Thailand: Island Life, Ocean Adventure

There’s always an adventure to be had. Here’s what one of your days on the island could look like:

7:00am: It's still early for most of Phuket, but today you're up with the sun and ready to roll. You make a pot of coffee for the house, grab a lounge chair by the pool, and return a few emails before breakfast.

9:00am: You chip in by helping with the dishes. Everyone shares their plans for the day, and you decide to squeeze in a couple more work things before lunch. 

12:30pm: Your housemate reads about a food stall that sells the island's best Moo Hong. A group of you jump on your motorbikes to grab lunch. 

1:30pm: On your way home, you all decide to check out a nearby waterfall. You buy a beer from a street vendor and lose yourself in a debate about the best cuisine in the world (it HAS to be Thailand, right?). 

4:00pm: You finally return to the villa, ready for a nap. But you force yourself to finish a few things before you close your eyes. 

6:00pm: You wake up to music downstairs. One of your housemates bought a bottle of rum from Chalong Bay Distillery and is mixing drinks. Your Italian housemates are making dinner.

9:00pm: Dinner's done, but your night isn't. You and your housemates head to Bang Tao to check out the night market for some coconut ice cream. Later, you grab a nightcap at a bamboo beach bar and watch the fire dancers. 

11:30pm: You're invited to a party in Patong, but eventually decide to take a tuk-tuk back to the villa. A few people are opening one more bottle of wine on the balcony as they watch the hum of the streets below.

7:00am: A light breakfast of fruit and coffee is ready on the main deck. You could sleep all day, but we've just moored at Richelieu Rock, one of the best dive sites in the world. Time to get up.

8:00am: Dive number 1. Nearly infinite visibility as you soar over ancient coral formations more than 10,000 years old. Nearby a leopard shark sleeps on a bed of sand.

9:00am: A full western breakfast is ready for you by the time you've stripped off your gear. The fresh-squeezed juice is especially good after the salty water.

11:30am: After a surface interval, it's time to get back in the water for dive number two. There are too many fish to count. You're amazed later when your dive guide is able to name every single one. 

1:00pm: Lunch is served. You could eat those stir-friend noodles for every meal.

3:00pm: Change of plans. The captain heard on the radio that a whale shark is nearby, and we're steaming toward it. Everyone's on the dive deck with snorkels and fins -- whale sharks tend to swim on the surface, so it's easy to see them without scuba gear. You're in the water as soon as the captain kills the engine. 

6:00pm: You barely even notice your dinner in front of you. Everyone is still buzzing. A whale shark! It circled our boat for close to an hour! It was terrifying and beautiful and inspiring all at once. 

8:00pm: No night dive tonight, so a few of you grab some beers from the galley and head to the sun deck where people point out their favorite constellations. Due either to exhaustion or inspiration, you doze off beneath the stars.