Phuket Beach, Boutique Hotel Bliss, and Broken English

Our lodging in Phuket was the Indigo Pearl Resort.

Though not located on the beach, as few hotels are, it had three great pool areas, and a marvelous restaurant, the Black Ginger, which we entered via a raft that was pulled along a rope to fetch us on one side of a moat around the restaurant, and we floated to the other side of the moat to the restaurant.  The dining was indeed 'fine'.

When Karen stepped into the room, she entered a state of bliss.
Gorgeous bedroom, great shower and bath, big bathtub, two outside decks set amid a jungle-like atmosphere.

We saw little signs of the tsunami's destruction nine years ago, but some properties, it seemed, were just too expensive to rebuild.

There were French, German, Aussie, Kiwi, British, and loads of Scandinavian tourists in our area of Nai Yang Beach. I was taken aback to see some Norwegian newspapers displayed outside a market.

In Patong town, we passed a tailor, obviously geared towards his Nordic or 'Viking,' clients, as Danish flags and a Norwegian scarf hung in his window.

A great decision was to stay on the northern end of the beaches in Phuket, for Nai Yang is part of a 10-mile uninterrupted stretch of pristine beach.


While many people liked to sit in the sun loungers on the beach, but ...

... we preferred to rent a tandem kayak to venture away from the crowds, to our own unspoiled patches of the beach.

We paddled right next to Phuket International Airport, and jets and prop planes flew right overhead as they descended to the runways.

Honest restaurateurs are so nice to find.  As we were strolling the only street in Nai Yang, we perused a menu, and heard someone say, "Eat here, good food, broken English good too."


We were chuckling as we were seated.  Mr. Kobi was honest, and served honest-to-goodness great food, featuring red, yellow and green curries, whole grilled fish, tasty noodle and rice dishes, and nice cool bottles of Singha. His restaurant included a tribute to the tsunami of 2004.  Mr. Kobi's restaurant is located right on the beach, and he opened his restaurant alone that morning in 2004.  The story goes that a local dog was staring at the ocean, barking furiously as the water receded.  The dog then turned and headed away from the beach to higher ground, and Mr. Kobi followed.  The entire beach was submerged in water but Mr. Kobi and the dog survived.  Mr. Kobi re-opened 7 days later and adopted the dog.

Always remember, No Money, No Fun.