Patels in Phuket-Part One December 2010

Guess where Rakesh, Jay, Hare and I went for Christmas? Yes, Phuket, Thailand. Jay wanted to go somewhere warm after freezing in Montreal and we were more than happy to oblige. Vivian chose to spend her holidays back home in Canada. Everybody was happy. Hurray!

I will do this post thematically rather than chronologically. It's good to experiment.

We arrived Christmas Eve at our hotel, the Centara Karon Resort, in time to unpack, unwind and make it to the Christmas buffet.

CHRISTMAS IN KARON BEACH, PHUKET, THAILAND

Guests enjoying their buffet dinner and show.

Hard to tell, but there were a lot of people. 

It was different eating turkey with cranberry sauce outdoors in warm temperatures, 

surrounded by palm trees.

The child carollers

I just noticed Santa holding a bottle in the background.

That's so wrong.

The Thai dancers

Cue the cultural disconnect

They were cute and put their hearts into it.

Carved fruits and veg

The buffet really was excellent.

Since there were no chimneys for Santa to use, we had the boys place their stockings in their bathroom.

Dad, you can explain that one.

As you can see, Santa found them, even in Karon Beach, Phuket!

CHRISTMAS DAY IN KARON BEACH, PHUKET, THAILAND

The modern family, gathered 'round the warm glow of the computer as we Skyped with parents back home in Canada. 

God bless the people who came up with Skype.

OUR RESORT

Centara Karon Resort

The open air reception

The 8 storey tower
We stayed on the 5th floor.

Our room

Much bigger than the one in Tokyo! 

You could swing a cat here, possibly two!

Our bathroom. Love the tile colour!

Our view of the Andaman Sea

The view of one of the three pools from the 5th floor open air hall 

Speaking of pools, this was the one with the water slide.

Here we are enjoying the one that had a water slide. 

Yes, even me!

Look closely, but not too close!

Yes, I'm the one in the black bikini.

Hare

Jay

The third pool we never went in.

The hotel's spirit house on the hotel grounds

It's a Thai thing. 

Oh, you're going to make me give you more information, aren't you?

A spirit house (san phra phum) (Thai: ศาลพระภูมิ) is a shrine to the protective spirit of a place that are found in the Southeast Asian countries of Burma,Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an auspicious spot, most often in a corner of the property. The location may be chosen after consultation with a Brahmin priest. The spirit house is normally in the form of a miniature house or temple, and is mounted on a pillar or on a dais.

The house is intended to provide a shelter for spirits which could cause problems for the people if not appeased. The shines often include images of people and animals. Votive offerings are left at the house to propitiate the spirits. More elaborate installations include an altar for this purpose.

In addition to outdoor shrines, homes and businesses also have them indoors, similar to ancient Roman Lares Familiares.

Thank you, Wikipedia. What would we do without you?

FLORA AND FAUNA

There were orchids everywhere. I have a friend in Toronto who is especially fond of them. I thought of her each time I saw these gorgeous blooms.

 Scorpion. 

Hello!

Two seconds later, literally, we saw this enormous millipede.

That was enough creepy crawlies for me. Glad they stayed outdoors!

Another beautiful flower

STREET SCENES

The area around our hotel seemed to be typically Thai, with places catering to the tourists thrown in for good measure. 

Street leading directly away from our resort's driveway.

Turning the corner and heading towards the main street

Roasting fish

Fruit stall

Take your pick of skewers

A local business' spirit house

I guess these spirits liked sugary pop.

Now that's fresh!

Lopper, lopper, he bite...

Pretty to look at. pretty to smell

Really quite intricate, especially for soap

I love these displays! 

Lights...

...and stuffed animals

So colourful

Lots of scooters, locals and tourists alike

This is how they sold gasoline. Hmmm...

Apparently we're just being paranoid in Canada with all our safety regulations.

Great colour and location

Right on the curve of a busy road

Statues in the middle of the roundabout on the way to the beach

Beach, did someone say beach?

SAND AND SURF

Our first glimpse of the beach when we arrived.

Even slightly overcast, the ocean looked stunning.

"Our" beach

Looking south

Looking back towards our beach chairs

Looking north

The sand was light gold and so fine it squeaked when you walked on it a certain way.  The ocean was as  warm as the air. Outstanding!

The boys wanted to parasail and towards the end of our stay, I relented. No point in letting them do it earlier and possibly ruining our trip with an unfortunate accident. 

Buckling up Hare

What is it about this T shirt that makes me feel a little uneasy?

Praying?!?

Up...

...up....

...and away!

While Hare was soaring in the air, they got Jay ready.

Not too tight, guys! I want grandchildren!

You can barely make at Hare way, way off in the distance near the island.

Hare coming back...

Jay getting ready to go.

What's with that T shirt?

Hare getting closer...

Closer...

Splash down!

Final farewell?

The tow boat

Hare 

Coming ashore like James Bond

Safe and sound

Phew!

One down, one to go

Jay took off so fast, I only had time to take this one photo.

Wheeee!!!

It's hard to tell, but they were slowing the boat so Jay could dunk his feet in the ocean.

Back up in the air

Coming back to shore

Jay's splashdown

Yep, still in one piece

SPAS-FISH AND OTHERWISE

You know we had to try the fish spa. Some of you may be asking, "What is a fish spa?" Be patient. Everything will be explained. 

Info on the fish that do the "work"

Hope you can read it. If not, magnify.

Yours truly getting ready for the spa.

Then it was Hare's turn.

Are you dying of suspense yet? 

We took the plunge...

Hare first because I'm a big baby.

Yes, that was ice cream he was eating.

Why not indulge all our senses at once?

The fish loved him! Or at least his dead skin...ewwwww!

My turn

Not too bad at first...I can do this...

Then the nibbling started in earnest.

It was such an odd sensation!

The feeling reminded me of how our dog Raffles, when she was a puppy, used to nip at only the socks on our stockinged feet. You know what I mean, right, Nancy?

Close up of the garra rufa going to work on our feet.

Please note toenail colour, Canadian Maple Leaf by OPI.

Jay had to get in on the action

 At first the fish didn't care for his feet.

I didn't blame them.

That didn't take long to change.

Starting to relax

Our most unique mother-son experience to date

An experience so nice, we had to do it twice!

This time, it was Rakesh's turn to enjoy (?) the sensation of tiny fish sucking away.

The prep

Let the nibbling begin!

The facial expressions kill me!

What's going on down there?

Rakesh thought the fish might like a change in their diet.

Someone's pants were a little too hip, yes?

I tell you, it was a team effort to get those pants rolled back down.

Success!

Now for the other spa. This one was on the resort property. 

The lush greenery-lined path leading to the spa.

The spaaaahhhh entrance

Fountain

I love fountains.

The path leading to the treatment rooms.

Can you stand it? 

I only went once to the spa. If I had had more time, I would have gone every day. I had a traditional Thai back massage with hot compresses. It was as fantastic as it sounds. The foot soak and exfoliating procedure with fresh-cut lime I had first was a wonderful start to the whole session. There was the typical spa music playing, but I could also hear the birds singing outside. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I was ready to move in permanently. 

Stay tuned for Part Two of the Patels in Phuket.