I have officially discovered my favorite tropical Asian country (and I apparently have a complex now because I just said that). Seriously though, the Philippines are beautiful and Indonesia is beautiful but Thailand is the MOST beautiful of the three. I was lucky enough to finally have a vacation while travelling. There was still plenty of exploring, but I also had three days of relaxation, sun and petting exotic animals. Anna's friend got us an incredible discount on a beautiful resort tucked away in a quiet area of the island, which was a wonderful treat after the stress of finals was over. We got to sample the diverse range of activities that Phuket has to offer and enjoyed every minute of our short trip. While I am very sad that we only had three days in Thailand, I will definitely be back one day. Here are some of the many highlights of the trip:
- Elephant trekking: I underestimated the size of the elephants! They are huge. They are such sweet creatures, though and we had so much fun riding them through the hills of Panwa. The views we saw were amazing and it was an incredible experience.
- Phuket Town Weekend Market: Our lovely worker at the hotel mentioned that there was a Sunday market in Phuket Town. We rearranged our plans a bit to check it out, not really knowing what to expect. I am so happy that we did because this was the best market I have been to in ALL of Asia thus far (and I have been to MANY markets). It was huge! We wandered through rows of clothes, accessories and souvenirs. Everything was super cute and super cheap. It felt like a blessing and a curse that it was only on Sunday, because I could have burned a hole in my wallet there for the next two days. After we shopped our way through half of the market, we ate our way through the rest of it. Some of the food was just plain gross (sushi sitting in the BLAZING heat all day and deep fried bugs) but we managed to find more than enough delicious snacks to fill us up. I had potato twisters, fried ice cream, and a Thailand kebob.
- Tiger Kingdom: Tiger Kingdom was the first thing that I ever put on my bucket list so it was incredible that I actually completed it. It was definitely scary but we had two trainers in the cage with us. The first tiger was passed out so we got to warm up to the idea that we were in a cage petting tigers before we met the second tiger. He was wide awake and ready to play (or pounce at the tiger in the cage across from us) and I was much more scared of him.
- Patong: Patong was very interesting...I saw some things that I wish I could unsee in Patong, but it is all part of the experience. Patong is one of the most famous cities in Thailand, all because of the Bangla Road nightlife. Bangla Road is a street full of bars and shows (that you really won't find anywhere else) that attract people from all over. It is very lively and was great for me to experience but I am certainly not the target audience for Patong nightlife.
- The food: I really don't hate Asian food (just Chinese and Vietnamese). Thailand food is delicious, especially the sweets. I was so nervous to eat the Pad Thai in Thailand because I thought it was going to be like my experience with Chinese food (it tastes wonderful in America and horrible in China) but I was all wrong. It actually tasted AMAZING and I ended up living off of it during my trip.
- Sun and sea: Staying at the resort was amazing. We got to lounge in beach chairs beside our infinity pool overlooking the beach. It kept the sand and sand crabs away from me while I still got the gorgeous views of Phuket's beaches.
In short, Thailand was truly amazing. The people are all so kind and the views are gorgeous. I had so many unforgettable experiences and made memories that will last me a lifetime. This country will definitely hold a special place in my heart forever.
Here are two of my favorite pictures of the trip. I just had to include two of my once in a lifetime petting zoo moments!