October Holiday in Phuket, Thailand -The Glass House

Well, it is now October and I am finding it hard to believe how quickly time is passing again this year. I am of course trying to embrace each day and enjoy the present but I do find myself looking forward to the holidays and hoping for time to keep right on ticking (I'm only human…or maybe it's just my career choice?).  

This past week was spent in Phuket, Thailand with 11 friends and fellow teachers from ISNS. I know, living abroad really offers no travel opportunities and you’re not sure why I keep coming back!? Haha We were all separated into groups for flights but the 4 of us (Patricia, Krista, Brittany and I) left for the Shenzhen airport on Friday evening (our thought process: why wait until Saturday when holiday begins as soon as the kiddies are gone on Friday afternoon) and were off to Singapore for the evening. We got a little shut-eye on the flight to over but we arrived around 4:30am so we decided that rather than sleep we may as well have some breakfast and get our Saturday started. We arrived in Phuket with no problem and it was there that we met up with Patrick, Jordan, Michael and Emma. Mr. Man was awaiting our arrival (with a poster board) and took us, in our private van with leather interior, to what truly was a Glass House Paradise. Our villa was spectacular! 

                                                                               
Our very own beautifully designed mansion on a hill with an infinity pool and it’s own private beach to boot…we clearly accepted quite quickly that it was going to be a terrible week... Once room assignments were complete a group went off to get our first of 3 rounds of groceries in the city and the rest of us lounged; Meg arrived a few hours after us and that afternoon celebrations began. We laughed a great deal and the evening ended with all of us howling to music while dancing in the infinity pool during a very large storm (high winds and insane amounts of rain). On Sunday Ross and Mariya arrived which completed the arrivals, we were all at The Glass House and ready for a week of luxury.

Now, we had to keep reminding ourselves that October is rainy season, everywhere, and therefore it was ok that we didn’t luck out with pristine weather BUT we did get some sun. We also really couldn’t have been in a better place for a storm; a glass house full of windows, yes please! I read 3 books while away and it was a treat! The house was big enough that people could be all together or go off on their own and do whatever it was they wanted to do (watch a show on the big screen, lounge by the pool, sit in the living room, etc..).

The food in Phuket is ridiculously delicious and therefore we all left very well fed. We made group breakfasts and dinners and found ourselves eating on the beach for lunch, going into Patong Beach or walking to The Ship’s Inn so that we could enjoy some Pad Thai, curries and spring rolls (among other things). Thank goodness I can have rice (kind of), I would have had to starve if not since all meals included either rice, rice noodles or rice paper!

Wednesday was by far my favorite day on vacation! A group of us got up early and Mr. Man took us to catch our boat over to Koh Phi Phi for the day! I was beyond excited to go as I had already fallen in love with this crazy island over Christmas last year. It took us about an hour and a half to get to the beautiful island of Phi Phi and we had the best time! We began puttering through the markets as soon as the boat docked and were on a mission to buy matching Chang Tops and Thai pants. Once our mission was complete Patricia took us to eat ‘The Best Pad Thai in the World’ which truly wasn’t far off, it was delicious! Due to the stunning weather that Mother Nature provided us for the day we couldn’t stay away from the beach any longer. After scarfing down a large plate of Pad Thai we made our way to the beach. 

We grabbed some drinks and waded out into the crystal clear water where we parked ourselves on a sand bar and soaked in the sun while admiring the beautiful view. The time to leave the island came much too quickly as we were all ready to stay forever but we grabbed some buckets (classic Phi Phi drinking glass) and made our way back to the boat. We piled in and made ourselves comfortable at the back of the boat where we proceeded to laugh harder than I had laughed since…probably an hour beforehand. My God we had fun. Mr. Man was ready and waiting for us and was such a good sport while we howled to music and indulged in some pretty wild car dancing all the way home. After launching ourselves into the infinity pool and splashing around for a bit we all got on our matching Chang shirts, played some games (including two-story beer pong) and then headed out to Patong Beach for what turned into a great evening of dancing at Seduction (we teachers were all convinced we went to a place called Sed-ucation....). 

Our final day of vacation the four of us traveling together departed our Glass House with heavy hearts and made our way to Singapore. Our hearts weren't heavy for long as a lightness and joy took over, Singapore is a spectacular place and the weather couldn't have been more perfect! We left our bags at the airport (locked up of course) and went into Clarks Key where we enjoyed a delicious meal with margaritas and beer on the water, a walk through the bar and restaurant district, a putter through the mall and a beautiful boat cruise; all of which allowed us to take in some of the famous sites of this lovely city. 

Again saddened with the idea of leaving another wonderful place, we hopped on our flight and we were home before we knew it (thanks to a long chat with Patricia)...physically in the right place to begin work on Monday but perhaps mentally still somewhere else. 

I <3 Holidays