Buddha Archives · Bon Voyage on a Big Adventure!

Ah, Thailand beaches. Great for our tans and our moods, maybe not so great for content for the blog. But hey, Phuket, let’s go.

Day 98: Travel from Bangkok to Phuket

As you can imagine, the trail from Bangkok to Phuket is well traveled. We hopped in our Grab (Uber’s SE Asia cousin), and the driver said, “Let me guess: you are headed to Phuket.”

Getting to the Airport

Our Grab ride to the Don Muang airport had us grabbing for a reason anyone would want to live in a city with so much traffic. What is a twenty minute drive on paper took us well over an hour. We had also stayed up until 4:00 AM watching the Philadelphia Eagles lose to the Tennessee Titans and then had to be back up by 5:30 AM to pack and catch a cab. Eeek.

We Heart Airport Lounges

Rich and I got to return to one of our favorite lounges in Bangkok, our airport BFF, to work on our THIRD thirty day post, in the same booth where we wrote our second thirty day post. What beautiful, unplanned symmetry! Also, unlimited free coffee.

Then we almost missed our flight when it got delayed, according to the display board, and then moved back up to its regular time according to a hard-to-understand PA announcement. I thought I heard them say Phuket the first time (Rich: “I didn’t hear it.”), and then Rich and I both definitely heard them say it the second time, followed by “final call.” We sprinted out of the lounge and to the gate to be greeted by a long line of other people who still needed to board.

The flight to Phuket was really stunning as we landed over green islands and deep blue water. From the airport, we took about a thirty minute long shuttle to our hotel and got checked in.

We stayed at the Grand Sunset Hotel, and as advertised, its pool had killer sunset views as well as a free sunset cocktail with free freshly popped popcorn. It’s the small things. Settling in at the pool felt just right.

sunset cocktail in Phuket — Enjoying my sunset cocktail. It’s orange. Like the sunset. Super clever.

Day 99: We Went to the Pool

Umm, it rained in the morning so Rich and I did some work, and then we went to the pool. Then it rained some more so we had a “meeting” where we calendar-ed out how we were going to spend our days in Phuket, and then we showered and went back to the pool for our sunset cocktail. Then we walked out to the beach for a minute and on to dinner.

Let’s just swing by the ocean for a minute on the way to dinner.

A note about Phuket: there are a lot of Russians. Most of the signs for restaurants were translated into English, and they were ALL translated into Russian. In almost all of the other areas of Southeast Asia we have visited, there have been many Asian tourists and many Australian backpackers. In Phuket, we just saw Russians. It struck us as interesting, so I thought I would share.

Day 100: We Tried to Visit Big Buddha, Failed, and Got Epic Sunset Pictures

About PHuket

I have done a terrible job describing Phuket. Most importantly, it’s beautiful. We stayed across the street from a large wide beach with tan colored sand. The water is super blue, and there are huge white waves that roll in. It is exactly what you want a beach to look like.

Secondly, Phuket is surrounded by rolling, incredibly lush, green hills. I think if you planted a seed in Phuket today, you would have a giant blooming plant next week, that’s how fertile the environment is. The green of the hills is just as majestic as the blue of the sea.

Trying to Visit Big Buddha

At the top of one of these green hills is a huge Buddha that you could see from the roof of our hotel. Since I knew we would mostly spend our time in Phuket by water not exercising and not seeing sights, I thought hiking to it would be a good plan. We could see it, take some pictures, get some exercise, and enjoy the hike together.

I came across a blog with step-by-step directions of how to easily hike to Big Buddha. Awesome. The directions included everything except an address of the starting point. Maybe you see where this is going.

Long story long, we got up early, put on workout clothes (long running tights for me so I would be fully covered to go in the temple), walked the twenty five minutes in 85+ degree tropical heat to where we thought the starting point would be…and the starting point wasn’t there.

I’ll speed things up: we walked around looking some more, got very, very cross with one another, and sulkily walked home (Amanda) having not found the trail or seen the Big Buddha.

We did some apologies, and then we went to the pool.

getting lost in Phuket — One large hill we walked up on our way not to the big Buddha.

I’m probably going to have to write about this epic fail on the blog so let me take this terrible selfie.

Taking Epic Sunset Pictures

We lucked into an incredible sunset that night and were able to take really just the best sunset pictures we could have imagined.

It was fortuitous because it was DAY ONE HUNDRED of our trip, and we could do a whole big, beautiful Instagram spread of this gorgeous sunset, looking just the happiest.

As I type, we received 598 LIKES on Instagram on this post. That is clearly the most likes we have ever received, and obviously means one day we might be internet famous.

