We needed a low key day after our Christmas sun filled adventure. I listed off ideas of possibilities to the girls and Zoe took the lead on making the decision to go to the Phuket Botanical Gardens and then to the night markets.
I found discount tickets online at a new site called Headout. Cut my price on this and the Siam Niramit show by a third! Nice find. Check it out!
Upon arriving Zoe made friends with the fish.
Such a beautiful entrance.
Zoe got inside the heart for a quick pose. I remember taking a selfie here back in May 🙂 So different having loved ones to share it all with! And they totally get it.
I dared them to walk on this rickety walkway above the mucky ground.
What I am surrounded by with them both here!
Look mom- no hands!
Orchids here are unbelievable.
I can’t imagine having professional photos taken here. The iphone captures I walked away with are priceless.
The bonsai garden. Zoe blended in wearing her olive crochet tank.
The gold and orange tones with the green. Do you appreciate it?
A museum piece.
We fed these guys and dang are they all fighting for a bite!
Seflie shot.
Surrounded by creativity even with the design of the planters.
Sedona looks gorgeous next to the blue tile in her Phuket shibori tank
These leaves are a natural fan.
Zoe refreshing in the waterfall.
A beautiful natural shot. I love this garden.
I mean seriously!> She was glaring at me for snapping her photo and I swear it’s the best photo!
After the botanical gardens we decided to hit Chilva night market. Shopping here is a site on its own with a variety of items you will never find elsewhere.
These earrings were tiny fruits and veggies as well as boxes of local foods.
Zoe wanted this mini purse.
The girls taking in the view from above.
These donuts smelled so good I had to stop. They offered options with hot dogs inside , crab meat, nutella, peanut butter, and other amazing assortments.
Zoe opted for strawberry to match her dress.
Wasn’t too busy.
Afterwards we headed to Phuket Town again. We stopped in the mixology bar to test out a few unique cocktails. Each were more unbelievable than the next! Wish we could have tried them all! The flavors always included very odd ingredients and the way the taste moved through your mouth, tough to describe.
The mastermind bartender behind them all. Watching him work was fun! One of the best I am sure in Phuket.
Our cocktails.
Old town at night is filled with restored architecture in fun colors.
Zoe blending in with the pink building.
Getting ready for the New Year’s count down. We tried to stop by to see Mimi but the Art C was already closed up for the night.
The girls got in late Christmas Eve from the Philippines, but we managed to toast Christmas with a bottle of champagne, a pasta dinner (finally go the electric range working! thanks to Virlane and Zoe) and some pound cake dessert. Opened our very simplistic gifts- one each. All memory books.
Love that our time and money was not wasted this year on material things. But rather I am blowing my fortune creating new memories here with my girls!
As Mastercard says= priceless$$
Took this photo intending to send out Christmas postcards, but then realizing that wasn’t going to happen. So this is our Merry Christmas photo!
I purchased pound cake and fresh berries as a special Christmas dessert. Ode to Lambert who usually always makes homemade pound cake for us when we visit!
Zoe being goofy with our empty champagne bottle and her favorite Santa glasses.
I even found party crackers here so we were able to wear our paper crowns! Sedona was in her pjs and refused to be in the photos. In case you are wondering where she is.
Christmas morning was a slow start but we managed to get out as planned to the Blue Tree Resort. It was totally worth the $ as we explored the place for 4+ hours. All activities were accessible to us and we went cliff jumping, paddle boarding and I went down a few kiddy water slides. There was a large group of 75 thai boxing students which was a tad intimidating as they cheered each other down the huge death defying water slide.
I spoke to one Aussie woman at the bar who said she calculated the risks and was not going to dare go down the waterslide. The man with her said, we just need to get more beers in her. I really wanted to do it, but didn’t dare with a crowd watching and seeing other people smack to a point of no return.
We noticed the life guards only swam out for the ladies. And Zoe and Sedona were closely watched while swimming in the deep end. They take their jobs seriously here!
Started Christmas morning at our Condo Mine cafe with our usual iced coffee drinks.
We found a spot to sit at the resort away from all the crowds but with a beautiful view of the mountains.
View from the zip line that we never got to experience since it broke down one person ahead of us!
