Holidays in Phuket

After a bit of a mis-communication, which is quite common here in Thailand, Alexis and I discovered we had booked our trip to Phuket before any decisions of "winter break" had been finalized. Even though we asked 100 billion times, we still ended up missing a week of classes to head south for Christmas and New Year's. Mai pen rai... It wasn't a big deal but we had to use some of our sick days. Well worth it because Phuket was beautiful. Phuket is the biggest island off the coast of Thailand and we were dividing up our 10 day vacation between the 3 popular beaches. The first few days were spent in the Kata beach area, then we proceeded to Karon beach for Christmas Eve and Christmas night where we stayed in a nice, clean hotel. Our third and final stop was Patong beach which is the "backpacker's" area- much more of a tourist hot spot but a good decision for New Year's Eve festivities! 

Like I said, our first few days were spent in the Kata beach area. The beaches are very calm in Kata and most of the tourists are families or couples on vacation. We stayed at a very accommodating hostel, and the owner was an American man from Florida who moved to Thailand to pursue his love for scuba diving and music. He gave us a great deal on scuba-diving and snorkeling. Alexis went scuba-diving and Faith and I stayed at sea level with our snorkel gear (between my bad ears and irrational fear of the ocean, I thought this was the best decision). The reef was only a quick swim out from the beach, and even though it was a cloudy day, Faith and I saw hundreds of fish swimming through the coral and a lot of sea cucumbers, bright colored coral, and massive starfish. Overall, I enjoyed snorkeling much more than I anticipated... a few fishies came too close for comfort, but my toes were covered by my flippers so I stayed calm the entire time. One night we went to "After the Beach Bar" recommended by Charlotte, to enjoy a great view of the sunset over Kata beach, reggae music, and tropical drinks in a pineapple! Our time in Kata was very enjoyable but I was looking forward to Karon because we had booked a nice hotel to stay at over Christmas! 

Kata Noi Beach

Kata Beach- we snorkeled right in front of that island!

giant blue starfish spotted during our snorkel adventures

Looks like gill from finding nemo!!

View from After the Beach Bar

After the Beach Bar- pineapple drinks!

In Karon, we didn't leave our hotel because the rooftop pool was a perfect spot for sunbathing and the pool water was much more refreshing than the warm sea water at the beach! We stayed at Pacific Coast Resort and Spa for Christmas Eve and Christmas night, and we pampered ourselves with room service and drinks by the pool. It was a very relaxing couple of days and from what I hear, we didn't miss much by not venturing outside of our hotel because Karon is nothing exciting. The views from our hotel were beautiful and it was so tropical and relaxing, it didn't even feel like it was Christmas! I am so happy I got to talk to most of my family on the phone between Christmas Eve and Christmas. It seems so strange to think that the holidays have come and gone and I wasn't home to spend them with family. I also can't believe I missed a White Christmas! I'll have to keep my fingers crossed for next year... 

Rooftop Pool at the hotel

 Merry Christmas from Phuket :) 

 View of the big Buddha from the Pacific Club Hotel 

Waterfall in the rooftop Pool

 The next stop was Patong beach. We had a bit of a conflict with our hostel, they hadn't received our booking, but it worked out great because we were placed in a new hostel with a room to ourselves for 5 nights. Patong was much more of a tourist location than Kata or Karon. There were western food restaurants everywhere-  I actually couldn't believe my eyes! We made sure to take full advantage, and ate burgers, Italian food, Mexican food, and even paid a visit to the Hard Rock Cafe. We could have easily spent half as much money on Thai street food, but my body was craving western comfort food such as cheese and bread. I probably gained about 5 pounds during our stay in Patong, but it was well worth it. Cheese never tasted so good! The night life in Patong was very fun, bars filled with people from all over the world and the walking street was flooded with bizarre vendors and live animals to take photos with. The beach in Patong was definitely more crowded than in Kata, but it was just as beautiful. The traditional Thai fishing boats off the coast of the beach made it feel just like a post card. We had a lot of fun in Patong, it was definitely more fast-paced than we had anticipated, but it was a lot of fun.

Tiger bar across from our hostel. 

This VW bus was turned into a bar. It was right downstairs from our hostel. As was au bon pain. Talk about a perfect location.. 

Faith posing with her new favorite creatures- some sort of sloth..? 

One of my favorite parts of our trip to Phuket was our day trip to Koh Phi Phi, or Phi Phi island. We got a great deal through our hostel and woke up early to take a ferry to the island. The ferry was great because we got to tan on the deck and then they took us around the island for a brief tour of some of the famous beaches on the island. Then, we docked and switched to a smaller boat where we were able to snorkel in beautiful water. It was so aqua blue-green, it was truly beautiful. The island had some pretty amazing views of rock cliffs dipping into green waters- it was amazing. We docked for a little bit to get lunch on the island and walk around its main harbor. I wish we had more time to explore the island- it seemed so peaceful! Our trip to Koh Phi Phi went by way too fast, but we saw some amazing views and I really fell in love with the island. 

 Snorkeling

 area where "The Beach" was filmed

 Ships in Koh Phi Phi harbor 

 The water where we snorkeled! 

 Posing with the beautiful cliffs/water

 Our last night in Phuket was New Years Eve, and there was a huge beach party with a floating stage on the water off of Patong beach. Supposedly Akon and LMFAO were scheduled to perform, but I didn't recognize any of their music while we were there. There were more than 50,000 backpackers on the beach and the sky was filled with fireworks and the Chinese floating lanterns like we saw at Loy Krathong. It was a great way to welcome 2013- a really fun atmosphere with people from all over the world. It wasn't so fun when we had to take a van to the airport at 4 am... but we survived. Overall, our trip to Phuket was unforgettable. I am looking forward to visiting more islands in the south when we have time off in March. Thailand is truly a beautiful country and I am so thankful for this experience.

Floating stage NYE 

Happy New Year from Thailand !!!! My New Year's Resolution is to finally get my license... and hopefully a job when I return to America. 2012 was a remarkable year- graduating from QU, Disneyworld, Euro-trip, and starting this Thai journey. I am so thankful for all of the amazing people in my life and I wouldn't be where I am or who I am today without the love, support, and influence of everyone I know. Let's see what 2013 has in store... I hope it treats all of you well. Cheers, from Thailand !