Phuket, Thailand
October 15, 2016
One word: DREAMY. That is the best way I can describe Thailand. It is the perfect mix of civilization and jungle. The beaches, the greenery, the food. I am so so in love and we have only been here for three days.
So for starters we are staying in another Air BNB in the town of Kathu in Phuket, Thailand. Our view is of the gorgeous mountains and colorful buildings. It is stunning. This place is very different from our place in Taiwan because it is more of a condo feel. We have a kitchen, living room, gym and pool. It feels more of a vacation place which we are 100% okay with. When we leave, I will post the exact link to the place we are staying in. If you want more details about the location feel free to message me and I can let you know before.
So for starters we are staying in another Air BNB in the town of Kathu in Phuket, Thailand. Our view is of the gorgeous mountains and colorful buildings. It is stunning. This place is very different from our place in Taiwan because it is more of a condo feel. We have a kitchen, living room, gym and pool. It feels more of a vacation place which we are 100% okay with. When we leave, I will post the exact link to the place we are staying in. If you want more details about the location feel free to message me and I can let you know before.
So when it comes to transportation here, it is not as refined as Taiwan. They do not have subways or trains, at least not here in Phuket. So my advice if you are traveling alone or just with two people is to rent a scooter. We got ours from our Air bnb host for $135US for the whole month, but they have shops all over that will rent them out to you. Not super cheap but it will be cheaper then getting a taxi every time we want to go somewhere & of course more convenient. BUT BEWARE: THEY DRIVE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD! IT IS CRAZY.
You can also rent a car, a bus or take taxis if you are traveling with kids or people who do not feel comfortable riding on a scooter!
So one of our first adventures was to find a grocery store type of place. We thought to save money we would try to make some easy meals with our new kitchen! We found a place called Makro. It is about 5 minutes away from our place and is a costco/walmart type of feel. We decided to buy stuff for sandwiches, pasta, eggs, cereal and other snack foods. If you are staying here long term or traveling with a big group, I would highly recommended doing this. You can buy bulk items and just keep them in your fridge for easy access when heading to the beach or just daily activities. So nice!
You can also rent a car, a bus or take taxis if you are traveling with kids or people who do not feel comfortable riding on a scooter!
So one of our first adventures was to find a grocery store type of place. We thought to save money we would try to make some easy meals with our new kitchen! We found a place called Makro. It is about 5 minutes away from our place and is a costco/walmart type of feel. We decided to buy stuff for sandwiches, pasta, eggs, cereal and other snack foods. If you are staying here long term or traveling with a big group, I would highly recommended doing this. You can buy bulk items and just keep them in your fridge for easy access when heading to the beach or just daily activities. So nice!
So after we got all settled in and got some homework done, we decided to head to the beach.
We are located in the middle of Phuket in Kathu, so we have Patong beach on the west about 15 min. away from our condo. We really enjoy where we are staying for multiple reasons. One we don't always have to feel like tourist, we have night markets and shopping super close to us, but it is not the main one in the city part by the beach. We also have cheaper restaurants in walking distance because it isn't the main tourist part. We also have everything accessible to us because we have a scooter, so nothing is out of the way or hard to reach. We have the beautiful green mountain hills as our view, but we do not have the loud bustle of the beach scene. So if you are wanting to stay in more a secluded but still convenient area in Phuket, stay in Kathu. You have everything you need 10-15 min. away from you and you don't have to pay the over priced tourist costs. Now if you are just here for a week and are not renting a scooter, stay by the beach or at least a closer walking distance. There are tons of buses and taxis that will take you to any of the temples, elephant excursions and shows that you want to go to.
We spent some time at Patong beach and loved it! Like I said, it is a tourist destination so a little over crowded but lots of different tourists. They have plenty of restaurants, shops and clubs right on the beach. We of course made the mistake of actually going inside some of the shops and got succored into their back room with all their fake Nikes and they start making you try them on! They all got pretty mad at us when we said we don't have any money on us and are just looking. But overall a good time and a good place to get any kind of knock off you want. Micheal Kors purse here I come! ( hint hint Clint)
Now if you do not want to get as bombarded with beach vendors who walk around, DO NOT sit close to the trees at the top of the beach. We wanted some shade so we sat there and it is the walkway for all of them, so every two minutes they would come over and have us try their cashews or play with the bowl they sell, etc... you get the point. So place your towel closer by the waves and you will get more peace and quiet.
We are located in the middle of Phuket in Kathu, so we have Patong beach on the west about 15 min. away from our condo. We really enjoy where we are staying for multiple reasons. One we don't always have to feel like tourist, we have night markets and shopping super close to us, but it is not the main one in the city part by the beach. We also have cheaper restaurants in walking distance because it isn't the main tourist part. We also have everything accessible to us because we have a scooter, so nothing is out of the way or hard to reach. We have the beautiful green mountain hills as our view, but we do not have the loud bustle of the beach scene. So if you are wanting to stay in more a secluded but still convenient area in Phuket, stay in Kathu. You have everything you need 10-15 min. away from you and you don't have to pay the over priced tourist costs. Now if you are just here for a week and are not renting a scooter, stay by the beach or at least a closer walking distance. There are tons of buses and taxis that will take you to any of the temples, elephant excursions and shows that you want to go to.
We spent some time at Patong beach and loved it! Like I said, it is a tourist destination so a little over crowded but lots of different tourists. They have plenty of restaurants, shops and clubs right on the beach. We of course made the mistake of actually going inside some of the shops and got succored into their back room with all their fake Nikes and they start making you try them on! They all got pretty mad at us when we said we don't have any money on us and are just looking. But overall a good time and a good place to get any kind of knock off you want. Micheal Kors purse here I come! ( hint hint Clint)
Now if you do not want to get as bombarded with beach vendors who walk around, DO NOT sit close to the trees at the top of the beach. We wanted some shade so we sat there and it is the walkway for all of them, so every two minutes they would come over and have us try their cashews or play with the bowl they sell, etc... you get the point. So place your towel closer by the waves and you will get more peace and quiet.
My highlight of the beach was when these two ADORABLE little girls and their parents walked by all slow and were looking at us and finally got the courage to ask if they could take a picture with us! Wait us? Clint and I thought? YES! They wanted a picture with us! So they sat down by us and took some pictures and I of course made them take one on my phone too because it was just too cute!! I love the people here. So sweet!
Now I know most of you will think we are crazy, but we really wanted Indian food for dinner. I know I know we are in Thailand with amazing Thai food, but the thought of garlic nan and Chicken tikka masala won tonight. We walked around to all of the Indian food restaurants down by the beach ( about 5 of them) and price matched all of them. We ended up choosing the perfect place that had a view of the beach and the best prices. We both ordered the Chicken tikka masala and rice and enjoyed every last bit of it. It really hit the spot after a low day of travel the day before. I can't remember the exact name of the place, but if you walk along the beach you will see a Indian food place sign and it is an outdoor restaurant.
We ended the day with a romantic walk on the beach and scooter ride back to our place. We then had a night swim and relaxed with a movie. This place has already stolen our hearts and I am dreading leaving.... even though we still have a month! There are just so many fun things we want to see and do that we can't let a day go to waste! Getting our homework done is going to be a lot more difficult... I mean I am writing a blog post instead of doing it right now... oops!
More to come everyone! XOXO