Today was a bit of a bonus day, since we managed to arrive earlier than expected, and therefore get up at a reasonable time this morning to actually be able to do something during the day.

So we’re staying at the Sugar Palm Resort, Kata Beach, Phuket. 

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The hotel is very modern, with a very funky pool/spa/reception area.  Unfortunately we do not have a room with a pool view (they cost more), but if we were staying in Phuket longer it would be worth the upgrade.  Breakfast is served in an outdoor covered area, right next to a fake rock waterfall, which is very chilled out and refreshing in the morning.  This morning we had a combination of traditional English cooked breakfast and egg friend noodles – interesting mix!

Today we decided to simply explore Kata beach a little and see what’s around.  At the southern end of Kata beach we stopped for a cocktail and I snapped a couple of photos of a cool little reggae bar, and a collection of long boats waiting for customers….

After reaching the southern tip of Kata beach, we decided to walk all of the way down the other end, and follow the road on to Karon beach which is further north.  During the walk, we accidentally found a interesting place which looked like something straight out of the Flintstones movie!  We decided to pop in for lunch. 

We were really surprised to walk in and find a garden with a waterfall, rock looking (fibre glass) tables and chairs and a dinosaur skull!

We again had Thai food – chicken curry and chicken and noodles.  The food was lovely, although we did start to get the feeling that we may be sick of Thai food before we even reach Phi Phi island!

After lunch we had a walk around the gardens and snapped a couple of photos…

As we were about to leave, Ali then noticed that there was also a crazy golf course landscaped in to the prehistoric theme, so we thought we would have a game   There were 18 holes and the course was really well designed with bridges, streams, tunnels, caves and lots more to make each hole unique.

Finally we walked to Karon beach, had a drink and I managed to snap one last great shot of a bird sitting on a nearby tree branch…

We are now back at the hotel where Ali is now having a shower and washing her hair, so I’m blogging whilst I wait for her to finish

Tomorrow we are being picked up at 7am and will be spending two days in the jungle (staying over night in an earth lodge), so the only blogging I will be doing will be from my phone.

Wednesday we will be getting a boat over to Phi Phi island, where the partying will start!

We arrived in Phuket last night after managing to catch an earlier flight than expected from Bangkok.  Last night we had dinner in a restaurant next to the hotel called Mali, where we ate our first Thai ‘Thai food’.  We shared two dishes – chicken and cashew nuts and a chicken green curry, both were very nice.  We also tried out a couple of (not so Thai cocktails).

After dinner we wondered down to the beach and quickly found a bar/restaurant which was recommended to us called ‘Mom Tri’s Boathouse Wine and Grill’.  This place is amazing!  It’s right on the beach, is decorated to look like a retired boathouse and has perfectly positioned sofas where you can sip wine and watch the waves crash in – so that’s exactly what did!

We are going back there for dinner tonight!