Our first stop in Thailand was Patong, which is a town located on the island of Phuket. We stayed at the Avista Hideaway resort and spa, which was one of the top three best hotels I've ever stayed at. I'd rank it with the Legian in Bali and the Komaneka at Bisma, also in Bali. I didn't take many pictures around the hotel because we really just got there and sat in lounge chairs the whole time, doing absolutely nothing, but trust me it was a really nice place. Not only was it a nice hotel but the food there was also amazing. Everything we ate there was good and the breakfast spread was the best I've ever seen. Here are a few pictures of the view from our room, the pools (there were 3 pools to choose from), and sunsets:
The hotel was located on a hill outside of Patong so you had to take the shuttle or a cab in order to get into or back from town. But that was okay because Patong is known for its night life and we didn't want to be staying in the middle of that for sure. And being on a hill keeps the hotel safe from tsunamis!
On our first day in Patong we wandered around and did some shopping during the day. We didn't buy much as most shops are selling cheap touristy items. You are constantly badgered on the streets by women outside of massage parlors offering you massages, men offering to make you suits, shop owners telling you to come into their shops, and cab or tuk-tuk drivers offering to take you places. The town was very colorful and alive and everybody was friendly.
On a side note, here are some pictures of the mess of electric/phone/cable wires:
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant right by the beach and enjoyed a mango smoothie and a coconut and the local beer, Chang, which I don't think was very good. We never went to Patong beach because it didn't look very nice. It was really crowded and the water was more brown than blue or green so we stayed away. We found nice beaches elsewhere, and our hotel offered a shuttle to a nicer beach so we had no problems there.
One thing we were told to do while in Asia was to have some clothes made. Tailors all over Asia are known for making clothes quickly and cheaply (high quality but not expensive). So, Martin had some dress pants made while we were there:
We also explored some of the nightlife on the Bangla road. There are tons of people on this road, and it's lined with bars (and maybe a prostitute or two). The amount going on here at night is impressive and the bars are enormous. We didn't hang around too long, just took a few pictures:
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