We arrived late in the evening (you can find a review of our itinerary here) and were greeted by equal parts of rain and humidity. The drive along the winding roads from the airport to our hotel near Patong Beach seemed to take forever! Phuket Island is the largest island in Thailand and a very popular tourist destination. The main beach areas are Patong and Karon on the western side, with a number of other smaller beach areas throughout the island.
We like to think there is a difference between travelling and taking a vacation, and these two days were a rare planned vacation for us. We decided to stay at the U Zenmaya Phuket, a hotel just outside of the party-centric core. The hotel offers the most incredible views and pool area - perfect for our relaxing trip.
We awoke to a bit more rain and a lot of clouds – not exactly what we had envisioned when booking the trip looking at white sand beaches, turquoise waters, and blue skies. Our worries about the weather were partially put at ease though once we saw the breakfast buffet. No better way to start the day than to stuff yourself until you can’t move anymore!
After our initial cup of coffee, we both filled our plates and enjoyed having breakfast with an incredible view over the bay.
Our hotel offered a shuttle into the city, but we decided to opt for the 45-minute walk and explore along the way.
We spent the afternoon wandering through the streets and shops, and stopped at a café for some air conditioning and a caffeine injection.
We soon located the main Banzaan fresh market area which contained an incredible amount and variety of food.
They sold everything from a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables ...
To fresh fish and seafood ...
To some of my favourite Thai noodles dishes and meat skewers, all made fresh before your eyes ...
All the way to insects. Bettina was of course fascinated by all the food choices, and couldn’t resist some tasty appetizers.
The crickets were apparently quite tasty, especially when paired with the freshly squeezed lemon juice and a bit of salt, though you will have to take her word for it as I certainly didn’t try any.
The town really came alive at night. When walking down the main Bangla Road, you can’t help but equate this to the Las Vegas of Asia. There were bars and clubs everywhere, playing loud music and each offering some special deal to get you in the door. We later learned that Patong is considered one of the party capitals of Asia, so our assessment was quite accurate!
There was a lot of noise, a lot of people, and a lot going on. We must be getting old, as we left this area pretty quick – not our idea of a relaxing vacation!
We settled on a fairly out of the way restaurant and happily finished our plates, as we are both huge fans of Thai curry, Green and Yellow, respectively.
Shop Cute Summer Ruffle Dresses
We enjoyed walking around the chaotic streets for just a little bit longer before heading back to the hotel.
We were only in Phuket for two days, so we were pretty happy when the sun decided to make an appearance for the second day, our pool day!
Shop Beach Hats
It was warm with our without the sun, so there were no complaints lounging around the infinity pool all morning, complete with some pina coladas before noon – no judgment please.
The views only improved as the skies opened up.
Despite the weather overall not being that great for a beach-type vacation, we really enjoyed our two days in Thailand. We will most definitely be back to explore more of the country and eat as much food as humanly possible! Do you have any recommendations on where in Thailand we should go next?
