Thai Pantry and the prime rib buffet checked off so far. The lamb shank massaman curry was so good.










Now, it is time for the Rum Shack.

There are two breakfast buffets. Today, we went to the Beach Grill, which continued the streak of great breakfasts.











My plan for today is to read at the beach and snorkel around the house reef before our cooking class at 2:30. Then, we will take advantage of the hotel shuttle to visit some Patong bars in the early evening.

We need to arrive earlier to get shaded beach chairs, so we set up shop at the pool. I finished my third book of the trip, then picked up snorkeling gear.

The hotel is located on a small cove, which effectively makes the beach private. Snorkeling here is only available at high tide. The water gets deep fast. The variety of sea life and visibility is very good, if not at the level of the St. Regis Maldives. Other than a kayak nearly running me over, it was very enjoyable.

I'm now recharging with a rum shack mule before heading back to the pool. I have been really impressed by the breadth and quality of cocktail options. I don't think they are very strong, but that doesn't matter.

I picked up some ice cream on the way.

The cooking class was a lot of fun, and the tom yum soup and pad thai I made weren't half bad. My attempt at the dessert (coconut flour balls) was less successful.

We revised our plan due to threatened rain; we now intend to visit Patong during the day tomorrow. My goal tonight was to visit as many of the dining outlets as possible; it ended up being a poor effort, with us tapping out after the surprise mango sticky rice dessert we received at restaurant #3.

First, the lobby bar for a burger and potato wedges.






Second, the Rum Shack for wings, cocktails, and the sunset. The difference between high and low tide here is stark.




Third, D.O.G.C. for chicken pizziola and carbonara. This was supposed to be an appetizer, but we hit our limit.

I started my day with a very nice sport massage, then we visited the remaining food stands, with an interlude at the Rum Shack.











A bit better than my attempt.

The long-predicted rain came soon after we sat down at the beach. The umbrellas provide adequate cover.

A unique feature of the resort is the small Butterfly Garden. I saw 3-4 different types.

After getting our money's worth at the pool bar, we returned to the room to find this nice gift.

I also received notice at the 72-hour mark that Sri Lankan airlines accepted our upgrade bid for the BKK-CMB flight on Saturday (~$200/pp).

We ventured into Patong around 6 pm. We missed the free shuttle and had to take a Grab. Traffic was bad, and it took almost 30 minutes to go a few kilometers. Because I had expected for us to get dropped off by the shuttle, I hadn't researched any specific destination and quickly chose a beach bar, Bud's, that had a 4.8 rating on Google and the promise of cheap drinks. Perhaps it was closed or subsumed by the larger bar next door on the map, Barracuda, or perhaps we just overlooked it. In any case, we didn't find it. The consolation prize was a striking sunset.



Patong was very lively. Unfortunately, the area where we disembarked was a relative dead zone for bars; the street was mostly lined with innumerable massage parlors and tour booking kiosks. We stopped in at the Kudo beach bar for one drink and then kept moving. Eventually, we reached the pedestrian street I saw on the way to the hotel. It was packed and had a Bourbon Street or Temple Bar-like chaotic, saturnalian energy. I enjoy this type of atmosphere from time to time, but it doesn't really match the vibe of this trip. We walked another few blocks and then took a Grab back to the hotel.

We wrapped up a wonderful stay at this resort with dinner at the Beach Grill and a mango sticky rice after-dinner cocktail at the Rum Shack. While I can't say that I would have been happy paying the prices on the menus, the pre-booked all inclusive package was a fantastic value, particularly given the array of dining options.







We will head to the airport at a very civilized hour tomorrow for our 1:35 pm flight to Bangkok. I am excited to return to Bangkok; we have a boat tour planned and dinners lined up at two of the highest-rated restaurants in Bangkok (and indeed, in all of Asia)--Potong and Gaa. I had my best meal of 2023 at Gaa, and it has since earned a second Michelin star. Potong has garnered many accolades in the short time it has been open. And both are located in stunning spaces.

The drive to the airport also took about 75 minutes. There was no line for the check-in counter, and we passed through the boarding pass scan and security screening in a few minutes.


Like at BKK, a SkyBOSS ticket on Thai Vietjet accords you access to the Coral Lounge. This domestic Coral Lounge is much smaller, and because it is also a contract lounge for almost every imaginable program, there is a steady stream of people at the buffet. There is no shortage of seats, though. The food and beverage offerings are a few curry and soup options, pastries, fruit, soft drinks and not much else. The coconut chicken soup was good. A staff member just asked if we wanted a neck and shoulder massage, so it does offer that amenity--I am not sure how much it costs.

Boarding commenced around 12:55, and we boarded from a jetbridge.


Like our last flight on Thai Vietjet, we were the only SkyBOSS passengers. While sold as economy (Y class), this is similar to a Eurobusiness product, except in theory, there are no blocked middle seats--and the SkyBOSS seats are fixed. In practice, I doubt that there are ever enough SkyBOSSes on a flight to need the middle seats .

The bulkhead seats have a comfortable amount of legroom, and we again had three seats to ourselves. We received a pre-departure branded bottle of water.





Each SkyBOSS can order one hot item, one drink, and one snack from the SkyCafe menu. I got the green chicken curry, the fresh orange juice, and the mango crisps. All were very good.





The uniforms on Thai Vietjet are a lot of fun, and they played whimsical boarding music.

We took off and arrived at our bus gate position about ten minutes late. As with our last experience with the airline, there was a separate van to take us to the domestic terminal. Our bags arrived under five minutes after we did, and we were underway shortly. Traffic is light, and we will make it to the hotel within an hour of landing.



I will gladly fly Thai Vietjet again.

Few topics on Flyertalk seem to occasion as much debate as Bangkok hotels. I am not knowledgeable enough to make a contribution. We stayed at the Athenee last time and liked it, and we are here again. They upgraded us to a very nice suite with 1.5 baths.

One and a half baths!? Not seeing exactly what you mean from the photo.