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After three days in Bangkok we headed to the airport and boarded our plane for Phuket. This was to be our vacation from our vacation. We planned for much rest and relaxation and less sightseeing. Phuket is one of the largest island resort areas in Thailand and has seen a lot of development over the years. There are 3 or 4 main developed beach areas - Karon Beach (where we stayed), Patong Beach and the Laguna area. Patong is the most well known and is the most developed. If you like narrow beaches, crowds of people, and a Waikiki type atmosphere, you'll love it here. It's known for it's transvestite bars. As you might guess, we avoided this area. Laguna is a master planned development area with about 4 resorts including the Sheraton Laguna. It's quite lovely but lacks any natural charm. The hotels have everything you could want - beaches, pools, activities, golf, etc. It's great for families and for people who want the luxury of a nice resort. Karon, just south of Patong, is a little more quiet without all the glitz. We enjoyed it. We stayed in the Marina Cottages which are nice and a little more rustic than the resorts of Laguna. We could walk to any number of restaurants and there was a lot of shopping which kept us occupied since it rained a lot while we were there. We took a day trip to Ko Phi Phi (pronounced Ko Pi Pi) island, which is about an hour boat ride off the eastern side of Phuket. The diving is supposed to be fantastic there. At one time, Ko Phi Phi was undiscovered and you could stay in huts on the beach for about $10 per night. Alas, developers have found it and it won't be long before it's overrun with high rises. Go while you can. We also rented a jeep one day and drove around the island. After adjusting to driving on the left side of the street and after Cathy felt comfortable that I wasn't going to crash, we enjoyed a nice day visiting some of the sites on the island including the Ton Sai Waterfall in the rainforest and the Phuket Country Club.