Phuket, Thailand - 12 Oct 2012 to 14 Oct 2012

My boyfriend (Larry) and I went for a vacation in Phuket to celebrate our belated birthday in September 2012.  We booked the tickets from Jetstar.  In addition, we bought a deal.com coupon from Comet tour agency in Singapore.  After all the planning, we are ready to set for the trip.

Day 1

12 Oct 2012, Friday

We arrived at the airport at 6.30am and had our breakfast.  We departed Singapore at 8.20am and arrive at 09.10am (local time).  We took the airport pick up at THB 900 (SGD 36) to our hotel, Baramee Resortel.  The journey took about 45 mins without jam.

I booked the hotel via Agoda.com.

Hotel Name : Baramee Resortel 
Address:  266 Phrabaramee Road, Kathu 
Area / City / Country:  Patong/Phuket/Thailand

Bedroom

Toilet

After we settled into our hotel room, the hotel provided a free shuttle service to Jungceylon Shopping Mall. We hop on to the free shuttle bus to the shopping mall.  There are certain timings for the shuttle service starting from 11.20am (local time).  In additon, there is a map of the whole Patong City at the lobby.

Hotel Lobby

Map Of Patong Located At The Lobby

Free Shuttle Service To Jungceylon Shopping Mall

Once we arrive at the Jungceylon Shopping Mall, we settled in for lunch at the local food court.  I bought a card at the counter.  It is like Singapore Kopitam Card.  You need to top-up some money into the card and use the card to purchase the food.

I ordered a beef ball noodle with soup and Larry ordered a Phai Thai.  He requested for an additional egg.  However, due to miscommunication, the lady gave him an additional Phai Thai with egg and a normal Phai Thai.  He ended up with 2 plates of Phai Thai.  Haha... The taste was delicious though.  After eating, we bought some drinks.  I had soya bean with honey and Larry had ginger tea.   

Beef Ball Noodle With Soup 

Phai Thai With Egg

Normal Phai Thai

Soya Bean With Honey

Ginger Tea

After lunch, we strolled on the street nearby and walked to Patong Beach.  The beach is beautiful.  However, I think due to increase in the number of visitors, the water was not as clear as before.  Live shells can be found on the shore.  I picked sea shells on the way.  In addition, water sports can also be found there. 

Patong Beach

Live Shells

Sports At The Beach

After a stroll at the beach, we went for dinner at Jungceylon Shopping Mall.  We went to MK Gold Restuarant for our dinner.

MK Gold - Steamboat

The Famous Bamboo Pork

After dinner, we went back to the hotel to wash up and prepare for the famous Simon Cabaret Show.  It is rather near Patong City.  However, I am lazy to travel so I decided to book the round trip pick up service.

I booked the Simon Caberat Show via Asia Web Direct.
Please see link below.
http://www.phuket-travel.com/nightlife/simon-cabaret.htm

At 8.20pm sharp (local time), the pick up service came to pick us up together with other vistors from different hotels.

Off we go to the Simon Cabarey Show.  The show is performed by ladyboys.  Thailand is famous for that.  They are really beautiful to almost close to prefection. 

Entrance Of The Simon Cabaret Show

After a tiring day, we went back to the hotel to rest for the day.

Day 2

13 Oct 2012, Saturday

We woke up at about 6.30am (local time) to prepare for our one day tour at Phi Phi Island together with Maya Bay etc.  It is a day tour that we brought from deal.com at $68.  Singapore agency was Comet Travel Agency and Thailand agency was See Tho Tour Agency.  We wait for the pick up service to pick us to the jetty. 

In the meantime, we saw a street stall selling chicken drum and malay food.  It is quite common to see malay food in Phuket today.  The chicken was really good but the 'kueh', maybe it is just not my cup of tea.  The 'Kueh' is made out of rice. 

Chicken Drum

Malay 'Kueh'

After 30-45 mins of waiting, the pick up did not turn up.  I asked for help from the reception who was a young lady with shoulder hair length.  She was really helpful in helping us to call the local agency.  I also tried calling the Singapore agency.  In the end, I got a reply from Comet Tour Agency.  The pick up service has gone to the wrong hotel to pick us up. 

Intially I made a reservation at Sun Sand Sea hotel but the hotel did not get back to me so I changed the hotel to Baramee Resortel, I even paid SGD 30 to make the amendment for the hotel to Comet Tour Agency as they changed the pick up point from Sun Sand Sea to Baramee.  In the end, there is a miscommunication and the agency in Thailand was not informed.

The reception helped me to call the Thai agency and I requested to give me any afternoon trip so that I will not waste a day in the hotel.  They gave me a package I assume is cheaper than what I asked for.  Given no choice, I took up the tour to Koh Khai Island Tour together with  3 other islands (Khai Nok, Khai Nai & Khai Nui). 

At 12pm (local time) , the pick up service came to pick us and proceed to the island.  We reached the jetty and as usual, they took pictures of us but the scenary was horrible.  We took the speedboat to the island.  It is about 20 minutes ride from the coast to the island.  In the speedboat, the tour guide gave us a life jacket and a snorkelling goggles which is free.  If you need to flipper, you will need to pay THB 100 which I think is not needed at all as we don't dive deep into the waters.

After 30 mins, we reached Koh Khai Nok.  Hopefully I am correct.  The water is so clear that you can see the fishes from the top.  I prepare and ran into the beach to snorkel.

