Thelma and Louise Take on the World: Beach Safari Finale

Saturday, May 12^th was another pool day. We relaxed in our own little piece of paradise for the day. After the hard day’s work, we took the shuttle to the beach to have drinks at an Irish Pub and dinner at an Indian restaurant from the guide book, Ali Baba. The drinks were great, but the dinner…whoa…the dinner was spectacular. The venue was just in a hallway between a video store and a hotel. However, the food was the best Indian food we had ever had. We will never be the same again, neither emotionally or in size. J

Sunday, May 13^th, the day we moved to Phuket. We woke up, had breakfast, and packed our bags for the flight to the next destination on our beach safari.

We arrived at about 3PM in Phuket and then took a taxi to the Marriott Vacation Club in Mai Khao Beach. Turns out…we were in a totally new paradise. The club, the pools, the beaches, everything was like a dream. After checking-in, starting some laundry, and settling ourselves, we went in search of the beach. The waves roared and crashed, but the best part was that as far as the eye could see…it was us and 3 others. 5 people on a huge expanse of beach. Seriously…it was like a movie.

Later that evening, Thelma’s friend from Hope College – Megan – joined in the fun making us an even party of four. We enjoyed a nice dinner at another pub, made some cocktails in the room, and watched some Downton Abbey, the best BBC period drama ever. It was just another day in paradise.

Monday was our first day out an about in our new environment. We went to yoga and Pilates first thing in the morning. It’s always hot here and this was no exception. We were soaked with sweat by the end of our hour of yoga, so don’t get me started on what we looked like after another hour of Pilates. After our healthy start to the day, we were off to the beach.

Our hotel is not directly on the beach, but that is not a big deal because there is a free buggy that takes us to another part of the Marriott Compound by the beach club and J.W. First things first, we went to play in the waves. Swimming was prohibited because of dangerous conditions and they weren’t kidding. The waves were insane and the undertow could have easily taken a car to sea, so we just played at the edge. Then, we went and spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach side pool. It was a beautiful place with a 7.5 foot deep pool. We were served free fresh fruit and ice water while we basked in the ocean side sun.

That night we made pasta in the room, had some more cocktails, and continued our Downton Abbey season 2 adventures.