THAILAND
Well here it is folks, part 3 of my travel diary. I don't want the writing about happier days to end, but I really need to accept that I'm home now and faced with the harsh realities of work, bills and a ridiculously long and unaffordable ASOS wishlist.
For my third and final post we're visiting the insanely beautiful land of Thailand!
After a busy 8 days in Hong Kong and Singapore, it was decided that a relaxing week here would be the cherry on the cake and give us a chance to recharge the batteries.
I don't know about you, but I had always, ALWAYS wanted to visit this magical place after years of tormenting myself by looking at peoples' holiday snaps and gap year diaries. As you may know, Thailand is pretty darn big so after reading tons of reviews and holiday guides, we decided that Phuket was the place for us.
Hotel
Well, where do I begin... We stayed at the BEAUTIFUL Beyond Resort Karon which is a five star, adult only hotel with it's own private entrance to the golden sands and crystal clear waters of Karon Beach. On arrival, we were greeted by the receptionist with a glass of water, bowl of fresh fruit and a cold flannel and I knew this one was going to be special.
The hotel is split over three levels with every single room offering an absolutely stunning view of the Andaman Sea. We stayed in a Beyond Deluxe room (third floor) and I cannot tell you how glorious it was to wake up to such views every morning.
The room was very clean, modern and spacious with plenty of storage space for all of my shoes and bikinis (I have a slight bikini addiction and always pack waaaaay too many!). The room was also equipped with a mini fridge, coffee machine and wet room, and was made up every day by the super friendly staff.
If you managed to peel yourself away from your private balcony, the pool and restaurant area was a fab place to relax, drink yummy cocktails and soak up the 40 degree heat. The hotel has two pools, one of which houses jacuzzi baths and a swim up bar, and you will never have any trouble with finding a sun lounger.
The food in the hotel's "Beach Bar" restaurant was always very tasty and unbelievably good value for what you were paying.
If you fancied a change of scenery, you could walk a whole 10 - 20 steps and find yourself a quiet little spot on the beach. Karon Beach is quite long so although it is a busy destination for tourists, it never felt overcrowded. It also gave you the perfect spot for watching a beautiful Phuket sunset!
In the vicinity of the hotel, there are endless shops, bars and restaurants to keep your belly full and taste-buds tickled with page upon page of cocktail options. If you do visit this hotel (or even just the area), I definitely recommend a trip to the Red Chopsticks restaurant as this was a personal favourite of mine.
Here are a few pictures of the hotel, beach and surrounding area...... *sigh* ...
I can safely say that one week in Phuket was nowhere near long enough to be able to do everything we wanted to, however of course, who can visit Thailand without a trip to the Phi Phi Islands and most notably, Maya Bay aka. "The Beach".
We did a day tour of the islands by speedboat and even stopped for some snorkelling along the way - I've never seen water so clear in my life! I was gutted to only be able to spend one day doing this, and unfortunately I didn't come across Leonardo DiCaprio, but it was a truly amazing experience nonetheless.
I absolutely intend on returning to Thailand and can't wait to see more of what this beautiful country has to offer. It was the perfect end to a wonderful holiday and I feel truly blessed that I have been able to experience this.
Have you been to Thailand? If so, I'd love to hear where you visited and if you have any recommendations for my future trip(s)!
Rachel
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