Aquamarine Resort & Villa Phuket

Phuket is a really buzzy place. It's unlike anyewhere we have been before. The main bit by the beach just has shop upon shop and everyone is trying to get you to come in and buy bits. They are more like market stalls and huts on the pavement than proper shops, and they sell loads of fake stuff. There are loads of tourists there and you could spend hours shopping there are trying to get their ...

... t get back but that's all it is ever going to be for me. <br><br>The trip to the Phuket immigration office to try to extend our Thai visa's was the reason we were here. Upon reaching the office we discovered that it was really not worth our while to extend in this fashion so we quickly booked flights to Cambodia and waved goodbye to Phuket. <br ...

... time underwater. The visibility was probably better in the Trinity River. It wasn&#8217;t long till I was back on the boat and reading my book. I will attempt scuba diving again but probably start with a pool course in which I can get more comfort able with the gear and skills required before heading out into the ocean. The one thing the poor weather did acclimate me to is the potential for seasickness. This isn&#8217;t such a big deal for this ...

... security guard stood over them, there wasn't much we could do. After spotting us in the sea, he told us to get out, presumably to put some clothes on. It wasn't my most dignified moment running out of the sea naked to my clothes in front of a security guard at a top class hotel and once I reached a pair of shorts, I realised me and TJ had run to each others. A few more awkward seconds stood naked next to the security guard, we swapped shorts and headed back to the hotel room.

Exit Singapore and enter the land of the lady-boys. And I'll tell ya what, there are lots of these buggers too... kind of like Seven Elevens - there's one on every corner. After an extravagant Christmas at the renown Raffles Hotel in Singapore, Bek and I Arrived in cloudy Phuket, Thailand on the 29/12 only to find the hostel we booked was in the heart of shitsville with a construction site one side and a bright neon strip joint/brothel on the other...really set ...

... died exactly 98 days ago and in two days they would bury her. To demonstrate the respect the people had for her they decided to have 3 days of mourning starting today where there was no alcohol to be served, and basically anyone hanging around street corners would be arrested. Any bars that do not sell food would be shut as a result. As we were only here for 3 days our eyes, and minds, would be saved from such immoral activities. Basically in the lad's message they told us ...

... the afternoon and departure to Phuket. Whew! Tired are we. Flight to Phuket was uneventful, we nodded for the majority of the hour it took. A nervous taxi ride later we arrive at Malisa Villa Suites. And Suite it is. We love it. Words can hardly describe. The staff is exceptionally warm and helpful. The grounds are immaculate and the rooms are dreamy. Not sure how or if we will be able to leave........

... passed - at least on the last few times I have been airborne. The meat pie was seriously awesome. Real meat, crunchy yet soft, not too much gravy - great. Now, lest I give you the impression that this was the highlight of the trip so far, it is time to move on to Phuket itself. As we walked through immigration and through Customs, which was basically one disinterested gentleman standing next to the usual flora/fauna signage, we see a familair face. In Phuket ...

... water. After a while, we will see sunlight in front of us and we reached upon this lagoon inside the island. It is more of a mangrove lagoon. But it was something very different from the trips we've been to. Later then, we went to another 2 caves. One was called Hong Island and another was called Bat Cave where we really saw a few bats hanging on the ceiling of the caves! And we defnitely smelt some Bat poo poo along the way! Haha.. And the lagoon we reached after passing the ...

... to make Loy Krathongs...in Thailand Loy Krathong is a festival celebrated during the full moon in November..."loi" means "to float", and "krathong" means "a raft"...so people make these little rafts from banana trees and flowers, decorate them with candles and incense and let them float free in the river...such a beautiful tradition... it was dark by the time we made and released our loy krathong in one of the hongs, and all we ...