As I was driving Tia yesterday to Layan Beach, I pulled over to put on my rain poncho as there were storms chasing behind me. But after about 15 minutes I was on a different side of the island and the skies cleared up. I was sweating now in the humidity and decided that I should pull over to strip that damn plastic off. Perfectly timed, I pulled into this Temple and was quite surprised to find the golden sleeping buddha! Love my luck and intuition.
Unfortunately I was wearing a very short skirt since I was heading to the beach and I didn’t want to offend the modesty requirements of this religion. I snapped a few photos and happily moved on my merry way. I may go back to check out the interior and other areas once I am more properly covered.
This sleeping position means “realizing nirvana”. I think he looks quite gazingly stoned with his expression. You can get the magnitude of his scale when looking at the car image captured here as well.
This was the entrance I pulled into. These past two days have been Buddhist holidays, so no alcohol is allowed to be served or sold. Good thing I purchased my white wine on my way home yesterday!
They had a lot of unique animal sculptures around which I am still unsure of the meaning behind.
The rabbit looks a bit evil. Or possibly just horrified by the sculptures behind him.
The rain has been relentless. I finally am understanding low season. Supposed to be like this all week. Excellent weather for wine drinking and napping 🙂 The perks of working from home!
My quest to see all the Phuket beaches is soon to be over right?! Today was another one conquered that was somewhat difficult to get into. The road that leads to this little beach is closed off to a resort, but Tia and I breezed right through. Drove up a gravel road and parked under a palm tree beside the local workers. They were digging up wires which I was not quite sure what that was about, but was hoping Tia was not in the way.
No tourists were there. Maybe that’s why they let me in. I probably could have used their beach chairs and pool too and nobody care.
This is the beach that I previously blogged a google satellite photo of. Virlane took me to its neighbor, Laguna Beach, but we couldn’t walk over since the tide was so high. Today I suspected it may be low tide since it was yesterday at Yamu. I was right. It was awesome to wander around to all the different areas. I later sat on the rocks and thought about life for awhile. Still don’t have the answers 🙂
The locals came in with their families equipped with a flat spoon, (similar to a spade but not pointed) a plastic bucket, and a stick. They would dig up a fist sized hole from the sand, then stab the stick down and pull up a slimy thin like fish. I tried to watch closely and take photos, but they gave me the stare down so I walked off. Really couldn’t tell what the heck they were pulling out of the holes. I’m so curious now! I’m on a mission to figure it out because now I know its not crabs they are going after.
Panoramic view of one section.
Just walking around wherever there was land to see how far I could go.
Most of the water areas were shallow, clear water and rippled sand like this.
The weather here is literally unbeatable. The blue skies and cloud coverage that continually reshape and transform. Mystical.
Rocks I sat on for quite some time. Then I wandered around the perimeter and found another grouping of rocks at the edge of the sea.
Forest view that separates Layan with Laguna Beach.
I followed a dirt trail and then I decided to go through this beautiful opening and sit again for a bit. I cannot even tell you how fortunate I feel to have this time to just be with nature here.
View where the waves came crashing in.
The island across the way you could walk to since the water was so shallow.
This tree is all alone on the sand bar. I was able to walk up to the tree but when I tried to cross over to the island the sand sunk too deep beneath my feet and I started to get nervous. Not knowing how deep it would go, then my imagination started getting the best of me wondering what was below all that muck.
Stopped for dinner on my way home and took a selfie with this big eyed painting. I ordered a zucchini flat bread that had black olives and goat cheese on it. They cracked a sunny side up barely cooked egg and placed it in the center. I was horrified but managed to eat around it.
Today I had a brunch date with Barbara who wanted to show me one of her favorite spots near her house. The restaurant is named TASTE. It had a set menu for Sunday brunch which I was leary of being the picky eater that I am. The 12 course meal was so worth the money and the view from the venue unbelievable! Between courses you could dip into the pool, take your cocktail and appreciate the harbor view of Yamu.
Selfie upon arrival.
The outside of the restaurant.
Pool view from our table. Another gorgeous day here.
Low tide and a view of the dock.
Totally understand why she loves it here.
This would be an awesome evening party venue with a group of friends.
Dessert was to die for! Home made icecream and some sort of nut pie. I honestly never tasted anything this good before. And not too sweet. All portions were perfectly sized and left us satisfied. Included grilled fish tacos, goat cheese salad, shrimp in garlic sauce, crispy pork meatballs—-I should’ve take a photo of the menu, it seemed endless.
