Phuket, Thailand, pt. 2: "Tuk-Tuks & Sunsets"

In the last post, I told you all about time we spent in the water in Thailand. In this second post on Thailand, I'll tell you all about our adventures on land.
In the three days leading up to our trip to Phuket, I (Brad) was away at High School camp. I had a great time with the kids, but after 2 nights at camp, I was pretty tired. We had planned this trip to be a relaxing "getaway," and so we selected a hotel suited to that purpose.

We chose the "Sugar Palm Grand Hillside" in Kata Beach, Phuket. The hotel was very trendy, with lots of glass and concrete, but for me the most exciting feature was the pool. Our room's balcony (pictured below) was adjacent to one of the hotel's 11 pools, and there was a pool-access ladder right there on our patio. Each morning when we got up, we were able to roll out of bed and straight into the pool.
Although Tuk-tuks (see picture below) can be a bit hair-raising, they are also a blast. Given the option between taxi and tuk-tuk, I will pick a tuk-tuk every time, even if it's more expensive. The reason is a bit difficult to articulate as there are a lot of factors that make a tuk-tuk ride enjoyable. The sputtering staccato of the motorcycle engine, the warm wind that whips through the 3 open sides of the cab, and the sense of total freedom you can only experience in a sheet-metal box without seatbelts as you careen around corners and shoot through gaps in traffic. There should be a box on life insurance policies that asks, "how often do you ride in tuk-tuks?" It would probably be listed in the same category as tobacco use.


Our hotel was located in Kata Beach, which is a quiet town by Phuket standards. There are bars, hotels, and massage parlors like anywhere else, but the town definitely lacks that hedonistic element that most people think of when they hear the word "Phuket." For that sort of thing, you have to go to the town of Patong, which is about 15 kilometers north of Kata Beach. We visited Patong one afternoon to buy a wetsuit for Brad (see photos in "Pt. 1" of our Thailand story), and were glad we had chosen to stay elsewhere.
On our last night in Phuket, we went down to the beach to watch the sun set. As mentioned earlier, Emily was convinced that the sunsets we saw in Phuket were the most colorful she'd ever seen. We had watched 2 days' worth of sunsets from the dive boat, both of which were breath-taking. I think the prettiest, though, was the one we saw from the beach in Kata.


After the sun went down, we continued to walk on the beach, and were approached by a man selling Thai "Sky Lanterns" for $3(US). A sky lantern is fairly simple. It's usually made of oiled rice paper with a candle inside. Once lit, the candle fills the lantern with hot air, causing it to rise. Feeling impulsive, we paid for a lantern, lit the candle, and watched it soar. It went surprisingly high, and eventually disappeared from view.


A lot of the trips that we've gone on in the last several years have been all about sightseeing: cramming in as many historical/cultural sights as possible. For this vacation, we decided not to visit any temples, museums, or historical sights. Instead, we swam, dove, ate, and slept in. We've decided that it is impossible to relax if your vacation runs at the same crazy pace as the rest of your life.

Here's your question if you'd like to comment: What sorts of tips can you share on how to return from vacation feeling well-rested?