A MONTH IN PHUKET | 2019

Mostly we just needed to get out of LA.

I’ve always wanted to travel, free of rent, of the heaviness of things, of being tied down to one place. I wanted the world to feel like home.

I dipped my toe into the nomadic lifestyle last summer, traveling to Hawaii, Tulum, and Jamaica for a few months of blissful, tropical freedom. But I quickly fell into the ‘security’ of routine. The ‘safety’ of home.

A man came into my life that urged me to break free of my self-imposed chains. We freed each other and most importantly, ourselves.

We came to Thailand to train muy thai. To ride motorbikes around the dense jungle island. To drink coconuts and eat smoothie bowls. To just be.

After months and months of living for everyone else, I finally felt like I was enjoying my life for ME.

We started our trip at Saturday’s Residence. I found it on Air Bnb, and it was definitely a soft landing and a luxurious beginning to our travels.

Our serviced apartment came with maid service twice a week, 2 gorgeous pools, a gym, sauna, and even a cafe and yoga studio on the property.

We even had a bathtub on our balcony! Although we didn’t use it during the two weeks we were there - next time!

We did our best to explore as many beaches as we could, try out as many cafes as possible, and just cruise around immersing ourselves into island life!

One of the highlights of our trip was getting to do a cooking class at Mangosteen Resort. We cooked 4 dishes in total - Pad Thai, Shrimp in a Sarong, Tom Kha Soup, and Stir Fry with Cashews. I highly recommend taking a cooking class while traveling! We also got a little taste of their Ayurvedic Spa, and had the oil head massage treatment which was divine.

I also spent the month practicing and training muy thai at AKA Thailand. It was one of the most challenging and most rewarding experiences! I could barely keep up (holy cardio) during the first class, but now I am craving those combos and absolutely love practicing my kicks and punches!! The facilities were sparkling clean, the staff was talented, friendly and funny, and I felt like SUCH a badass by the end of it.

can you spot me?

Of course the massages were unreal, and so inexpensive that YES we were getting multiple massages a week, especially with all of the training! I am sore just thinking about it.

One of my favorite things to do when I go to new places is to EAT & although my boyfriend mostly cooks for us every night, we did find a few favorite places.

WHERE TO EAT IN PHUKET

༓ Wilsons Cafe: Delicious breakfasts, juices and home of the Nana Bowl.

༓ The Shack: Healthy options like paleo pancakes (pictured above) and yummy smoothie options with lots of superfoods.

༓ Burger Me: One of the best burgers I’ve honestly ever eaten. 10/10 recommend!

༓ Unni’s Restaurant: Conveniently located right next to the beach, and their menu had a ton of options including bowls and very fresh traditional thai dishes.

༓ One Chun: In Old Town, this local spot usually has a wait its so delicious. We tried the crab curry as recommended on TripAdvisor and honestly every bite of every dish we ate was incredibly delicious. A little fancier than the other spots I mentioned above & 100% worth checking out.

༓ Other mentionables - The Wine Cellar at Mangosteen Resort & Spa, Coffee Tribe, Origami Cafe.

Although we stayed in Rawai, which is in the southern part of the island, it was fun to venture to Old Town and see other parts of Phuket. I would definitely recommend staying in Rawai if you are looking for a more authentic experience - the other areas, like Patong, were extremely tourist driven and crowded and just notttt my vibe. But you know, its good to experience a little bit of it all anyways.

BEACHES OF PHUKET

Although we didn’t get a chance to explore every beach, we did go to our fair share and here are my faves:

༓ Freedom Beach: This one is a treasure because it is so hard to get to. We rode the motorbike up a dirt hill, climbed under a chain link fence, and down about 300 steep steps to a very remote beach. It was in a cove (pictured above) and there were only a handful of other people there. I will say that as remote of a location as it was, there was still a devastating amount of plastic water bottles. It was heartbreaking, but even so, one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to.

༓ Nai Harn: This was the beach that we spent the most time at. It was easy to get to, quiet, with some rocks for exploring, and pockets of shade. The waves never got too big, so it was always enjoyable to leisurely swim in the warm waters.

༓ Ya Nui: I refer to this as Pirate’s Cove Beach because it feels like there must be some buried treasure hidden somewhere along this little beach. It is small, and a bit more rocky, but unlike any place I’ve been before!

༓ Karon Beach: One of the biggest beaches in Phuket, we often found ourselves being the only ones here (also it was low season, so that could be completely different during peak months). The waves did get pretty big at some points, but we found ourselves returning more than a few times.

The month went by far too quickly, and I definitely miss the slow paced lifestyle we enjoyed, as I write this post from the bustling city of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

I will definitely be back and could see myself even living there for a few months out of the year.

xx