MARCH 17, 2014: DIVING WITH BIG BLUE, TSUNAMI MEMORIAL, MARKET, DINNER-ANTONIO'S

March 17, 2014

     Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We are up at 6:00 am.  Today I splurge at breakfast with my usual egg, toast, fruit, etc. but I can't resist as I add a sugar donut, a mini apple AND cherry danish, a tiny piece of banana bread.  Who cares about calories-it's a holiday today, right??!!  It is very cloudy and overcast again.

Dragon fruit on the right are my grandson's favorite

This morning our server brought us French press coffee

Pick your tea

I told you they were tiny!!

     Richard gets picked up at 8:30 am by the BIG BLUE truck and I see the guy from the office that registered him.  He tells me he's taking the day off to go diving.  Today it's TACHAI-PINNACLES AND KOH BON.

The guy on the left waving is the one from the Big Blue office

Gorgonian fan coral

Moorish idols

Damsel fish

Cornetfish

 Breakfast??  Lunch??

Damsel fish

Cornetfish

Checkered snapper

Lionfish

Richard remembered to change the setting from underwater to land.  Now if I could only teach him how to focus!

     Before heading back to the beach and pool for the day I decide to explore a bit more of the resort-particularly the kids's facilities.  I also do some laundry that we don't send out.  I send another e-mail to Phuket Scuba Club informing them that Richard is going to be diving the 20th but should be back by 4:30 pm.  I say we will stop at their office and should be able to get there by 7:00 pm.  I'm lying on my sun bed by the pool when Richard surprises me.  He's back early.  It's only 3:30 pm.  He says that so far the diving here has not been that great.  The Red Sea/Egypt was much better.  I feel bad and wonder about all the rave reviews I had read about the diving in the SIMILANS/THAILAND.  I check my I Pad and there's an e-mail from Chantal of Phuket Scuba Club saying something about the schedule being different and the boat going into the shipyard for maintenance.  I'm not sure I understand what's what.

This is our room

Kids facilities include the trampoline, water slides in a pool, and this Penguin Kids Club.

Activities for the day at the Penguin Kids Club

Water slides for kids only

Outdoor seating for breakfast

Beach bar

     We hop in our car and drive to check out the TSUNAMI MEMORIAL.  It's located right where the market is so we will check that out too.  There's the police boat that washed up and is right where it landed.  A bit of written information.  The museum doesn't appear to be open.  Our daughter and her family were supposed to be here when the tsunami happened but because they couldn't get the flights they wanted they came from their home in Shekou, China to stay with us over the Christmas holidays.  What an eerie piece of luck!  I'm glad they were with us during that awful time for Thailand.  The MARKET is very busy.  Lots of food vendors, souvenirs, clothes......  I buy 3 beach cover up style dresses which are perfect for SE Asian weather.  The food looks good but my husband is reluctant to try it so we pass.  When we arrive back to our home he will tell me he wished he had tried some of the food as it did look appealing.  I see a money exchange so I give $400 and get 12640 baht.  We stop at a 7/11 store for snacks-chips, candy bars, coke, beer.

The market is only open a few days of the week and today is one of them-Monday

     For dinner I feel like I want pizza and there's an ad for a place on my Khao Lak map.  We'll go there as they advertise thin crust pizza and that's the kind we like.  ANTONIO'S  Near the JW Marriott.  Cute place but no one is there.  Some customers come in for take out while we're there.  We order a margherita pizza, a salad, coke, and sprite.  Bill is 803 baht with 10% service charge included.  The salad we ordered was supposed to be a mixed green garden salad but what we got was fresh spinach, fresh mozzarella cheese, capicola, cherry tomatoes.  The pizza was ok-a bit too cheesy- but later we see that our resort has a restaurant where you can get brick oven pizza!  I would not return to this place.

This is not the salad I was expecting!

Our pizza-too much cheese and not enough sauce!