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 :)

Penang, Malaysia - 17 Aug 2012 to 20 Aug 2012

Day 1 

17 Aug 2012 (Friday)

4 of us (Larry, Qin, Baohui and Me) set off from Singapore to Penang at 9.30pm on a coach after work to Penang.  It took us about 11.5 hrs to reach the destination.  Qin was complaining we should take a plane next time.  The duration is so long.  However, I booked Konsortium, snoozer seat and it was really comfortable and there is a screen for you to watch some movies.  I slept the whole journey so the distance was not an issue to me at all.  

The Snoozer Seat On Konsortium

Day 2

18 Aug 2012 (Saturday)

Since it was a midnight to Penang, we reach Penang at about 7.30am.  Qin's colleague, Ann came to pick us at the bus terminal and brought us to the nearby coffee shop to have the famous penang char kway teow.  I don't quite remember the place.  However, let me see if I can find out the name and the address from my friend.  Actually, you can find the Penang char kway teow along the streets of Penang.

Penang Char Kway Teow

After having char kway teow as our breakfast, we check into our hotel, Vistana.  It is not actually a hotel.  It is an apartment.  It has 3 bedrooms, a kitchen and a tiny living room for you to watch TV programs.  The rate is quite reasonable.  SGD 120 for 4 pax per night.

Kitchen

Tiny Living Room

We changed into shorts, rested for a while and Qin's colleagues, May arrived at the hotel to pick us up for lunch.  May together with her friends joined us for lunch at Old Town White Coffee at Penang.  I had Penang laksa but the taste was horrible.  It is too diluted, not a good choice.  

We Are Waiting For Our Food

(Daniel & Vanessa is not in the picture)

After our lunch, May and her friends brought us to the Heritage of the Peranakans.  The shooting place of the Singapore Drama, 小娘惹. The place was nice with all the props well kept and preserved.

Pinang Peranakan Museum
29 Church Street, 10200 Penang
Telephone: +60 4 2642929
email: rmhbaba@streamyx.com

Opening Hours
Mondays to Saturdays from 9am to 5pm
Daily Tours at 11.30am and 3.30pm

Ticket Prices
Adults (Ages 12 and above) : RM10.00
Children (below 12) : Free
School children (in uniform) : RM5.00
Complimentary tours are only available with prior arrangements for a group of 5 persons and above. Discounts are available to school bookings and other large groups. 

After visiting the heritage place, we stopped at a roadside stall near to The Chew Jetty' (姓周桥) and had a cold ice jelly and a bowl of Penang laksa.  This time, the Penang laksa tasted better than the one at old town.  The ice jelly was really refreshing especially under a hot sun. 

Penang Laksa At The Roadside Stall

Ice Jelly

After having our little snack, we moved on to visit a fishing village, named 'The Chew Jetty' (姓周桥).  The surname of people living there has their surname as Chew.  It is a small village and it is litter free.  I can hardly spot any litter on the floor.  

That's The Whole Group Of Us

Visiting hours: Open daily - No entrance fee

How to get there? 

Click here for Google Map and explore the options available. Alternatively, hop on a Rapid Penang bus, get 

down at Ferry Terminal (Weld Quay stop) and take a short walk to Chew Jetty. 

After our visit ended at 'The Chew Jetty', we proceed to experience a ferry ride from Penang, Georgetown to Butterworth. The ferry not only transport humans but also cars. You can drive your car onto the ferry and the ferry will bring you over to Butterworth.  The ride cost about RM 0.60 if i remember correctly.

What a great experience...

That's Us On The Ferry

(Larry is not in the picture)

After the ride, we went to Gurney Plaza Shopping mall to take a look.  In the meantime, we had a dessert at 许留山，this is one of the famous Hong Kong dessert store but now they have a branch in Penang too.

