Day 13 – Fruit, Foot Rubs & Family Conversions | Thailand Travel Diary
Monday, Nov 10 – Day 13, Phuket (Cape Panwa Area)
Location: Kanary Bay Hotel, Cape Panwa
Mood: Sweaty, smug, and slightly tenderized
The Eel, the Market, and the Point of Being Here
I spotted my first moray eel today — snaking through the rocks just offshore where we walk, opening and closing its mouth like it was judging me. Turns out that “menacing chomp” is just… breathing. Morays don’t have bony gill covers, so they pump water through their gills by opening and closing their mouths (buccal pumping). Translation: not a threat unless you’re sticking your hand where it doesn’t belong. Bites are rare, but when they happen, they’re ugly — lots of backward-tilted teeth and a decent risk of infection. Moral of the story: don’t hand-feed wild animals and don’t poke holes you can’t see into.
If Brent reads this, he’ll say: “What the hell do you mean? You’re always petting, playing with and feeding wild animals”.
But today, that felt like a theme for the day: stop poking and start observing. The night market that sets up every single evening outside our hotel has become my favourite show — vendors rolling in at dusk, grills firing up, the whole thing expanding one stall at a time. We’ve been watching it grow from our hotel like it’s a daily tide.
Remote Work, But Make It Actually Work
Brent and I snuck out alone for a walk this morning. No plan, no map. We talked to a local boat owner about renting a private long-tail for a day — super sweet guy, straightforward, gave us all the info. We’re doing it. We grabbed coffees at the Kantary Café and headed back feeling like we’d cracked the code on what makes travel feel good: some curiosity, a little independence, and slow days sprinkled into all the touristy things.
I spent the morning on client onboarding and deliverables, and, honestly, this time-zone flip is my new productivity hack. Fewer “quick calls,” more actual work. The only real snag is when someone insists on a midnight Zoom — but that’s a boundaries problem, not a travel problem.
Fruit, GI Tracts & Other Miracles
We eat breakfast each day in our hotel, and although buffets are my least favourite way of eating, they’re really growing on my here because the spread is always next level. Every day, there’s steamed rice, fried rice and some variation of thai food (curry, noodles, stir-fries, etc), plus all the breakfasty things you can think of, like eggs, bacon, ham, yogurt, pastries, etc. It was Pad Thai for me today, plus my regular mountain of fruit. My naturopath has been on me for years about “slippery fruit” — papaya, mango, kiwi, dragon fruit — and I hate to admit it, but she’s right. My forever-chaotic gut is… cooperating. The problem is going to be keeping this up at home when the price of one mango equals a small mortgage payment.
Massages & Misunderstandings
Did you really come to Thailand if you didn’t partake in ALL the massages you can possibly fit in? The afternoon win for me was a 60-minute massage for about $14 CAD. I ordered the foot massage; I got feet, legs, shoulders, and head. Not complaining — just noting that “foot massage” here means “we will locate all your knots and evict them.” It’s not float-away gentle; it’s “you may yelp once, then thank us later.” I’m adding a facial and a head massage to the list while we’re here.
Poolside Conversions (Content Edition)
We spent the later part of the day with Mom and Steve at the pool. I gave Steve a quick Reels lesson, and now the man who used to say “get that camera out of my face” is directing angles and asking for a retake. Watching someone discover their inner content goblin in real time is hilarious.
Heat, Drumsticks & Italian in Phuket
It’s still SO hot. The forecast keeps saying 29 °C, but it feels like 43 °C with the humidity. Leftover sticky rice became lunch — still tasty, but it turns to rice glue by round two. Brent reappeared with Drumsticks (yes, the ice-cream cones), which was exactly the level of culinary ambition I had energy for.
Pre-dinner drinks at Sabai Sabai around the corner (we’re trying to visit as many local spots as we can while we’re here), then Uncle Nan’s for Italian — we were skeptical, then converted. Burrata (we snagged the last one), wood-fired pizza, risotto, a bottle of wine. The bill was 4,200 baht — about $182 CAD at current rates — which is the most we’ve spent on a meal but is still less than we’d pay for a comparable dinner in Halifax. Worth it.
Sunset & the Nightly Build
The sunset went full-on crimson behind the island haze while the nightly market set up below us — more vendors than yesterday, and probably fewer than tomorrow. We’ll walk it properly before we leave, but for now I’m weirdly content just watching it grow. Slow day, good day.
Photos of the Day
📸 Spotted: a spotted moray eel — my first ever. Not terrifying, just fascinating, and apparently harmless unless you decide to poke it (which, for the record, I didn’t). They breathe by opening and closing their mouths — not because they’re threatening you, but because that’s just how they get oxygen. Still, tell me that face doesn’t scream “try me.”
Missed an entry?
👉 Day 1 – The Uber Ride from Hell
👉 Day 2 – The Lounge Life & the Struggle Bus
👉 Day 3 – Hot, Hotter, & Really F*ing Hot
👉 Day 4 – Floating Markets, Boat Noodles & the Great Coke Zero Explosion
👉 Day 5 – Heaven, Hell & the Hands at the White Temple
👉 Day 6 – Hill Tribes, Hard Truths & a Side of Curry
👉 Day 7 – Who Needs Guardrails, Anyway?
👉 Day 8 – Elephant-Sized Moral Hangover
👉 Day 9 – The Great Decaf Drought | Thailand Travel Diary
👉 Day 10 – Rash Decisions & Redemption Arcs| Thailand Travel Diary
👉 Day 11 – The Calm Before the Chaos
👉 Day 12 – Islands, Introspection & the Illusion of Luxury
✈️ Travel Tip of the Day
“Foot massage” in Thailand usually includes calves, shoulders, and scalp. If you want gentle, say it up front… twice.
Let’s Talk
Would you book a private long-tail to dodge the crowds, or do you like the energy of group tours? And be honest — could you handle this heat without turning feral?
