Kamala Beach, Phuket, Thailand

The benefits of a vacation somewhat close to home is shorter travel time and the same time zone.  We left Beijing on a Tues. evening for Phuket with a short layover in Bangkok.  The trip was pretty smooth, even though we were delayed leaving Beijing.  We arrived in Phuket around 11:30 at night and the heat and humidity were a shock to our systems after chilly Beijing.  We were all exhausted by the time were able to settle in for sleep around 2 am, but we were also excited to actually be in Phuket!

Our home for the first week in Phuket was a fantastic 2 bedroom apartment found through Air BnB.  It was important to us to have space so we could all relax and give us a feeling like home, even while on vacation.  We also loved the 2 story windows where we watched action on the street as well as around the resort.
Another perk of this apartment was the pool.  The girls were very excited to swim on our first full day in Phuket.  Swimming outside at Christmas time seemed bizarre at first, but they adapted very quickly.  We had the added bonus of small lizards and geckos scurrying all around.  The greenery, blue skies, ocean smells, and humidity felt like heaven to us at the end of December.
To end our first day, we went for an evening walk to see the beach.  It was a short walk to a rocky part of the beach.  The girls got busy collecting shells and exploring the beach.  They got their feet wet, but were instructed to keep their clothes dry.  The bottom progression of pictures shows how well that worked!