Water way to holiday
Mum of two EMMA DEADMAN enjoys some me-time on a solo holiday adventure in Thailand
STALEMATE. Our eyes locked, our fingers poised on our ready-pumped pistols. It was me or him – one of us had to flinch first. Before I had a chance to think, the six-year-old standing before me had made his move, and covered me from head-to-toe in freezing water.
We shook on it, but as soon as his back was turned, I got my revenge, and squirted him right back. All’s fair in love and Songkran!
Songkran is the Thai New Year’s festival. The Thai New Year’s Day is April 13 every year, but the holiday period runs for a couple of days.
The day’s festivities at my Phuket hotel, the Marriott Resort and Spa, Merlin Beach, began with a traditional offering of goods to Buddhist monks visiting the hotel.
But this soon descended into chaos once they headed home, and the water fun could get underway.
What started years ago as a gentle ceremony of honouring people with a splash of water has become an outright water battle, with no-one immune from a soaking.
The celebration was just one of the many activities and events on offer at the hotel – some free, some paid for – including Thai cookery classes, yoga and crafts.
The Marriott Resort and Spa, Merlin Beach, is set in lush tropical gardens and anchored alongside Tri Trang Beach, a quiet stretch of white sand. It’s a practically deserted spot, but is just a 10-minute tuk tuk ride from Patong, one of Thailand’s most frenetic towns.
Sun terraces fringed with palm trees surround the hotel’s three pools, one with a swim-up bar and its four restaurants left me spoiled for choice. There’s a traditional Thai place, an Italian, a buffet restaurant and – my favourite – the beachside grill, open to the elements and with a perfect view of the Andaman sea at sunset.
With Thomson, guests are all-inclusive at the hotel. I cannot stress enough what a great deal this is: a bar and food bill soon adds up.
The island of Phuket, off Thailand’s south-west coast, offers everything from peaceful beaches and wild animal sanctuaries to party resorts. It has miles and miles of coastline, dotted with coves and bays.
And, for the more adventurous, you can take a boat ride out to one of the many islands that lie off the coast.
I opted for a two-day trip, that took in everything from James Bond island (famed for its role in The Man with the Golden Gun), kayaking in Phang Nga Bay to a visit to the famed Maya Bay.
As a journalist, I obviously love words. But, frankly, the entire islands tour, organised by Andaman Leisure Phuket, left me speechless.
Okay, I might have slipped out the odd ‘Wow’.
Sure, everyone’s seen posters for The Beach (Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous film which sent tourists into a frenzy) but nothing quite prepares you for it in
real life. White sand, blue sky, bluer sea. Hundreds of people visit the islands daily, so expect a bit of jostling for the best view, but the tour is a must-see for visitors to Phuket. A highlight for me was swimming with sharks – not the meat-eating kind. Donning a mask and snorkel, I swam just a few hundred metres from the beach before I spotted the black-tipped reef sharks. Around three feet in length, they were definitely more scared of me than I was of them, as they darted around the coral among an array of technicolour fish that would give Joseph a run for his money. A night on Phi Phi Don (a backpackers’ haunt but with a great vibe) ended with watching talented locals put on