Sri Panwa Resort - Phuket, Thailand

To describe this establishment as luxurious is only the beginning, for this place cannot be dismissed using merely one adjective. Firstly, lets start by stating that this sort of place is far beyond this families usual price bracket when it comes to holiday destinations. We were only able to do so with the extreme generosity of our Malaysian friends.

Despite being imposters in the world of the well heeled, Lina and I (just the two of us) made a creditable attempt to blend in. I did this by packing every nice shirt in my wardrobe. There were no ripped shorts, t shirts or jeans, a first for me as I recall. So we lounged by our private pool in our Luxury Villa, listening to the Bose sound system aired to every room. We awoke to a panoramic sea view behind the glass walled bedroom, as we lounged on the oh-so-comfortable king sized mattress.

Impossible to ignore was the service. At these sort of places you can genuinely let it go, just leave it to them. And I mean everything; checkout, checkin, it really was the full pampering package.

So comfortable were we that not once did we set foot outside the resort. Not once were we tempted. In fact we became so used to the style that Robin Leach introduced us to in the 80’s show ‘Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous’, that it was something of a letdown when we arrived at Phuket airport for the return leg to Kuala Lumpur. It’s a downright shoddy airport in need of a substantial upgrade given the status of Phuket as one of the more popular tourist destinations in the region. The place was crawling with sunburnt, package Russian tourists, downing plastic cups of duty free liquor before the long trek back to Siberia, perhaps steeling themselves for the 6 months of urban freeze that awaits them.  Then there were the Australians. Three generations commonly represented in various stages of tanning, resembling human pelts with eyes and painted eyebrows.