PHUKET THAILAND
After walking 50 miles in Bangkok, we decided it was time for some beach days. We flew from Bangkok to Phuket which is an hour plane ride. (P.S. once you are in Asia, it is REALLY cheap to fly everywhere else in Asia. We spent 5 and a half days in Phuket, and it definitely felt like more of a vacation, Although seeing Bangkok was an amazing cultural experience, I was ready for the beach. When we got to Phuket, we checked into our Airbnb (airbnb is awesome for traveling cheap!) We had a closet, dining table, fridge, and a kitchen, which was awesome! The first day, we explored Patong which is the city we stayed in while in Phuket. The beach was a 5 minute walk from our house, so of course, we had to watch the sunset over the water. In Phuket we also went on tours to Phi Phi island, Khao Lak, Phuket city, and James Bond Island. (more about these places below.
Phi Phi island is absolutely breathtaking. We took a speedboat out to the middle of nowhere, and suddenly huge rock formations with tons of green vegetation started popping up (these rocks are Phi Phi Ley and Phi Phi Don). Not only was the scenery and water beautiful, but our tour guide was awesome! If you are ever in Phuket, I definitely recommend going to Phi Phi island. The water is clear, blue, and perfect temperature for swimming
and you can sit in the ocean and look at the wonderful vegetation surrounding you. Also, we got to eat a lot of pineapple this day..... it is DELICIOUS!!!!suggestions, stories of your own, go crazy!
After our day in Phi Phi island, we went to Khao Lak National Park and did some adventuring. Our first stop was at a sea life conservation center. They had a ton of animals, but mostly turtles. They had all ages of turtles from 3 days to 30 years. Next stop was the waterfall. Unfortunately, it was pouring when we got to the waterfall. We got out of the van, got soaked, and got back in the car. After the waterfall, we went bamboo rafting. Bamboo rafting was way cool. The rafts are huge and you sit on the back of them while a rafter pushes you down the river using a giant stick. After bamboo rafting, we went to ride the elephants... AKA the moment we had been waiting for since we booked the trip. Elephants are amazing animals and it was so cool to have the experience to ride one. After our elephant ride, we watched a baby elephant perform. She played the harmonica, hula hooped, and danced. After her performance, I got a elephant massage.... and by elephant massage I mean a baby elephant slapped by butt with her trunk lol! After we left the elephants we went to monkey temple. There are tons of monkeys running around, and they try to steal your food. Of course, we had to try feeding them, so we bought a basket that had corn, bananas, and peanuts in it. When the monkeys grab food out of your hands, it is crazy how close their hands resemble ours. It was nice to see the monkeys roaming free and doing as they please. This was a really fun day, we got to see a lot and do a lot.
The city tour was only a half day tour which was nice because we had time to do our own thing in the evening. This tour had a lot of beautiful view points, but it was raining so it was hard to see the city from the view point. During this tour we got to go to the cashew factory, Big Buddha, and a temple that blows up firecrackers after a prayer. The cashew factory was interesting, we had no idea that cashews come from a fruit, so it was cool to see the process. Big Buddha is a really amazing statue. The marble and height of Buddha is amazing. The temple we went to had a big ceramic vase that they put firecrackers in, every time someone would pray, boom firework!! The fireworks are crazy loud because the vase traps the sound in. After the tour was over, the rain had finally stopped, so we went to the beach for a relaxing swim!
Thailand was by far one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. Thank you for reading about our journey!