Art everywhere in sculpture and mural formats. More Instagram ammunition.
Me and the modern buddha sculpture.
After swimming and lunch we walked into a gated community with huge private homes and walked down this pathway to Yamu Beach.
Only locals on the beach digging for crabs.
We sat for a bit and enjoyed the sun, shade, and colors.
Not a swimming beach, but still beautiful with zero trash ashore. Barbara knew I loved discovering new beaches and was excited to show me this one. Was a fantastic Sunday!
I organized a girl’s night out at Phuket Town’s Timber Hut. I invited Jason too but he was in Taiwan. Heard about this bar when researching places to go out. It’s been around for a long time and reviews on the cocktails, food and bands are top rated . But according to what I read it doesn’t really start hopping until 10 pm. All of us old ladies took a nap in preparation 🙂 Arrived at 10 pm and closed the joint down at 3 am!!!
I haven’t had a night out like that since I arrived in Phuket. Was so much fun. We were bought shots from locals who I believe were entertained that we were the only farangs in there. I asked the bartender what his best cocktail was and then I watched him pour about 6 different alcohols into my drink! It’s no wonder I was dancing.
Selfie before I hit the town sporting my party tee as a warning to all.
Apparently it’s their 29th anniversary. I wonder if next year they will update the sign.
Band was high energy, but I was tempted to go up and take over since they really didn’t know the right words to most western songs. It was interesting how the first set was all western music and then when they got back on stage for the second, it was all Thai or local music and the crowd loved it.
It was the guy’in the white tee’s birthday and they brought him out a candle lit fruit tray! He was loving life and feeling no pain. Buying everyone shots.
The Thais have thought of everything! Two sinks AND a throw up station. Sets the mood knowing there’s a place to toss your cookies later if necessary.
Virlane kept up with me, drinking two beers to my cocktail. Barbara gave in after two glasses of wine. Was a total blast. One of the locals called us a cab when Virlane and I wandered outside and realized there was no civilization. Love that they were kind and took care of us. When the cab driver dropped off Virlane at her apartment complex and I didn’t get out, he was confused and didn’t speak any English. Such a fun challenge! But I made it home- no worries. Woke up this am with quite the hangover! Cancelled my teaching appointments thinking there was no way I was going to be any good at trying to concentrate and my voice is quite shot as well. Totally worth it. A fun friday. Enjoy your weekends!
I really wanted to head to a beach today and get some sun time in between student appointments. Bang Tao was the closest one that I hadn’t yet been to. Actually I lied, I was there with Tiffani at the very beginning of our trip when we went paddle boarding, but otherwise I hadn’t been back. Bang Tao is one of the longest beaches on Phuket and as you walk north it turns into Laguna Beach. When Tiff and I were there I was so focused on making it there alive being our first day on the scooter and surviving the jelly fish, which were everywhere, on the paddle board adventure. Today I decided to walk the length of the beach and see what it was all about. Exercise and exploration.
This is the Dusit Thani Resort which is funny because I learned about it on one of my Pimsler’s Thai language learning cds. They used it as an example of a hotel when teaching us that word. I had no idea it was on Phuket. Maybe it’s a chain?
The resort in the background of this official sign is The Catch Beach Club which specializes in children, as you can see from the slide in the background. They have a little mini resort for kids.
I love the way palm trees are never all straight,
On parts of the beach the only way to continue is to cross through the water.
I took off my shoes and got a great leg workout walking for about an hour. Of course I dropped a flip flop from my bag as I was trekking along. I was dreading the thought of driving Tia home in rush hour traffic barefoot. Pretty sure that would be illegal too.
Lots of fun places on the beach that I bet are hopping during high season, but now are completely deserted.
Where the beach ends furthest south. Colorized effect. Thought you may be sick of all the blue and green 🙂
Never mind, here you go.
Stopped here for a drink and some rice. Both terrible. But I needed a break.
My view. No complaints. Watched kids learn how to surf. They find such joy when they actually make it and catch a ride in.
Selfie of the day.
A lot of wood and logs washing ashore. It was interesting to watch the waves literally roll this large piece. And also to see how the sand moved and built up around it from the first time I walked past to the second. Nature is quick to adapt.
Hey don’t worry guys, I found it on my walk back!!! All good.
