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Phuket, Thailand Vacation
We knew we were moving to the Philippines in August 2018. Towards the end of that month our friends (living in Indonesia) posted on Facebook that they would be spending Christmas in Phuket, Thailand and asked if anyone wanted to join them. Matt & I saw the post and quickly said, YES! We met Derek & Cathy in the Philippines in 2012 and became fast friends. Our kids got along well with each other and the parents too six years ago and still today. They booked the hotel, Horizon Karon Beach Resort , and once we got to Phuket we came up with an itinerary for our duration there.
We are so excited to travel to Phuket, Thailand to see our friends!
Day 1
We rented a “Party Van” to take us to and from church
Normally this small branch in Phuket has 40 people in attendance. But because of all of the visitors and tourists during the Christmas season, there were nearly 100 people at church. One couple visiting from the states actually knows my uncle!
If we are going to stay walking distance from a beach, you better believe we were going to visit
There is a three year difference between these girls, and they hadn’t seen each other in five years. But, they never ran out of things to say.
Double Date Night for the adults inside another “Party Van”. Using the Grab app in Phuket was fun because you never knew what type of car was going to pick you up!
Day 2
View of Phuket at the start of our Half-Day Island Tour + Elephant Trekking
Mason and Blake got to hold this Sea Eagle…but we liked to call it a “Seagull-Eagle”
We got to visit the Big Buddha . Mason was pouting and didn’t want to be in the photo.
We stopped to visit Chalong Temple
Our “white monkey” getting a photo with another monkey after a show
Elephant rides for everyone
Mason getting some elephant love after our ride with other elephants
The resort had a Christmas Eve party for all of the guests and the kids got their face painted
Day 3
Christmas morning with the gifts we brought from the Philippines
We got to spend Christmas evening at FantaSea together
The evening show at FantaSea was just behind us. They make everyone turn in their phones, so there are no photos from the show
A few more mannequins at this store
Day 4
Bathing an elephant…trying NOT to think about what’s in the water
Matt trying to get the monkey to climb on him outside of Wat Suwan Khuha (Cave Temple)
Inside Wat Suwan Khuha is Buddha laying down. To show respect, all women have to cover their legs
We had a quiet bamboo river raft ride
Cooling off at a small waterfall
Day 5
Island hopping tour to Phi Phi Island and others
The kids enjoyed each other company on the boat ride and did a good job of not getting sunburned
While on a short stay on Rang Yai Island we ran into some good friends of ours. They use to live in the Philippines with us (their daughter was in Mason’s kinder and 1st grade class) and now are in Hong Kong. We had no idea each other was in Phuket for Christmas
Day 6
The “Dab” kids saying good-bye
The oldest two were glad to reconnect in Phuket
The dads that work hard to make these fun vacations possible for us
The moms who had a great time catching up…maybe we will visit them on their next assignment
More photos from Phuket here .