Phuket, Thailand
This is part 1 of our 5-part December travelogue:
- Phuket, Thailand
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
This weekend, Casey and I had a nice little vacation in Phuket, Thailand! It was remarkably easy to do; Phuket’s really got its act together as a tourist destination. Passport control was painless with no visa required for US citizens, the airport had free wifi to get our bearings, and they were even handing out free SIM cards preloaded with 20MB data and a few phone calls. We topped up later for a couple bucks at a 7–11, but it was really comforting to have a bit of data for Google Maps right out of the airport. Also, the Thai baht to USD rate is pretty favorable, so prices were pretty reasonable.
Oh, and it’s pronounced poo-ket. The “h” indicates aspiration, meaning you make a little puff of air when you say it. Same deal with the “h” in Thai: you don’t say “thigh” either. Also, we visited the Phi Phi islands. Pronunciation? You guessed it: pee pee islands. Heh.
Our hotel! Nice pool, but we didn’t really use it, since the beaches were so nice.
Phuket Island and the surrounding area are characterized by sandy beaches with crystal clear green/blue water on one side and tropical forest mountains on the other. There are tons of these little rocky islands dotting the sea, ranging from maybe 100 ft. to a mile across.
Another example of the water / mountain / forest / beach combo.
Walking in from the beach you’re met with a lush tropical forest.
Casey either striking a pose or looking at a bird or something… :)
The water is so clear it’s like a pool. Three feet of water and you can the ground clearly. I went out deep enough that I couldn’t touch the ground yet still could see it. I didn’t want to take my phone out that far to get a picture, though…
There were tons of cool fish swimming in the shallows here. I can’t actually find any in the picture, but in real life they were there. I promise!
A tropical beach wouldn’t be complete without coconuts!
And looking out the other way…
Dinner afterwards. I’m not handling the spiciness of my dish so well… I’m drinking a Thai iced tea, but they’re actually quite hard to find and not very common here. I’m beginning to think it’s like fortune cookies at Chinese restaurants (an American invention attributed to the local cuisine).
That’s all for now! Since Casey is between semesters and we don’t get housing in between, we’ve moved on to our next stop: Bangkok! We’re here for the next two weeks, where we’re staying at a pretty decent hostel with attached coworking space so I can continue to work. I’ll make a post at the end of this time with some photos from here.
Mon, Dec 7, 2015 | For updates follow me on twitter