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Published: October 12th 2012
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This blog contains 69 photos. To view all the pics be sure and scroll down and turn the pages. Up early for my Bangkok Airways flight to Phuket. A fun airline, Bangkok airways has a certain pizazz and 60's feel. They remind me of the glory days of US air travel with the sharp uniforms and porcelain skinned staff.( I continue to be impressed with the Asian airlines. I flew to Thailand on Asiana and it was top notch. What a vast difference from US carriers who treat passengers like shit.)The safety video Bangkok Air shows before the flight is autotune, overdub, kitsch hilarity. If traveling in Asia, I highly recommend them. Their lounges are nice too and are free with certain flights.
I was anxious when I arrived in Phuket for this was to be my foray into Thai driving. I'd heard the horror stories. After finding a good deal on a rental I hit the road, and my the first leg of the trip to Sri Panwa wasn't too bad. I was on a 4 lane with ample room and not a whole lot of traffic. We use to "borrow" cars from a local resort
in Grand Cayman as kids, so the left side driving was not new to me. Phuket Town was a whole different story. It was there that I started to experience major pucker factor. The streets were narrow, congested, and filled with obstacles like motorbikes riden by families of four.(I think the standard family unit in Thailand is four as that fits on a bike.) I could feel my car getting bumped repeatedly by other vehicles squeezing through openings and this made me afraid to see what sort of condition it would arrive to my destination in. Unless you anticipate turns, forks etc. they
will be missed and I missed a couple of marks. All in all I did pretty well and made it to Sri Panwa in timely fashion. I'm happy to report minimal damage to my rental. Entering Sri Panwa was a little intimidating as the gate has a very militaristic feel. Once inside the beauty is captivating. The resort is sleek and chic and appeared to be occupied by a young, wealthy, Asian crowd.I think they do a nice job of having a modern, stylish resort while mantaining some soul to the place.It definately has a funky, cool
Baba Nest
ready for sunset vibe rather than a bland, overdone one. I booked a pool suite that had a private infinity pool and views of the Andaman Sea. It was off the hook with a great sound system and many other ammenities. The resort is large and to visit other areas guests must call for a "tuk-tuk." Every restaurant is scenic, but unfortunately the Thai food was a bit dumbed down for foreign palates. The sashimi was wonderful however, and the breakfast buffet insane. One of the highlights was watching sunset at Baba Nest, which is one of the most beautiful bars I have ever seen. Everytime I left my room, staff would come in, tidy up, set the lights, and turn on music. Another nice detail was the card and shell left on the pillows at bedtime.
I'm afraid that outside of my drive into and away from Sri Panwa, I didn't see much of Phuket. There really wasn't much need to leave the resort. I'm not much on Swedes in speedos though, so I'm thinking I didn't really miss out on much. I would like to look at old Phuket town someday however.
Pool Suite walk through
Baba Nest
Baba Nest at dusk
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