Hunter and I woke up around 7am and went for a quick swim. Since we have a bit of a sunburn, we wanted to try and cool it off in the pool before the sun came out in full heat. After our quick dip and some aloe, I then went full swing into packing up our suitcases and such because later this afternoon we are changing hotels. I also was multitasking, uploading pictures to my blog post so I could send it out. There were a lot of pictures to upload so it was taking a while to get that organized. When I was mostly done packing we decided to go have breakfast as we were both hungry. I brought the laptop to finish working on my blog too as I didn't want to get even further behind on my posts.
Breakfast and blogging
After breakfast, we finished packing our bags and had them ready at the door before leaving. After applying some more aloe and remembering to use sunscreen this time, we stopped for some cash at the ATM and then booked a taxi to Mai Khao beach. We used the app the driver told us to use on our first night here called Bolt which cut the taxi cost in half compared to grab. The driver picked us up, then we headed to a gas station where he got his van filled up, and finally continued to our destination. The destination was actually blocked off with a guard, so we got out and had about a 7-minute walk before our destination which wasn't that big of a deal. The guard asked us where we were going and then pointed us in the right direction.
Gas station
Inside the taxi van
A pretty butterfly on the walk to the beach
A house on the walk to the beach
We arrived at the beach just in time to see the departure of an Etihad 787-X Dreamliner to Abu Dhabi and a Thai Airways 777-300 going to Europe. The flights actually turned out to be slightly delayed so we had time to enjoy the small beach and capture a bunch of other planes taking off too. There were Thai Smiles regional flights, a Singapore 737 that we will hopefully be flying on in a few days, as well as various other Asian leisure airlines like Scoot, Nok Air, Vietjet, AirAsia and more. It was cool to see a bunch of rare (for us) planes on a beautiful beach and we got some cool shots as well!
A descriptive sign!
The airport
The nice, albeit windy airport beach
Phuket Airport International Terminal
Malaysian 737 up first
Air Asia A320
The Etihad B78X
Etihad B78X closer view
Etihad B78X
Etihad B78X
Etihad B78X
Etihad B78X
Etihad B78X wings flexing on departure
The wings will flex even more on arrival to Abu Dhabi in 8hrs as they will be drained of the 1000s of gallons of fuel currently in them
Nok 737 another asian low cost
Stormy watching Scoot
737 from below
Barnacles on a coconut that washed ashore
Thai Smiles A320
Thai Smiles Eclipse
The Thai 77W we were here to see
Hunter and a Singapore 737
Thai 77W finally pushing late
Low and slow departure for the heavy 777
You could really feel the massive GE90 engines
Thai soaring overhead
While fairly safe there's nowhere in the US you can get this close
Thai 777 headed out to sea
Very slow climb with all the fuel for a 12 hr flight
Random person with a kitten on the beach (also unsure how she is surviving in all black and sweatpants as it was so hot)
When we were done at the beach we walked out back to where we were dropped off and tried to book another taxi on the app, but because we were so close to the airport, it was picking people who were stuck there due to a road being closed and all the drivers were telling me to cancel each time I tried to book one. Eventually, we walked out a bit further from where we were dropped off and found a pharmacy with a lady who helped us call a general taxi. We also purchased additional aloe at her pharmacy since we needed more and she was so kind to help us get a taxi. When the taxi came and he told us he want 800 bhat I said no way too expensive since the ride here was only 200 and the app wanted 200 to go back, I managed to negotiate down to 300 which they agreed to and we were on our way back only slightly delayed.
A plane taking off while we walked back to the main road
Trying to find a taxi
Waiting at the pharmacy to get a taxi with a new friend!
When we got back to the hotel we went back to our room, got our suitcases and went to the lobby to check out. While Hunter did the checkout I went to the 7-11 to get additional drinks for at our new hotel location. When we were done we got one more butterfly tea drink and then booked our taxi on the Bolt app to the Ao Po Grand Marina. It was a 30-minute drive across the island. When we arrived at the marina we met with the greeter from the Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket. Our new hotel is on an island and we need to take a boat to get there! The greeter brought us to the pier where we waited for the speedboat. While we waited we found some fish in the water and I was very excited as I recognized one from our many aquarium visits!
Being taken to the pier
Pretty flowers
Fish
More fish! Can you see the really skinny ones?
When the boat arrived we were the only ones to board and were taken on the less than 10-minute ride to the island. While on the boat we were given little water bottles which were perfect as it was quite hot. When we arrived we were met by a golf cart that took us to the hotel entrance. Waiting for us were the general manager and some of the staff. They told us about the gong and how it alerted the Naka (dragon) to our presence. Hunter and I both rang it twice. We were then given little shot glasses of mint drinks while we transferred to a different golf cart to continue the check-in process in our room, sea view villa 58. When we arrived at the villa we were given a tour of the 450 square meter or 4844 square foot space that was ours. It was amazing and I took a video and pictures to share. Pictures and video does not do it justice!
Hitting the gong
Hunter hitting the gong
The view from our bedroom
plunge pool
looking off the cabana
Welcome letter and snack
lounge chairs
Side door
Courtyard looking into the bathroom
outdoor bath and shower
Indoor shower and steam room
Bathroom
Closet space
Toilet
Hall to bedroom, its all open air
The bedroom is air-conditioned, but has windows to open if desired
Video tour of our villa!
As soon as we were left alone, we immediately jumped into our pool from our very sweaty morning. It was so refreshing and we could have stayed there for the rest of the evening. Around 6pm we headed over to the Zbar where they do a sunset ceremony recognizing the Naka on the island. Here we learned more about the island and how we were standing at the heart of the dragon. We also were shown where the head and tail of the dragon are which are the two other islands nearby the one we are on. After the ceremony we talked with the general manager for a while, David, who we found out is originally from Toronto, Canada! He has also been all over doing various roles in the hotel industry.
Gecko
A big kite
Pathway to the sunset ceremony
the islands in the distance
Lighting candles
Local snack after setting our candles in
After the sunset ceremony, we went to dinner at Tonsai which has a Thai menu. Hunter ordered Pad Thai Goong while I had the Pad See Ew with chicken. Both were delicious. After dinner, we returned to our villa where we jumped back into our pool before showering and quickly falling asleep (halfway through writing my blogs and I was out like a light)!
Walking to dinner
While at dinner they did turndown service in our room
Last swim before bed
Date: Friday July 15, 2022
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