Private party pads. Would be so fun with a big group!
Found this colorful hang out spot complete with bar!
Sassy and happy! Such a beautiful day!
Sedona conquered her fear of heights being coaxed by a local to not go home with regrets. I was so proud of her! She really did NOT want to do it.
Meanwhile Zoe jumped several times and then we both went off the higher one! Was amazingly scary and fun at the same time! This is Zoe mid jump.
We walked around the entire resort. It was not very crowded which was nice.
Zoe and Sedona were such good sports about posing so I could capture the moments!
Mojitos were an afternoon delight! This waterpark was a perfect retreat for our Christmas Day!
Paradise Beach was a must see on our to do and Zoe was ready to conquer the most dangerous mountain- Patong Hill with Tia. After stuffing our faces with a huge breakfast we set off to cross to the other side of the island.
Paid the extra for a chair in the shade.
Poor Sedona cut her foot on some of the coral under the water. So in twin style, Zoe came to her rescue with a beer!
I love this photo so much because it reminds me of when they were little together.
The girls bought me a mini Stretch Armstrong for Christmas. He will soon have a blog of his own 🙂 Here they are posing with him. I love their humor! (Santa Claus brought them a full sized Stretch last year for Christmas and Zoe claimed him as her boyfriend she had asked Santa for )
Capturing Sese’s laughter.
It was fun watching Zoe climb this rock.
Such a natural!
Had to prove mom could do it too!
I went snorkeling and felt like I was in an entirely new universe. I couldn’t believe the colorful fish that were swimming with us! It was like Finding Nemo. I had to have Zoe and Sedona try it! Was such a great experience.
The view on the other side.
We headed to Home Kitchen to catch the sunset. Zoe being her goofy self! She has the best expressions! So animated.
Sedona giving me her Frida eye. Stunning!
Sedona claimed she ordered a mixed fruit plate for dessert, and then this scrumptious hot fudge lava cake showed up complete with Christmas colored plating.
We watched the sun fade into the horizon again.
Doesn’t get better than this in life. I have to admit, having my daughters with me has been better than I ever imagined!
The twins took off this afternoon for Manila. They were harassed a bit at customs due to their passport photos looking nothing like them. Gotta admit they have done a lot of growing up in the past 5 years! But they made it out. Now keep positive prayers that they get into the Philippines and back without ending up in customs jail 🙂
We decided a beach day was in order so we adventured to Ao Yan Beach. On the way we stopped at the Kao Khad Viewpoint and took in the spectacular view of Chalong Bay and took a ton of photos. As we were doing so a local Thai guy swung by on his scooter and told us to follow him to a beach. So we did.
Selfie at the viewpoint.
Zoe checking out the view.
I loved that they wore their elephant dresses that I bought for them. It took me back to when they were kids and I would dress them alike but in different colors.
Weather is perfect.
Made it to the beach where there was literally not a single person in sight. This location the guy led us to was in front of a private mansion with nobody home. Captured the girls being kids again. As usual teasing and splashing each other.
I wanted to take the girls to the The Cove, which is a restaurant right on the beach, with a two for one happy hour. It’s a bit pricey, but worth the view.
Don’t you love the natural driftwood Christmas display?
Love having them with me.
I took a photo of Chow (what he told us to call him) to document him 🙂 Just in case. After lunch we ditched him and headed to Promthep View Point to watch the sunset. We were already down in the southeast part of the island and this viewpoint was as far south as you could go on Phuket.
Huge spirit tree at the viewpoint.
And this amazing shrine of elephants I hadn’t noticed somehow before!
Backdrop almost looks fake.
Everyone was lined up to watch the sun go down.
This photo of course does not do it justice.
The girls enjoying their days.
We have one last day together before they head to the Philippines to meet their friend they have known and chatted with for 8 years via the worldwide web. Will be an amazing experience for them! I have experienced the value of internet friendships through Cambly and utilizing it to keep my friendships alive back home.
Today was a bitter sweet day for me. It will be the last time I will see Virlane for awhile as she heads to China and then off to permanently make a new start in Missouri. She read our cards and I sometimes hate how on target the messages can be!
