“Well hello there, little elephant.”

“Hello,” said the elephant. (photos courtesy of Rob Shibata)

“There’s an elephant!” Matt’s mom, Nancy, stated. Oh, another elephant topiary, I thought to myself. Walking to the balcony of our villa, I looked out over the nicely landscaped garden and towards the beach. “Oh my gosh, it is an elephant!” I watched the pachyderm sit down as numerous hotel guests snapped photos. Matt’s dad, Rob, came to the window. He had trouble spotting it. Guessing what he might be thinking I said, “That’s not a rock.” “That’s an elephant!!?” he exclaimed. And that’s how we started to get used to the daily sightings of the two resident baby elephants. (As though seeing little elephants walking around a hotel is normal.) We’d see them throughout the day as we walked to and from breakfast, while lounging at the pool, or as they were being walked back to their elephant home at the end of the day. Be careful when you are feeding the elephants…

Elephants aside, staying at the JW Marriot Phuket has been great for its “hanging out” spaces. Whether it be our apartment-like villa, which has been the closest thing to home since leaving…Matt especially loved the sofa while I enjoyed a home-made breakfast cooked by Matt’s dad, or the creatively designed pools, the many delicious restaurants, or even the spacious hotel lobby—it was really relaxing to be marooned at the resort together. Not that we were really stuck there, since we made an outing each day, but it definitely was not a bad place to be.

Sofa.

Breakfast.