Andamanda, Phuket TAKE 2 (November 17, 2025)
If you read my first blog post about Andamanda Phuket Waterpark then you know the most important question and the answer is YES. Yes, I did go back and buy the pictures. Not just from today, but the ones that were still on their hard drives from Thursday!!!
(And if you didn’t read that last post, you can read it here).
Pictures totally worth it! So glad I went back for them.
Part of this story here is to share with you just how awesome this waterpark is. The other part is to share what Elena, Violet and I are up to in Phuket, Thailand. Telling you about our time at the waterpark just isn’t the same as showing you the fun we had. Like playing on this flowrider wave machine …
Like boogie boarding on an endless wave. Totally awesome!
My only bummer is that the photographers only captured my ride. Elena is sooooo much more expressive riding this thing. Just ask Violet who shares my enthusiasm. Watching Elena ride the flowrider wave machine was as much fun (if not more fun) than riding it ourselves. Her mouth was wide open. Her eyes were as wide as they could get. She was laughing in between starts of “Oh my God!” and “Yikes!” and “Awwwwww” as she deftly navigated the sides and occasionally went over the top.
Mind you, this was her FIRST TIME. I grew up riding boogie board at Salmon Creek in Northern California. Both Elena and Violet did amazing jobs navigating this thing and stayed on for quite some time. They just didn’t have the patience to go back in the late afternoon when the lines were long and the photographer was taking pictures of everyone.
But wait, there’s more! While Elena and Violet were not caught on the flowrider wave machine, there were some fabulous pictures of them coming down a wonderful waterslide with a big ramp at the end.
Today, it dawned on me that this coming week is the last week I have with both Elena and Violet before they head back to New York. I’ve gotten so used to them being with me, I got a bit melancholy today. Yep, I lost my full presence for a few minutes at lunch and Elena immediately picked up on it and asked me what was wrong.
“I’m sad that you both are going back to New York in a week. I’ve had so much fun with both of you here. Today has been an especially epic day with both of you.”
“No, that can’t be it. What’s really going on?”
“Truly, that’s it. There’s nothing more to it than that. I’ve grown accustomed to having you both here in this adventure with me and I’m going to miss you when you’re back in New York.”
“Well, then come with us! Blow off Vietnam, come home early and stay. No one is dictating how long you travel or where. You can be done.”
True. But I’m just now getting into the parts of the world I’ve never been and am excited to explore. I won’t feel pressure to “stay” here, but I am torn between being with my family (which I’ll do temporarily for the holidays) and continuing my journey east as I explore more of Asia, New Zealand and South America.
I think this is one of those things that home is where my heart is and once I’m back in the world traveling, I’ll connect with all the reasons I set out on this adventure in the first place. For now, I’ll give myself a moment to reflect on the more than 4.5 months I’ve travelled and get excited about coming home for Christmas on December 16th. Until then, I had an epic day today and that’s enough.
