Day 14 – Flip Turns, Weed Bars & Pet Peeves | Thailand Travel Diary

Tuesday, Nov 11 – Day 14, Phuket (Cape Panwa Area)
Location: Kanary Bay Hotel, Cape Panwa
Mood: Sun-warmed, slightly feral, conserving energy for Phi Phi

The Calm Before the Tour Storm

We all agreed on a lazy day. Tomorrow’s another full-day tour — Phi Phi Islands — and the forecast says scorching chaos with a side of tourists, so today was about rest.  I always hesitate about the popular tours.  In my opinion, they’re usually overrated and misrepresented online.  And, responsible tourism is important to me (you may have noticed) and contributing to the damage that tourists do to over-visited places doesn’t feel super awesome to me.  But, we’re going…so we shall see.

After breakfast, we hiked up the hill — the steep one that leaves you drenched by the halfway mark — to check out spas and restaurants. To be fair, you’re soaked no matter what you do here.  The moment you step outside…wet.  Full stop.  Mom’s been eyeing a rooftop bar here but it’s got a minimum spend of $1500 bhat per person (which is around $65).  That doesn’t sound like a lot compared to Halifax standards but here, you’d have to drink your face off to spend that.  So we did a little recon and found another rooftop spot with a view straight out of a travel magazine, the kind that makes you forget how gross you feel from the climb. And no minimum spend.  We booked it for dinner immediately. Brent stayed back to study, so it was just the three of us, sweaty but victorious.

Poolside Shenanigans & Flip-Turn Fails

The afternoon was pure vacation mode: lounging by the pool, some content editing, and email answering (but at a leisurely pace).

Brent and Steve decided to do a swimming lesson — both of them learned later in life — while Mom and I, lifelong (and let’s be honest, obnoxiously proud) former competitive swimmers, tried not to “help.” Spoiler: we helped.

Then Steve declared he was going to learn flip turns. For the record, flip turns are hard. Even good swimmers botch them sometimes. Watching him somersault underwater, get completely disoriented, and resurface sputtering was one of the funniest things I’ve seen all trip. At one point, he inhaled half the pool and called it quits, but not before we got it all on slow-mo. The footage is gold — half athletic attempt, half chaos — and we laughed until we cried.

There’s something about those small, ridiculous moments that make trips like this. You can’t plan them, and they never sound as funny in retelling. You just had to be there.

Pet Peeve of the Day

It’s been a while since one of these, but today’s offender deserves a medal.

A woman at the pool — phone volume MAXED — watching TikToks, then taking a full-blown speakerphone call while everyone else was quietly minding their own business. I swear I could hear every word of her conversation and every sound effect from her For You Page.

And here’s a little self-reflection: I didn’t say anything. I wanted to. I imagined the whole exchange in my head. But I didn’t. I always envy people who can calmly walk over and say, “Excuse me, could you take that call elsewhere?” Meanwhile, I just sit there, fuming, writing paragraphs about it later. Therapy, but make it public journaling.  I have friends who would have no issue just addressing it.  I wish I were more like that.

Dinner, Weed, and Shrimp Regret

Dinner was at Seaview Sunset Rooftop Bar, which turned out to be — plot twist — a weed bar. Everyone was casually smoking joints as the sun set, and while Steve was clearly unimpressed, Mom and I were secretly thrilled. (No one offered, sadly.)

The staff barely spoke English, but they were so sweet it didn’t matter. The kitchen looked… questionable (as many do here). We’ve learned not to look too closely. The food? Actually great. I had cashew chicken, Brent had a burger, Mom had chicken and fries, and Steve ordered “chicken wings,” which were absolutely chicken legs. We still can’t stop laughing about that.

Then came our first (obvious) shrimp incident. Mom and I are both allergic to crustaceans, and I’m 99% sure the fries were cooked in the same oil. Within minutes, our lips and tongues were tingling — the bad kind of tingle. Thankfully, it passed within an hour, but it was a solid reminder that “no shrimp” doesn’t always mean “no shrimp oil.”

Cocktails & Contentment

After dinner, we wandered into Russell’s Sunset Bar for “just one drink,” which obviously turned into three. Proper cocktails — Old Fashioneds (with sphere ice cubes), Margaritas, good wine. More expensive than other spots, but absolutely worth it. The first time this trip I’ve left a bar genuinely tipsy.  For the record, when I say “more expensive,” I’m talking like $12 for a cocktail.  Still far less than we’d pay at our favourite Halifax bars.

Tomorrow’s an early morning and an all-day tour, so… we’ll see how that goes. If nothing else, I’ll be glowing with equal parts SPF 50 and mild regret.

Photo of the Day:
📸 Steve attempting a flip turn — part Olympic effort, part underwater chaos. We laughed so hard we cried. Easily one of my favourite moments of the trip.

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
👉 Day 13 – Fruit, Foot Rubs & Family Conversions

✈️ Travel Tip of the Day:

If you find a restaurant in Thailand that looks mildly terrifying but smells incredible — trust your nose, not your eyes.

Let’s Talk

What’s your biggest poolside pet peeve when you travel?
Are you the person who says something… or the one silently plotting the perfect comeback 3 hours later?

And, if you’re looking for more behind-the-scenes moments (like the pool fiasco), I’d love for you to follow along on Instagram too.