A slice of luxury in Phuket and Diving

Leaving Bangkok we couldn't find a bus that left late enough to give us enough time to get back from the tiger temple so we booked onto our 1st train. There were no sleeper tickets left so we went for the class just below which seemed very nice as we boarded the train. We'd been told to make sure we had A/C at the very least, however, pulling in to our destination we both took a reasonable amount of time to defrost after 10 of the coldest hours of my life! Annoyingly there is no train station in Phuket so we still had 4 hours more on a bus, although this wasn't actually too bad and the time went by relatively quickly. 

Arriving in Phuket we were picked up by Andy, a friend of Poppy's uncle, and taken back to his villa via his office where he gave us the keys to a car he was lending us while we were staying with him and his family! The villa was amazing with stunning views over the sea and beaches below...a stark contrast to what we have become accustom to! The next couple of days were spent relaxing by the pool or on the beach and also organising our Scuba Diving course with an instructor that Andy knew. It was a lovely change to be able to eat in for once rather than eating all of our meals out and not have to live out of our bags as we stayed for almost two weeks!

 

 

View from our sunbed at Andys - don't be too jealous!

Sunset overlooking Surin beach

Generously, Andy also offered to take us out on one of his boats while we were there. We boarded the RIB and sped out to nearby Racha Noi where Andy and his wife, Julie, were meeting some friends on another boat. We spent the afternoon snorkelling with his two sons, Jakk and Min, and had a lovely lunch on the boat. A lovely day before the start of our Scuba Diving course! 

 

 

After a wet and choppy ride back on the RIB

Racha Noi beach

First play with the GoPro

Heyyyyy

Min - Andy's son

Moray Eel

 

We met Graham (our instructor) and headed over to a hotel to do a few more theory bits and then the pool stuff that day before going out on the diving boat. The next day we headed down to the pier nice and early to jump on the dive boat to head back over to Racha Noi to some dive sites around the island. The sea was very calm and the visibility was very good on the first day making all 3 of our dives very enjoyable! We were both nakered upon returning to shore and crashed out in bed soon after getting back to our room! Thankfully we had a rest day before our final day of dives where we went over to Koh Phi Phi. The sea, however, was far more choppy than on our first day and the water no where near as clear although we did manage to spot a turtle. We both had another great day diving and are now Qualified scuba divers. I think, however, while I'm keen to go diving again in the future, Poppy would still rather spend the day tanning! 

 

 



Terry the Turtle (Hawksbill Turtle)



Lionfish

 

Before leaving Phuket we were keen to head over to a restaurant Andy had suggested in Patong that served roast dinners! Having not enjoyed a roast for almost 2 months this was an absolute treat an we both ate far too much. We then stayed in Patong for the evening to enjoy some of the nightlife and watch a 'katoy' (ladyboy) cabaret show which was hilarious. Could you guess that they are all men?



Poppy's best Thai meal yet!



Whoops