Phuket with Mum

  Phuket, Thailand
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

One week of real vacation is what I had in Phuket with Mum. From Hanoi, I simply flew to Phuket to meet up with Mum at the airport. Easy, we got a ride with the hotel car and spent a week together in this luxury hotel. Mind you after the backpacking, anything looks like luxury. The hotel had three swimming pools, a fitness center, an excellent buffet breakfast and magnificient rooms with ocean view. A real delight !

Phuket is very touristy but as it was the rainy season, it was not too crowded and we really enjoyed it. We rented a motorbike and drove all around the island, stopping here and there to go on a new beach

View of the beach

or explore a new road, a different city.

We had dinners in the most amazing places, a white cube on the beach, an italian restaurant on the cliffs, just really nice meals and drinks. Of course, we had loads of massages, pedicures, manicures, facials, everything that pampered a daughter and her mum for a week.

We also went on two excursions, one a bit more private on a small boat to Phra Nang bay which is similar to Halong bay in Vietnam with thousands of different islands coming out of the ocean.

James Bond island

On one of them, this is where the James Bond movie, the man with the golden gun, was filmed, hence the name, James Bond island.
The other tour was completely different as a lot more touristy, with about 200 other persons on a big ferry boat. We still had a good time and went snorkeling, visited to Phi Phi island, and had a stroll around the island.

Maya beach from the movie the beach

On our way, we passed by Maya beach, which is the one from the movie "the beach".

Phuket is also well known for its crazy nights and we had a look at that as well. There is one street that is the party street with bars, clubs, pubs and restaurants, simply opened all night long. Every single place is full of Thai girls, dancing or moving their tiny bodies to the sound of loud music, half naked most of the time and of course loads of lady boys. We went to Simon's cabaret to watch a show with lady boys and that was fantastic. You can really tell that those boys/girls fully enjoy what they are doing. They are not always the best dancers in the world, but they know how to transmit the pleasure they have to do what they do and you can tell how comfortable they are with their stage performance. It is kind of refreshing in a way, especially if you are actually stepping back to think about what kind of show you are actually seeing.

All in all, was a fantastic time for relaxation and it was a pleasure to spend an entire week with my mummy.