The Andaman coast is sparsely populated outside of Phuket. The island is 425 miles south of Bangkok, a paradise loaded with resort hotels, fishing, scuba diving, international restaurants, tailor shops and shopping. The third largest island in Thailand, it is covered with mangroves, palm trees and rubber trees. Our resort, the Kata Beach Resort, was on the southwestern tip of the island, about one hour from the airport. Not many Americans visit Thailand, especially Phuket, but there is no shortage of Australians and Europeans.
Many hotels dot the coast, as do European restaurants, nightclubs and shopping areas.
We used our two days in Phuket to relax on the beach and to purchase custom-made suits and dresses from one of the many tailor shops. Clothing can be custom-made in less than one day with a couple of fittings. We flew to Bangkok for our last night, spent at the 39-floor Peninsula Hotel overlooking the Chao Phraya River. Completed about a year ago, the hotel is rated one of the best in Asia. Thanks to the International Dateline, when we arrived home it was the same time on the same day that we left Bangkok.