Buddha watches over the people of Thailand. Peaceful, content daily lives. Strong family life that promotes togetherness and strong work ethics. Even though daily life is not easy in this poor country, people seem happy and generous with a nod and a smile.
  Many Thai people speak some English and were not afraid to engage with us, even if the communication was difficult. We found the language barrier not a major problem during our stay.

When booking our holiday travel, we chose an Air B&B away from the tourist areas of Phuket.

Living amongst the locals, is how we like to stay. The condominium was clean, comfortable and the pool was refreshingly cool. With temperatures in the 90’s, feeling 100+ with humidity, a relaxing dip in the pool was very welcomed all times of the day. Our condo included the use of a scooter which we chose not to use. We decided not to use it since it seemed a little irresponsible without an international license and/or insurance. Walking proved to be very difficult during our visit. Nobody walks here. No matter how short of a distance, everyone jumps on their scooter. We saw entire families (dad, mom, toddler and infant) all on ONE scooter and no helmets of course. Scooters far outnumber cars in Thailand. If I were to guess, I would say 80% use scooters compared to 20% cars/trucks. The scooters park wherever, generally on any sidewalk and we found that when we were walking on a sidewalk, we were considered being in their way! A friendly “beep beep” would signal us to move.They weave in and out of traffic appearing to not follow the same rules of the road as cars. We were told that there is a high accident rate for scooter riders…..probably good we passed on using one. Next time we will come prepared with International Licenses and Travel Insurance. “When in Rome”.

Our Air B&B owner was very helpful. He connected us with a taxi driver named Richard.  A humble family man that understood customer service. He spent an entire day touring us around to  all the important cultural sites.  My favorite was the big Buddha on the mountain top.  Still under construction, it is quite an enormous piece of art and strolling through the grounds hearing the amazing chatting of the monks, brings such a feeling of peace and contentment.

Definitely would like to revisit once the monument is complete.

The food, well it was amazingly good. Thai food is probably my favorite at home and abroad.  It was nice to find a local coffee shop that we could enjoy a cup and watch the locals go about their daily routines. One routine we liked to participate in was going to the local outdoor market. Both a wet market as well as fruits and vegetables. Not only do you see things that you wouldn’t see in our local markets, but the smells can be overwhelming at times.

If planning a visit, it is best to visit early in the day before it gets too hot!  We met a young lady that spoke fairly good English.  She had a wonderful smile and enjoyed talking with us. She sold fruit. Amazing fruit. We would pick out our mangoes, papaya, passion fruit and whole pineapples. They would core and slice each with great skill.  Our bags were full and we left with enough fruit for three days of breakfasts and all for $5.  Oh how I will miss our morning market visits.

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We did experience the crazy nightlife of Phuket’s Bangla Road and Patong Beach.  There is not much to say about this crazy tourist area. Just that it is something that needs to be experienced…..but probably only once.

Coming from a colder climate, it took us a bit to acclimate to the heat and humidity.  If given the choice, I would still choose the heat over a cold climate.  There is something about wearing shorts and flip flops every day. Now my hair is a complete different story! I don’t know if it will ever get used to this weather.

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Our week exploring Thailand was very enjoyable.  Even though we only got a taste of what Thailand has to offer, we know we would like to return and learn more about the Thai people and lifestyle.