Koh Khai Nok Island

The Thai is really good at doing business.  They charged THB 150 for a pair of chairs.  In addition, they will help you to take care of your belongings.  They even warn you that you cannot leave your stuff on the sand.  If you do, anything that gets lost, they are not responsible for it.  No choice, if you want to play then pay to ask them to take care of your belongings for you.

The Pair Of Chairs At The Beach

Next, we proceed to Khai Nai island, the speedboat stopped close to the island and the tour guide ask us to jump into the sea and snorkel.  I prepared myself and jump into the sea to snorkel.  We were only given about 30 mins.  After 15 mins, I came out of the water to give larry a chance to go down to the water.  Intially, he was a little scare as this was his first time.  I pushed him down.  Haha... After a while, he enjoyed it.

Larry After The Snorkelling Experience

This Is Me... Grasping For Air....

Lastly, we proceed to the last island, Khai Nui.  This time, we did not do any water activities.  Just sitting on the beautiful beach to enjoy the evening sun and the sea breeze.  We paid THB 150 to get 2 chairs.  In addition, we were served with fruits (Pineapple & Watermelon) and a little sandwich by our tour guide.  There are people selling corns as well so we brought one to share.

Corn On The Left & Watermelon On The Right

So Happy... I Got A Sandwich For Free !!!

We left the island about 5.00pm (local time) and reach our hotel at 6.30pm (local time). 

At night, we proceed to Phuket Town Night Market.  It is located at Phuket Town which is about 30 mins drive from Patong City.  We paid the hotel staff about THB 700 to bring us there by car.  It is a really big night market where you can find local products as well as local food.

Entrance Of The Night Market

We went to search for food first as we were very hungry.  My favourite local food is the pork ball with their thai chilli sauce, tangerine juice, spicy fishcake and many more.  The prices ranges from THB 20 to THB 50 depending on what you eat.  Larry love food so we stayed at the food corner for about 1.5 hours.  In addition, the t-shirt prices are also quite reasonable.  I bought two t-shirts at THB 100 each and a Panda dress at about THB 230 after asking for a discount.  Prices are almost the same as Bangkok.  In addition, I bought a white color jelly shoes at THB 150.

After the night market, we reach our hotel at 10.30pm.  We were super tired and called it a day. 

Day 3

14 Oct 2012, Sunday

We woke up at 7am (local time) and prepared for our 1 day nature tour to Khao Lak (Bamboo Rafting & Elephant Trekking).

We booked the tour through Asia Web Direct which cost about THB 2700 (SGD 108).
Please see the link below.
http://www.phuket-travel.com/eco_tour/khaolak.htm

The drive took as about 1.5 hours to Khao Lak.  On the way, we stop at a pit stop for the toilet.  The pitstop sells hand-made soap and some drinks.  We saw a little tortoise roaming freely at the place.

Next, we visited the plantation on the way to Khao Lak.  Pineapples, Palm Tree, Lemon Grass etc and some farm animals.

Next, we proceed on to the Sea Turtle Conservation Center   It is located inside a navy base.  You can only access that area if you join a tour group.  Thailand has 3 such projects to conserve the sea turtle and prevent them from being extinct. 

This Poor Fellow Was Injured By A Speedboat

After visiting the sea turtle conservation, we visited the tsunami memorial hall.  Our guide guide, Alex lost 15 of his friends in the tsunami.  It was a really devastating incident.

Next, we visited the Khao Lak Family Elephant Trekking.  It is a family owned business.  All the elephants are brought up, trained and taking care by the family.  I am an animal lover so I am so happy to visit the sea turtles as well as the elephants.

Jungle Trekking With The Elephants

After the ride, we fed the elephants with their favorite food, Bananas... I almost buy all the banana on the table to feed the elephant that I ride on.  I was stopped by Mr Larry :(  

After feeding the elephants, we were served with pineapples which they grow on their farms. 

I really hoped to stay a little bit longer at the place but due to time limit, I will need to move on to the next activity.

Banana Treats For The Elephants

Home-Grown Pineapples

We proceed on to the bamboo rafting.  It was not scary.  Just a short ride to see the nice scenery and the water was shallow and clear.  Mangrove snakes can be seen sleeping on the trees.  In the mid, there are currents that will rush through the waters, making the raft move at a faster speed.  In all, it was a relaxing ride.

After the rafting, we proceed for lunch at the area.  Free-flow of rice, a bowl of soup, a tempura, sweet and sour fish, curry chicken and a platter of fruit were served as lunch.

We visited the Cashew Nut factory.  Haha... You know what I saw?  SR Nathan has been to this cashew nut factory.  Our president in a cashew nut factory.

That's the end of the tour.  The pick up service dropped us at Jungceylon Shopping Mall.  We had a coffee at PASCUCCI.  The coffee was normal.  I ordered a yogurt coffee which is horrible.  However, Larry ordered a caramel coffee which taste quite good.  Rating is about 2 out of 5 for me.

Before we leave to the airport, we went into the famous Japanese restaurant, FUJI Japanese Restaurant   I ordered the ladies set.  The food was great and very fresh. I forgot to which set did Larry ordered but his was also nice.  Rating is about 3.5 out of 5.  It is worth a try.

Ladies Set

Larry's Set

After our dinner, we strolled back to our hotel and hop on the pick up service from the hotel which cost THB 900 (SGD 36) per way to the airport.  

Home Sweet Home :)