Exploring Phuket: Kata Beach with Friends

Maybe one of the most unexpected things about our trip to Phuket, Thailand was arriving there and discovering that some of our friends were visiting at the exact same time! We belonged to a small group from our church in Dubai, and one of the families in our small group happened to be vacationing in Phuket while we were there. We didn't realize this until we were already there and just happened to find out from one of our group WhatsApp chats.

The Blomberg family with Josh, Renae, Connor's buddy Luke, and little Emma, were staying in the Kata Beach area. We made plans to meet up with them one day at Kata Beach, which was about a 40-minute drive from us. We were excited to see a different area of Phuket, and we had heard that the area was full of fun shopping and restaurants. We were even more excited to see the Blombergs and swap vacation stories. It was so cool to realize that we had become the type of family who could run into friends in a far away, random place like Thailand!

While visiting Kata Beach, Collin and Kevin wanted to pursue their quest for "Rolies" (fake Rolex watches) so they took a car to a seedy storefront (ha!) and had a cool experience shopping for watches. While they were away, the rest of us really enjoyed the sand and waves on Kata Beach. Connor was so happy to have some time with his buddy Luke and Jeff was able to get some snuggles from Emma.

The dads and kids decided to rent jet skis and had a blast on the open water.

After a few hours on the beach, Collin and Kevin rejoined us with their new fleet of watches, ha! They really enjoyed their authentic Thai shopping experience. By then, it was time to say goodbye to the Blombergs and we were all ready for a late lunch. We walked down the streets along Kata Beach and found a fun place to enjoy more yummy Thai food amidst the bustling tourist area.

By the time we hired another car to drive us back to our condo, our group was wiped out. It took me back years and years to the times when we would drive back from Galveston beach with a car full of exhausted kiddos. Love!