After such a fast-paced schedule the previous day we chose to slow it down a bit for our last day in Phuket. We all slept in, then headed down for a late breakfast. When Kadie was woken up after 9 am she was disappointed, stating that she thought sleeping in meant ‘till like 12 o’clock.’
The Avista Grande Gym
Once up and going though hitting the gym was Kadie’s top priority. She was very concerned about losing fitness and falling behind in track. So off she and I went. I was also happy to hit the treadmill. This trip included a lot of swimming and walking, but it just isn’t the same as hitting the treadmill. We put in 45 minutes and even managed to throw in some sprints for the last ten minutes. Our view out the fitness center Windows was of the beautiful pool deck, which meant good people watching to help distract us from the work we were putting in.
The Weather in Phuket
The rain that had been in the forecast pretty much every day of the trip finally caught up to us. It didn’t last long though, maybe 45 minutes. We sat outside under a table umbrella and waited for it to pass. Dale and Dawn went looking for an art/paintings shop when we hit the gym and they returned shortly after we finished, soaked from being caught in the downpour.
Our big plans for the day was to hit the weekend market, which opened at 4:00. Since we had a few hours to kill yet we chose to hit the pool. Dale made the kids very happy and played in the pool with them. Being wet and cold are two of my least favorite things so I opted to hold down a lounge chair instead. After this many days in Thailand I still hadn’t hardly gotten a tan, so I opted to skip the sunblock… I knew better, and I paid the price. I am b.u.r.n.t. #geniusmove
The Weekend Market of Phuket
The Weekend Market is open from 4-9 on Saturdays and Sundays. It was about a 30 minute taxi ride from our resort. It is huge! We started at the end with all of the food vendors, where we wandered through and gawked at all of the oddities that we are not used to seeing stateside.
Then we started navigating the maze of at shops, not fully understanding just how big this market was. We were on the hunt for a few specific things – a wallet for Kadie, sunglasses with a light pink reflective coating and blush pink Nike’s that we had seen on Ko Lanta on our brief stopover there. We spent three and a half hours wandering. It was super hot, crowded and stuffy. But the hunt and the possibility of what could be in the next booth makes it fun. Kadie did find a wallet, as well as some Nikes, Chase found a painting of a caiman with a frog hanging from its open mouth (I’ve seen this photo on tv and Nat Geo magazines), Dawn found a trio of elephant paintings, I found… another purse and some espadrilles and Dale was in charge of haggling to get us good deals.
All that shopping had us hungry. We dropped our buys at the hotel and headed back out to our local shops and restaurants on foot. Chase had been begging to eat at the Dino Bar that we had walked past multiple times since our arrival in Phuket. It turned out to be a good choice and offered a wide variety of options from American fare to local cuisine. We made sure to save room for the street vendor ice cream rolls!
With our bellies full we returned to the hotel where it turned into a late night for myself getting repacked and organized with all of our purchases. Not so much for Dale and Chase though, who soundly slept through the packing:)
One more day left in our trip and I can’t wait to share the details of that day with you. It definitely ranks as one of the most exciting days we had! In the meantime you can read about our day of fishing for Giant Mekong Catfish, the amazing snorkeling in Koh Rok or about the beautiful Emerald Cave of Koh Mook.