Today we planned a girl’s outing to the Mexican joint for Taco Tuesday. Half priced tacos!! Unfortunately we got there at 2pm and the reduced pricing didn’t start until 6pm. That didn’t keep me from eating 4! Virlane knows the owner and he spotted her and came over to chat for a bit. He is from Sweden and runs a few food trucks and a catering business. Very interesting guy. When we mentioned that we would write reviews on Trip Advisor for him, he said not to bother. His business is good and his partner got busted when they first opened for writing several reviews himself for the place. So Trip Advisor knocked him down to the very bottom and he doesn’t think he will ever get back up. He also mentioned needing to get a web person going because while I was complimenting his food, I said it never shows up when looking in Phuket. Trip Advisor seems to rule a lot of the media and what you can see” over here when looking for places.
Sort of turns you on right?! 🙂 Was painted on one of the tables.
See I started with just two. But kept going back and ordering more. Love the jalapenos on them and the sour cream is the best! The owner said he lived in LA and San Francisco before moving to Phuket and found there was no good Mexican food so he established this place. I also recognize a lot of “opportunities” here but just don’t have the gusto to start them up. I think moving here took up the gusto I had left 🙂
Virlane told me about this place last week when we were out. Tia and I stopped by on our way home to take a look. They make all their products on the premises and it smells amazing. Wondering if this brand exists in the USA?
All their own oils. (Tiff and Zvezda!)
And their own massage oil and body scrubs!
This was the facility behind the shop where they make it all. So authentic and cool. Prices were not that bad either. I wondered if the US had import duties and restrictions on these type of products.
Their scents were all natural. Check out the cutie pie heart shaped soaps.
As I continued homeward bound, some new street art caught my attention. I pulled into the place that was under construction and walked around. Because why not? They don’t really require any sort of protective gear, they all wear flip flops too! They are building a water park and it looks like a fun village attached that will have restaurants and shops etc. I will post more art from this place on my Instagram tonyatakesthailand street art posts.
Check out the village! LOVING the colors and detail work.
I haven’t seen colors put together like this any place else on the island so far. They had bright buildings in Phuket Town but not quite as elaborate as these.
Like an adult play land.
Me sporting my Iris sunglasses in front of one of the many live plant walls that they have in this new facility. The plant wall idea has been a growing (no pun intended) trend for a decade now and with the air quality getting worse it can only help! Glad to see communities embracing it. Wondering if Ohio has yet? I think I’ve only seen them inside restaurants, not outside walls like this one or the ones I have seen in Europe. One of you guys start the movement! (Rebecca?)
My day started out with an AMAZING gift from my love. A four hour spa treatment! At a very luxurious facility! I’m so excited! And for no reason. Not my birthday. No special occasion. God this man is good to me!
Please understand I flip out when I pay 1000 BHT for lunch or dinner. Justin went overboard. I would never do this for myself! Such a lavish gesture. (heart emogi if i could)
Today I planned to hit a 4.7 Tripadvisor rated beach bar for lunch which is not that far from my condo. Sounded like an easy road trip and something new to try. This is why I enjoy and sometimes prefer travelling by myself. My ideas and trips don’t always go as planned and I sort of love that. The adventure of it. I got yelled at repeatedly by a security guard for parking in a spot that apparently wasn’t meant for me. To the point where I told him to “chill out!” I walked down a roped off road, which to normal people would have been the first indication that it wasn’t looking great.
The sign was still pointing down that road. I logically think they would’ve removed it if the bar no longer existed right?!
Welp this was it. I didn’t dare go in. It looked like it was still recovering from the tsunami. I guess I need to start checking the dates on those reviews!
I decided since I was here, I may as well walk the beach and see what this section is all about. As you can see from this photo, the entire strip of beach where the tide went to was covered in trash. Like a trash line that the waves kindly said “no thank you” to. I may need to just pack a garbage bag everywhere I go.
Beautiful water colors and lots of sailboats out today.
There were occasional swings hanging out every once in awhile.
Deserted really. Quiet and peaceful during low season here.
Climbed some steps to a resort and planted myself here for some chicken satay and a mocktail. No complaints. Always a happy ending in Thailand. 555.
