Sa wed dee ka (Hello!) from Thailand, and our second stop here, the tropical peninsula area known as Phuket. Pronounced; "poo-ket", this is the second visit to Thailand for Art and I, our first visit was a few years ago when we came here for the terrific scuba-diving while aboard the Ocean Rover. No diving this time, but we've seen much more of the country and experienced even more of the wonderful kindness and hospitality of the Thai people. The food here in Phuket has been excellent also. Traveling to the southern part of the country, we're able to try more dishes that are regional favorites here just like we did with the northern dishes we enjoyed in Chiang Mai. Phuket is one of the places that was hit by the devastating Tsumani of 2004, Thailand has bounced back extremely well. Unlike back home, where the scars from hurricane damage can linger for several years, We haven't seen any remnants or signs of damage anywhere- a testament to the hardworking Thai.
We're staying at the fantastic Amanpuri resort here in Phuket– really super! It's rainy season this time of year and the resort is almost empty- great for us; we've had lots of special attention from the staff. Our house maid "Jeab", has been so nice, we've really enjoyed visiting and learning some Thai phrases from her. The Thai language is very interesting, unlike most of the Indo-European languages I'm familiar with such as Spanish, French, Italian, for example, where the masculine and feminine forms of speech are directed towards the person one is addressing, here, the male and female emphasis is used to identify the speaker- really interesting. Instead of "hello madam", it would be "I'm a woman saying hello". So hence my opening greeting is; "sa wed dee ka", if Art were writing this entry he would say, "sa wed dee kab"- "I'm a man saying hello".
The best way to describe Phuket would be, "the Caribbean on steroids"- amazingly beautiful beaches, turquoise oceans lapping warm surf, and stunning rainforest covered mountains. The flowers, birds, and butterflies are truly fantastic. Art and I opted out of the scheduled "James Bond tour", a boat ride through the famous bay (real name here) noted for its unique rock formations, and as the location for the Bond movie; The man with the golden gun. We decided that hanging by the pool, relaxing, and enjoying the resort was just to good to pass up. So here I am, writing this article from our suite overlooking the bay. The view was lovely just minutes ago but the afternoon rain has begun so it's just all grey outside for now. The rain comes and goes quickly this time of year. We've come and gone far to quickly as well, we're going to miss Thailand. Tomorrow will be another flight day for us, our destination will be Cambodia. More adventure awaits there, but for now, we'll take in our last hours here and relish our experience in beautiful Thailand.