Continuing my week-long dream vacation in Thailand, about half of our group left Bangkok at 6 a.m. on our fourth day while the rest stayed behind to explore the city some more. I went with the group to Phuket and I am thrilled that I did.

Phuket is located right along the coast in the southern part of Thailand and is one of the most beautiful places in the world. When we arrived we took the 20 minute ride to our hotel, which was again much to nice for what we were paying. The rooms all surrounded a huge pool complete with two waterfalls and a swim-up bar - all of which we took advantage of. Phuket was filled with just as many shops and many more exciting places to go out at night.

One night I made my debut as lead singer in a Thai cover band that happened to singing (pretty poorly) a Beatles song as were walking by the bar. A friend and I went in and when the band realized we knew all the words, they invited us on stage to sing a few songs with them. Americans seemed to be welcomed with open arms wherever we went, probably because the amount of money that tourists drop. But owners of bars and stages were more than happy to give us free reign on a few different occasions.

We also planned two day trips there that turned out to be the highlights of our whole trip. The first was a day long boat trip to the Co Phi Phi Islands - where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. This was by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We went snorkeling in crystal clear waters and had tropical fish eat bananas out of our hands (yes, apparently fish really like bananas). I also shook hands with a wild monkey who jumped on to our boat as we rode close to the rocky outcroppings that lined most of the water we rode through. Our group spent the afternoon soaking in the sights and discussing whether or not life could get any better. Our tour guide was also very funny and kept us entertained while cruising from island to island.

The following day we hired a van to drive us around for the day and visit a few spots we had picked out on the map. The van, which cost each of us a grand total of $6, picked us up at the hotel at 9 a.m. and dropped us off anywhere we wanted to go and waited as long as wanted to say until 5. The first stop we made was a small beach that we had completely to ourselves. There were traditional asian-looking homes overlooking the water which was just as clear and blue as the day before. I also decided to get my first Thai massage on a straw mattress right by the ocean - the Thai massage is everything it is made out to be especially when you are listening to waves crash up against your own personal beach. After the beach, we went to one of the two major buddhist temples in the area. We explored the buildings and took in a little bit of local culture before grabbing lunch at a small, nearby restaurant. The last thing we did before returning home was spend a few hours at a national park filled with waterfalls. The falls themselves were not quite as gushing as we had hoped, but none of us were in any position to complain. We hiked through the wooded areas to the top of a stream and myself and one other guy were brave enough to climb up one of the cliffs and take the 20 foot leap into the waterfall. It was deep enough, but we didn’t have a huge landing pad, so I was a bit nervous. Luckily we all left intact and the girls were pleased to stop off at a local market for some more cheap shopping before arriving back at the hotel.

I can’t say enough good things about my trip to Thailand. If anyone ever has an opportunity to get over there, I give it a 100% recommendation. I didn’t want the post to run on for too long, but I have plenty more to say so if you want to hear more post a comment or let me know, I will talk to you until you are sick of hearing about it. Oh yeah, I almost forgot - I got to ride an elephant too.