Yesterday, we definitely decided to try out Thai food at the Thai restaurant here on Coconut Island. The amazing thing is that despite the resort, the prices are still remarkably cheap for Thai food (perhaps because a lot of the European guests choose the “western” menu at the restaurant next door). I chose to eat a northern Thai style noodle soup served with pickles (really similar to a lot of Indonesian food offerings) and Perry chose to have the pad thai.

Yesterday, we also tried our hand at sailing, although the wind was not helping us along and we think that the Thai sail-boat renters thought that we had no idea what we were doing as we were stranded along the shoreline. However, we finally caught some wind and were able to venture pretty far into the middle of the water, which was a small accomplishment, before heading back into shore.

Later that day, I had my first Thai massage (a really interesting, very different type of massage from European style massages – it kind of feels like a full body-to-body chiropractic experience with your Thai masseuse, but more intense). For those that know I cut myself pretty badly this past summer while trying to de-pit an avocado, you’ll be happy to know that somehow this massage restored all feeling to the finger that got stitches- I have no idea how she did it, but I am happy to no longer have pain or tingling in the tip of that finger. Every time I feel my finger I kind of marvel at the sensation.  For dinner, we had a curried duck and eggplant dish (it looks like regular red curry but tasted slightly different) and a full sea bass.

Today, we thoroughly enjoyed all that Coconut Island (the small island off the east coast of Phuket which we’re staying on) had to offer. We discovered that we had an included excursion in our reservation, and decided to take advantage of it. We took the 15 or so minute boat ride to Rang Yai island, a beautiful, white-sand beach area just barely visible from the beach at the Village Coco, as Perry and I have taken to calling the Coconut Island hotel.

On Rang Yai, we enjoyed the beautiful water (we were one of the first boats to unload, so we essentially had a private beach until about 2:00, and then left at 3:00). The island used to be home to a pearl farm, although today it obviously has more of a tourist vibe. We indulged in a delicious lunch upon the island, including a green curry and perhaps the best pad thai either of has had (we came here on the search for a good pad thai).

Of course, I had to try a drink in a coconut, and made sure to eat the yummy pulp from the inside even though other tourists seemed averse from scraping it off themselves (also, when you pay $7 for a coconut-filled drink, like… get your money’s worth).

Then, we spent a significant amount of time in the water (the best thing is that the water here is warm, unlike the Atlantic or the Mediterranean, so you can pretty much wade in without any difficulty or shock to your system).

We ended our night here at the Coconut Island with a fun several rides down the water slides, dinner (as of yet uneaten, so I will update with pictures later) and a beautiful sunset at the beach. This truly has been an amazing oasis, even if I wish we had budgeted a couple days to spend in Bangkok or another Thai city to better appreciate the culture. I guess that means I’ll have to come back, which I can’t complain about.

Tomorrow, we’re on to Cambodia! I, for one, am completely excited about the next five days and hope that Cambodia (and Cambodian food!!) are as amazing as what we’ve sampled and learned about in the US.