Thailand 2014
In April 2014 we flew out to Phuket, Thailand for our annual family holiday. The weather was very hot and the people were extremely friendly. We stayed at the Patong beach hotel which was nice, with a large pool area and the rooms were nice and clean (always a bonus). Whilst we were out there the Songkran festival was on. This is basically a 2 day long water fight to celebrate the Thai new year. The streets are full of people with icy buckets of water and water pistols at the ready - so be prepared to get soaked if you venture out of the hotel. It was so much fun! We became locals at Crackers bar and teamed up with some Australian friends we made, along with the bar staff and other locals to ensure no passer by got away dry (we were even jumping in the back of passing Tuk tuks and drenching passengers with water pistols) . The Thai people also carry around bowls filled with white/pink powder mixed with water which they rub onto your face to symbolise washing away the sins from the past year.
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We made sure we didn't miss out on the sights of Phuket by hiring a driver for the day to take us around and show us the local area (most of which being temples - which were so picturesque). Be warned though, if you go to a temple you need your shoulders to be covered and some need your legs covered too, so I would make sure you are dressed appropriately before leaving so you don't have to hire their wraps to wear.
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In Phuket there is a place you can visit called Tiger Kingdom. Once there you have a choice of going in with the tiger cubs, small tigers, medium tigers or fully grown adults. It cost around £30 per person to go in with the cubs for about 10 minutes and £20-25 per person to go in with the medium and large tigers for about 10 minutes but it is well worth it. The cubs were more fun as you could play with them, stroke and and cuddle them whereas you had to be a little careful with the big ones and only walk behind them, wait to be told you can touch them and you are only allowed to touch them in certain areas.
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We also went on the Siam Safari (where you get to ride on an elephant with an experienced mahout, visit a local farmyard, experience a traditional buffalo-cart ride, see how rubber trees are tapped and enjoy a sumptuous Thai buffet meal). This was a great day out and we also got the chance to explore a little bit of Thai culture.
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My favourite trip of the holiday was the Koh Phi Phi and Maya bay boat trip with snorkeling and lunch. These islands are absolutely heavenly with the most fantastic views and white sand beaches. They even had monkeys on the beach that you could cuddle and have sit on your shoulder as well as free roaming monkeys. We took little canoes through the caves (our canoe boat driver even made me a rose out of a plant) and went to see where 'The Beach' was filmed. We also took a boat over to James Bond Island whilst in Thailand. Just be warned to take a lot of sun cream with you as you are out in the open for most of the day and with the breeze from the boat you don't realise you're burning until it's too late!
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Patong Beach Hotel hosted a traditional Thai evening where you have a buffet meal and watch Thai Dancers which was really lovely. We also continued to go to Crackers bar every evening as the staff were so friendly and because we went back daily they gave us drink deals. If you see a bell on the bar - word of warning - do not ring it unless you want to buy everyone sitting at the bar a shot for a fee of 1000 THB! Our Australian friends were in such a big group that it actually worked out cheaper for them to ring the bell and buy everyone a shot than it did to buy a round of shots, so lucky for us we had many shots each night. There is also a game of hammering the nails into the wood that they try and get you to play for money (note you will never win this game as the bar staff practice for many hours each day and are extremely good at it).
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We also went on a night out down Bangla Road. What an experience this was! It is filled with lady boys and ping pong shows (After being dragged to one of these, being in a group of lots of boys against only 2 girls and not wanting to be split up, I would advise not going to see one of these as it it literally so disgusting, although you wouldn't believe some of the things these Thai ladies pull/pop out of their vaginas!) There are also lots of bars to drink in and we went to a club whilst we were here one evening. The nightlife is pretty buzzing with lots of drinks deals and promoters trying to get you into bars/clubs/ping pong shows.
If you want a relaxing but exciting holiday with lots to do during the day and in the evenings I would definitely recommend Thailand and I would love to go back to experience Bankok and Koh Phangan.
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