Phuket

Our stop in Phuket was about half way through our trip and almost in the middle, geographically speaking, of all the countries we visited and were going to. It was also for the first time in 2 months we allowed ourselves to slow down and stay in Phuket for 10 days. And the highlight of our stay there was that Anna's mom flew in from Boston and joined us. Now, a little bit about the island. I is the largest island in Thailand, the most developed, touristic and world renown  This made us a bit worried as we usually try to avoid tourist crowds, yet we were pleasantly surprised to find a little piece of heaven there. The picture above looks down on the 2 busiest beaches on the island, which we passed on our way to a more secluded place.

By chance we stumbled upon Ao Sane, a hidden beach with few waterfront bungalows, a rocky shoreline with some great snorkeling.

Overlooking the harbor from our porch. How lucky were we to wake up to this every morning :)

We did a couple of daytrips from Phuket to keep us entertained. First was tour of Phang Nga bay between the island and the continent. The bay is famous for its unique limestone cliffs emerging from the waters.

A quick stop at the infamous James Bond island.

A rock that sheared off from the cliff under its own weight making an exceptionally clean cut.

A lunch stop at a floating village. Literally everything was floating, even the stadium.

Speedboat ride back to the harbor.

Similian islands is an archipelago of 9 islands, a national park open only 6 months out of the year to help preserve the marine life. It is famous for its underwater diversity and coral gardens, making it one of the world's top diving and snorkeling destinations. The first island we visited has an iconic "sailing rock", seen in the background here.

Climbing up to the viewpoint at the sailing rock.

Overlooking the clear harbor with the best water we've seen in our lives. So thankful to have Anna's mom there!

SlavaAnna on the rocks.

This must be diving heaven.

Our visit to Phuket town luckily happened to be on the same day they were celebrating the city anniversary  Little streets were closed to traffic and filled with vendors and street performers.

The little doll is ready to dance.

Some locally produced snacks.

The viewpoint overlooking the bay we were staying in. Slava is admiring the sailing boats, dreaming of his own someday.

It was time to say good bye to Phuket, 10 beautiful days flew by too fast leaving special memories behind.