We’re nearing the end of our 10 days on Phuket, our longest stop on the trip. We stayed in two different areas to see more of the island, which is off the west coast of Thailand on the Andaman Sea. We all loved Naiyang Beach, a long, beautiful and mellow stretch of coastline with a couple dozen restaurants that spilled onto the sand. Every afternoon, we splashed in the waves, drank cocktails as the sun set and ate dinner next to the waves lapping up onto the shore. Our simple accommodation, Pensiri House, was just a few minutes walk away.

Castle-building was a daily activity

Relaxing at our beach-front table

Enjoying the evening

Watching the sunset

After five days, we moved inland to a funky guesthouse with a pool and a great, vegan-friendly restaurant on site. Although isolated without a car, Shanti Lodge was a comfortable place to relax. Their cafe served a mixture of authentic Thai dishes and Western options like homemade vegan burgers, big exotic salads and delicious pasta dishes (most interesting was a Thai-fusion pasta using tomato sauce with Thai basil, kaffir leaves and lemongrass; I need to replicate this at home). Needless to say, we ate very well there!

A.J. enjoying the pool at Shanti Lodge

After a busy month on the road, moving every 2-3 days, it was nice to have time to rest, relax, read, catch up on school work and get some laundry done. Charlie was also ill with a fever and headache, so we had a few quiet days. We took her to a clinic to rule out malaria (negative) and she is on the mend now, thankfully.

Right after the blood draw at the clinic (cost of doctor visit and lab work: $30; good health: priceless)

Thailand is an easy family destination and will probably be a highlight of our six month trip. Oh, how we will miss her old ruins, island landscape, tropical fruit, delicious rice noodles, cheap prices and friendly people.