Thailand Journey: Phuket Part 1 Dec 30-31

Saturday Dec 30th The Promise Land
Early in the morning we made our way to the Promise Land, the JW Marriot in Puhket. When mentioning to a taxi driver that we would be staying at the JW he nearly swerved off the road and pissed his pants. I sometimes exaggerate a little but when I say this is a prime example of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” this is an understatement. Thinking back on it I did see the resort on the show less than a year ago.
As we pulled up to the majestic masterpiece one would have thought we were the President. Armed guards surrounded and searched the car. Right away I knew this was no Super 8.



Marble pillars, reflection pools, waterfalls, Zen gardens and jungle landscaping littered this palace. Our room you ask? Rose pedals in the bathtub, an orchid on each pillow, a meditation area, even the Kleenex was in the shape of flowers.

We were hungry and had to choose from one of 5 restaurants on this ridiculous plantation. The male dominant trend continued as the table read “Mr. Oakes” and Liz’s credit card always ended up in my hand to sign.

This resort was flawless. The staff to visitor ratio was nearly 4:1. The main pool was over 100m long and had big elephant statues shooting water from their trunks, water massage beds, and hundreds of perfectly aligned lounge chairs and a personal pool attendant to give you anything you may want. A few of these services included ice water, cold towels, water spritzers, food, beverages, pineapple and watermelon with the rines cut off (who does that?). Just before dinner we caught the nightly fire show that includes drums, Thai dancers and ends with a man spitting a fireball from his mouth.

Sunday Dec 31st Bringing in the New Year
New Year’s Eve began with a run along the pristine white beach. Oddly enough as I was strolling along I look to my right and what do I see but a pair of elephants flapping their ears and swimming in the water. I thought to myself, “only in Thailand”. After this interesting run we began our business at the YPO conference by listening to Michael McManus for whom the movie BLOW was based upon. My nerves rose as I scoped out my speaking location and surveyed my audience.

These people were millionaires. One guy speaks with George W. Bush on a weekly basis (not that he is anyone special or anything) and another guy was one of the leading experts in Cancer research. If they didn’t own Fortune 500 companies they did something equivalent. Liz and I felt a little out of place because we were, so we just enjoyed the pausch lifestyle while it lasted. Before I knew it I would be back to the lifestyle of a poor college student.
The nighttime festivities included a buffet that nearly covered a football field, an electrifying stage and music from the Pink Flamingos, elephant shaped ice sculpture sweating puddles on the pavement and of course women “blinging” with huge rocks around their neck and fingers. Liz and I decided to watch the spectacle from a huge luxurious lounger we found and sipped on tasty Mojitos until the midnight hour approached.




As that time came we staked out our spot on the beach to watch the fireworks and drink champagne to ring in the new year. Unfortunately, the night didn’t end how I would of liked with a new lady friend to give smooches to. I settled for a friendly kiss from Liz and then headed in for a restless and anxiety filled night of sleep.