place home for about a week. The only downfall was–I DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE THINKING–not a single dresser drawer. This was the first place we were staying at where I was looking forward to unpacking and not living out of my suitcase. And the only place where there was nowhere to unpack to. It was irritating, but overall it was a great place!

The room was super spacious and the bed was comfy.

DUANGJITT RESORT AND SPA WEBSITE.

Sliding doors that led to our own private front porch. So lovely…

Our porch (this shot from the next morning).

We settled in, met the others in the grand lobby for cocktails and then made our way over to the restaurant. The food was divine! It’s always great when the hotel restaurant is a hit…for those times you either can’t or don’t want to leave the hotel. This was the end of a long day of airports and traffic…so we opted to stay in…

Most of our travelling companions…Phuket was the place where we were all eventually going our own separate ways. Some were staying for a couple of days and leaving for other grand adventures, and some were leaving for home soon. Ourselves? We were going to be in Phuket for the better part of a week.

Only one food pic that night. I believe this was Michael’s (I would know those arms anywhere!)? Mushroom soup…

The next day we were OFF AND RUNNING. We had breakfast at the buffet and looked about a little. This is one of the many pools on the property…

A nice pool, but nothing like the monstrous one with the slides and waterfall, etc…

We were soon off to head to the marina. Remember what I said about everything being 2 hours away? We were about to experience that phenomenon again. Looking at Google Maps, the marina looked about 9-10 km away. It was hard to tell, but I think that’s quite accurate. So, you could probably walk there in 2 hours. It took over 2 hours to drive there.

Nevertheless, we were soon in a boat! We were heading to Phi Phi and Bamboo Islands, as well as Pileh Cove, Loh Samah Bay, and Maya Bay. There would be snorkeling, beaches, lunch, and more…

Off we go! Powered by SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!

It looks rather pleasant and thrilling here, but trust! It gets worst. On the way home, it was raining and the water was choppy and it was a total disaster! But the way there was nice…we were still smiling.

Along the way, there was so much beauty to take in. Everywhere we looked.

Absolutely amazing day! It wasn’t too hot…the water was nice. The rain was holding off…

I mean LOOK at how insanely gorgeous this place was!

One of the crew taking a much deserved break…

We absolutely LOVED our stops. One was for snorkeling, one was for swimming, and one was for Maya Bay…a filming location for the Leonardo DiCaprio movie THE BEACH.

Maya Bay was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

One of the most picturesque places I’ve ever been. No wonder it was scouted as a film shoot…

Usually Michael was the photo bomber. This trip, the wonderful Abby took on the role!

Stunning doesn’t even begin to describe it…

Abby getting more splash than she bargained for when we went for a little beach walk on the island we stopped on for lunch…

Abby and her mother, Coleen, were absolute treasures to travel with. They had wild senses of humor matched only by their wild senses of adventure!

A walk on the beach after a buffet lunch…

This was truly a trip of a lifetime. We had so much fun every day. We really lucked out with our travel companions on this tour!

When you find a swing in the middle of paradise, you get on it!

Remember how I said the boat ride back to the marina was a choppy disaster? I wasn’t kidding. It was an hour of choppy water and rain. Our seats at the back of the boat were fun in the sun…and traumatic in the rain. UGH!

Trying to keep relatively dry and feeling the motion sickness!

I think we just ate at the hotel again once we finally got back to it this time. The next day we were going to James Bond Island…and a few other places. Another trip to the marina and another long boat ride to get to the attractions. We crossed our fingers for nice weather.

Don’t get me wrong, the terrible boat ride back to the marina was well worth the day full of experiences we had. Sometimes you have to pay the ferryman…

A LINK TO THE PREVIOUS THAILAND POST.

If you’re enjoying this series on our Thailand adventures and would like to support this page, you can do so by buying me a coffee! KevinCraig-BuyMeACoffee

Thailand Journal – Chiang Mai – Elephants, Shopping Mall, Chicken Satay, and Phuket!

Today was the day! We had signed up for an excursion to go to an ETHICAL elephant sanctuary. Turns out, I believe the only ethical sanctuary for elephants would be one that does not have visitors. But how would they operate without the tourist dollars? It’s a debate that is beyond me.

We visited a sanctuary that was, I have to admit, somewhat ethical. What this essentially means is that nobody is going to actually ride an elephant there. But interacting with the elephants? Yes, there is that…and even though it felt a little bit wrong, we can’t say we didn’t enjoy it.

David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi definitely felt different…less interactive and therefore more ethical.

This sanctuary we visited was interactive. We fed the elephants AND went into the river with them. As we were going into the river, everyone was given some pretty bizarre looking clothes to change into. Hence the really bad fashion you’ll see in these upcoming photos.

After we changed into our ‘elephant clothes’, everyone was given a pail of food to feed some of the elephants.

I believe that’s bamboo shoots in there with the bananas, but I could be wrong…

They’re so regal, aren’t they?

This smile says everything. It really was wondrous to share space with these beautiful rescued creatures.

Showing off our high fashion while posing with an elephant…

We prepared some special treats for the elephants. Apparently, they really loved this mixture. It was rather gross to put together, but well worth the efforts in the end.

The river we were about to enter in order to bathe the elephants…

We went across in little raft-like boats and an elephant followed us…

It was a glorious experience. Elephants are one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet. I’m not sure there is a fully ethical way to care for them in a sanctuary IF you’re going to have tourists visit. We don’t know what the interactions do to them. Not a month after our visit, a woman was killed by an elephant while she was in the river with it. If they weren’t stressed by the presence of tourists, this woman probably would not have died.

The David Sheldrick sanctuary seems to be the most ethical one I’ve visited. I loved our visit to this one, though. I love elephants. These ones were well treated. Honestly, there was a slight tinge of ‘is this okay?’ running through me while I was there.

After we were forced to give back our haute couture romping-with-the-elephants day wear, we went back to the hotel. Michael and I decided to walk our neighbourhood and go to a mall a few blocks away. Yes, we went to another mall. Like the ones we had recently visited in Bangkok and Chiang Rai, the one in Chiang Mai was also fairly high end. Any one of them could have been a fancy mall here in Toronto.

This one had a rooftop patio with restaurants and several amazing viewing areas! It was quite spectacular.

After our excursion to the mall and in and around the neighbourhood, we decided to have a quiet evening at the hotel bar/restaurant. It was really an excellent restaurant. We were glad we decided to stay at our home base.

The chicken satay was phenomenal at the Bella Nara Hotel!

The chicken satay was to die for! It’s so good wherever you get it in Thailand. I think it’s one of those signature dishes that they’ve perfected. Whether it’s from a street vendor or a high end hotel, you can’t go wrong! After dinner, it was time for bed. It was a long day…lots of time in the bus getting to and from the elephant sanctuary. Lots of walking. It was time to call it a night.

The breakfast was very good at the Bella Nara too. Lots of options to choose from. I highly recommend this hotel!

Just a couple of the things on offer for breakfast at the Bella Nara. They had a WIDE array of hot and cold foods to choose from in their buffet…

After breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to Chiang Mai! The thing about a tour like this is that you are always either on the move or thinking about your next move. It’s simultaneously thrilling and exhausting.

It was time for Phuket!

You can literally see the beach as you approach for the landing…

Welcome to PHUKET!!!

A link to the PREVIOUS POST ON THAILAND.

If you’re enjoying this series on our Thailand adventures and would like to support this page, you can do so by buying me a coffee! KevinCraig-BuyMeACoffee