Phuket January 2026
On the 2nd of January 2026 I boarded a plane, a bit late, heading to Thailand via Helsinki. It was supposed to be, and became, a very welcome break from the nordic winter in Stockholm. The snow had just started falling, reports in media about the chaos the snow and wind caused all over the nordics. I escaped the snow storm in Europe. One month later it’s still snowing in Stockholm. But. I got to see, and feel, the sun in Phuket, Thailand. I’ve returned much more relaxed and happy, that’s the effect water has on me.
I got to swim with, and without, my camera and phone in warm waters and meet colorful, and less colorful, fishes. It was amazing and just what I needed after one of the most horrible and stressful years of my life. Probably more about 2025 later, but I got to visit Thailand. I was hoping to see seascapes as the ones I’ve seen in “White Lotus” season 3, it seemed surreal but if there was one place in the world that looked like that, I wanted to see it. I got to experience the amazing seascape with gigant rocky islands raising up from the sea. And I got to visit Koh Panyee which is a fishing village built on stilts by muslim fishermen in Ao Phang Nga National Park, absolutely amazing and in the tour program it was described as “lunch in a fishing village”, it was so much more.
It’s funny, the calm I feel while snorkeling. Looking at my photos it seems as if it’s just the fish and me in the sea. But. When looking at my photos from the beach, the sea and beach is filled with people. Also, a message from the sea “Don’t step on the corals!” it takes a very long time for them to recover, if at all, from damages caused by humans.
I must be the last Swedish person to visit Thailand, it seems like every Swedish person has been in the country and loves it. I went to India instead when Thailand was on the rise of its popularity. Funny thing is, on this trip I’ve been hanging out with Indias as well. During the boat trip to James Bond Island, or as it’s really called Ko Khao Phing Kan, I met a lovely Indian family who moved to London around the time I started visiting India.
Anyhow. I enjoyed my weeks in the country, went swimming, went on boat trips, visited James Bond island (which is not its proper name, Khao Phing Kan is the proper name). On the way to the island we travelled on a longboat through the mangrove delta and visited a fishermen’s village on stilts. And, other amazing stuff. More about that sometime. I just wanted to drop by and say “hi”, and show some photos of what I’ve seen. I went to Thailand and came back much more relaxed, Khop Khun Khâ Thailand.
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