Finally, a real family vacation in Asia!

Our Thailand vacation was everything we'd hoped it would be... and more!

This trip was generously provided to us by Intel, there version of a mini sabbatical! Because of this, we were able to fly business/1st class, which was a real treat for our son! He had a ball, ordering countless glasses of Thai-tea, stretching out in the BIG reclining chairs, and eating all the nibbles he could stuff into his gullet. By the time we landed, food was the last thing on his mind! ;)

In the area of Surin Bay where we stayed, there's not a whole lot to do, (which was just fine with us!) But after renting a couple of motor-scooters, we were off on various adventures around Bang Tao, Phatong, Kamala and Surin on the western coast of Phuket. This was the area that was dramatically affected by the Tsunami of 2004, which hit the day after Christmas. Each of the beaches and townships have their own stories, and most people are willing to talk about this devastating event in their lives. A book I picked up in Phatong, (the area hardest hit,) titled "Tsunami Stories," highlights a collection of stories from 15 people who lived in this area, where physical evidence to the landscape is still visible today. It's a heart-wrenching book, and begs to be read in small doses. Thankfully, however, the area and it's people are recovering, but the memories will take much longer to fade.

It is widely known that elephants are considered members of the family in Thailand. But, they are also exploited and treated very poorly, particularly where tourism is concerned. My suspicion is that when tourists seek out elephant adventures, they seldom take the creatures condition into account. On my prior trip, I took some time to investigate this aspect of Thai tourism and found a business that was both humane and respectful to the elephants. As a result, our son was able to have an incredible encounter with a 38 year old female named "Surri." He rode her bare back thru a small lakefront area while her owner walked beside them. At the end of his ride, he fed her bananas, thanking her for her gentility and generosity.

"James Bond Island" is a lovely collection of rocks that reside a few miles off the shores of Phuket in the Andaman Sea, (named for its appearance in the 1974 James Bond film, "The Man with the Golden Gun.") It was to this destination that we hired a Captain and his traditional Thai long-boat for a day of snorkeling and sightseeing. To say that this outing found us in a remote location would be understating. We were the only ones there, and it was really nice... for us and the fish! The sightseeing portion was just as spectacular, and, like any water view, showed us a side of Phuket that was simply stunning in its natural beauty!

Phatong is where everyone visitor to the Island has to go at least once, (at least to see what all the talk is about.) There are two large townships on the island, Phuket town to the South, (which has the most history,) and Phatong on the West coast. The latter was geographically closer to us in Surin Bay, and motor-scootering there was only about a 30 minute journey. Outside of picking up a few souvenirs and purchasing books from "Bookazine," it really didn't offer much to us personally, (or in the way of peace and quite.) However, for those looking for night life, tattoos, or tailored clothing, this is the place to come. We took the opportunity on two, separate days and rode into Phatong, making use of the beach for swimming and the clothing/trinket shops for souvenirs. I found, however, that the best deals lay not in shops, but on the beaches themselves. Thailand offers a unique way of picking up souvenirs, (much like China with it's street vendors,) and I came to prefer this method of "shopping" above all others. In any township, on any beach, you pay to use the big beach lounge chairs. Once you've gotten yourself set up, all laid out nice an comfy, this unique Thai element begins to play out, and soon you are swarmed by merchants who walk up and down the shore... searching for that would-be buyer. In a way, I prefer this over going from shop to shop for a couple of reasons. First, the price is usually better on the beach because it is only you and the seller in the barter-dome! Secondly, they only show you what you can carry, so it's easy to avoid sensory overload, which has always helped me to make a clearer decision on a given purchase.


Bang Tao & Kamala reside North and South of Surin Bay, respectively. Both offer a taste of typical Thai life, with all the expected amenities and traffic congestion. We didn't spend much time in either place, but did make Bang Tao our regular fuel stop for our motor-scooters, which is a pretty great experience in itself. Our gas-guy owned a little stand, made of bamboo and palm leaves set up on the side of the road. If you needed fuel you'd pulled up, opened your tank, grab one of the fifty, one liter recycled glass bottles, once suspected of holding rum but which now contained petrol, and which stand tall, eagerly awaiting your arrival. The price was 30 Baht per one liter, or about .75 cents USD, which, when added to the cost of rent said scooters for 5 days, (3,500 Baht, or, roughly $100 USD,) becomes clear in it's advantage.


While I sound excited about the whole motor-scooter renting I must stress one thing. There is more of a chance for accidents here than in the U.S., and most of them turn out to be fatal. We became very grateful one afternoon when, most unfortunately, my husband hit some gravel on the side of the road and went down. While it scared the living hell out of us, we were relieved that little Harley was riding on the back of my bike with me. Very thankfully, Harley's injuries were minor, and a wonderful man pulled over with us to make sure he was all right. He lead us to the hospital in Kamala where the resident Doctor did a fantastic job digging out the gravel and patching Harley up. Reminded instantly once again that this is this sector which sees the most fatalities to tourists, I was happy to return to the Inn and hand the bikes back over to the people we rented them from, but Harley wouldn't hear of it. So, away we went, continuing on down the road to Phatong, bandages and all, wiser, more cautious!

Our dear friend, Mai who owns the Surin Bay Inn where we stayed, took advantage of her day off and drove us and two other friends to the southern portion of Phuket to have lunch and explore the two biggest tourist destinations. The Phuket Giant Buddha sits atop a mountain just north of Phuket town, and provides stunning views of the entire southern portion of the island. It was here that we ran into our good friend and travel buddy, Richard Margetson, who had planned to meet up with us later in the week in Surin Bay. After a good laugh about our cosmic encounter, we headed our separate ways, knowing we'd see each other again the next day. Our next stop was to the main Buddhist Temple in Phuket. It's always wonderful to walk around such sacred places, to feel the energy and share in the silence with all in attendance. One of our days trip mates brought along her VERY NICE camera, and shared all the photos she shot that day with us, via DVD. (Both the intro photo and this photo were shot by her!)


For all of it's ups and downs, it's memories both current and fading, and it's cosmic, chance encounters, Thailand was an amazing experience, and on the whole made for a fantastic (albeit road-raspy,) vacation that we hope to enjoy again... someday!

Love and Blessings,
Harley, Lisa & Harley