And the funniest part is that we were as annoyed with/frustrated at/bothered by each other that day as we have been since we left the United States. We are fine now, but getting lost looking for Big Buddha was not a high point of our marriage.

So, enjoy these beautiful pictures, and remember: social media is not real.

Rich examines his bicep. He does this at least once every day. Yep. Still there.

Same sunset, from the roof of our hotel.

Day 101: It Rained

Sometimes a rainy day at the beach is okay! Here’s how we spent the day:

We walked to breakfast and home before it rained.
I blogged.
Rich finished reading Crazy Rich Asians and started China Rich Girlfriend. The man is obsessed. He thinks author Kevin Kwan is his best friend and that all of the main characters are people we actually know. We have big plans to go see the Crazy Rich Asians movie in Singapore where the books are set– we will keep you posted.
Rich and I took a nap.
We ran out in the rain to get dinner and then ran back home (somewhere along our travels Rich lost his rain jacket).

As I’m sure you can surmise, Phuket was really low key. No temples. No tours. Just beach and pool with a sprinkling of rain.

The only picture I took on our rainy day. Coffee + Yogurt.

What we loved about Phuket:

The amazing beach
Our hotel. They did a great job of providing small treats that really helped budget travelers like us. They served free, GOOD coffee from 3-4 PM, provided a yummy sunrise cocktail and popcorn from 6:00 – 6:30 PM, and offered ice cream from 8- 10 PM. The pool was also really fantastic.
Phuket was pretty walkable, and our hotel was centrally located.
Karon Beach, where we stayed, was family friendly. No wild backpacker parties (you know you are old when this falls in the loved section).

What we didn’t like/felt meh about in Phuket:

Phuket is a town that seems like maybe it peaked about 10 years ago. Restaurants are a bit dated/cheesy, and unless you eat street food, are definitely overpriced.
Coffee in the morning was really hard to come by. The earliest any of the coffee shops near us opened was 10 AM– although they then stayed open until at least 10 PM.
The signage was really bad. Big Buddha is a major attraction. Would it kill you to have a sign?
We couldn’t find a bookstore. I am out of books to read. You are a beach town. How does a beach town not have a bookstore? Unfathomable.

If you want hip and modern, go to Chiang Mai. If you just want to sit in the sand and look at beautiful sunsets, well, Phuket. You’ll be glad you did.

So before I even really start this post, I want to own up to something. If it is not already clear, it should be: I am no history or geography expert. A year ago, I’m pretty sure I could not have named Vientiane as the capital of Laos or labeled Laos on a blank world map.

Rich could have and that is one of many reasons that he does ALL of the planning. I show up, I learn, I frequently have my mind blown. Having this opportunity is one of the greatest gifts of my life.

All that to say, I had no idea what to expect in Laos, and my impressions ended up being overwhelmingly lovely. We liked Cambodia, but in the end, we may have ended up liking Laos better.

Day 80: Travel from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Vientiane, Laos

Bangkok is really the geographical hub of Southeast Asia. We flew from Siem Reap to Bangkok, then from Bangkok to Vientiane. We landed in Vientiane pretty late in the evening but luckily our hotel arranged an airport pick up for us. It was a pretty straight forward travel day (read: the opposite of traveling in Sicily).

Map with Vientiane — For a little Southeast Asia context…

In Vientiane, we stayed at a hotel that Rich had found online. The hotel was fine, but it didn’t quite live up to the online pictures or reviews. Our impression was that Vientiane may not experience quite the tourism boom of some of the other cities we had visited (Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Chiang Mai) and so the bar just wasn’t quite as high. Still, no horror stories– the space was just a little banged up.

Day 81: Checking Out the Sites of Vientiane

Despite the hotel being a bit mediocre, as a city, Vientiane felt much more modern in comparison to Cambodia and much of Vietnam. Vientiane had large paved roads filled with more cars than motorbikes and lots of restaurants and coffee shops. The sidewalks were clear and easy to navigate!

Pool Time

But first, the pool. After any travel day, we almost always move a little slow. We decided to read by the hotel pool and head out in the afternoon.

Great call because when we arrived we had the pool all to ourselves with the exception of a GIANT UNICORN FLOAT.

This was not my first float rodeo. I also know that my gracefulness has its limits and wisely had Rich hold the float while I climbed in. I enjoyed floating and reading for a bit, then got hot (it’s Southeast Asia), and cooled off by swimming for a few minutes.

Rich: We should probably leave soon, but I think I’ll get in the float first.

