Morning at the Beach: After waking, Peep and I took her mother out for breakfast at a restaurant located right outside the front door of our building. We then escorted her one block to the beach, where we rented a lounge chair for her to relax in while we returned to the room to change into our swimming suits and put on some much needed sunblock. Back at the beach, Peep and I spent the next hour or so in the ocean water, swimming around the roped off swimming area. Other people spent time walking the beach, playing in the sand, parasailing and riding their ski-dos. We could see many private yachts anchored in the water beyond, including a 300 million dollar yacht owned by a Russian billionaire. Since the beach was located in a cove, the waves were small and the sea was calm.
Massage and Lunch: After our time in the ocean, we escorted Peep's mom back toward the condo until we came upon a nice massage parlor, where we treated her to a two-hour massage. We headed back to the room, and I exercised while Peep showered the salt water off her. Before we knew it, it was time to collect mom at the massage place and head out for some lunch. The night before, Peep's bosses had told her about the best massage place they had experienced in the area, but Peep couldn't remember the name. One of the masseuses heard Peep and her mom talking about her bosses and said they knew them well. It just so happened that we picked the same place they had told her about!
The Big Buddha Phuket: After lunch at a nearby restaurant, we hired a driver to take us to see The Big Buddha Phuket. Peep phoned her brother (they both have Thai sims for their cellphones) to let him know our plans. It turned out that he was back at the room, so we turned back to pick him up so all of us could make the trip. We had to drive from the west to the east side of the island, and then up a hill in the center before reaching the statue.
Officially known as the Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri Buddha, the Big Buddha Phuket stands 45 meters high and is 25 meters across at the base. Upon completion, the reinforced concrete structure will be clad with 135 tons of Burmese white marble and cost 30 million baht (1 million U.S. dollars). All the money for its construction is being raised solely through donations. The large statue is dedicated to the current king of Thailand, while a smaller, 12 meter high statue made of 22 tons of brass located at the same sight is dedicated to the current queen.
To get to the statue, we had to climb a long flight of stairs from the parking lot. Mom rested on a nearby bench, where she could see the statue and observe the other visitors. Paap, Peep, and I passed a group of monkeys harassing sightseers as we made the climb to the apex of the hill. We were not carrying any food, and were therefore ignored by the monkeys. Once up top, we got stunning views of both the east and west coasts of the island, and got a close up look of the unfinished statue and work still in progress. After our visit, we returned to Patong Beach the same way we came, this time stopping at one of the places near the statue offering elephant rides. We did not ride, but Peep was able to get a close up look at a baby elephant on display there.
Movie in the Media Room: Once back at Patong Beach, Paap again went his own way while Peep and I took mom to Peep's bosses condominium to watch a movie in their media room. Since we planned to go see James Bond Island the next day, we chose "The Man With the Golden Gun", which was filmed in part on an island located to the east of Phuket. Mom loves James Bond movies, so we knew she would enjoy herself as we headed out to observe the nightlife.
Bangla Road Nightlife: It was still early when we arrived at Bangla Road, one of the two main areas for nightlife in the city. We walked up and down the blocked-off road, observing the passers-by as the road slowly filled up with party-goers. We peeked inside some of the many bars, nightclubs, and go-go bars, but most were still empty due to the early hour. After a couple of passes along the road, we left the Bangla Road area and headed to a nearby seafood restaurant for dinner.
After our meal, we met up with mom at the restaurant nearest our building, where she was having dinner with Peep's bosses and other guests of theirs, who had met up with her when they returned to their condo and found her in their media room. Since she hadn't finished watching the movie, she wanted to return to see the end. It was getting late for me, so I said my good nights and headed off to bed while Peep joined her mother for the end of the movie.
(Not) Sleeping Through the Night: Due to the condo being located on the party beach (Karon and Kata beaches are generally more family friendly and up-scale), the reveling went on throughout the night, some of which we could still hear thirty stories up. It wasn't so loud though that it kept me from getting to sleep. However, the fireworks that were set off on the beach starting at three in the morning and lasting over an hour didn't fail to keep me up for each of the three nights we stayed there.