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Day 2 at Phuket’s Holiday Inn Mai Khao got off to an early start and I was looking forward to breakfast! Hotel breakfasts always make me happy and I make it a point never to miss it. Here at Holiday Inn Mai Khao, there is even a separate buffet line just for the kids. Talk about pampering the little ones!
We found a comfortable sink-in seating just next to some water feature. Relaxing to have a slow and leisurely breakfast with the sounds of water.
The colorful and interesting buffet line for the kids – The food are in smaller sizes and some healthier options such as cereals and juices are offered as well. Everything’s at a lower level so that the kids can get the food themselves. And did you see those pretty bowls and cups?!
The adults’ buffet line is fairly standard but very sumptuous of course.
The fun part was probably having breakfast with the other family – Sengkangbabies – who was there on the same trip as us. :)
After a hearty breakfast, we headed to the swimming pool! The weather was so nice and sunny, it’ll be a waste not to busk in the sun!
The pool was fairly quiet in the morning and we almost had the whole place to ourselves. How lovely. :)
After a quick shower, we were back on the beach for the next program planned for us – Private Batik Painting on the beach! The wonderful thing about staying with Holiday Inn is that there are different activities conducted for the guests everyday. Some are free-of-charge and for some, you just need to pay a small fee. That’s the reason why you don’t need to leave the resort at all here! It was my family’s first batik painting experience and doing it on the beach made it that much more special. Many guests came by to watch us and wanted to join in the fun as well!
Batik painting was easy peasy! And very fun too. :)
I personally felt that the whole painting experience was very therapeutic. The sea breeze, sound of waves beating at the shore and the sun rays – It felt so relaxing to be painting on the beach. It was a tremendous bonding time with my family.
Even the usually-not-very-artistic husband did a great job! =P
Ta-da! All done! =D
The staff collected our artwork and had to wash and dry them before giving them back to us the next day. Don’t they look lovely? :)
By the time we finished our painting, it was lunch and we were so hungry! It’s back to Pesto restaurant again, but we ordered different dishes because the menu offers a wide selection. Everything tasted really good – The chefs should get a thumbs-up!
I had many glasses of pineapple juice when I was there – So sweet, refreshing and fresh!
The deep-fried crab cakes starter was so good – Crispy on the outside and very juicy on the inside. Matched perfectly with mango and avocado cubes!
We also ordered Tom Yum thin-crusted seafood pizza to share – It’s got a mild tom yum taste but not spicy so the kids could enjoy it too!
The pastas were good too – We tried cream-based, tomato-based and aglio olio style – All very well-done.
After lunch, the kids headed to the Kids’ Club again while the hubby and I relaxed in the room watching movies and caught a rare afternoon nap. By mid afternoon, we thought it would be nice to hang out at the beach, and so we fetched the kids and headed to the beach again. It was sunny, but somehow felt very comfortable. We ran on the sand and into the sea. It was high-tide and the waves came crashing every few seconds. The kids chased the waves but didn’t dare to venture too deep. The husband and I took turns to swim in the sea and watch the kids. It was so lovely to be able to embrace Mother Nature in this manner, and take things slowly without rushing. I really like it that this stretch of Phuket is so peaceful and calm.
So breathtakingly beautiful, we were in awe.
From a far off, I spotted the girls, Jayne’s arm over Joey’s shoulder, and I literally melted. May they stay close forever and ever.
Just a short walk along the beach, you’ll find massage services available. We thought it would be a neat idea to have a body massage on the beach while hearing the sea waves, and indeed, it was!
After a very relaxing and shiok massage session, we headed for our dinner at J’s Cafe & Restaurant – They were offering their South East Asian Buffet dinner that evening and we couldn’t wait to see what’s offered.
The buffet didn’t disappoint of course. We were so stuffed by the end of the dinner that we had some difficulties walking back to our room. =P
That was a very tummy-happy end to our Day 2 at Holiday Inn Mai Khao. We would have another morning at the hotel the next day before transferring to Holiday Inn Patong, which is a vastly different hotel but just as family-friendly. I will be running a giveaway at the end of the series on Phuket, so make sure you follow me on this travelogue as we discover the two resorts in Phuket that are perfect for beach vacations in Phuket. You can be the lucky winner of a family vacation there yourself - Stay tuned!
Read Our Family Travelogue with Holiday Inn (Day 1)
P/S: This is Part 2 of a 4-part series that I am doing in collaboration with Holiday Inn Mai Khao & Holiday Inn Patong. :) The J Babies was hosted by Holiday Inn for a 5D4N stay in two resorts in Phuket. Every experience described in the series is kindly sponsored by Holiday Inn for review purposes, but all photographs and comments are my own. No other financial compensation is received.
