Exploring Phuket, Thailand - Part 3

Day 3 of our Phuket Adventure, we booked a Day tour for the whole of Phuket. Interestingly enough, even though it is smaller than Bangkok, there is so much to see in the island. 

The trip starts at 7:00 a.m. and they will bring you to different locations. This was the first stop. It was a place where you can see most of the beaches in Phuket and it would give you a view of the Big Buddha. 

The next stop was the Big Buddha. They said that this was the project of the Princess of Thailand and it is still under construction. They mainly rely on donation money for the construction of the Buddha. It is a majestic view. 

This was the base of the Buddha. You have to go up several plights to get a good view of the Big Buddha. 

This is where they collect donation money from tourists. 

The Buddha that was dedicated to the princess of Thailand. 

A small replica of the wat pho in Bangkok. 

Afterwards, we were taken to another place where there were a lot of temples. 

After that we went to a botannical garden. I wasn't able to take much photos because it was hot. 

The last part of the trip was going to a bee farm. The tour ended past 2:00pm. It was worth it though because you will be able to tour around of Phuket. 

For the afternoon, we were supposed to watch the Simon Cabaret Show but I had a little accident in our bathroom and I wasn't able to stand up the rest of the day that's why we opted to miss the show. 

It was a good trip though and we would want to go back there in the future. They have the best massage place in the world and it's very cheap. 

Exploring Phuket, Thailand - Part 2

Part 2 of our Phuket Adventure :) 

Day 2, we started of course by eating breakfast which was provided by the restaurant adjacent to the hotel. It was a continental breakfast but it wasn't buffet. We were served with a choice of juice and you can pick from either coffee or tea - meaning you have two drinks; actually 3 because they also give you water if you request. 

The breakfast included eggs, sausage, bacon strips and vegetables. 

My husband, on the other hand, choose to eat different kinds of bread lol :)) he just wasn't ready for a big breakfast that time because his stomach was upset. 

After eating breakfast, we continued exploring the nearby places of the hotel. 

We saw DQ just within the vicinity of our hotel. 

There was also the launch of Make Your Own Havianas. I bought my Snoopy Havianas from there :) 

This was the side streets that we explored during our walking trip at Phuket. I don't know what exactly the street was but we saw a mountain at the back. 

There was also a Hard Rock Cafe Hotel. Most of the tourists booked here because the hotel has a beach front. 

During our exploration, I got thirsty and we stumbled upon this push cart vendor that was selling all kinds of refreshments. I asked my husband to buy me the Thai Iced Tea as it was delicious. I think it was only 25B (more or less only PHP26). 

After our exploration, we decided to go back to the hotel and rest because the heat of the sun was already burning my skin. We stayed at the hotel until afternoon and waited for the bus that will take us to Phuket FantaSea. 

In the afternoon, we were fetched by the tour van and it took us to Phuket FantaSea. I can't remember exactly how long the travel time was from our hotel to Phuket FantaSea but it wasn't exactly near. This was the tour that we booked when our taxi driver went to the travel agency. 

As what I've mentioned earlier, Phuket FantaSea is one of the main attractions that tourists go to when in Phuket. It usually is in the afternoon until night time. I suggest that you do not bring any electronics or cellphones with you because you have to leave the cameras and any electronic device in the event proper. They forbid any cameras inside the big theatre where the musical is. 

Before the main event, there would be a big banquet inside the place. Well actually, you have to purchase a ticket, you can either go inside and not eat (which is cheaper by hundreds) but you can also opt to purchase the one where you will feast. The whole place is a big buffet of international cuisines. I wasn't able to take a picture in the large banquet  but it was really big. 

At 8:00pm, they open the gates to the big theatre. Sadly, you have to leave your cameras. So I don't have any pictures with me. Anyways, it was a good show. The show was in Thai. We didn't understand the words but we got the gist of the story. 

Exploring Phuket, Thailand

It's almost been a year since our week long wedding anniversary. I know, this post is a year late but what better way to celebrate it by reminiscing about the beautiful place. 

Since it was our first year anniversary last year, we wanted it to be memorable and grand. I mean, who would've thought that we already turned one? The trip was somewhat spur of the moment. Everything was booked days before the actual flight and we just dived-in. 

We first went to Bali, Indonesia and then went to Phuket, Thailand. It was summer back then and we were feeling the heat wave in Kuala Lumpur. My husband's officemates were suggesting that we go to Phuket because it was a fun place with lots of tourists. 

Of course, we booked Air Asia for our flight. Went to KLIA 2 and checked-in. Funny story, a day before our actual trip, we went to the airport thinking that our flight was on that day. We then realized that, what the heck?! It's not yet our flight! We got too excited and wasted money for our fare to the airport. 

The airport at Phuket was not as big as I expected it to be. I've been to Bangkok and I love their humongous airport there but in Phuket, it's fairly small. The moment you arrive, you go to immigration and there's a separate lane for ASEAN Passport holders. I'm not sure if they issue visa on arrival like the ones in Bali for European passport holders but they do have a separate lane. 

The airport is filled with lots of free brochures in different languages. There's also a free SIM card given to tourists on arrival. You just have to log-in their book.

We took the airport taxi. Just a little heads up with our experience with the taxi. A little bit disappointed on how the system works there because our taxi driver stopped at a travel office before dropping us at our hotel. We were quite exhausted from traveling and the last thing we wanted to do was to be sales talked by the travel agency for tours. It was like the driver will not go to the hotel not until we booked our tour so we had no choice but to book the PhantaSea Tour. 

Afterwards, we finally made it to our hotel and we booked Pimnara. The locals in the airport said that Pimnara was a new hotel. It was a boutique hotel and it was in downtown Phuket. It was quite a long journey from the airport to the hotel, around 1 hour and 30 mins. (Considering some parts of Phuket was also experiencing a little traffic jam). 

Hotel staff were English speakers. They would assist you if you need wake up calls or if you need housekeeping, etc. Right in front of the hotel was a desk where everyone thought they were the information help desk but it's actually a tour agency where you can book. There are at least 5 or 6 tours you can book ranging from Day tour exploring the whole of Phuket, Phuket FantaSea, Muai Thai Fights, Cabaret Shows and Island Hoping. We actually booked 3 tours but the last tour we weren't able to go to because I had an accident during the trip. 

Picture above was the mall right beside our hotel. 

The one above is a massage and spa place. Their rates were super low and you get the highest quality of Thai massage. I had a 1-hour foot reflexology here but my masseus was kind enough to actually give me more than the foot massage. It was sort of a whole body massage including the head, the arms and the back :) and it was only 500B. 

On our first night, of course, we had to try THAI food but the ones we had were already commercialized since we ate in a restaurant. I recommend you try eating the street foods so you really get the authentic taste. 

Thai Iced Tea was so delicious! 

During our first night, we already started walking around the nearby streets, so as to not waste time. At the back of our hotel was already the Patong Beach Strip. It was sort of the red light district of Phuket. 

There were a lot of lady boys in this place. There were also a lot of locals holding A4 card like menus where there were "shows". You know what I mean right? I wanted to watch but my husband didn't want to watch (what a loser LOL) but anyways, I respected him and we opted not to watch the show. 

The street was really so much fun. Loud music, a lot of foreigners and tons of liquor. At the back of my head, I was sort of guilty because I know that time was Holy Week and everyone back home were repenting and fasting and abstaining while we were having so much fun. 

I have to cut this entry for now since its a little bit too long but head to the next post. I will blog about day 2 and day 3 of our Phuket adventure :)