Phuket

My Phuket trip over the weekend was short but fun. We left on Friday afternoon and came back last evening. I had wanted to spend the remaining baht I had on underwear but the shops were closed after we finished our dinner… so I went to Boots and splurged on dessert looking body creams and lotions.





The island’s a fun(ny) place with a fair share of thai culture like the he-shes, nice restaurants and pubs. Check out the photo of this gwai-lo or ang moh ballerina! He was standing around talking to people and I stole a shot of him. He shouted and came after me. We thought he wanted us to pay for or delete that shot but he actually wanted to do a sexy pose for us. That posy photo is unfortunately in my friend’s camera but watch this space. Phuket is a mix of bintan I think, in terms of the resort feel and with a touch of Bangkok with the shopping. Of course food and shopping are no match for bangkok. I’m not into water sports but the beaches are really beautiful, so is the resort we stayed in. Traditional thai massage was good but I must say regular yoga makes a real difference. My bones could have cracked otherwise.

And I DO agree with my colleague who suggested I rent a motorbike to get around the island. Transport is really expensive! Especially for someone who stayed in a resort on the hill! A trip from Patong beach to hotel cost us between 100 to 200 baht! The thought of having to go into another bargaining battle after a long day was equally tiring as the game itself. Talking about the peaceful Singaporean-owned baan yin dee resort, it was a mix of good and bad service. The aircon in our room was making a lot noise when we were about to doze off on the second day. The technician came but couldn’t fix the problem, so they gave us the room next door for sleeping. There’s a one-way free shuttle to Patong beach but the last one was at 4pm. Everything else from phone calls to taxi booking was money and money. Trip to patong by limousine would cost 300 to 1000 baht, 3000 baht for one-way airport transfer. Siao ah!!! I’d rather splurge it on seafood or even underwear.

My favourite experiences from the trip? Definitely the ride on the elephant back! Every step of the gentle giant was slow and steady! And the tune the mahout hummed was really pleasing!The rides on the fast boat was simply memorable, esp the non-stop 40 min ride right after lunch. It was high tide and the sea was extremely choppy. We were flying all over the place and getting knocks on the head and back. One uncle from Msia onboard who was talking throughout the morning became quiet after lunch.... cuz he said he wanted to puke out his food. Thrilling!