Phuket

We've just had another 4-day weekend. Monday was Muhammed's Birthday and Tuesday was Thaipusam. Consequently, Dave and the kids had holiday vacation so we decided to take advantage. It only costs $100 to get a plane ticket and the flight is only 1 hour to get to Phuket, Thailand.

The first day we took a tour on a speedboat around Phang Nga Bay. This place is absolutely stunning.

The boat took us around several of the islets but we didn't disembark. We saw lots of people in canoes and kayaks. There are caves around this area that you can take the small boats into.

Next we arrived at Ko Tapu, better known as James Bond Island because a portion of The Man With The Golden Gun was filmed here. We rented the movie before we came and it looks just the same -- give or take a few hundred people. The Chinese mobbed Ethen and Maya, swept them out of our arms and kissed and held them. Dave drew the line when they were trying to get Maya to pose by their naked little boys. Fun times.

It was stunning. My only regret is not buying a necklace from the island.

We then got back in the boat and headed to a gypsy village built entirely on stilts.

Here we stopped for lunch. We toured the little village that has 1500-2000 all descended from 2 families. Think Arco, Idaho. Just kidding, it's bigger than Arco and not as isolated. :)

They have a school and monkeys in diapers. Oh, and a mosque. Maya scored a ring and again, my only regret is not buying anything. Cath, this would have been a great place to get you some pearl earrings. Sorry!

Our final top was Khai Nai island where we played on the beach for awhile and enjoyed this:

It was as good as it looks.

There was a small lagoon off the island with lots of fish. Maya and I tried our hand at snorkeling, but discovered neither of us are any good at it. She likes to put her head under about as much as I do. Thank goodness the fish were willing to come right up to us and swim around our feet.

*These pictures were taken with a disposable underwater camera and will be forthcoming after development.

Whew! End of day 1 tour. It was fabulous and highly recommended. Again only $100 per adult (unlimited drinks, fresh fruit, lunch, beach chair and umbrella included). Can you see why I love Thailand?

The next day was Sunday, so we spent the day around the hotel. Our hotel had a fabulous kid zone with lots of entertainment for the kids. The pool had a great water slide that Ethen couldn't get enough of. And I...snuck off for an aromatherapy massage - $30 for 1 hour at a Marriott?! Score!

Maya painted a batik print on a t-shirt that she is ultra proud of. "Mom, it looks like an ARTIST did this!"

That evening we watched the sunset on Kamala beach. Maya wrote words in the sand and can now spell Phuket. (pronounced Poo-ket)

Day three we decided to take another boat out to a nearby island. We did only a half day tour, because we were worried about sunburns. We went back to the Khai islands, but went to a different island than before.

The afternoon sun was super hot here. Dave snorkeled around a bit. A lady brought over some bread and the kids fed the fish and they swarmed around us. We had the place almost to ourselves when we arrived, but then more tours came along.

Can you see why I love Thailand?

I took about 600 pictures. These are just a smattering. I will probably end up making a whole album about Thailand in the end. So, watch for layouts about the above-mentioned.

Any takers? I'd go back in a heartbeat.