Seaside Date Night

I always hate the last night of a vacation. I’m not one of those people who says, “Well, it’s been fun, but I’m ready to get home!” However, last night was our last night in Phuket, and it was dreamy.

Tony and I spent the evening at Mom Tri’s Boathouse, a gorgeous resort on Kata Beach. We arrived in time to enjoy both Happy Hour and the sunset – two more of my favorite things!

After watching the sky turn from blue to pink to black (while I nursed a chili-and-ginger-infused Siam Sunray and Tony enjoyed a cold Heineken), we moved from the lounge to our table on the beachside deck. Our appetizer of scallops layered with a thin crispy crepe was scrumptious; the bread basket was full of flavorful sticks, chips and rolls; and even the butter tasted better than usual. I devoured the grilled king prawns topped with crushed garlic, while Tony gobbled up a pork chop. Ice cream, mango and sticky rice with coconut milk for dessert. Yum!

Every hour is Happy Hour when you’ve got your sweetie, a cocktail and a seaside sunset.
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The seas were rough that day, my friend

This week in Phuket, the weather has been a bit indecisive. A few minutes of rain, a few hours of sunshine. A few hours of rain, a few minutes of sunshine. Only Wednesday brought torrential rains, and lucky for us, we missed most of it. You don’t notice the weather when you’re 20 meters under the sea. Scuba day!
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The hourlong boat ride to the dive site was wetter and cooler than usual, but at least we didn’t have to worry about sunburn, right?
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We did two dives at Koh Racha Yai with our guide, Khob. While the weather on land was gray and dreary, the underwater scenery was breathtaking. Tony and I couldn’t believe how many different types of fish we saw.

Some highlights:
* A school of juvenile barracuda surrounded us before swimming away.
* Several moray eels poked their big heads out of the coral and flashed their creepy grins.
* An old wreck created a colorful hangout for all sorts of creatures.
* A big cuttlefish undulated next to us for a few minutes like a sheet flapping in the breeze.
* Feathery-looking brown-and-white striped lionfish lounged in the coral.
* Two small blue-spotted rays drifted on the sandy bottom.
* Clownfish and other small colorful fish darted in and out of the waving anemone.

Actually, as I started to write some highlights I realized that the whole experience was one big highlight after another! It’s hard to pick out the best parts. I also need to take a course in identifying marine life. In the meantime, I like checking out the Fish/Coral Information page on the Thailand Divers website.