Phuket - FINALLY made it to a beach!

My beautiful room in the Shanti Lodge! (Did I mention this place has a pool!)
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After a couple short flights, I arrived in Phuket at about 5:15 pm. Unfortuanatley there was quite a line up for taxis and I ended up waiting about an hour to get one! but luckily, the driver knew exactly where the Shanti Lodge was, so I could just sit back and let him go! It was pretty dark by the time we arrived and we had to drive through some rain (I was worried it would last my whole time here!) but I arrived safe and sound... and to a wonderful suprise! My mom had hooked me up with a contact here named Lana, a former Alberta girl who now lives in Phuket. She was the one who arranged my time for me at the Shanti Lodge and I was supposed to clal her when I got in. I got my bags and headed into the resteraunt only to find Lana and her parents and children there to greet me! It was really nice and they were all great. I absolutely fell in LOVE with her little boy Justin, and I think he felt the same way! (Sorry Clay!! JK!) We chatted for awhile and I got to hear a bit about her life here. They had to take off after a bit and I was pretty exhausted so they left and I retired to my room, my GIANT gorgeous room! I had been booked in a family room with 3 beds and I had it all to myself! The best part? It only cost 550 Baht, which translates to under $20 Canadian! It is a little more than I was used to paying, but I was getting pretty tired and needed a treat!

Lana's family and I when I first arrived
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The next day I tried to get an idea of all the things I wanted to do on Phuket. I knew that I wanted to head to a beach, but didn't know where to start. All of a sudden, a group of people offered me a ride to Rawai Beach and I said why not! I didn't actually end up seeing much of the beach (and it wasn't really a place to suntan) so I stuck with them and did not regret it! We went to a 5 star resort for some frozen margaritas and then browsed the local shell shops for some good finds. The only downside to this is that I think my standards might be getting a little too high for y pocketbook! But I had a great time and actually made it to bed nice and early after reading for awhile (reading for fun I might add! Something I don't think I've done since before University started!).

It's actually pretty easy to be witty when someone doesn't understand you because they just laugh no matter what you say!

Me and my little crush, Justin!
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The next day was one of my favorties here (this is yesterday by the way). I had signed up for a tour of Phang Nga Bay and I got picked up at 8am. I started to laugh at myself a little bit when I realized that there were only couples for the most part (except for one huge Italian family which kind of reminded me of home!) and I was the ONLY SINGLE on the tour! I think the tour guides felt sorry for me and so they all took extra special care to make sure I was having a good time! I even think my personal guide, Tony, developed a bit of a crush on me :)

Having our Margaritas at the 5 star hotel! (Leo, Elaine, Mark and Elle)
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The tour was great, we got to visit caves that you could only get to by lying down on a sea canoe and sliding under the rocks. This can only be done at certain times to because when the tide is high, it blocks the entrance/exit. It was a bit scary at first because the rocks are seriously 1 cm from your body, but it was a great experience! We also visited the James Bond cave, named for it's role in the filming of The Man with the Golden Gun. Then it was off to Lawa Beach to relax, swim and suntan (this island in the culprit that gave me my wicked sunburn. But I'm holding out that the lobster look is going to become hip any day now!)

Beautiful pic of Rawai Beach
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I met some great couples on the tour, and I actually met up with them after. They were all from France and only a few of them spoke English, but they were soo much fun! They live in Cannes, France and I've exchanged email addresses with them so, who knows, maybe I'll be heading to the Cannes Film Festival before you know it! They invited my out with them to Kata Beach, one of the nicest beaches on the island. We went to eat at Dino Park where we also played the most amazing minigolf course I have ever seen! I had a wonderful time and laughed and joked all night. It's actually pretty easy to be witty when someone doesn't understand you because they just laugh no matter what you say! One of the gentleman actually owns his own resteraunt in France called "The Naughty Wolf" so I'd like to eat there some day!

Me in my sea canoe!
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That now brings me to today, where I'm finishing up here and then heading to Patong Beach (supposed to be the most commercial and crazy for nightlife on the island) to meet up with Jason the Australian again. I'm entertaining the idea of buying some long sleeve cotton shirts to help my poor skin mend! Then tomorrow I head for Ko Phi Phi which should be amazing. I'll even get to visit the beach where the Leo DiCaprio movie "The Beach" was filmed!

Until next time!