Phuket, Thailand

February 18th, we departed on our adventure to Thailand and Vietnam, the first vacation in 12 years without our own ride. Two carry on bags and smile from ear to ear is all we were bringing.

We flu to Thailand via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific.

I thought it was a very comfortable ride, considering we were in transit for over 25 hours.

We had our choice of window seats as we flew over the water and islands before landing in Phuket.

The first day in Phuket we arrived at 11:30 am got a room and started our sight seeing promptly. We hired a Tuk Tuk and saw the sights of Phuket town for 1 1/2 hours all for 5 dollars.

Our Tuk Tuk driver, Chia, and Ken down at the port in Phuket town after checking out some markets, the old town, and a view point of the city all the while he is giving us a little commentary/tutorial.

After our tour with Chia we came across a parade, it seems it was "Phuket days" and the people were celebrating with costumes, traditional and new music and FOOD (we are really liking this part about Thailand), all indigenous to the area.

A family steps out to see the festivities in the family wagon, complete with baby seat.

The view of Phuket town from a viewpoint, I love the fact that city has loads of green space.

Ken and I took a tour to Phi Phi Island, a bit of a zoo with tour boats everywhere...

but the sights were really breathtaking!

We found a fish market one day that is run by one of the aboriginal tribes of Thailand. You can buy the fish direct from their fishermen and then take them across the road and a restaurant will cook it for you. You just can't too much fresher than that!

One of the industries here on Phuket island is rubber tapping. They use the rubber to make neoprene for wetsuits.

One of our trusty steeds. This one in brand new. Ken does the driving, after all our adventures with me on the back it just wouldn't be right for me to be on the front riding the wrong side of the road (that would be the left side Andy and Allison), beside who can afford another 6 dollars a day for my own bike!

Behind Ken if you look hard you can see Phukets islands biggest waterfall, they charged us around $14.00 to walk the 10 minutes to see it, hmmm.

It is extremely humid here and we are finding we need to replace fluids constantly. Although we are drinking more than our fair share of water, Ken has found a new favorite in a Mango shake (really a mango slushy) and I have been known to have developed a taste for iced green tea.

Now we don't know this guy but he is having a real good time with young ladies down on Banger Street in Phatong. The only catch is that these beauties actually of the male variety...complete with the knockers and many minus ??? with a little nip and tuck!

Oh yes, here is the the area around our pool where I do a little yoga in the morning and have a little dip before breakfast of fruit and yogurt or a couple hard boiled eggs and toast. We started eating Thai for breakfast when we first arrived but I just can't quite get used to curry and rice first thing in the morning. After breakfast we chill a little with a book before heading out on the scooter for a tour of the island, snorkeling or just riding to feel the wind cool our sweaty bodies, on average we have about 4 dips in the pool, and 3 or 4 showers a day. I love the humidity, it makes the skin feel great, no wonder the Thai women have such beautiful skin.

Speaking of the Thai women, we can't quite figure this whole situation out here with the mostly older men from every corner of the world and the Thai women beside them. They don't seem too happy, can life be so bad here as a women? I can't figure out which is worse- to sell yourself short for what you think is a better life or to take the life from someone who is doesn't know any better. I guess they have been doing it for a long time and it is not mine to understand. And I am not even going anywhere near the girly-boy thing!

Oh yes, the food! The food is nothing short of amazing. We have literally ate somewhere and thing different every meal, OH MY GOD! Noodles, rice, soup, banana pancakes, seafood, chicken or pork. We are averaging about $3 to $7 for the two of us for dinner, $3 for lunch and even less for breakfast. Our rooms have averaged $15 to $20 a night (with a pool, a/c and hot water-although cool water is great), $3 to $7 a day for a scooter. We have treated ourselves one night to an hour body massage, $10 each in our own little corner of heaven, I could get used to that!

Why is Ken steaming? Why is he so HOT? Why does he look so happy?

Because he is hot, happy and steaming with body heat caused by our afternoon x-country skiing into Peachland Lake and back. Notice how low the waterline is, usually the picnic tables (which are mostly buried in snow) are only a few feet above the water and now they are about 10-12 feet. If you look real close you may be able to see a moose that was up on the hill in the background.

We packed in some dry wood and lunch, which consisted of smokies on a bun, pepperoni and some nuts, we built a fire and enjoyed the bit of sun that shone through the clouds and the mild temperatures.

You see, what a great day. How could you not be happy. Life is good on a Canadian winter day in the snow and cold. What a great day!

Oh by the way, stay tuned...we leave in 5 days for one month in Thailand and one month in Vietnam. Hah the warmth!!! :)