Sunday, September 28, 2008

So far so good!

It was so beautiful flying in to Phuket, which made me realise I'd never arrived this way before. The sun was just beginning to set and a scattering of limestone cliffs and lush green mountains could be seen protruding from the ocean with great gusto. Stunning. Hopefully we can visit this area sometime to see it up close.

We stayed in Phuket Town for the first night, waking early the next morning to explore the island and work out what's what and who's where. Our eyes were wide and sparkling with excitement as we headed south on the scoot around the coastal road. We wanted to stop every time we saw a 'house for rent' advertisement (which would mean every 5 minutes so we had to restrain ourselves somewhat!). We cruised through Chalong, Rawai, Kata, Karon, and finally Patong before heading back into town.
It was clear we'd been on the bike far too long when we began to snip at each other in our attempts to navigate the poorly signposted streets of Phuket Town. Trying to find our way back to the hotel under the screaming sun, with our tummies rumbling, was not the way to do it! (Phuket is so much bigger than Koh Phangan!). We made it with just enough time to pack up and check out.

The last time we came to Phuket we literally went straight to Patong Beach and stayed one night before jumping on a live aboard dive boat for three days to the Similian Islands (best diving experience either of us have had by the way!). We really hadn't seen Phuket at all so it's been really cool to see more of the island.

I'm pleased to announce that this is the one.

Kata had captured my soul from the moment I saw it. With its gorgeous white sand beach surrounded by hill top vistas, coconut groves, banana trees, and a funky wee town (how could it not have?). In the pic below the first two bays you see are Kata, then Karon, and Patong is over the next hill.


We've found a cool place to stay in Kata for the mean time and with low season prices it's a great deal. The Sugar Palm (I keep calling it sugar plum by accident, I just can't help it) has double rooms for 800 baht a night (approx. NZ$35) and there's high speed wireless internet (like actual high speed not same same high speed). So we're both chuffed and here I am merrily blogging into the wee hours of the evening.



Oh and the Phuket Vegetarian Festival has started so we have our white clothes ready to roll!

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