6.01.2005
Open for business.
Since we've come back from Phuket, everyone--seriously, like every single person in the world--has been asking us if there's even anything left there or if it was all washed away by the tsunami, as your cable news station of choice would like you to believe. (On that note, if your cable news station of choice features Battlin' Bill O'Reilly, what is wrong with you? Just wondering, because obviously something is. Seriously.)
But moving on--notice how often I write that?--I can definitely say that there is very little wrong in Phuket, and not only is it ready for tourists, but it has been for some time. For example, at the place we stayed--the Chedi, which I highly, highly recommend--the insides of the beach front cottages were being repaired due to water damage, as was the beach front restaurant. Yes, that is repaired as in being fixed, not as in rebuilt: the floorboards were warped, not missing. In fact, as far as I could see, the only thing wrong with Phuket was that the tourists have not yet returned, as if massive waves caused by 9-point-whatever on the Richter Scale earthquakes happen every two or three days instead of every two or three hundred years. So if you are thinking of going on a vacation to somewhere that has white sand beaches, warm green water, and is sunny almost all year round (rainy season, what can you do?) any time soon, you should go to Phuket, immediately if not sooner. Seriously.
And for those of you who don't believe me, here's a picture, which as we all know is worth a thousand words, which means I don't have to write the next 700 or so, thankfully for both of us. Whatever. Either way, I think you'll agree with me when I say that Phuket definitely does not look bad--at least not from the main dining room of our hotel ...
It was sunnier than it looks in the picture--trust me.
But moving on--notice how often I write that?--I can definitely say that there is very little wrong in Phuket, and not only is it ready for tourists, but it has been for some time. For example, at the place we stayed--the Chedi, which I highly, highly recommend--the insides of the beach front cottages were being repaired due to water damage, as was the beach front restaurant. Yes, that is repaired as in being fixed, not as in rebuilt: the floorboards were warped, not missing. In fact, as far as I could see, the only thing wrong with Phuket was that the tourists have not yet returned, as if massive waves caused by 9-point-whatever on the Richter Scale earthquakes happen every two or three days instead of every two or three hundred years. So if you are thinking of going on a vacation to somewhere that has white sand beaches, warm green water, and is sunny almost all year round (rainy season, what can you do?) any time soon, you should go to Phuket, immediately if not sooner. Seriously.
And for those of you who don't believe me, here's a picture, which as we all know is worth a thousand words, which means I don't have to write the next 700 or so, thankfully for both of us. Whatever. Either way, I think you'll agree with me when I say that Phuket definitely does not look bad--at least not from the main dining room of our hotel ...
It was sunnier than it looks in the picture--trust me.
