View over the beach

Record levels of snow in Sweden and crummy weather in England feel VERY distant as we are writing this blog entry from our private villa in Thailand with palm trees and sunshine. Not that we are trying to make our friends and family in colder climate jealous.... it's just so difficult to imagine right now.....

Yes, we are in Thai paradise at a very nice resort just outside the airport in Phuket. We had originally planned on staying for three nights just to catch some sun and beach life, but after seeing how nice our hotel is and that the resort is located in one of the less busy and touristy areas of Phuket, we decided to stay another three nights.

beautiful beach

Knowing that this is the peak season for sun thirsty Northern Europeans and that some areas will feel just like home with white pasty Swedes and Brits fighting for space on the beach, we were positively surprised that the resort is quiet and the beach is quite empty. No need to get up at 6am to sprint down to the beach and marking your territory by occupying a sun chair!

Crazy Germans posing for pics

The nice thing is also that the hotel gave us a better room than we had booked. We got a private 'villa' with its own plunge pool and outdoor bathroom. It feels very nice to be able to walk straight out of bed and go for a quick dip in the morning. The food at the hotel is also excellent and even though we've been eating most of our meals at the local food merchants and restaurant, the breakfast is really good.

The outdoor bathroom with shower and pool

Our own private plunge pool!

We did attend a BBQ buffet that the hotel organized one evening. It was very nice with lots of good food; shellfish and fish grilled to order and lots of different kinds of meats. The posters for this BBQ night had promised 'live violin and guitar music'. Not to disappoint, a little Thai man showed up with his violin. Unfortunately, it sounded suspiciously similar to a tortured cat so when he finished all the guests sighed out of relief and applauded him but were quite happy to see him leave. But surprise! Five minutes later he was back, this time with a guitar in his hand. A man of many talents! To his defense, the guitar playing was much better than his violin skills, but then he started singing. Not too bad, but it was quite cute to hear him sing 'Mrs Lobinson' on top of his lungs instead of 'Mrs Robinson'.

BBQ dinner at the hotel

The chef at the BBQ

We both wanted to relax for a few days and try to do the 'beach thing'. Which essentially means 'to do nothing'. While the whole trip is vacation, we are often on the move and at most destinations it feels like we should go and see and do things. So here in Thailand we decided that complete laziness is ok. Which is easier said than done! None of us is really a big fan of sun bathing. Robert is of the whiter skin type and has to be careful in the sun. Victoria's skin can tolerate sun a bit better but still gets impatient and antsy from just laying flat on her back for more than an hour.

Looking cool on the beach

Victoria and the sunset

Robert playing

We tried several times to just lay in the sun and we did quite well! However, the sun is very strong so we stay in the shade of the parasols as much as possible. The sun still gets you in the shade though, which is something Robert learned the painful way! After a couple of hours on the beach with max five minutes exposure in the actual sun, he developed a very characteristic British pink hue all over his body. Ouch!!!!

We also wanted to try some Thai massages, so we found a nice, clean place in the little town next to the beach. Victoria went for the 'neck-back' option and was after 30 minutes more sore than from the 8,000 meter of swimming she's been doing over the past three days!!! Amazing how much power is in a little Thai lady! Robert went for the royal massage which included hot steaming cloths full of aromatic spices dabbed all over the body. When the massage was finished and we stepped out of the spa into the bright sunlight we discovered that Robert was...bright orange/yellow! So he was like a chameleon; going from white, to pink, to yellow. All in one day!

Robert went from white pasty to bright yellow!!

Robert's yellow leg after a Royal Thai massage.

Tomorrow morning we are off to the airport to catch a flight to Bangkok where we will spend a few days. It was been a really nice six days here in Phuket and we think we are getting quite good at 'doing nothing'.

A little coffee place on the beach