Various locations, Phuket, Thailand

We had a free day and too many ideas of how to spend it.  Matt came up with a great idea for each family member to pick one thing to do.  It was only possible because we rented a car which allowed us the freedom to explore.  It was a busy day, but a lot of fun for each family member to pick an activity they really wanted to experience.

The day started with my choice, Wat Chalong, or Chalong Temple.  I wanted to experience this temple because it is different than what we’ve seen in China.  The girls are ‘done with’ temples, so I had to make this a quick trip.  They grudgingly admitted that this one was pretty cool.

Chalong (Chalong Temple) was built at the beginning on 19th century, is the largest and most visited of Phuket’s temples. Locals and many Thai tourists come to pray and pay respects to several revered monks who were the founders of Wat Chalong.  Walls and ceilings are decorated with beautiful painting illustrating the life of Buddha, as well as many donated golden statues.

The 2nd activity was chosen by Ivy, Phuket Bird Park.  This park is located on 12 acres of land and is the only privately owned bird park on the Island. The park has over thousand birds of more than 100 amazing bird species from Asia, Africa and South America.  We saw birds, bunnies, and even our first squirrel since leaving MN in August.
The next adventure was Matt’s pick, Monkey Hill.  Toh Sae Hill (known as Monkey Hill) is one of the biggest hills found in Phuket Town. There are an estimated 400 macaques that live freely in several troops on the hill.  It was a bit of a walk up a hill that lead to a beautiful view of Phuket.  The monkeys were everywhere and jumping around the trees and even some scooters.  We were careful to give them their distance as some monkeys approached people.
Our last excursion for the day was Nola’s pick, the Phuket Aquarium.  Nola loves fish, sea turtles, and underwater creatures.  It was a nice size facility that was great for families and Nola was able to get up close with some of her favorite fish.  We also experienced the interesting and slightly creepy mermaid robot that talked about Thailand.