许留山

One of the famous Hong Kong Dessert Store

After the dessert, Qin and her sister, Baohui went to Watson and buy their stuff.  Larry and I browsed around the shopping mall and bought 2 pairs of slippers.  The shopping mall was very similar to Singapore and the prices are slightly on the higher range.  

After the shopping experience, we went to the famous Gurney Drive.  When the sky started to turn dark, the place suddenly filled with people looking for places to have their dinner.  In addition, you can see people singing on the stage like what we call 'Ge Tai' ( 歌台).  The shop owners are the sponsors of the event and sometimes, you will hear songs dedicated to the store owner. Example : This song is dedicated to Store Number 81, Selling O Zian... Haha...  However, the shop owner is busy frying his food and can't be bothered what happens on the stage.

'Ge Tai' ( 歌台)

Food ranges from Penang Laksa, Lok Lok, Seafood & More

After the wonderful dinner, May and her friends drove us back to our hotel.  It was a wonderful journey. really enjoyed the day.  Getting to know new friends, new places and a new experience.  Thank you so much for the wonderful experience.  

Day 3

19 Aug 2012 (Sunday)

We woke up early in the morning and May brought us to the famous Penang Hill.  You need to go early in the morning to avoid the crowd.  A tram will bring your directly up to the hill.  It is only about a 10-15mins ride.  You can get the ticket from the counter at the entrance of Penang Hill.

If you are a citizen with MyKad, you will only need to pay RM 8.

If not, you will need to pay RM 30.00.  That's the difference...

Effective 10 March 2012 (Saturday), the Penang Hill funicular train's NEW schedule will be as follows:
Weekdays :	6.30a.m - 10.00p.m (Last train from top station )
Weekends/Public Holidays & School Holidays :	6.30a.m - 11.00p.m (Last train from top station )
The Ticketing counter at the Bottom Station will be closed at :
Weekdays :	9.00 p.m.
Weekends/Public Holidays & School Holidays :	10.00 p.m.
(the management reserves the rights to revise the schedule without prior notice).

Ticket For The Ride

The Way Up

 After we reach the top of the hill, we wanted to have breakfast.  However, we are too early and none of the cafe is open for business.  Lucky we found a few stalls in the food court that sells food and drinks.  The foo court is near the Owl Museum.  There are signs to direct you to the place.

Add caption

Penang Char Kway Teow 

Starting From Left : Milo, Coffee & Milk tea

After our breakfast, we rented a buggy car driver to tour us around the hill.  The distance from one point to another is really far.  It will be better if you travel on the buggy.  It cost about RM 60 for 30 mins.  The buggy will bring you around and take picture for you with your camera at no charge.

During your ride into the hill, and if you are lucky, you might see some wild animals like monkeys.  We are a lucky group and we saw a monkey eating some fruits from the tree.  What a beautiful sight !!!

The Buggy Driver Took This Pic For Us

Money Eating Its Fruits From The Trees

About 11.30am, we left Penang Hill and proceed on to our next destination.  We will be visiting Kek Lok Si Temple.  It is one of the famous temple in Penang.  It is also located at he top of the hill.  Thankfully, Qin's colleagues, Edmund came to pick us up from the entrance of Penang Hill.  It is impossible to walk up to the temple.  It will be best that you take a cab up.  Alternatively, you can take the public transport.

Getting there

Depending on your location, you can take Rapid Penang Bus201, 203, 204, 206, 306 and U502. Check the Rapid Penang Bus Route for details, map and time table. 

The most convenient bus stop is located along Jalan Pasar, at the foothills of the temple. Jalan Pasar is a one-way street. Walk following the traffic flow until you reach a T-junction. You can see Kek Lok Si towering to the left side. Turn left and walk in its direction.

After a 45 mins drive due to the jam, we arrived at the temple.

We proceed to the temple to pay our respect to the gods.  We saw this ribbon wishing tree.  Each ribbon cost RM 1 and we bought 5 of them.  Each color represent a different wish.  You need to write your name  on the ribbon and hang it as high as you can.  However, due to my height, I can only go that far.

