6/8/2014 - Pool Villas and Martial Law in Thailand

There really isn't much more we can say about Thailand that hasn't already been written throughout the various posts in this blog.  Other than Singapore or Malaysia, its the country in Asia we have spent the most days in over the past 2 years.  After the post audit celebration in March we assumed our Thailand days had come to a close.  Low season prices, an unplanned weekend on the social calendar and a military coup combined forces to draw us back to Phuket for one last hurrah.  Ultimately, one channel on television was blacked out, but that was the extent we saw of a change over in political control.  Everything else seemed to be business as usual.

The propeller flight from Penang to Phuket on Firefly is always an enjoyable experience.  You walk out onto the tarmac, steer clear of the sometimes slightly moving propellers and duck your head while entering the tiny plane.  There are only about 20 rows of 2 seats on either side of the aisle, so before you know it you are gently lifting off and heading North. The flight probably takes an extra 20 minutes because you aren't going as fast, but before you can finish a B.S. Report podcast you are touching down on one of our favorite tropical islands.

Since it was only for a weekend we stayed up on the north side of the island again, on Mai Khao beach.  Its only a 15 minute taxi from the airport and before you knew it we were driving past the Turtle Village, the various Marriott properties and then pulling into the Renaissance.  We had rolled the dice on an upgrade via my gold status and we were not disappointed.  Instead of checking in at the open air lobby we were whisked away on a golf cart to our own private pool villa.  You could walk straight out of the bedroom into the pool if you so desired and when you stood on the pool deck, you could see the crashing waves off in the distance.

Even during high season, the water on this side of the island is pretty rough, so our own private pool changed the equation for Saturday.  Back to the Turtle Village to load up on snacks and drinks for the day.  The last bottles of Singha were procured, some of our favorite snack mix (sure will miss that Tong Garden) and since it was the finale, a bottle of Proseco.  For what was probably the first time in our vacationing lifestyle, after eating way too much at the awesome breakfast buffet (best we've had in Asia) we didn't leave the villa for the next 10 hours.  Lounging, reading, listening to music, cooling off in the pool, sometimes it just feels good to be lazy.

Eventually we needed more to eat than fruit, snack mix and the cake that had been unexpectedly delivered around 3 PM, so off we went to the open air bar overlooking the property.  A mix of Thai dishes showed up and we had hopes for some live music, but it was not on the menu that evening.  No matter, the food was excellent, the drinks were cold, there was a breeze in our face, it was the perfect way to say good-bye to Thailand.