Me: Cool (gets out camera).

Rich’s version of the following events is that he helped me get in the float, so I should have offered to get out of my lounger to help him do the same.

My version: I have never seen a man approach a situation more confidently than I watched my husband approach that giant adorable unicorn. It was pure “hold my beer” territory.

You have to see how this is going to end.

Rich confidently plops his body down on the back of the unicorn. He and the unicorn immediately flip over backwards, and he lands upside down underwater. If you are not following us on Instagram, heck, if you are not even on Instagram, watching the video of Rich and his unicorn friend flip over will make it worth your while to change that NOW.

unicorn float in Vientiane — So much love for the unicorn float

The Patuxai War Memorial

Ironically, despite resembling the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the Patuxai War Memorial celebrates Laos gaining independence from France in 1949.

The arch stands at the end of a long boulevard extending from the presidential palace. A large and beautiful park surrounds the arch. For less than $1, you can climb the stairs to the top for a nice view of Vientiane.

The monument’s five towers represent the five Buddhist principles of thoughtful amiability, flexibility, honesty, honor, and prosperity.

I am struck by the principles of thoughtful amiability and flexibility. In the United States, Would being amiable would make it into the top fifty American values in 2018? Being kind, gentle, or pleasant can be interpreted as being weak. In Southeast Asia, losing your temper is not just rude– it’s an affront to national and religious values.

The Patuxai Park was an easy walk from our hotel and a really beautiful space. We enjoyed our time there.

World Peace gong in Vientiane — The World Peace gong. Isn’t that lovely?

War Memorial in Vientiane — Rich at the Patuxai War Memorial

arch in vientiane — It looks like the Arc de Triomphe but was designed by a Laotian architect

The Pha That Luang

The Pha That Luang is a very large gold-covered Buddhist stupa that serves as a national symbol of Laos. Several other large temples surround the stupa. We found the whole area really breath taking.

Other temple in Vientiane — Temple beside the Pha That Luang

Coffee at the Amazon Cafe

So Laos is hot, and when we finished at the Pha That Luang, we needed a drink. Rich and I ducked into an Amazon Cafe, a Starbucks equivalent of Southeast Asia.

Inside, we could have been in America, but our favorite part was a table of high school aged students still in their school uniforms working on what looked like pretty hard math homework on their laptops.

These kids were focused, had Excel up to enter data, and kept swinging around the table to share ideas with one other. Rich and I are educators. I really hope this doesn’t sound creepy, but watching kids really engaged and grappling with hard content is like watching babies sleep for me. It is super fulfilling even if I don’t know the kids and didn’t assign the work– rigor looks the same worldwide.

Pizza for Dinner

In Laos, we ate pizza at Pomodoro Pizzeria, an Italian restaurant run by a gentleman originally from Pakistan. It was delicious, and if that’s not globalism, I don’t know what is. The end.

Pizza in Vientiane — When the pizza is so delicious, you forget to snap a picture until there are only two pieces left.

Day 82: Visiting the Buddha Park Outside of Vientiane

Xieng Khuan, unofficially known as the Buddha Park, is a beautiful space about 45 minutes outside of Vientiane filled with more than two hundred religious statues.

We LOVED exploring this park and looking at all of the statues which were full of personality. The park was really beautiful and only moderately crowded while we were there so we felt like we could wander at our own pace and explore.

You could even climb up on one of the tallest structures to get a view of the whole space.

Together at the Buddha Park. A view from the top.

The reclining Buddha was really amazing.

We enjoyed homemade coconut ice cream at the end of the tour. One of my biggest regrets of the whole trip may be the spoonful that slid off my spoon and onto the ground! The ice cream was so delicious and hit. the. spot.

Broad Generalization and Reflections Comparing Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam

I refer you back you to the intro to this post in which I readily admit to being no sort of expert. This is just my own personal impression: Vientiane struck us as having greater infrastructure and generally being more commercially developed than many parts of Cambodia and Vietnam we visited. The kids in the coffee shop were not the only school kids we observed. There were schools and students in uniforms everywhere.

And what I wonder is this: Is what we observed Laos’s fortune of not facing the national tragedies of war and genocide that Vietnam and Cambodia faced? Immediate effects of national tragedies show themselves easily. Does Laos provide a quick juxtaposition for the wealth, comforts, and educational system Vietnam and Cambodia might have experienced if not for the horrors faced in the 1960’s and 1970’s? Were we watching long term effects play out?

More from Laos coming soon! Beautiful Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.

Tag: Buddha

Days 98 – 101: Oh Phuket, Thailand