Phuket 2015

Around January, we found out that one of our friends from college was getting married in Phuket, Thailand. Paul was asked to be a groomsman, which he delightfully accepted. I agonized for months whether I would go too, knowing that it would be too long a trek to take the kids with us, but feeling anxious about leaving them.

Finally when he said something like, "I think this would be good for our marriage," I faithfully accepted. What a sacrifice, going on a six-day trip to one of Asia's most beautiful beach cities! But if it was good for our family, then I would suck it up and oblige. Mom and Dad graciously agreed to watch the girls for the week.

Before leaving I was a neurotic mess buying extra diapers, wipes, lotions, medications, and snacks for the kids as if the world was going to end and typing up a three page memo for my parents on taking care of the girls. But everything went off without a hitch, my mom sending me photos three times a day to prove that they were indeed happy, healthy, and excited to receive presents from Ama every morning.

Here we are in the beautiful international terminal of LAX, which is way better than any other terminal. There was even a La Mill coffee shop, straight out of Silver Lake!

First day - battling jet lag by lounging by the infinity pool right outside our Ocean Loft room. 

Exploring the white sands of the beach. 

And then going back to our room to enjoy the AC. It was stinking hot. Humid like I had never felt it before. After awhile, we realized that going outside was not really worth it unless we were in the water. So suffice it to say, we spent a lot of time in our beautiful room!

The next morning after some broken but sufficient sleep, we ambled down to the hotel restaurant to check out the complimentary breakfast. It was incredible each day, starting with a three-tiered cheese and fruit platter, two entrees with choices of Asian or Western dishes, and unlimited coffee and fresh-squeezed juices. The guava juice was our favorite, but even the apple juice was amazing.

We decided to enjoy the award-winning spa on the premises. I got a facial and a massage, and Paul got a 90-minute massage. Both were amazing, except that I got bit by mosquitos during my massage! I know, tough life.

Then we walked around the beautiful grounds of the resort.

By the afternoon, we were itching to see what was on the outside. It was my first time in Thailand, and I was determined to find a night market with amazing food.

And so we did, hiring a taxi for the afternoon and stopping first at the Big Buddha.

He was indeed a very big Buddha. 

There were also sweeping views of Phuket Bay.

 We asked our taxi driver to take us to the best night market that he knew of. It was fantastic, but also very far from the resort. It turned out that everything seemed to be quite far from the resort, so we figured this would be our only jaunt out during our short trip.

Our exploration at the night market consisted of several skewers of meat, an awesome grilled rice ball, a spicy tom yum soup that had me nearly crying from its heat and deliciousness, some grilled corn, a deep-fried fish, pad thai, and a couple beers that cost less than $1. Total meal cost? About $12 for the two of us.

Back at the hotel, Paul even managed to get a work conference call in (London time) while I fell fast asleep.

The next day, more incredible breakfast platters abounded.

And we laughed as Paul tried on the Thai pajamas we found in our room!

I don't think we did much that day, besides hang out at the pool and chat with some of the wedding guests that were slowly arriving. That evening was Celeste and Oscar's Welcome Dinner, which we noticed the hotel staff setting up on the beach the day before. 

It was nothing short of remarkable, and featured the best Thai food I have EVER had in my life! And actually, I'm proud to say that some of the Thai food we get here in LA was pretty competitive. There were platters and platters of larb salad, papaya salad, stir-fried vegetable and seafood dishes, tom yum soup, several curries, etc. My stomach could not keep up.

Eating on the beach among friends, we witnessed one of the most incredible sunsets I have ever seen. 

After the dinner, a lady appeared on the beach and treated us to a show in which she juggled, hula-hooped, and danced with rings and sticks of fire, all with a techno beat in the background. It was pretty crazy.

The next day was Saturday, the day of the wedding! It started off with the same remarkable breakfast platter.

Then some swimming in our infinity pool.

And then we ate again. This time, we started with cocktails and a real Thai iced tea, which was not as good as the blue cocktails.

The hotel restaurant was doing a four-course tasting menu. We said yes to everything, and could not believe how much food it was. It was incredibly inventive, delicate, and balanced, mostly a fusion of Western dishes with a Thai twist. My favorite were the watermelon gazpacho and the tom yum flavored pork rinds.

And then off to the wedding! All the groomsmen were in gray vests with pink ties. Luckily, no jackets since it was so hot. I was dripping sweat even in my sleeveless dress and my makeup melted rapidly off my face.

I could not believe this wedding venue - I thought our hotel was amazing, but this place had a grassy knoll overlooking the water. And maybe this is Asia being more technologically advanced than we are, but their photographer had a drone taking pictures from over the water! 

I've never taken so many photos at someone else's wedding. And yet, I didn't have my camera with me when the fireworks show was going off after dark, or when we all lit lanterns on the beach and watched them float away into the night sky. It was absolutely magical.

The next day was a rude awakening. Our last day. I had to get a coconut to help with the mild hangover.

We had a leisurely lunch, soaking in our last morning at the resort.

And then we checked out and off to the airport we went. We flew through Hong Kong, with many other guests from the wedding on our flight who were heading home. This time, we made a point to get some food in the airport before checking email on the free wi-fi. Nothing like some ramen and frozen beer to help you pass out before a 14 hour flight!

And then, after a big nap and three movies, we made it home. I had a rough night's sleep, my body confused and mind revved up, but was greeted in the morning by two little girls who were ecstatic to see us. (They don't look it here, but they were. Here they are focused on their favorite pastime, eating.)

Home sweet home.