Thailand Part 1

How was your Novruz? Ours was great! We enjoyed a day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and 5 days in Phuket, Thailand. When I was gathering my thoughts for this blog, I decided that not only did I want to share these amazing places with you, but I also wanted documentation for myself, so that 10 years from now, I can recall the exact things that made the trip a true experience. So, I apologize if this reads more like a journal entry than one of my normal blogs, and you are warned in advance that this will be lengthy, but here we go...some of the more memorable moments:

With a 14 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, we had enough time to check out the highlights of the city. Notably, the Petronas Towers, which are the second tallest buildings in the world, and China Town with its aromatic smells, knock-off jewelery, purses and DVDs, and food galore. KL was hot and humid, prompting Kyle to stop in Gap for a pair of shorts to replace his jeans. I had been forewarned that KL is quite conservative, so I was wore a dress that covered my knees (almost) and my shoulders. Thank God (pun intended) that I didn't have to wear a veil because it was too sticky for that! And, I'm not embarrassed to admit that with jet-lag setting in and knowing that a week's worth of Thai food was waiting for me, I hungrily ate a foot-long Subway sandwich (which we don't have in Baku, so it was actually an indulgence!).

Brooke & Kyle in KL


Petronas Towers


Petaling Street


Our resort in Phuket, Thailand, was an hour drive from the airport, which was just fine, because it gave us an opportunity to observe the locals and their customs. Like, that 80% of the population uses scooters to commute around the city. It was common to see 3 or 4 people deep on one scooter and often a small child was scrunched in the middle as well.

Avista Resort was located at the top of a HUGE hill, overlooking Kata Beach. We had read reviews on TripAdvisor about our hotel and had noticed that everyone mentioned this hill. They failed to properly describe just how steep it was. It was so big in fact, that it was the Tsunami Evacuation Site for the area, which did allow me to sleep peacefully at night, knowing that I would not be washed away, but gave us fits every time we walked to the beach or into town. To add to our growing dislike for the hill, I hurt my foot on day 2, so that I was unable to walk much of anywhere. I hobbled around in pain and was prime bait for the tuk tuk drivers.

The tuk tuks were the best and most convenient way around Phuket. Once, they offered us a real taxi for the same price as a tuk tuk and Kyle was pumped to ride in air conditioning, but he relented after I pouted. I mean, we can ride in a taxi any ole day, but rarely do we get a tuk tuk experience.


View from our hotel room



Avista Resort


A tuk tuk. No mom, this thing does not offer seat belts.


Brooke & Kyle inside a tuk tuk


Kata Beach was nice, just full of tourists. Surprise, surprise. I may be biased, but I still think that beach for beach, Gulf Shores, Alabama, has the best beach with the whitest sand. The water clarity may not be as ideal, but I spend very little time in the ocean anyways. However, I love trying out Thai food, and I will take Pad Thai any day over fried chicken. Do I have to surrender my "American card" for saying that?

Picture of a stray dog taking himself for a swim; Thai long boat in the back ground


Brooke enjoying the beach and people watching.

"Thailand Part 2" is coming. Check back soon...