Day 16 – Betting on Butter Chicken | Thailand Travel Diary

Thursday, Nov 13 – Day 14, Phuket (Cape Panwa Area)
Location: Kanary Bay Hotel, Cape Panwa
Mood: Sun-dazed, mildly reckless and betting on butter chicken

Breakfast, Again

You’d think after two weeks of me talking about breakfast, I’d have nothing left to say. Wrong. I’m still living my best tropical morning life — a plate of papaya, dragonfruit, pineapple, and watermelon like it’s my full-time job. My gut loves it. My soul loves it. My Canadian self still can’t believe fruit this perfect is just breakfast.

It was a quiet morning after the Phi Phi madness, and honestly, I was craving normalcy. Not adventure. Not chaos. Just calm — and maybe a strong Wi-Fi connection.

Working While Everyone Sleeps

We’ve been working almost every day here, but I don’t hate it. It’s easy to be productive when the rest of your world is unconscious. Twelve-hour time difference = zero meetings and no Slack pings. Bless it.

I posted up on the balcony with my laptop, a coffee, and a view of the water, editing the thousands (yes, thousands) of photos and videos from Devour Fest, which wrapped literally the week before we left. Editing a Canadian food festival from a balcony in Thailand? Weirdly poetic. Side note: If you weren’t there last year, you should be there next year!

Also, can we take a second to appreciate Angela — our secret weapon at home — who’s been handling everything like an absolute queen. The kind of person who makes “vacation productivity” possible. Everyone needs an Angela.

Lunch, Loyalty & Mango Sticky Rice

By mid-afternoon, my eyes were twitching from too much screen time, so Brent and I went hunting for food. When you stay somewhere long enough, you start getting comfortable — same restaurants, same servers, same order. Creature of habit territory.

But we made a deal early on: no travel autopilot. So today’s experiment was Bluewave Restaurant, a spot we hadn’t tried yet.

I wasn’t starving, so I ordered mango sticky rice for lunch — my official Thai comfort food. At this point, I’m convinced it’s impossible to mess up mango sticky rice here. It’s perfect everywhere. Sweet, creamy, and somehow refreshing in 35 °C heat.

During lunch, we spotted another roadside altar wedged between the restaurant and a spa. It was covered in marigold garlands, flowers, tiny bits of jewelry, and half-empty bottles of Fanta and Sprite. I finally Googled it: they’re spirit houses — little shrines to the guardian spirits of the land. The offerings are to keep those spirits happy, and the open drinks? Apparently, it’s polite to let them take the first sip.

Thailand is full of these quiet rituals, just sitting in plain sight while we rush around taking photos of tuk-tuks and long-tails. I love that balance — a country that’s both buzzing and deeply spiritual at the same time.

Dinner Roulette: Live India

By dinner, the productivity glow had worn off, and the only thing I was craving was food I didn’t have to think about. We decided to try Live India, one of those places where the owners perch outside all day, greeting every passerby with hopeful smiles and “You eat? You come?” energy.

When we finally said yes, they looked genuinely thrilled.

The restaurant itself? Sketchy at best. Dirty glasses, stained walls, and that special kind of lighting that makes everything look stickier. We hovered in the doorway doing the universal traveller math: Does the potential food poisoning outweigh the effort of finding somewhere else?

We stayed.

They had Thai wine on the menu for 400 baht (about $15 CAD). Naturally, they “didn’t have that one,” but they did have another bottle for 750 baht (~$27 CAD). Classic Thailand upsell. We ordered it anyway, and when it took forever to arrive, they told us someone had to run down the street to their sister restaurant to fetch it. I can’t make this stuff up.

The food, however? Incredible.

I had butter chicken with garlic naan and rice; Mom ordered the same. Brent went rogue with massaman curry, and Steve had tandoori chicken that came out sizzling and smelled like heaven. We all agreed it was delicious — and that we’d find out in 24 hours whether it was a good decision.

Spoiler: we survived.

Russell’s Round Three

After dinner, we wandered back to Russell’s Sunset Bar, which is quickly becoming our place. Old Fashioneds here are 240 baht (about $9 CAD), and they’re strong enough to make you forgive the humidity.

And then, somewhere between cocktail one and two, in Russell’s bathroom of all places, I decided to start a personal Instagram account again.

Picture this: walls plastered with slightly inappropriate posters, questionable lighting, and me — sunburned, sweaty, and having a “fuck it” moment in the mirror. That’s where @rarelibrareflector was born.

It’s not a business thing. It’s just me — unfiltered, chaotic, probably oversharing. A mix of cryptic thoughts, feminist rants, and mirror selfies. The kind of space where likes don’t matter and sarcasm is currency.

Slow Days Matter Too

Today wasn’t cinematic. There were no temples or waterfalls or once-in-a-lifetime moments. But it was one of those quietly perfect days — the kind that resets your nervous system.

We worked. We rested. We laughed about sketchy wine and ate mango sticky rice for lunch. And I got to build something new — not for the algorithm, just for myself.

It turns out, those might be the best travel days of all.

Photo of the Day

Mirror selfie at Russell’s — the posters are questionable, the lighting is forgiving, and the Old Fashioneds are strong.

✈️ Travel Tip of the Day:

Don’t write off the sketchy-looking restaurant. It might just serve the best butter chicken of your life.

Let’s Talk:

Do you ever work while you travel, or are you a strict “out-of-office means out-of-office” person? I’m curious — does balance actually exist, or do we just fake it better in beautiful places?