One last photo together at a wonderful Italian roadside cafe.
After lunch we scootered to see the Kathu Waterfall. We had a show planned for later that evening and wanted to do something close by in the afternoon.
Forcing them to pose by the sign.
Hiked up a million stairs. Not sure which is more difficult, the steps or the incline of Monkey Hill. All of our legs were literally shaking once we finished the steps.
Next time I’m going to count them. I made an excuse to catch my breath, saying I wanted to snap a photo 🙂
Sedona daring to climb the rocks.
A great place to just chill and listen to the water.
Hard to believe we are in the jungles of Thailand together!
Going back down was a bit easier.
Appreciating the scale of the leaves.
We stopped on the way home from the waterfall on the road to nowhere so the kids could practice on the bigger scooter. Now that they have both mastered Tia, it was time to see if they could handle more power and possible ride duo. Sedona was killing it. I have a feeling a motorcycle is in her future. I am hoping mama bear here can stay home some evenings and let these girls adventure out. I love how much I trust my daughters and their strengths! So very proud of them.
Later we had tickets to see the Siam Niramet show. We got there early enough to check out their Thai interactive village. Was beautifully laid out with historic set- ups and education. Even food you could try.
Love the costumes of this sweet couple.
We watched how they made these fresh flower garlands.
A historic puppet show with the puppets made from punched dried leather.
Each venue was set up in tiny village houses you could wander through. A well thought out experience.
I love this shot with the clothes in the background and Zoe and Sedona wearing the Thai traditional beaded hats.
Zoe and her new earrings look perfect in front of this umbrella display!
A view from across the pond of one of the houses we walked through.
They even put on a Thai boxing match for us to see.
These guys are mighty flexible!
And were no joke going at it, even if it was just for show.
Zoe posing with them afterwards. Towering over them. I’m always fascinated by how thin the men are.
Was an awesome day today. Started off slow with me catching up on blogs this morning and enjoying an iced cappuccino at the Condo Cafe. Then we were picked up and loaded onto the back of a pick up truck and taken to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary Phuket which was only about 15 minutes from my place! Who knew?
This sanctuary house 3 middle aged elephants that were rescued from labor. We were taught all the differences between the African and Asian elephants.
It was very sad to see these gentle giants up close, knowing how poorly they had been treated previously. All of them were female, who had given birth, only to have their children taken away to be used for the riding or entertainment industry. Please never see a show that an elephant is in.
The truck took us to the top of this mountain with a beautiful view right next to Kathu waterfall.
Soon after arriving we saw them trekking up to where we were.
These two were sisters, age 40 and 42.
It was awesome to watch them eat. The pink on their ears and noses are age spots which is common in Asian elephants. I could relate.
The one sister kept stealing the food from the other. Was fun to watch the two interact. Eventually the one who was eating slower and getting her food taken, turned around and when the guides weren’t looking went and stole food from the bins where previously the workers were grabbing their bamboo from. She was kindly told to back it up after successfully snatching a nose full.
So cool seeing them together.
This photo was take before we were up close and personal with these gals.
They also taught us how to make paper out of elephant dung. Explaining the tons of elephant poop these animals produce daily and how they need to find some value in it. The obvious fertilizer was mentioned too.
The process of dung paper making.
We each got a bucket of watermelon and fed the elephants we had been assigned.
It was an amazing experience. These animals eat sooooo much! And will take anything sweet but nothing that is sour.
Zoe with my new facebook friend Doe”.
Their mouths are so strange up close. You never see their teeth.
Sedona was doing great with this elephant.
I’m sorry but the photos are just amazing. I had to share.
Zoe and Sedona became pals with this keeper in the orange shirt.
After sweet snacks, they were taken down for their mud baths.
The helpers at this place were amazingly fun. Sabai sabai!
Sedona pouring it on.
These three later were in a mud war together.
Reminds me of when they were kids with Claire next door.
They all had an excellent time! I stayed out of the way and took lead on photographing.
So glad I did! Was great capturing their joy.
Zoe happy as a pig in mud.
These bathed beauties were then led to the pool water to rinse off.
Zoe and Sedona’s elephant does not like the water so she wouldn’t lie down like the other two.