Ribbon Wishing Tree

I Can Only Go This High

After walking around the temple, we took the incline tram to a high ground.  It cost about RM 4 to take the tram 

Ticket For The Incline Tram

Up Up Up We Go...

What's On The Top... A huge Statue Of The Godness Of Mercy

And The 12 Zodics

After the visit to Kek Lok Si, we went to Queensbay Shopping Mall for shopping. 

How to go to Queensbay Mall

Queensbay Mall can be reached from the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway. In order to avoid passing through the residential areas of Bay Gardens and Villa Emas, visitors are encouraged to use the main exit to Queensbay Mall. It is located on the expressway in the direction of Batu Maung.

Going to Queensbay Mall by Car

Coming from George Town along Bayan Lepas, upon seeing Queensbay Mall on your left, you notice the fork fork into two. The left fork goes to Bayan Baru while the right fork towards Batu Maung. Take the right fork. A short distance down the road is the exit, on the left, with signage pointing to Queensbay Mall. That this exit. It leads to a roundabout, take the road that leads to Queensbay Mall - you can see the mall from the roundabout. As you near the mall, you will reach a junction leading towards the parking areas.

Going to Queensbay Mall by BusRapid 

Penang buses U304, 307, 401E and 308 serves Queensbay Mall. The bus stop is right in front of the shopping mall. Fare is between RM1.00 to RM2.50. Buses are quite regular.

More shopping malls in Penang can be found in the link below

http://www.penang-traveltips.com/shopping.htm

In the evening, we met up with Qin's colleagues. Ann & her kids, May & friends and Sheryl.  Initially, we book this Thai place for dinner.  However, we were late so we change location to a Chinese restaurant.  The food was delicious.  Rating will be about 3 out of 5 star.

Initial Plan

Back Up Plan

After our dinner, we went for a KTV session at Queensbay Shopping Mall.  The place was called Neway KTV.  The KTV room was spacious and they even have midnight supper buffet (finger food).  They do not have a wide spread of variety but I think was sufficient to last me through the night.  I was not that hungry so I took a little just enough for my tiny tummy.

The KTV Room

Finger Food &  A Soup

After our KTV session which ended about 04.00am, we were so tired and Sheryl drove us back to our hotel to rest.

I really had a great time with them.  However, happy times always passes so quickly.  It was our last night in Penang.  I really want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of them who have hosted us so well.  We were like VIPs.

Day 4

20 Aug 2012 (Monday)

In the morning, May brought us for some Dim Sum before boarding our bus back to Singapore.  You will need to be early as the parking seems to be an issue there.

The location is opposite Tesco Extra. 

Address : Maxim Dim Sum Restaurant
Bangunan Lip Sin 2-G-11 & 12,
Lebuh Pekaka 1, Sungai Dua,
11700 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel : +604 6560915

Maxin Dim Sum Restuarant

These are what we ordered and they are delicious

Egg Tarts, Shrimp Dumpling, Pork Rib, Siew Mai, Chicken Feet, 

Char Siew Tart, Fried Wanton, Chang Fen

Lastly, we order this Pandan Egg Tart.

However, Taste Was Not That Good.

I prefer The Original !!!

After the wonderful breakfast, Ann drove us to the bus terminal.  It was time to say goodbye.  This is always the hardest word to me.  We really would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to them for hosting us. Really hope to visit them some day when we are available.

After bidding goodbye, we board the coach, Star Mart Express Coach and was on our way home.  It was a long journey back home.  The seat in this coach was not very comfortable although the chair has a  massage mechanism, the seat was small.  In addition, this coach stop at JB to pick passenger up.  At this time, 2 passengers were late and we had to wait for them.  This results in delays.  In future, I will not choose this coach as my choice.

After about 12 hours ride, we reached Singapore.  Home Sweet Home !!!