After the 7-degree weather and modest accommodations in Chiang Rai, getting to Phuket was a nice change. We flew straight down to Phuket from Chiang Rai on Wednesday afternoon and checked into a 5-star golf resort (got a discount from a family friend). First of all, the weather was super hot and sticky. Secondly, the hotel shower was awesome. The temperature was nice a hot and there was a rain shower above in addition to the regular shower head. I finally feel clean again.

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On Thursday, we all got Thai massages in our hotel rooms. That was very relaxing and long overdue with all the car riding and cramped quarters from the past week. We also went to Patong Beach where all the European tourists hang out.

On Friday, Jes and I took a day trip to Similan Islands in the Andaman Sea. We travelled about 75 km by speed boat, which is quite an experience. We sat in the front of the boat and got bumped and jostled quite a bit. The ride was over an hour long and it was pretty tiring trying to keep myself from falling out. I just gotta say that Dramamine works wonders though. I’m super prone to motion sickness and I managed to ride a small boat all the way to the islands, snorkel all day, and hang out on a rocking boat for most of the day without getting sick. The island that we had lunch on was so beautiful. I had never seen such sparkling blue water (not even in Hawaii) and such powdery white sand. The fish and corral were a bit dissappointing but it was fun just being out on a boat and in the water.