Scrubbing their 2.5 cm skin with a cleaning brush.
After the bath rinse, everyone wandered up to change clothes and shower. Then Doe gave us a cooking class and Sedona volunteered to help make salad. Was pretty cool to see and understand the ingredients that go into this and then later pad thai.
Sedona making papaya salad with Doe.
We ate an excellent traditional Thai dinner, all of it flavorful. Then Zoe sang some karaoke to the crowd, I kid you not! I have video but no photos.
The workers there made this day an incredible experience. They were fun, friendly, educated and caring. We told them we had no reason to do anything else in Phuket. This place had animals, swimming, cooking classes, beer and karaoke. What more could you want?!
We said our goodbyes and within minutes were back at the condo. Sedona wanted to go out some place since it wasn’t raining. So we headed to Phuket town to do some shopping!
Zoe and Sedona LOVED this town. Tomorrow morning I am going to test their skills on the bigger scooter to see if they are ready to adventure out on their own. God knows I cannot keep up! 🙂 They have so much energy!
Sadly the streets are not crowded at all. Tourism took a huge nose dive this year supposedly because the Thai dollar has gained strength and it’s no longer a cheap trip.
I took a photo of Zoe, taking a photo, and Sedona took a photo of me taking a photo of Zoe. We are all goof balls!
Zoe’s creative film eye caught this photo view.
Having a blast in Phuket town together!
The most iconic building in Phuket.
We headed to a roof top bar for a quick cocktail.
Cheers! This time Zoe drank water since she was in charge of Tia.
Such a perfect night.
Sedona being a mini me here!
Zoe happy as can be with Tia. They have become great friends. We all want scooters when we are back in the USA.
On the weather radar, unreliable I know, it said it was going to rain at 2 pm. We decided a beach day was not a great idea. Instead we motored out at 10 am and headed toward the Big Buddha. The Wat Chalong Temple was on the way, so we decided to stop in for a visit.
Turned out to be quite a sunny day.
Attempting selfies.
The infamous structure.
Beautiful landscaping.
Inside view of the temple.
Never forget to look up.
Or from different points of view.
Loved watching the girls walk amongst the gold statues.
Zoe was perfectly coordinating with the gold decor.
We weren’t sure if Tia was going to make it up the mountain to the Big Buddha so I kept an eye on Sedona in my rear view mirror. At one point she was quite far behind us and I was wondering if Tia was struggling. But in fact the key had fallen out of the ignition and Sedona was panicked. I thought we were going to have to drive back to get it but she was able to scoop it up off the street minus the pink helmet keychain 🙂 Always an adventure. Tia also coasts downhill and then you have to restart her once the road levels out. The girls are mastering her quirky personality and loving every minute.
We made it!
Incredible views.
So much larger in person.
We purchased a gold leaf and wrote our new year wishes on them and tied them to a tree.
Appears that it may have been a great beach day afterall.
Zoe took this shot of Sedona and I with Chalong Bay in the background.
Love this capture.
On the ride back down the mountain, we decided to stop for lunch at a roadside cafe with an incredible view. Zoe, being the rider again instead of the driver, opted for a pina colada.
We got some free entertainment watching a snake in the road get nicked by a car and us all routing for him to make it back to the jungle without getting hit again. He made it, but we are sure he’s dead in the end.
As I paid Zoe wandered down into the yard.
Since the rain didn’t start we decided to stop at the three monkeys cafe which is close to my condo.
View from the restaurant.
Drinks were quite extravaqant! I wanted to steal the three monkeys statue with the santa hat.
I got a phone call at 3 am that their luggage was waiting for me down at security. So down I trekked, no bra, thanaka on my face, glasses and flip flops only to receive the luggage from a very handsome tall Thai man. I am sure he got a kick out of me! To my surprise Zoe’s luggage was there as well. She was thrilled as you can imagine.
Sunday is the weekly brunch with the expats. Unfortunately Rebecca and Jeanette were busy but the girls and I joined James, Jason and Sterling and had a wonderful start to our day at the Gallery Cafe.
Outside the Gallery Cafe.
