Hotels In Phuket | Where To Stay In Phuket

When planning a trip to Thailand, I was keen not to leave without seeing Phuket. I wanted to explore the island as much as possible. From the beautiful beaches in Phuket to markets as well as surrounding islands and bays close to Phuket. The planned tours in Phuket meant that we would be visiting various corners of Phuket which meant to make this easy and accessible to surrounding islands in Phuket we were planning on visiting, we would need to change hotels. Ikon Hotel was one of three beautiful hotels we sampled during our visit to this popular and beautiful part of Thailand.

The change of hotels in Phuket saw us sample three different hotels on the island. From the oddly named Golddigger's Resort to our luxury private villa at Renaissance to Ikon hotel featured in this post. When I book hotels and apartments, I always shop around. From checking out sites like Booking.com, Expedia, to searching out Trivago to see if I can get the same room for less. Golddiggers I think we booked via Booking.com, Renaissance we booked directly via Marriott and Ikon was via Trivago.

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Visiting Thailand | 10 Experiences You Need To Have In Phuket

Thailand is one of those countries that can have your drooling just by mentioning it. There is plenty to do, but sometimes nothing to do, while lounging on the beach like a castaway character is also an option that will very much be a one you might want to include as the scenery calls for it, demands it, so you can do is sit still and have those shiny little marbles take it all it and gaze in wonder at just how amazingly beautiful the land is. Hey, don't be too surprised if your minds start questioning how the world can be so bad with all the crap your news feeds are inundated with, we have such flawless beautiful right before your very own eyes. Okay, I guess it's clear that I fell in love with Phuket and Thailand in General. So, if you have a spare flight ticket...I have no doubt I will be heading back to Thailand someday in the meantime I have take places on the Island that you need to check out when visiting Phuket. If your idea paradise is hoping from one palm-fringed island to the next then Thailand is the place for you! More precisely Phuket is one island you want to head to pronto! There is plenty to do so I will give you a run down of a few things you might want to consider adding to your itinerary.

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Summer Essentials - What You Need When you Hit The Beach in Thailand

It's not everyday you wake up and have the beach all to yourselves, unless you are in, maybe Phuket. This little Thai island is just paradise! I wish I could have stayed forever. I guess in a way I now understand why people stay on and live in Thailand. You could certainly live there and not miss any "Western comforts". You want shopping, Bangkok is filled with shopping malls from designer boutiques to purse-friendly stores. When it comes to the weather, let's just say the London summers are blown right out of the water!

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A Private Paradise | Are These Luxury Villas Phuket's Best Kept Secret?

It simply doesn't get any better than this!!! Considering my birthday falls right at the end of the year when I am a little more reflective which means I opt for more relaxed celebrations. For my birthday, December last year I opted for a month long celebration which saw my boyfriend and I travel from Budapest to Beijing and then to Cambodia's Siem Reap to Bangkok, before landing in Phuket. For my actual birthday, the day before, the birthday and the day after I just wanted peace and quiet, no tours, no crazy activities, just pure indulgence! What the lady wishes for, so she must have and I did get, by way of a private paradise at Renaissance Phuket.

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Golddiggers Resort Phuket | When You Book A Hotel Simply Because Of Its Name

My mind had conjured up so many things when I first spotted the name of the hotel and at $40 a night I thought to myself it can't really be that bad, can it? To my relief, it was bad at all. In addition to the name, I chose it because it was a short distance from the airport as we were flying from Bangkok in the late afternoon. We were going to be doing the Phang Nga Bay tour which takes of from the piers near in the Northern part of Phuket. Hence why were wanted to base ourselves this side of the island. I shared a post from our day tour from Phuket to Phang Nga Bay. 

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Bangkok | Views Of The City From The Back Of A Tuk Tuk

I am  going to take you for a ride around Bangkok. Hold on to your Tuk Tuk seat. I took these pictures on our last day in Bangkok as we were taking off to visit Phuket that evening. My, what a last day it was! Having been to Cambodia and parts of Bangkok, we had a few incidents where people would ask for a tip for even giving you directions. Listen, Mr Local Man, Bee may be travelling like she doesn't care(see what I did there), but make no mistake she works for every penny used for these trips and does not pluck money from the rich foreign tree that you thing she has in her backyard. I say that because on this day my faith in reconnecting with locals had been restored after many a mishap.

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Thailand | 9 Experiences You Need To Have In Phang Nga Bay

Thailand is gifted when it comes to picturesque scenery, which makes it an awesome destination  for memorable adventures. One such place one must visit when in Thailand is Phuket. More specifically Ao Phang Nga National Park. It's one of Phuket's best places for sea kayaking. You can explore islands, caves, lagoons and take in beautiful and unique landscapes that will create indelible memories for you and friends. With plenty of wildlife from lizards, rare hornbills, kingfishers. What's even more wonderful about this is that its suitable for all ages. So bring your kids, friends and gran for an adventure of a lifetime as I tell you about 9 experiences you need to have in Phang Nga Bay. There are various tours heading to Phang Nga Bay. You can book most of these in advance via Expedia or Viator.

1. Stop By Wat Suwan Khuha - Temple Cave

Before heading to catch boats and see the islands. The first stop is checking out the Temple Cave. Located in a limestone cave, housing a beautiful 15-meter reclining Buddha image. The caves are decorated with Thai-style tiles, you will also find a small grotto there.

