Thursday

Thursday morning we did the normal routine. Up before dawn with our in house rooster. Breakfast, than pool and beach.

After lunch we decided to see some local sites. We had two choices - go to another resort area, or go more local. We opted for local and took a taxi into the downtown area of Phuket (old Phuket).

Getting there is interesting. They don't really have licensed taxis, so you do your best to find someone who looks reputable. In our case we grabbed one from the hotel trusting that the hotel would only use reputable people. I think that anyone on any day can be a taxi. The ride was about 30 minutes and was another white knuckler full of gas pedal, brake pedal, shifting, honking, land changes, and talking. Better that any thrill ride. Once downtown the driver offered to wait for us and we took him up on it. We had about 90 minutes to explore. The cars have no meters so you negotiate a price.

Unfortunately all I really know about SE Asia is what I have seen in Vietnam era movies, so the downtown area looked pretty much like I expected. It was particularly difficult to get around with Sean in a stroller. There are no sidewalks and there are cars/scooter zipping everywhere. We had a great time looking around and shopping. We even found a place to cool off and grab some ice cream.

I enjoyed looking around and noted what a contrast it was from the relatively "ritzy" resort areas.

We found our driver and were glad to make it back to the resort safe and sound. We had a baby sitter again on Thursday so after watching a great sunset we went back to the same restaurant on the cliff that we went to on Tuesday night. It was our farewell dinner.

Wednesday

We stayed on the resort Wednesday. I know, very tough. It was a day of alternating between pool and beach. Tracy also spent the afternoon at the spa to unwind from our very hectic past couple days. She seemed to really enjoy it. Sean woke us up just before sunrise again. He and I went for a walk on the beach to watch the sunrise. Its a good way to start the day.

For dinner I found a local cafe and we just ordered a ton of Thai takeout food. It was great.

Very nice hump day.

Tuesday

We mixed things up a bit on Tuesday by deciding to leave the beach. I signed us up for an elephant ride out on top of one of the mountains. It was very cool.

It was about a 40 minute drive, the second part of it was by old school land cruiser up the mountain. No paved roads here.

The elephants were really cool, and partially terrifying. They throw a few rugs on the back of the animal and then strap what looks like a ski lift chair on top of the rugs. The whole thing is held on with a couple ropes. We did an hour long ride along the side of the mountain with some stops at scenic overlooks for photos.

Sean stayed awake for about 10 minutes then fell fast asleep. Poor Tracy had a death grip on Sean while trying to keep herself in the seat and also enjoy the ride.

We got back that afternoon and hung out at the pool and also the beach. I also gave the jet skis a try. That was also very fun.

Tuesday night we also had a babysitter and tried a local restaurant off our resort - a friend had recommended it. To get to the place you actually have to climb a set of stairs built into the cliff at the North end of the beach. The place was on top of the cliff overlooking the beach. Great scenery and great food.

Monday

Monday was almost a carbon copy of Sunday. Only differences were that we spent more time at the pool than the beach and we also had a dinner without the munchkin.

We have lined up a baby sitter for several nights this week including Monday night. Its the lady who cleans our room during the day. She seems very nice. When we came home last night she had actually cleaned up the place, bonus! Strangely she was also sitting on the floor next to the bed. The room has a big bed, couch, dining room table with two chairs, and also furniture on the porch. All that and she chose the floor, interesting.

We also ventured briefly off the resort on Monday just to check out some of the local shops. We really hope to spend more time off the ranch before we leave but its difficult with the little guy.

Sean is still having a blast. He is loving the water and shows no fear.

Sunday

There is a two hour time difference between here and Japan so Sean woke us up before sunrise. We were glad he did. We got up early, watched the sunrise, and grabbed an early breakfast. After that we went back to our room, loaded up, and headed down to the beach (its a long 50 foot walk).
We spent the day alternating between the ocean and the pool. Sean seems to love both. He likes to play in the sand and also likes to sit in my lap at the edge of the ocean and laugh at the waves as they come in. He got mad at a couple big ones that splashed him in the face.

We had lunch delivered to our beach chairs. After lunch more ocean and pool. Not a bad way to spend a day.

The beach here is great. We are on a small secluded beach that is only maybe 0.5 miles long. This is the only resort directly on the beach. Its quiet and a great place for Sean to run around. The waves are the biggest I have seen, just big enough to keep you on your toes.

One interesting thing that we learned is that the follow European rules for sunbathing here (less tan lines). That is a bit of a surprise when you are not expecting it! Now after one day you don't even notice it.

We did a low key dinner with Sean at one of the restaurants on the resort.

A great start to the week.

Arrived

Saturday was a long day but we made it here just fine. Actually it went better than we could have hoped thanks to Sean.

We had a full day of travel. An hour drive to the airport, a six hour flight to Bangkok, a two hour layover, a one hour flight to Phuket, and then a one hour car ride to the resort. Phew.

Luckily on both flights we sat in an empty row of three. Sean had plenty of room to maneuver around. He was really good on the flights - absolutely no crying. If he started to get cranky we could throw some cartoons and zone him out for a little while.

The resort is fabulous. More on that later.

Also, it seems as if the Thai people might like babies even more than the Japanese. Sean is not lacking any attention here.