The McVeigh family had a wonderful time in Thailand. We had a few bumps (like getting kicked out of our first tuk-tuk and booking a hotel ACROSS from the beach) but we went with and it all turned out wonderfully.
Bangkok
We absolutely LOVED our hotel in Bangkok. If you are ever in Bangkok, stay at the Chatrium on the river. We just hopped on the river taxi and visited all the popular sites like the Grand Palace and Wat Arun. The food was so good in the hotel restaurant that we ate 6 of the 7 meals there.
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| One of the 2 pics from the entire holiday with the four of us |
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The Tuk-Tuk story
We arrived at the pier for the Grand Palace and were told by 2 separate people that the Grand Palace was closed for the morning. The 2nd person was a tuk-tuk driver who offered to take us to see other sights around Bangkok for 80 bahts. What a deal!! Ok, let's hop in and see some of Bangkok. He took us to the Wat Inthara Wihan (pictured above and below)
The driver was super friendly and waited for us at each stop. He also stopped at a bunch of 7 Eleven as we were desperate for a Slurpee. It was
HOT!!
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| This is a tuk-tuk in case you were wondering... |
He then took us to Wat Benchamaborphit aka the Marble Temple. (see below)
After the Marble Temple we asked to be taken to a market to do some shopping. He said he was taking us to a jeweler and place to get custom suits. We were very clear that we just wanted touristy/local markets but he ignored us and was pulling into the jewelry store. At that point, Patrick was very firm and said "NO, take us to a market". Our sweet, congenial driver suddenly was sullen and non-communicative. He took us to some crappy fruit market and said the ride is over. We were planning on giving him a huge tip but he only got his 80 bahts and we learned an important lesson. The price was too good to be true b/c the guy was getting a kickback for suckering in tourists to the jewelry and suit shops. Oh well...we had a great (cheap) trip while it lasted...
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| Riding in our Tuk-tuk |
After finding another tuk-tuk to take us to the Grand Palace, we enjoyed the sights.
We also thoroughly enjoyed our 2 longboat rides along the river and through the canals.
Phuket
Our first hotel was not what we imagined. I booked us a 2 bedroom oceanfront villa with butler service. We never saw the butler and when I imagined our villa, I pictured stepping out the front door on to a sandy beach. The sandy (albeit trash-ridden) beach was across a busy, loud street! What?!? This is not what was expected or wanted. In all fairness, most hotels in Phuket are across the street from the public beach and our hotel (Movenpick) was very nice but it was not ON the beach. We stayed one night and moved down the beach to Le Meridien with their own private cove. Here's our first morning and the 3 pictures I took while lying on my lounge chair. Paradise!!
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| My feet (no zoom used) |
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| To my left |
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| To my right |
Not only was it paradise but it had a baby elephant!!
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| Fiona getting a BIG wet one!! |
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We frolicked on the beach, I got 5 massages on the beach (for about $12-15 each), the girls enjoyed the Kids Club, there was a dance/music show every night and we went on a snorkel trip. Most of the time was just hanging out which was fine with us.
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| Look closely at Fiona's face - I love this pic! |
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| "Oh no! The big wave got me!" |
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| Fiona snorkeling at one of the Kai Islands |
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| What's a beach holiday without a good book! |
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