Prawns Phuket Pursuit

[Prawn_86]

Ok so i thought i would write a journal of our trip to Phuket. I didnt write one as i went, so this will just be from memory.

Just a reminder that the general Thailand thread can be found here:
http://www.aussietravellersforum.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=27

Day 1

Flew from Adelaide to Phuket via Singapore with Singapore Air (Silk Air for the Singapore to Phuket flight). Trip went relatively well, with the exception of the check in staff in Adelaide not giving us our boarding pass for the second leg of the flight, so had to rush a bit to get that. I have to say i enjoy the old school Nintendo system Singapore Air have in their entertainment.

Arrived at the Patong Resort Hotel after a 45 min shuttle ride, about 9pm i think. Checked in, then went out to explore.

First thoughts - Very touristy part of Asia, with street merchants all desperate for your business, plus heaps of Westernised restaurants etc.

[Prawn_86]

Day 2

This was our set day to wander around and check out Patong. Did a little shopping in some markets near Bangala Road. There are so many markets it would be impossible to describe what ones, but essentially they all sell the same fake stuff.

Must say i enjoy the bartering side of things, especially when you dont actually care if you get the item or not, its funny to see the merchants start at say 800 baht and you eventually get the product for 120 (depending on what it is though).

The beach itself looked rather nice, although a lot of people trying to get you to ride jet-ski's (which isnt covered by travel insurance so be careful)

[Prawn_86]

Day 3

This day we went on a tour organised by Desitination Asia. Picked up from the hotel, then swapped to a much larger bus. Had an entertaining host on the hour and a half bus ride to our destination. Learnt a few Thai phrases.

Once we arrived we kicked off with white water rafting. This was heaps of fun, although there were a lot of other rafts in the river, so collisions could not be avoided (turned into bumper rafting sometimes).

After rafting went on a half hour elephant ride. Our elephant was named Mackee. I had done an elephant trek before, but it was still good fun, as i got to ride it and kind of control it.

Final stop for the tour was a waterfall and swimming hole. The water was too cold for me, but it was a nice place to sit and relax.

Then back to the camp for what was an awesome lunch, consisting of about 5 different dishes set out to share.

Got back to the hotel about 5:30 pm and then just went out for dinner and enjoyed the nightlife.

[Prawn_86]

Day 4

On day 2 we had met up with a taxi driver named Num. He took us to book a tour to Phi Phi Island, which we did today. We had perfect weather and glassy flat seas.

Went to Phi Phi first and spent about 45min on the shore and swimming amongst the amazing landscape. Rocks that rise straight out the sea and have dense rainforest covering them, wherever the plants can get a hold.

We then moved around the island and did a cruise past the Viking Caves, which has paintings of viking longboats (hence the name). Went round to feed the monkeys, and then snorkeled in another spot before lunch.

After lunch we went to Kai Island, which is essentially just a sandbar with chairs and a bar, so we kicked back and relaxed with a couple beverages.

We all managed to avoid getting too sunburnt which was a plus, and after the tour we went to dinner and then to a tailor named Lama to get measured up.

[kennas]

Phi Phi sounds great.

Photos?

[Prawn_86]

Photos will be coming soon Kennas. Once i finish unpacking i'll have a look through all the pics we took :)

[Prawn_86]

Day 5

We had a couple hour long massages, which only cost $8 AUD per massage, and also got our driver, Num, to take us to the jewellery factory. Apparently it is the worlds biggest jewellery factory, and it sure is huge, thousands and thousands of pieces in the display room. The girls we were with all bought some.

Got our driver to take us to an activities area. Did some target shooting with pistols and also ATV (4 wheel bikes) riding and go karting.

Ate dinner at a really dingy looking place, that is a tool shop during the day, but converts into a restuarant at night. Great food and five of us ate a huge amount for about $30 AUD. Had a few brews at one of the hundreds of bars, named Hollywood Bar. Had fire twirling, board games and everything at this bar, plus $2 beers and $4 cocktails

[Prawn_86]

Day 6

Unfortunately rain had set in for this day, so we just went to the local mall and spent some time in there, its heaps cheap in AUD terms, so we played pool, did ten pin bowling, ate ducks feet and watched a movie gold class.

A fairly relaxing day, and was probably just what we needed.

[Prawn_86]

A full gallery of photos can be found here:
http://www.aussietravellersforum.com.au/forums/album.php?albumid=7

[Prawn_86]

Day 7

It was still raining this day so we played another game of ten pin bowling and some more pool and then the girls did a bit of shopping. Another quiet day which was good. Tried on my finished suit and was happy with the end product.

[Prawn_86]

Day 8

Our final full day in Phuket, due to fly out tommorrow. We were picked up at 10am by Num who then took us to the recently built, and still under construction, Bhudda, on top of a peak on Phuket island. Very, very impressive, and was the only temple/religious visit for our whole trip.

Had a few final drinks and went to a ping pong show that night. The show was very disappointing, but i guess its something you have to experience at least once.

[Prawn_86]

Day 9

Our last day. Packed, picked up all ouur tailored clothes, got a final foot massage and then got our transfer to the airport.

All in all a very relaxing holiday and was exactly what we needed :D

[kennas]

Day 8
Had a few final drinks and went to a ping pong show that night. The show was very disappointing, but i guess its something you have to experience at least once.Did you get to bat them back or anything?

I can still picture Joe running out the door throwing 20's over his shoulder. :)

[Prawn_86]

Did you get to bat them back or anything?

I can still picture Joe running out the door throwing 20's over his shoulder. :)

LOL no, ours wasnt anything like that. She was up on a stage and only did a couple of tricks like dropping them down onto a beer bottle. We were expecting a lot more to be honest.

[white_crane]

Good to see you had a good time and got to experience a few things too. Sometimes just getting away from everything is the best part. Nice photos too. :)

[Bafana]

Phuket is a great place - Have visited many times. Nice log.

[Seth21]

very interesting

[kennas]

Prawn, pretty sure we are heading to Phuket / Phi Phi in Jan and looking forward to it. Have mixed feedback at the moment. Some reports on Trip Advisor have bagged Phi Phi saying it was too touristy and dirty. Huh? What about the tropical paradise that I saw on 'The Beach'? Anyway, I must go because I've wanted to for 20 years and have been to Thailand twice before to visit that side of the country only to miss it and hit the East side.

[Prawn_86]

To be totally honest Kennas we only spent half a day on Phi Phi itself.

My view was that it was al ot more laid back and less hectic than Phuket itself. Most places in Thailand are dirty so cant say i noticed a difference. And the best thing about staying out there is that you have quicker & easier access to all the surrounding islands and beaches.