After lunch we were sunscreened and ready to drive to Banana Beach for the rest of the afternoon. It was Zoe’s turn on Tia and the route was quite winding. I saw her turn a corner in my rear view mirror and she kicked the curb away with her foot 🙂 This was definitely testing her skills! But she was a trooper and continued onward.
A view as we walked down.
Once at the beach.
Sky view, which quickly changed to storm clouds.
Zoe and I dared to swim, but it was dang chilly.
I made her pose on the rocks.
Really is a cool location. I’m glad we made it there together.
The clouds started rolling in so we decided to hit the road only to drive into the storm. We were already soaked so there was no sense in stopping. An experience I was hoping they would never have to encounter, yet here they are on their second day embracing the rain while driving on the scooter. Needless to say the next day we invested in 3 rain ponchos.
Soaked but smiling. We couldn’t wait to get back to the condo and make some hot tea.
We had to stop at the pharmacy on the way home to buy some ear drops for Sedona. Zoe decided to ride the elephant outside. Love their energy!
I planned to take the girls to Phuket Town today but that totally depended on whether or not they were able to master the scooter driving. So the training began. After an iced Americano the girls walked down to the “road to nowhere” and I drove Tia there to meet them.
We started off our day sporting their new outfits at the Condo Mine coffee shop.
I showed them how to use Tia, and then walked back to the condo to fetch Min’s scooter. I put Sedona on the back of Min’s scooter and Zoe took first dibs on testing out her abilities on Tia. It’s not as easy as it looks. She was doing okay until the ditch took her. 🙂 A local Thai man with the biggest smile helped us out. I made her get right back on and finish out the street. Sedona was a bit more stable. So after a couple rounds, we hit the streets!
Throwback retro shot with the surfboards at the Art C.
We had an excellent visit with Min and Mimi at the Art C and then got an extra surprise visit from Min’s family!
On the way to Monkey Hill which was on the agenda, we came across Wat Wichit Sangkaram. We stopped in for a few photos.
Caught a glimpse of this buddha inside the window.
Then we took a closer look.
They sat inside this building.
The snakes are always outside the temples.
And of course the bells.
I think this is the first temple they have experienced.
We hiked up monkey hill only to see huge signs warning tourists about the monkeys. Min told us 3 days ago a child got a huge bite taken out of his arm. They warned us not to go.
Sedona smartly carried a large stick with her and glared back at the monkeys.
These monkeys came after any bottle you were carrying. I ran mine to the garbage!
I was feeling like they were getting a little close.
The view from this hill is beautiful.
As usual I was WAY behind the girls going both up and down the mountain hike. Feeling my age! Traci was more my speed 🙂
We then google mapped our way to Rang Hill and ran across the temple I discovered just the other day.
I took a few new snap shots.
I had such a great time just watching them take it all in.
A token selfie, so happy to have my kiddos with me here!
Loved this view.
A glance of the pearl buddha from the outside.
We made it to Rang Hill just in time to catch the sunset.
A new leaf for me. Love always being surrounded by green.
Been a long day, but so great to be with my girls!
Fun to see them on the swing this time!
A well deserved cocktail (for Zoe since she wasn’t driving!) at the restaurant I took Min and Mimi last week.
Sedona has been on a mango kick!
We left before it was too dark.
It was an incredible first day! Zoe and Sedona are troopers! With jet lag and no luggage they still managed to have a very event filled non stop day!
I was anxiously awaiting Zoe and Sedona’s arrival midnight on Friday night. Zoe texted informing that the immigration line was long but it was now pushing an hour and I think Mali was getting a little pissed waiting for us. Ends up their luggage was lost. Zoe’s they didn’t even have a read on, as if it was never scanned in. The girls filed the claim and exited without smiles as you can imagine.
This is the waiting area outside the international airport.
They learned the hard way to pack more than just snacks in their carry ons:)
Given that they didn’t have any face wash, we decided to test out the thanaka treatment that Mimi gave me.
Zoe was good at getting the paste going.
We slept with our new wood based face masks and we were all refreshed and ready to kick it in the am.
The next morning while the kiddos slept in, I went to the store and bought them a tee shirt, shorts and undies! They were now good to go and head out for their first day in Phuket!
Tonya Takes Thailand 