we made it back to Phi Phi alive (not to mention desperate for a shower), and caught the ferry to Phuket just in time. the hour and a half ride was so bumpy and wild that they brought around barf bags to all the passengers - I was too tired to care about the rough water, and too relieved that I was safely below deck and in a large boat that could handle the big waves. Our destination was the Katathani resort, one of the nicest hotels in Phuket. We arrived looking (and I'm sure smelling) absolutely disgusting. I think the hotel employees were quite alarmed by how disheveled their new guests were. I suppose we shouldn't have planned our dirtiest night of our trip right before our stay in the nicest hotel we could find - or maybe it was exactly the right thing to do... we each enjoyed about a 30 minute shower right when we arrived, and then another one later that night, trying to get clean after our camping trip.
once we woke from an A.C. induced nap we decided to explore Phuket... we walked past the half a dozen huge pools that were a part of our resort, and onto the beach. We decided to go along the rocks rather than walk the road into town, because not only did it allow us a constant view of the ocean and neighboring islands, but we were able to pass through some of the incredible resorts build along the beach cliffs. We eventually reached an impassible stretch of rock, so rather than backtrack (how inefficient), we decided to follow stairs up and hopefully find the main road that way. the first path was a dead end due to a massive barking dog blocking our way. we thought it best to leave him alone. the next set of stairs led to a fence/gate that enclosed what we thought was a resort. Kor opened the gate, the three of us let ourselves in. as we climbed up toward the "resort" we started to have second thoughts about our assumption... "i think this is a house" Lo said. Kor was pretty convinced it was a resort... I was on the fence, alternating back and fourth between house and resort with each second. we had paused to debate the matter in hushed voices, and soon noticed a gray-haired man wearing the biggest gold watch I have ever seen, sitting on a lawn chair facing away from us. that should have been a solid clue that not only was it a house, but it was his house, and we should turn around and kindly see ourselves out. instead, we literally tip-toed up the few stairs only feet behind where he lay (thank goodness he was apparently hard of hearing, because he didn't detect the flip flop of our sandals as we snuck behind him). we transitioned into a speed walk across his lawn as we all took in the kitchen (definitely not that of a resort), the pool room/library, and finally, the specialized bikes in the driveway - not exactly hotel property. we weren't speaking at this point, for fear of getting caught trespassing. we quietly opened the gate enclosing the back yard, praying there was no watchdog in the driveway, and without a word, all simultaneously broke into sprints up the steep driveway, past the two SUVs parked by the garage, then let ourselves nonchalantly out the front gate to the main street. only then did we bust into laughter as we all said in unison "definitely a house"!! Needless to say, we opted to take the road back that evening.
The nearby beach town, totally a Thailand version of Santa Cruz, was really fun and we enjoyed walking around, and eating Rotii and dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant (oddly enough)... Thai food 7 days a week is finally getting to us. Back at the hotel that night we decided to test out each of the resort's pools. the property was basically deserted as we made our way to pool #1... we jumped in, swam across, then headed out to the ocean before hitting up the rest of the pools. Thoroughly salty after our swim, we walked up the beach to the next pool when Kor felt his shorts' pocket and said "the key!!"... I'm not sure why, but Kor had decided to keep the hotel key in his pocket (not a zipper pocket), while we went on our pool escapades. Not even 10 minutes in the key way missing. grrreat. we were already on Katathani's blacklist after showing up looking homeless and smelling like fish, just what we needed, another strike on our record. we decided to retrace our steps - nothing. With no other options we went back to get our towels so that we could go to the main office and explain that we had lost the key and needed a new one. Fortunately, there, sitting on our towels was our hotel key, despite the fact that Kor had insisted he had not left the key with the towels. We "Koooorrrr!!!"-ed him, which we find ourselves doing frequently on this trip, and then resumed our pool hopping until we were exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep in our cool room on a soft bed - paradise.
Just another day on vacay in Thailand (with Kor as our guide).
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