Christmas in Phuket

Christmas dinner overlooking Kata Beach
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Who doesn’t need a vacation from their vacation after traveling for a hectic two months in Southeast Asia????

We were definitely up for a week with absolutely nothing to do except 1) decide whether we hit the pool or the beach each day or 2) order a Singha beer or a fruit shake.

We had booked a great small, boutique hotel (CC Blooms) tucked up in the hills with a beautiful view of Kata. It was just what we needed and we felt very at home. We even had a nice, quiet Christmas Eve dinner at the hotel – Pad Thai and Panaeng Curry. Quite yummy. It was great not to have to leave “home” so to speak. And what does one do for Christmas in Phuket – lay around the pool and then go out for dinner.

Nothing but sun at Karon Beach
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During our stay, the hotel held its annual Christmas party which included a poolside BBQ, Mai Tais, a cabaret show (aka drag show which was quite entertaining), and an eight-ball pool tournament in which Scott came in second in a very tight final game. It was all good fun.

The most surprising course of events was that Scott (for the first time since I’ve known him) read an entire book from front to back. Sounds pretty silly really, but if you know him, you’ll know that this is quite an achievement and really shows how relaxed we actually are.

Scott's Zen moment in the pool --- or is he just practicing his rythmic gymnastics??
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Next on to Singapore to ring in the New Year….

Tidbits of the day:

· The third anniversary of the tsunami passed while we were here in Phuket and there were many lanterns sent floating off into the night sky to commemorate those that were victims. Unfortunately, we found out about it too late to attend, but did see the beautiful lanterns floating off in the sky. The Kata and Karon area, where we stayed, was not hit as hard by the tsunami as some of the beaches north. You would never have known that a tsunami had even hit here as everything has been cleaned up and rebuilt.

Yet another great sunset - here at Kata Beach
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It was also Election day while we were here and the local laws prohibit the sale of alcohol day of and some of the day prior to the election. Doesn’t seem to be strongly enforced however and some choose to ignore it. Thank goodness our hotel opened up the bar after the polls closed at 3pm! Interestingly enough (and quite sad), we were told that according to a poll here in Thailand, over 60% of individuals said that their vote could be bought. There was definitely some controversy around this the following day with some of those on the ballots.