| June-July - Thailand
I
went back to Thailand this year. Because of Covid, I wanted to do
a trip with very few unknowns. I went at a good time. Thailand is
no longer requiring testing to enter for fully vaxxed travelers and the
US isn’t requiring a test to return. I flew with Singapore Airlines. Overall, it took just over 20 hours to get here. However, one segment was my longest non-stop flight ever. Just over 17 hours. Customs and Immigration was relatively quick. The resort was waiting to pick me up. 30 minutes later, I was at Anantara Layan Phuket. Quick check-in with the obligatory welcoming drink. Went to my villa. Showered, then slept a little bit to recover from the flight. Later, I had a good dinner at Breeze restaurant before calling it a night. Day 2 - Did I mention it was raining? It was raining when I arrived and rained on and off since. However, it did not rain when I went out. Also, coming from drought stricken California, the rain was a welcomed change. Today, my only major activity was a massage. The last time I had a massage was September 2019. My plan was to try several different massages. However, the spa here was promoting their new Cannabis massages. I opted for the Cannabis Stress Release massage. It was awesome! Especially combined with the steam room I did just before. It was so good, I got it again later. After the massage, I went to lunch. I had Satay and a “Japanese Margarita”. Then it was back to the villa to crash for a bit. Later, I went to dinner. I went to the Thai restaurant on the resort. I can neither spell nor pronounce anything that I ate. All I can say is, it was very good. After dinner, back to the villa to sleep. Day 3 - My luck was still holding out. When I went out to do stuff, it didn't rain. Today’s “stuff” was the Phi Phi Islands. I was a little wary of this excursion because I heard the Phi Phi Islands were overrun by tourists. We went relatively early and there were not that many people there. It wasn’t until we left that I saw the “tourists” people were talking about. There were a lot of them. My recommendation: If you must see the Phi Phi Islands, do it first thing in the morning to avoid the crowds. Something I didn’t realize about the islands is there is a lot of industry. I thought there would be a few villages and “tourist info” buildings. However, there are restaurants, bars, shops, hotels, etc. Very nice and very unexpected. The excursion started with a 1 hour boat ride to Phi Phi islands. First stop, Maya beach. As mentioned earlier, we arrived early enough to avoid the crowds, which arrived just as we were leaving. The rest of the morning included several stops to swim, snorkel, or sightsee. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant on Phi Phi Don. Another traveler and I decided to also have a couple of Mai Tai’s while we were there. Our final stop was Bamboo beach where we had the option to swim, snorkel, sunbathe, or relax in the shade and do nothing. I opted for relaxing in the shade drinking a coconut. Then it was a 45 minute boat ride back. Upon returning to the resort, I took a shower. Then I went to dinner. It didn’t rain the entire time I was out. It was a good day. Day 4 - Today was a mellow day. I ate a good breakfast. I did another steam room, followed another 90 minute massage (Cannabis Stress Release). I took a walk around part of the resort and took a few pictures. I ate and drank more Mai Tai’s. Day 5 - To say I was lucky with the weather is an understatement. It rained every day since I arrived. However, it didn’t rain when I went out. Unfortunately, depending on the Longboat tour, the weather needs to be a bit more stable. No Longboat tour today :-( Back to the spa for another massage. Day 6 - Travel day. Checked out of Anantara Layan Phuket. Flew from Phuket airport to Samui airport. Anantara Rasananda met me at the airport and took me to their waiting area on the beach. Then, after waiting a couple hours (I had arrived between speedboat departures), a 40 minute speedboat ride to the resort on Koh Phangan. The speedboat dropped me off on the beach in front of the resort. Oh, and by "on the beach," I mean no pier. The boat gets as close as it can to the shore, then you step off into the water and walk the rest of the way. I knew this is how it worked beforehand so I wore shorts. Upon arrival, I was met by my villa host, Noa. He gave me a quick overview of the resort, then showed me to my suite. I arrived around happy hour (buy one, get one free), so I had time to enjoy a drink (or two). Then have a nice dinner at one of the resort restaurants. Day 7 - Checked out much of the resort today. Also checked out the village outside the resort. A lot of little businesses, pharmacies, restaurants, etc. Also found a Dive shop. I booked a Dive. Found time to book another massage too. Day 8 - It’s a nice feeling when you know there’s nowhere you have to be. Today was breakfast, spa, happy hour, dinner. Much of my in between time was spent relaxing in my sala. A short afternoon rain shower made it particularly nice. The spa. I have to say, I love this spa. They built it into a hill, incorporating much of the rock already there. The steam room, for lack of a better description, is a spacious cave. The stepping stones through a lagoon leading to the reception area are my favorite part. Of course, the massages are great as are the staff. Day 9 - High winds today. Scuba diving postponed because of high waves :-( Day 10 - Woohoo, scuba diving! I dove with H2O in Koh Phangan. Turned out I was the only certified diver diving that day. Two were doing their beginner dive course. The rest were snorkelers. We dove at Koh Tao. We got lucky with the weather. It was sunny when we left. Overcast when arrived at Koh Tao. Raining when we returned to the resort. However, visibility during the dives was very good. Day 11 - Travel day. I departed Anantara Rasananda the same way I arrived, by boat. Which was interesting because it started raining as soon as I left my suite. Then it stopped as I was about to board the speedboat. So, speedboat from Koh Pha-ngan to Koh Samui. Fly from Samui to Bangkok. Short layover in Bangkok, then fly to Incheon airport outside of Seoul. Looonng layover in Incheon, then Incheon to San Francisco. Samui may be my favorite “open-air” airport. But when it comes to technology, Incheon is my favorite. They have robots. Things of note about this trip:
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