Well rested

Trip Start Oct 22, 2005
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21
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Trip End Ongoing


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Monday, November 21, 2005

We have spent the last week in Phuket, Thailand resting and relaxing. The first few days we were in Patong Beach while Rick recovered. Once he was feeling better we were able to do some shopping and sightseeing. We decided to move from the Royal Palm Resort Hotel to the Baumanburi resort as it was cheaper and had a cool looking pool. It had a swim up bar and these cool built in spa recliner seats. We made sure a cocktail and swim was had before dinner every night.

We also both got a traditional Thai massage that lasted for 2 hours. Our bones, backs, arms and legs were stretched, cracked and rubbed by two masseurs. Megan was even walked on! Afterwards we felt great, but during the stretching it wasn't the best.

We did a tour of Phang-nga Bay that included a trip to James Bond Island (Ao Phang-Nga National Park) , made famous in the movie The Man With the Golden Gun 01 - View of the pool at Baumanburi
01 - View of the pool at Baumanburi
 . They also dropped us at a Muslim Fishing Village that is built over the water. Interesting walking through the township, completely on stilts above the water. That day also involved a cave tour of Phung Chang Cave where we rafted into the cave then walked through knee deep water, with hard hat lights on our heads. It was really fun and refreshing after a hot day out on the bay.

After we tired of Patong Beach we headed to Phuket Town to some cheaper accommodation. While it was nice to get away from the touristy areas we found it a bit quiet with very little to do. We did find a lovely place for dinner called the China Inn. It was an old warehouse that they had completely renovated into an antique art gallery and restaurant at the back. It was nice to have some Thai food in the garden surrounds to relax and recap our trip of India.

The tour to Phi Phi Lay and Phi Phi Don was like being on a slow boat to China. We got on the Phi Phi Crusier (should be named the Phi Phi Slow Boat) and headed off to see the place where they filmed the movie The Beach. Getting near Phi Phi Lay we transferred onto a smaller boat and headed into the small bay. There were about a hundred boats in there, with tourists all trying to get their own piece of paradise. We grabbed some masks and snorkels and jumped into the clear blue water 02 - Cool reclining chairs in the pool
02 - Cool reclining chairs in the pool
 . Snorkeling in the warm water was fantastic. After returning to the boat, it went around the island and dropped us off at Phi Phi Don for lunch. The crispy chicken (minus the bird flu) lunch was great.

Phi Phi Don is basically a construction site with rubble everywhere. Construction is everywhere and a lot of the hotels and shops have been re-built. In hindsight we would have liked to have spent a few days here as the beach is awesome. Heading back to Phuket Town (with all the other boats dragging us off) we decided to go to Karon Beach for dinner. We found a nice Mexican restaurant and spent sometime wandering around the main tourist strip. Things were a bit more laid back than Patong Beach and the prices at the market were a fair bit cheaper. At a couple of places we didn't even have to haggle.

Today we are flying back to Bangkok where we will spend a few days getting Vietnam visas, then head north to Chang Mai and Laos.
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