The Real Housewives of Bang Tao, Thailand

Now you may have seen The Real Housewives, a TV series about wealthy Western women in rich suburbs across the U.S. Well, I recently discovered a stylish spot in Southeast Asia that could be a worthy contender for their next season. Let me take you on my journey from Bangkok to Bang Tao, to explore the lavish lifestyle of Laguna Phuket. 🥂

Bang Tao is spread across 8 km of white sand beach and near to a large gated community with golf courses, upscale resorts, fine-dining restaurants, and posh beach clubs. 🤩

Geographically speaking, Bang Tao is in the Laguna area of Phuket province, which is the largest island in Thailand. 🏝️

Getting there is an easy hop, skip and a jump from Bangkok. ✈️

After only a short 1.5-hour flight and a 30-minute bike ride, you could easily be on the beach enjoying a beer by midday. 🍺

While in Bang Tao, I stayed at the Banyan Tree, which offers modern villas with a private pool and jacuzzi, delicious buffet breakfast, and swanky sports facilities. 🏊‍♀️

Laguna is aptly named for its numerous lagoons, which are perfect for water sports, and are surrounded by green paths for jogging or biking. 🚴

At times I felt like I was in the suburbs of the States, but then there were stark reminders of my exotic location. 🐘🤣

In terms of recreation, golf seems to be a popular pastime here. Personally though, I’m not sure if it’s my cup of tee! Get it? 😉 Also, with my limited putting skills, it doesn’t seem like the best way to relieve stress. ⛳🤣

Instead I opted for a massage at Inner Peace Spa. Their 2-hour massage for 555 Baht seriously seemed like a joke, since the number five in Thai is pronounced ‘ha’ and so it’s literally a ‘ha, ha, ha’ price. 😂

Anyway, the 17-dollar deal turned out to actually be real and an absolutely glorious way to spend the afternoon! 💆

Side note: In general, there are many great deals in the area right now. For example, I was able to spend a few additional days on my own at this 4-star hotel called the Diamond Resort for only 22 USD per night.

In addition to recreation, the Bang Tao area also has a few shopping centers, family-friendly attractions, an eclectic nightlife, plus a close proximity to other places in Phuket. ☕

For example, as an afternoon excursion, we drove our scooter 45-minutes south to Hanuman World for some zip lining. 🌳

Although the zip line wasn’t too terrifying, their roller ride was seriously questionable in terms of its construction and probably wouldn’t pass safety inspections in the States. We were lucky we survived without a scratch. 🚑😂

And although the zip line wasn’t frightening, I did joke about buying this face mask at the on-site gift shop. This would surely give my boyfriend a fright every time he’d see me taking a nap. Hah! 💤😂

In the end, I think you might agree with me that this lofty, privileged area is the perfect place for posh housewives. I mean, honestly, you can even find money bags on the menu here. 😜 💰

Now we just need to find some bougie babes and get the cameras rolling! Real Housewives of Bang Tao, let’s go! 📽️

And of course, although I’m more of a modest Midwesterner and definitely not a contender for the cast, visiting Bang Tao was a great way to treat myself and also celebrate our anniversary. 🥳

Now speaking of reasons to celebrate, things are finally getting back to normal in Bangkok. 🎉 Basically, after my last post back in January, Thailand went into another lockdown and everyone began working remotely with limited social contact. 😭 This pandemic has gone on so long, stores are even trying make proper hygiene trendy. Introducing the Windex-style perfume and a fashionable face-masked Frida Kahlo. Oh brother! 😂

Luckily, my students were already very familiar with online learning and took to it like champions. 🧑‍🏫

That being said, we were more than grateful to finally get back in the classroom, since we are able to do many more hands-on activities and games in person. c

And up until now, with the combination of cancelled social events and high levels of air pollution, the only thing we could enjoy was dining out in restaurants. 😷

I’d say it’s almost impossible to have a bad meal in Bangkok…almost. 🤔

The highlight most definitely was dining at Jay Fai, the one and only Michelin Star street food chef. 👩‍🍳

We waited for two hours to get a table, but that’s because she makes every order herself. Wow! The key to her success is high-quality ingredients. This omelet was packed with sweet, succulent crab and the dry Tom Yum was loaded with jumbo shrimp. Absolutely worth the wait! 😋

We also celebrated Chinese New Year and explored the Ong Ang Canal Walking Street in Chinatown. There are many food stalls and lots of street art there. 🏮🐲

It was even nicknamed, ‘The Amsterdam of the East’.

And speaking of new year’s festivities, next month is Songkran in Thailand. This celebration normally involves a nationwide water fight and lots of fun to be had. 💦🔫 Stay tuned to hear all about it! For now, enjoy this video compilation of the trip in Bang Tao! Until next time everyone! 😊