laguna/bang tao

so, as previously mentioned, we moved from patong up to bang tao/laguna for the weekend, since that's where my race was. up there, we stayed at the amora phuket beach resort. it was interesting, to say the least. the room was clean, except for some mold in the bathroom. the wifi was only free in the lobby. it cost 600 baht/$20 for three days of wifi, but even then, the password was only good for one device. kind of annoying. the receptionists were okay, the tour lady and the taxi lady were extremely friendly (the taxi lady was our favorite), but the guest relations lady we dealt with was not great. there's a sign with different activities, and we asked if we could sign up for the market tour, and she kind of tried to convince us to not do it. it was very strange. we did it anyway. we also went during the off-season, so it was very quiet. just us and a bunch of russians. here's what we did there!



for a late lunch, i had some pineapple fried rice, and she had some pad thai (i think). i made the mistake i always make with pineapple fried rice. i always secretly hope if the title is JUST "pineapple fried rice" there will be no shrimp. but there is always. always. shrimp. and there was shrimp in that pineapple. the rice was delicious still. we had this at the hotel's restaurant on the beach after laying out for a while.


surprise!! we went to pick up my race packet and while walking to a taxi stand after doing so, we ran into a VERY baby elephant and her mahout. her name is candy. she kissed us and was adorable. the mahout didn't even want a tip, he just continued walking on his way. amazing.





we ate dinner at sugar cane, which was right next to the hotel. she had ginger cashew chicken, i had pad thai with chicken, we both had chicken satay, and for dessert we had fried bananas! it was all good. all of it.





the next day, we did a cooking class. we signed up for this one at the hotel, but i believe you can find it online too (it's on trip advisor). it started with a trip to the local market, just like the wet market! our guide/later cooking instructor went through and described all the unique spices/herbs/etc. he also showed us the eels and some turtles, which aren't for eating but rather for buddhists. to do what, i don't know. but they're not for eating.




we made a lot of things. we started with tom yum soup, then massamun curry, ginger cashew chicken, fried rice, and steamed banana cakes. because of my nervousness with meat, i asked for vegetarian options and they were happy to accommodate - down to even ensuring i had mushroom sauce versus oyster sauce. it was all so good, but my favorites were the ginger cashew chicken/tofu and the steamed banana cakes. the banana cakes were the perfect amount of sweet/salty/sour. i could eat them all day.


oh yeah, and it was located here, on siray beach. the cooking school is directly on the water, with a balcony over the beach so you can lay in the sun while digesting your goodies. it was relaxing and nice. perfect.




after cooking school, we laid in the sun some more at the resort, then walked for dinner at bliss beach club. it was our most expensive meal, but delicious. pizza, spring rolls, and for dessert, chocolate strawberry spring rolls. so good.


and eating on the beach meant we got to watch the beautiful sunset!

the next day was my race, which i wrote about here.

after the race, we went to the beach, got thai massages and a foot scrub on the beach, then sought out some drinks. i got a pina colada-esque drink in a pineapple, while my friend got a coconutty concoction in a coconut. they were perfect.


then it was time for our market tour. we ended up going out on the truck that takes the hotel workers around. we didn't know it was a self-guided tour, but it was. maybe in tourist season they do something more structured?


i was starving, and immediately found these delicious things. little pancakes rolled up with a green tea custard inside. they were so good.


interesting to see a tsunami evacuation route versus a hurricane evacuation route!


in malaysia we have the take-away bags, in phuket, they have a little handle that goes on your cup to make it a handle. neat.


we had our last dinner in phuket at sugar cane again, where i got pad thai again and so did my friend. for dessert this time we had the mango sticky rice. it was good. everything was good!

overall, phuket was fun. it was definitely different. i felt like everything was on top of each other though. and it was so mountainous, i felt like i was in west virginia with a beach! the food was so good though. and everything is cheap. my only big big problem was our airport arrival. we arrived after the currency exchange closed, so they did an unofficial exchange in which the girl took $100. i didn't notice until i was back at our hotel and sorting everything else, but really! next time i go, i'll know to exchange enough here to cover taxi fare and that's it. and on that, i set up our transportation through the hotel, for 1000 baht. if you can, do this, as it will be much safer than getting a taxi at the airport.

Categories: animals, bang tao, food, laguna, phuket, thailand