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That Time I Rented A Car and Driver - Fell Asleep and Ended Up on The Wrong Side of Bangkok

Each time I think back on our exploration of Thailand while on a  month long birthday celebration trip I burst into laughter. As someone who plans most of the trips that my boyfriend and I go on, I thought for my birthday month of December I would let my hair down a little bit and not plan quite to a 'T'. So a few things that I had on my list as things that I didn't want to miss out on before leaving Bangkok had been added to the itinerary but not really booked. This was so that we could go with the flow as much as possible.


I had seen pictures of Erwan Waterfalls before I visited Thailand and knew that they were a good drive out of the city, so you either have get up and drive at stupid o'clock to avoid the traffic in Bangkok. To allow for getting out there with enough time to explore before heading back, if you are not staying overnight. I had done enough research to know roughly how long it takes to get there and seen enough pictures to know if I was heading in the wrong direction. Quite good with my barings like that. The joys of an overplanner.

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Grand Palace Bangkok | A Must-See For Anyone Visiting Bangkok (+Tips!)

And here I thought I had seen all the gold I could possibly see when I visited Dubai, where by the way, they have ATMs with gold bullion. Well, visiting Bangkok had a whole host of surprises for us. More specifically the Grand Palace of Bangkok. Built in 1792 during the reign of King Rama I, to be the royal residence of the Thai King. It comprises several  buildings including the Royal Chapel of  the Emerald Buddha as well as offices and living areas. For about 150 years, Bangkok's Grand Palace was not only the home of the King and his court but the administrative seat of the government in its entirety. Thai Royalty stopped residing full-time by the 20th century but the Grand Palace still remains an important building, used for ceremonial purposes mainly and very much the seat of power at the heart of Thailand.

As a must see when visiting Bangkok, prepare for the crowds and add to that the heat and you have one sweaty visit. To avoid that though either visit early in the day of after 2pm when the heat is not as intense and the crowds, although still there, are perhaps not as crazy. Before you even enter the premises, you can see some of the gold leaf buildings peeking from the high walls.  The internal buildings are a mix of styles combining European architecture, traditional Thai roof tiles and spires, as well as a neo-renaissance style. The attention to detail is just amazing! I can just imagine how long the it took the workers to build, carve and sculpt. From the tiles, to the statues that are clad in colourful outfits if not plastered in gold leaf. As beautiful as it is it makes you think about how we as humans place so much importance on material things. It is quite thought-provoking and definitely worth a visit when you visit Bangkok.

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Thailand | Sun, Sea and Style in Koh Phi Phi Islands

Another installment from my island hopping and exploration in Thailand. If you didn't catch the first post in the series, you can read my tips on island hopping in Thailand's Phuket. Of all the places that I have traveled to Thailand is up there in the top 5. Stunning landscapes, beautiful beaches, great activities to sink your teeth into and so much more that you will easily be plotting your return soon after you leave. These shots were taken on some of the other stops on the same tour as the stop to May Bay, also famously known as The Beach. We had a few stops for snorkeling, lunch and a bit of shopping on some of the islands. We had the pleasure of exploring some of the islands and getting up and down hiking, sailing to make the most of our stay in the country. If you have not been to Thailand and have it on your list, I would highly recommend you move it to the top of the list soon. If you need more reasons, to help you move it to the top of the list here are some to get you started off - all rolled in with some tips. 

Shiny Happy People - Get Some Sun - I come from a hot country and by hot, I mean HOT! Our hottest time of the year is October and temperatures can get as high as 40's! So now living in London, you know that summer is promised to no one, so if you want to be in with the shiny happy people then getting some sun will definitely do you some good. Thailand is not short of the rays and even when it rains, it's hot and sunny soon after a few drops. Another advantage is that you can also have beautiful beaches to enjoy the sun all to yourself. 

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Maya Bay [The Beach] | Tips For Island Hopping In Thailand's Phuket

Maya Bay is the very epitome of paradise. Maya  Bay is a little enclave of pristinely soft melt-in-your-toes white powdery sand on the Ko Phi Phi Lay island. It is, of course, the island made famous by the blockbuster film 'The Beach', featuring Leonardo DiCarprio. Visiting Thailand, or more specifically when visiting Phuket, island hopping tours are a must! There are many tour operators and depending on where you stay on the island you will either have to pay an additional fee if you are far away from the main collection points or starting points of the tours i.e the boat piers. Two really popular tours in Phuket are the tours to James Bond Island as Phang Nga Bay and Ko Phi Phi Island for Maya Bay - The Beach. I will be sharing details of the other tour soon but for now, this is part one of the stops on the Ko Phi Phi Island tour. Ko Phi Phi Islands are about 40-50km of the coast of Thailand's Phuket in the Andaman Sea.

You can have a look at Phuket tours available on the Expedia website before leaving for Phuket. You can also check out tours on Viator as its usually same vendors and just compare prices. Clear turquoise waters and breathtaking beaches,  stunning rock formations rising out of the beautiful waters of Phi Phi Island. The majority of tours will take you to a few stops that include, Maya Bay, Lo Samah Bay(see below), Viking Cave, Money Beach and another I can't seem to recall the name of. I will post separate pictures from the other stops.  You also get time to go snorkeling at 2 or 3 stops depending on weather and time of the trip.

Quick Tips For Phuket Island Tours

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