First impressions of Thailand

We've been in Thailand now for a few days. The flight to Bangkok was really long--15 hours--but we had a row of four seats to ourselves, we all managed to get a little sleep, and we survived it. By the time we arrived in Bangkok we were all exhausted, and the last thing we wanted to do was spend 12 hours in the airport waiting for our connecting flight to Phuket. We paid a small fee to change to an earlier flight, and within two hours of arriving in Bangkok we were headed for Phuket.

Phuket is beautiful: lush and green, with rolling hills and golden sand beaches. We booked rooms at a hotel in a quiet area, Karon, far from the bustle of some of the busier areas like Patong. The hotel is huge, and seems mostly empty, and we're often the only farang at the pool or strolling the beach. Not only is this a quieter beach in general, but this is also low season, and it didn't take us long to realize that many places—shops and restaurants—were closed for the season. The hotel restaurant isn’t bad, though it is overpriced. Down along the beach there are a row of stalls selling sandwiches and traditional Thai food, and those are pretty much our only options unless we take a taxi into town.

We ventured into Patong in search of a grocery store so we could fix some of our own meals at the hotel. In contrast to sleepy Karon, Patong was busy and bustling with tourists. There were busy market stalls and many shops and restaurants, even McDonald’s, Subway and Starbucks. We were surprised at the number of tourists there, since our little corner of the beach seems so quiet.

We’ve settled into a comfortable routine, exploring the surrounding area or relaxing on the beach in the morning while Alden plays in the sand. In the afternoon we swim in the hotel pool or go explore other areas of Phuket. The weather has been quite nice so far. It is rainy season, but today is the first day we’ve seen rain; it’s cloudy and there is a light sprinkle of rain, off and on. Rather like Portland, but warmer. Phuket pictures