Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Well, we've been, we've seen, and "we'll be back". On our retirement trip to Hong Kong we were afforded the opportunity to "pop on down" to Phuket for a few days and are we ever glad we accepted the invite! The flight down (Sri Lankan to BK and Thai Air to Phuket) was great...FREE BEER!??? The mind (which is used to North American abuse off customers) simply boggles. Arrived at midnight in Phuket and the hotel 'bus' was waiting for us. "Bus" is a bit of a mis-nomer... very comfortable Toyota mini-bus with leather seats and air conditioning that worked. The hotel was just great... Club Andaman Beach Resort. Nothing whatsoever to complain about; nice, large room, clean and modern ensuite, balcony with a view over the superbly maintained grounds (actually more of a botanical garden). $100 Cdn/night for the room with two of us in it included airport pickup and return, buffet breakfast every day, 1 hour massage, all taxes and tips...how could anyone go wrong? The staff was attentive and helpful as were the booking clerks for our excursions. The wife picked up a couple of pair of tailored slacks right at the hotel...she probably could have found cheaper but really, why bother with the street vendors?

We took three "adventure trips" while there (out of 4 days on site). All pickups and transfers were on time (and I'm dang glad I didn't try to drive in that traffic.... a solid yellow line has a whole different meaning from what we're used to!) The first day was the sailing junk trip to Phang Nga; the second we elected to take the 1 hour elephant ride in Chalong (Siam Safari) and the third day was the sunset dinner cruise/self-paddle kayak trip back in Phang Nga where we got to paddle through and into the hongs (hollow, limestone islands accessible at certain tide levels).

An evening of shopping for "junk stuff" to cart home for the family and a walk down the infamous "stroll" and we were ready for the return to HK (where this is being posted from).

The last week of October is great: lowest prices, end of the monsoon season (it rained heavily but for brief periods in the evenings), and relatively low crowds.

Caveat: be prepared to run the gauntlet of hawkers, touts and shills whether you walk along the beach front or the main street. As the T-shirt says, "No, I don't want no F_#kin Tuk Tuk, Suit, or Massage, Thank You Very Much".

As I said in the beginning.... "We'll be back".