my random ramblingsan infrequent (and these days, mostly Mira related…) blog

painfully long journey from Bangkok back to Jackson, all in a single calendar day courtesy of the international date line. finally home, and able to reflect on the marvelous experience.

another great breakfast spread, then taxied to the Phuket airport for the flight back to Bangkok. arrived in Bangkok and left our bags at the airport, then took a long taxi ride to the Grand Palace for a tour of the King’s residence. amazing place to visit, and some great photo opportunities. from there took a tuk tuk towards the shopping area surrounding the Baiyoke Sky Hotel. did some shopping then had an awesome seafood dinner on the 82nd floor with views overlooking the entire city. back on to the airport and got Лена sorted for her flight home.

slept in a bit and noticed i had a text from Ian wondering if i would be meeting him in San Francisco for the concert – enjoyed explaining that i was in Thailand. another day spent at the pool, and our first breakfast here which i must say was quite impressive. Ian sent me videos from the show and i sent him videos from the pool. was a memorable day, with most of it spent poolside. Лена had me record some hilarious videos from the pool for a friend back home. dinner was at a nearby sushi restaurant, then we walked around in a light rain doing a bit of window shopping and searching for tiramisu. in bed early for a change.

similar morning as the others, up early and time spent in the fitness center and checking email. back to the room and had Лена up in time for breakfast, then returned and packed for our return to Phuket. had a drink at the bar waiting for the boat to take us back, and tried to permanently imprint a mental image of the beach. ended up on a longtail which dropped us at a larger passenger ship which then shuttled us to Tonsai. from Tonsai the ferry brought us back to the pier in Phuket, and we then taxied back to Patong and returned to the Holiday Inn. man, what a pain… this time we had a villa room on its own small private pool. spent the rest of the day there, then dinner at a terrific low-key seafood restaurant nearby for our first lobster of the trip. walked the streets again after dinner and ended up at a rather risqué live show that Thailand is apparently known for. stayed up quite late hanging out and shooting photos.

again up and out and about early. spent some time in the gym and on the internet, then back to the room and we both caught the last few minutes of breakfast. made our way up the beach again, exploring the other resorts and snapping pictures along the way. came across a sobering informational display on the devastation wrought by the 2004 tsunami on the island. stopped by the pool again, and found a number of places along the beach for photography. returned to the hillside sunset bar hoping for more great pictures, but it was too cloudy. were both hungry so decided to find a place for dinner. settled down further up the beach at the Zeavola restaurant and had a fantastic meal on the beach. brought dessert with us back to the room, and spent the night playing cards and sharing music.

found the fitness center and was a good way to kill some time. stopped by the room and got the snooze request, so went to the breakfast buffet solo. eventually got Лена up and swung by a cafe and then the other resort pool. didn’t stay anywhere very long, and i eventually ordered room service for the day. went back out and snapped more pictures, then grabbed a quick nap. missed the sunset photo opportunity, but not a problem as yesterday’s was so good. walked up the beach for dinner and found a nice Thai restaurant in the small nearby village. after dinner walked a bit along the beach then returned to the room for some cards and more time spent talking and taking pictures.

made it to breakfast for the second day in a row, then a quick longtail ride to Tonsai where we perused the shops around the pier waiting for the ferry to take us to the other side of the island. more pictures on the pier, then we boarded for the short and scenic ride to Laemtong Beach. arrived at the Phi Phi Holiday Inn and checked into our beautiful beachside room not 20′ from the water. was another sunny day, so spent some more time poolside before heading up the hill to catch a breathtaking sunset reaching across the sea. dinner at the resort restaurant with a performance of traditional Thai dancing, then a couple of drinks in the bar and listening to a duet perform pop songs from around the world. another night in paradise.

very late night last night, but somehow up early and downstairs for our first official breakfast. still a light rain falling so back to bed for a 4+ hour nap. reawakened to sunlight and eager to spend some time at the beach. splashed around in the sea and stayed on the beach until the sun fell behind the other side of the island. drinks at the bar before heading up the hill to get cleaned up for dinner. planned to take a longtail to Tonsai, but instead had another great dinner at the resort restaurant. memorable night, and we were adopted by a cat eager to curl up in the middle of the bed for a comfortable night’s rest.

late enough morning that we missed breakfast and instead grabbed food outside of the hotel. taxied out of Patong and made our way to the pier for the ferry over to Phi Phi island. upon arrival, bargained our way on to the first longtail boat out for the quick trip to Long Beach and our cabin for the next 2 nights. incredible setting with amazing views, perhaps the best i’ve witnessed. another light rain most of the day, so spent the time inside. ended up staying at the resort for dinner, and had an expertly bar-b-qued jack fish. a fantastic night from the Russian poetry, dinner on the beach, feeding begging cats, cards back in the room, and overall great company.

day again started at the pool, then a midafternoon brunch at one of the hotel restaurants. we had a lazy day avoiding the rain, talking and hanging out, enjoying the plum wine i picked up at the Narita airport. decided on the Phuket Simon Cabaret for the night’s entertainment – but, not just any cabaret, rather the “lady boy” transvestite performance. was a good show, albeit a bit of a strange premise. grabbed a late dinner afterwards, then another stroll along the crazy Patong streets, again ending up in a bar on Bangla Road.