The boat trip visiting islands in Thailand was an amazing adventure. I stayed at this place called the Diamond Cliff Resort and Spa with a colleague named Carole. She was a great travel buddy and we enjoyed relaxing, while also exploring Phuket. I hadn't realized, but the tsunami had hit Patong Beach (in Phuket) on that fateful December 26th day. I believe it was 2004. There were signs all over Patong Beach reading : Tsunami Evacuation Route and pointing to the road to follow in case of a tsunami. Scary! I heard that Phuket and Patong Beach were hit hard. The area has recovered and then some. In Phuket, Carole and I shopped (I bought new glasses for cheap: under $200 with the prescription, etc.!), ate, and got foot massages. The foot massage was so relaxing and I got tickled a bit. They also try to crack your toes which I didn't like. A half hour massage was 200 baht. That equals US $6.60. Wow.
There were many restaurants and shops around- pearls from the Andaman Sea are a part of the economy here. I got a certified "authentic" pearl necklace for US$ 30. It's pretty and pink.
I'll write more soon. There's much more.
