Thailand Adventures Part 3
After settling into our beautiful hotel for the remainder of our Thailand holiday, we decided to get to know Phuket.
Upon arrival it was way more busy than we expected, I guess its one of them scenarios when you just don't really know what to expect at all until your there.
Our taxi took around an hour to get from the airport to our hotel in Kata and cost 600 Baht we did get ripped of as we later found out, it should have been around 150 Baht, make sure the meter is on, if they decide to pop their hat over it and give a random price get out and look for another one.
We had booked to stay at the Hotel Baan Kongdee Sunset Resort as mentioned in part two, it was a little out-of-the-way, just so we were not situated slap bang in the middle of it all. upon arrival at our hotel, we were greeted by an extremely steep hill, one that I`m sure we're never going to forget.
The hotel was lovely, what an amazing view we had from our apartment. The hotel owners were really helpful and friendly, they offer to take their guests to town and back every day for free in a type of taxi van, I guess they are quite sympathetic about the hill.
We couldn't fault our apartment, it had a small pool, amazing scenery and modern interior equipped with all you need, towels, kettle, fresh linen, all the essentials really.
The hotel was not too pricey, I would suggest when booking use Opodo in the incognito screen, prices will stay the same whilst searching, as when you look for a hotel price without this it recognises your search making it dearer every time you revisit the site to book, a little tip for wherever or whenever you want cheaper prices.
The picture shows how high up we were and what we had to walk up daily, the road carried on a long way until you reach the bottom, we actually had to lean back walking down it.
Coming up the hill was, well let me say slow, in that heat at the end of the day its hell. The Tuck Tucks also refuse to go up it as they have rather small engines that just don't have the power to get to the top, so they quickly speed of when you mention Baan Kongdee Sunset Resort.
Once we were settled in, we decided to check out the ever famous Karon and Kata Beach which were situated quite close to each other.
If you're a lover of beaches like me then you're sure as hell going to love this beach. Miles and miles of white sand that slips through your toes without any effort.
You're not stuck for a room on it either that's for sure. Find your spot and then feast your eyes on the ocean, yup, the Andaman Sea will take your breath away. Normally we potter around when entering the ocean as we can be a little wimpish, here we had no need to, straight in we went.
Never had we been able to just walk into the ocean and swim straight out, absolutely perfect. It's a little like heaven, crystal clear water and heavenly beaches to sit for as long as you want with no hassle from anyone, well maybe the odd man selling fruit but who doesn't want that when it's so hot, you really do need to keep hydrated as it is around 37 Celsius in January, ( Kata Beach sea temperatures peak in the range 29 to 31°C (84 to 88°F) on around the 24th of April and are at their minimum on about the 1st of January, in the range 27 to 29°C (81 to 84°F).
So water, fruit and the regular swim to keep cool is the best way. I would say if your travelling with youngsters, position yourself under the trees that line the beach roadside, its perfect shading and you're also close to stalls selling refreshments.
The beaches are plentiful, Kata Noi is a beach on the southwest side of the island of Phuket in Thailand. It is adjacent to Kata Beach to the south.
Again, another beautiful beach where you can lazy about until the skies turn pink with fabulous sunsets. So, for all you photography lovers ( like my husband) get yourself positioned and wait, it will be well worth it.
You will see lots of people flocking to the beach edge with their selfie sticks, they all wanna grab that perfect picture for Instagram I guess.
Our favourite had to be Surin Beach. Where the rich and famous hang out. I must admit upon arrival the look of the beach was one to die for, it went on for miles.
Before we came to Thailand we had images in our mind of deserted beaches with nothing but little dirt paths with the odd farm animal, we were wrong ( that's more like the small islands of Koh Samui), Surin was 10/ 10 for us.
If you ever sit there whilst at work dreaming and wishing you were on a blissful beach with a short walk into glistening, clear warm water that laps at your body whilst taking in the view of million pound yachts, then this is the place for you.
The beach on the roadside is lined with around twenty huts all selling different bits and bobs, including food such as Pad Thai, kebab, fresh melon, smoothies in a bag and snacks for the kids.
If you carry on walking past them and head on as far as the rocks you can climb over them and see in the distance a private beach for the rich, with chalets hidden within the trees, dotted around the hillside, sheer heaven, that's where we're heading next time haha, nothing wrong with a little positive thinking hey!
Now I have informed you about some of the best beaches in Kata, I'm now going to let you know about the Green Elephant Sanctuary we spent half a day at. We had always wanted to see the Elephants in Thailand, so this was our chance.
What we didn't want was to see them chained up at the side of the road, where people are able to ride them. Really, this happens a lot in Thailand, it's really not right. We wanted to see them in their own environment where they are happy and well looked after.
We searched and found this one which after having a read up it took our fancy. We booked a half day excursion for around £158 for two adult and one teenager, in Baht it is 6,900, sounds really expensive that way but really not bad at all for what you get.
We were picked up at 9 am at the end of our road, and was greeted by the excursion driver and a few more passengers ready for the trip.
We travelled for around an hour and a half, it was a little long but hey ho. Upon arrival we were introduced to the owners and workers of the sanctuary, we sat and listened to how they got started and took on board information about the Elephants and where they had come from. We were happy straight from the beginning as these Elephants were clearly well looked after.
They actually save them from bad environments and have them carefully transported to this sanctuary. No one is allowed to ride them, no Elephants are chained up, they have their own sleeping area, and lots of freedom to eat, walk and wash whenever they want to. Its how it should be.
Once we had been briefed as to what we would be doing we got stuck in. We all had swimwear, fresh drinking water and cameras, for some great shots.
The half-day consisted of feeding the Elephants Bananas and Pineapples, we could have pictures taken of us feeding them if we wanted, we then head over to the huge pools where we would wash them and scrub their bodies with mud, as Elephants really love this.
After a full on mud bath, onto the next pool to wash it all off in a huge shower, they really do love a good pampering. There were three adult Elephants and one baby. The cutest we had ever seen.
After playing with the Elephants and making sure they were cooled off in the pools we headed over for lunch. We had a buffet lunch with chicken wings, rice, fresh veg and fruit. The drinks were available to hand as and when we wanted one as was ice creams.
We all sat together as a group under a large straw hut. It was great, very clean with friendly people, and definitely some tasty food.
The excursion is suitable for kids age five and up we would say for obvious reasons, water, huge animals, and lots going on, don't want them young ones having an accident of some kind.
Take hats and wear factor 50 it's really hot with not much breeze in that area. If your ever in Thailand check these guys out, you won't regret it at all. The whole trip lasted five hours, well worth the money. Check out this video we grabbed its brilliant, and give us a thumbs up :)
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC6cloAHuzE[/embed]
Another we had to check out whilst in Kata was the FlowRider Surf Machine. Situated just opposite Kata Beach with a Bar/Restaurant with plenty of tables and an upstairs for easy watching, we loved it, it was such fun watching the learner surfers and also, of course, the pro surfers.
They have teachers for the kids and adult learners, and to our surprise, they only charge 1000 Baht for two hours, not bad at all and believe me you're exhausted after your done.
The food is great the variety of food is quite large, lots to feast on. Cocktails are plentiful, so if you wanna treat yourself feel free too. Its open from morning till late with a DJ some weekends and other times it just has generally good vibes. The atmosphere is brilliant you sure will have a great time here.
I hope you have enjoyed part 3 as much as I have enjoyed reminiscing and writing this blog, we have lots more to share with you so keep your eye out for part 4!
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