Phuket Island, Patong Beach, Thailand

We have returned home after our first vacation while living in the Asia Pacific region, in summary of the seven days we had a blast!  Our vacation was at Phuket Island, Patong Beach, Thailand.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort which was located directly across from Patong Beach and in the heart of the community.  Much of the gathering areas of the resort were open to the outdoors such as the reception desk, restaurants, bars, etc.  The food at the resort was very good and surprisingly reasonably priced, we enjoyed the Thai food and also western dishes that we don’t have the luxury of while living in China.  As for the weather each day was right around 90 degrees (F) and we only had a few days where we saw a very brief shower followed closely by the sun reappearing (we did not even bother to leave the pool).  As a result we were able to enjoy the resort’s three pools (our favorite was the one with the swim-up bar!).  Patong Beach is a very picturesque area located at the base of one of the mountain ranges which are characteristic of the island.  There is one main route that leads you to the various beaches on the island as you wind thorough the coastal mountains.  Just as you would suspect in a resort and tourism driven economy, the streets are lined with small family run shops that sell largely the same items (ex. hats, t-shirts, shorts, sunglasses, imitation watches and purses).

While enjoying the resort each day we also had some great highlights within our trip.  One of the most beautiful days we had we went island hopping via a speed boat on a day excursion.  Our first stop was at Phi Phi Ley Island and enjoyed swimming at Maya Bay.  With the bright blue clear water, white sand beach, and mountains surrounding the bay it was an amazing place to experience!  On the same trip we island hopped to other locations.  We stopped at Phi Phi Don Island and fed the monkeys that lined the beaches, Brady loved doing this!   At lunchtime we ate at the same Island on a hillside restaurant where we could see the beach and the islands in the distance.    Next the speed boat stopped at Hin Klang Reef and we enjoyed snorkeling within the beautiful coral reef and tropical marine life.  I cannot express how much Cooper enjoyed looking at all the fish while snorkeling; he has not stopped talking about it!   Our last stop was Bamboo Island were we relaxed on the beech while Cooper and Brady found coral on the beach. 

 

Another amazing day for our family was an elephant safari.  We were driven to a tropical part of the island high above sea level.  It is here were we climbed onto our elephants for a 45 minute ride through the forest, at times overlooking the ocean and the islands on the horizon.  How often in a lifetime do you get the opportunity to ride an elephant!  On this same trip the boys got the opportunity to feed the elephants and also see a small show.

Our animal adventure was topped off with a visit to the Phuket Zoo.  This however was not your metropolitan zoo by any manner!  This was a zoo where you not only got to see the animals but you got to hold, interact, and have your picture taken with the animals.  As a family we got to hold baby monkeys, put our arms around a chimpanzee, hold tropical birds, sit next to a tiger, and also ride elephants all by ourselves!   We took some amazing photos!  We also were able to see an alligator and elephant show, we even brought home a painting an elephant made for the boys!

Lastly we visited “Phuket Phantasea”.  Here we saw a great show that highlighted Thai folklore, amazing acrobatics, illusions, and many animals native to the region.  This was a great way to end our trip.

The boys summed up the trip in the best way imaginable, “this is our best vacation ever”!  This provided our family a great “recharge” as we head back to China and the busy schedule we hold with work and school.  I am thinking that Cooper had the best idea while we were on vacation, we would live on the beach and open a magic shop for a living….  Next on the horizon for the family in four weeks is our trip to Hong Kong Disneyland!!!  Even a bigger milestone is our trip home in a few short months to see our family and friends who we miss very much….