Today Barbara and I planned a beach day. She invited a friend of hers to join us, Jira. Jira is a Thai independent woman who supports herself as a realtor. She is proud that she is hard working and does not rely on anyone. She is a fantastic go getter. She said most Thai men don’t like her since she is so strong. She seems to only attract European men. I loved meeting her. I think we will be good friends and are planning to go to beaches together when Barbara goes to Bangkok.
Barbara met a chef when she lived in Samui who now works at a restaurant in Kamala so we all headed there for lunch. Was mediterranean and fabulous! Haven’t had humus or greek yogurt sauce since I left The States.
Juri and Barbara
View inside the restaurant.
My meal. Was so flipping flavorful! Cosmo could have been stronger 🙂
View from the restaurant.
Another view from the restaurant. I love the mountains and beaches together!
Selfie of the day. Anyone that saw the photo Barbara tagged me in on FB noticed my beautiful helmet hair 🙂 We all swam at my condo prior to taking off to the beach. I was no beauty queen 🙂
Walked the full length of the beach with Juri. Took this photo along the way. There were tons of surfers here. I asked her if today was considered big waves and she said YES! (they weren’t really in my opinion but now I know this is as big as they get)
This bridge went over a channel to a place called Cafe de Mar. It was rocking! Music blaring, people partying. Packed. I told Juri we should go back and get Barbara. Thinking Traci and I will hit this place in August.
The North end of Kamala Beach.
Looking south on Kamala Beach.
Sun started going down so we headed out. They kicked us off the beach chairs at 6pm.
Barbara in her new outfit she purchased from a women selling stuff off the beach.
LOVE this photo. Took it from the parking lot when I was leaving. Just captures it all so naturally.
Stopped on my drive home to snap this one. I just couldn’t resist. It was so gorgeous.
And then this happened! I nearly had a heart attack as I was driving and I saw construction guys using elephants to do work. I drove a little further and saw this one coming down the road so I had to stop and capture the moment. You just don’t see this every day.
Something about the elephant, the palm tree ,the rasta man and signage in the background= priceless. BTW that string you can see down behind the elephant’s ear was tied to his leg. This is how the man was controlling the elephant. It was such a joke to me. Who was really in control?
Another perfect and adventurous day. One of my students from the other night reserved time with me next week! I’m happy to be getting a repeat student already! But shit, now I better prepare a lesson eh?
Believing in God’s timing is something that has proven such a beautiful lesson to me over here. I usually try to control how everything transpires. Instead I have used my Monk Manual to focus on just two things a month, resting in the fact that the Universe can bend time and life happens as it should.
Barbara had mentioned Cambly as an easy online teaching venue that is based on conversational English. Something I am good at! So I gave it a shot and got accepted as a tutor. Yesterday I spent the afternoon reading all the tutorial advise and how to work using the site. I made a whopping $7 my first night 🙂 Nonetheless am proud of myself for diving in, free falling, and conquering yet another unpredictable part of my adventures.
This cracks me up! I literally had pj bottoms on with a professional top my fist night. Love it!
The names from the calls I answered last night. What an interesting mix. First call was from Brazil and the balance Saudi Arabia. All women my first night.
Such an interesting mix of people you hear from. Some are just testing the site out on a free trial which is difficult. One gal studied in Denver, Colorado and got her masters in child development. We chatted about disabilities and sign language, teaching it to infants. Very interesting conversation. Others speak very little and you have to do your best to get them comfortable enough not to just hang up. Every time the phone rings you NEVER know who you are going to face. Most of the Saudi women are amazingly strong, but most do not show their faces on camera. Today I spent an hour with an Indian college student who wants to do journalism but knows his vocabulary is limited. All so interesting. I’m having a blast!! Such a perfect job for the freedom I want over here.
I can put in priority the hours I wish to take from the time slots available and then wait for the calls to come in. I studied the time zones of the main consumers and I am testing different times to see which I prefer to take to hopefully get a regular routine going. The Indian guy already asked to see my schedule so he can set up an appointment when I am available again.
Today Virlane picked me up and took me to a new store and a plant nursery. She just moved into her own studio apartment and wanted to liven it up. I joked that I needed one too since I miss my pets and this is the closest we will get to having those over here.
Still not sure if this is where mine will live, but I’m testing it out. Tuesday Virlane (who has a car) took me to a market where I found my Italian Pinot Grigio!!! So happy. So this Friday night I am doing laundry and sipping wine.
Hope you all had a wonderful 4th back home. Debbie shared some fireworks with from Myrtle Beach! LOVE!
My balcony at the moment. And my condo is filled just the same. Drying it all natural. #energysaver
These last couple of days I spent with my new friends Barbara and Virlane. I couldn’t be happier to have both of them in my life, sharing their experiences and being more than open and real. There is no one up-ing here with stories of whose children are more successful or who has a better house or car. It’s all about helping each other be the best you. And encouraging each other to new thoughts, challenges and less self hate.
Yesterday Tia and I set out to find Barbara’s house, which is in a very local neighborhood over by the Heroine Monument roundabout. I got lost, of course but eventually found it. Even drove the wrong way on the highway. (people do that here when you need to get to a U turn that is closer. Virlane later told me they call those people “angels” because they are soon to die) Barbara’s place is an adorable little house that she pays little more than I do for.
She was giving away a bag of clothes to charity, so I took my pick from them and landed a new dress, Singa beer tank top and some cut off shorts. People that know me know I have NEVER owned a pair of shorts. Now I have two, only because they were free and fit.
We ate at a road side cafe for lunch where your choices of drinks are on display at your table. They bring you a glass of ice and you can just open what you want. Clever I thought. Silverware is in the pink box. I tried the national salad of Thailand – the green papaya salad (som tum). It’s tough to describe as far as flavors. Sour, yet spicy, textural yet not offensive. Interesting and glad she made me do it.
We wandered into familiar territory to grab some dessert. I decided afterwards to part ways and go further up the road back to the waterfall to hike a bit. When arriving I got to hear the gibbons howl and it was wild. Guess I have heard them before at the zoo, but it’s totally different when you are in their jungles/natural habitats and hearing them. I noticed some clever souls made these rock piles.
Bamboo continues to fascinate me. They way it breaks, bows and clusters.
I had to wander a bit down into the rocks to remove myself from the groups of people that were swimming. Found this spot which was cool and perfectly peaceful. Admired nature the way I do and watched how all had its place and played its part.
This morning (both Barbara and Virlane are morning people- their only downfalls) Virlane picked me up and took me to Laguna and Layan Beach areas. We talked previously about how I had never been to those two beaches and they were her favorites so we trekked over together. Laguna is a beautiful resort area with golf courses and amazing houses built around man made lakes. All near enough to the beach. My understanding is this beach is the northern part of Bang Tao beach.
It was high tide and barely any room to walk. Virlane said there is a full moon and an eclipse to be seen tonight only in South America which was effecting the tides. The clouds were rolling in and wind was picking up.
A lot of drift wood ashore. Virlane said it was not here yesterday as she walks this beach daily. The beach was littered with plastic bottles. Was quite disgusting and I wish I had packed a garbage bag. This beach is off of a river and a national forest in Phuket. Very local.
I was telling Denise Dewitt, who was just in India discussing the consumption/upcycling trend in India, that a lot of bottles that wash ashore have crustaceans on them. I took a photo of this log that obviously had been at sea for quite a bit. I’ve seen bottles with similar coverage.
Not sure if because this beach is near a forest if it has anything to do with all the branches laying about?
This Google Earth photo shows what the beach is like in low tide. We walked from about the blue/green dot to the tip where it sharply turns. But there was very little beach exposed. Virlane was telling me how you can walk to the island during low tides and that there was usually a lot of sand bars. This map captured that. We had planned to walk over to Layan Beach but the water was too high and it started to rain.
She asked if I liked Mexican food and I was like “hell ya”- but it sucks here. She had discovered this place and said it’s the best on the island. And it was!!! The chicken was not ready yet (it was noon) since they said yesterday was Taco Tuesday and one guy came and ate 20 tacos himself!
We vowed to come back on Tuesday nights! 50 BHT tacos- aka $1.50 each and excellent fresh ingredients. Virlane lives next door to the owner who is actually Swedish. She is so comfortable to hang with! My fellow midwestern friend from Illinois, who I learned today is a breast cancer survivor, wedding planner, English teacher, seminary class taker/now turned anti religious, mother of two, life coach, environmentalist, and biologist who researched woodpecker habitats to document for a fight against forestry. There’s nothing she can’t do or won’t try. Adorable!!
I opted to have a margarita since she was driving. Ended up crashed out in a nap for 3 hours after getting back home-555. In Thai you say the number 5 as “ha”. So 555- is like our LOL. Learn something new every day.
Tonya Takes Thailand 