A Pretty Reason to Visit Phuket
Hi All, it's been a while since my last travelog, though it's just a short trip but it deserves to be pen-ed down. It's not just any other trip, there's many firsts, many fun and many good reasons to be happy of.
Not sure how to present the trip, gonna go with chronological order....
Flew from SG to Phuket on my own, omg when I was at the immigration, i cannot believe my eyes sia, the whole place was flooded with angmohs, like even more than Japan eh. Wah I always thought angmohs like to go Malaysia and Singapore but guess I'm dead wrong, wait till you see the angmoh crowd at Phuket. Anyways immigration took quite some time as Phuket seems to be a busy airport with loads LOADS of tourist. There's virtually no one at the Thai citizens counter.
My flight was early so I had like few hours to kill before the secondary school friends arrive from Kuala Lumpur. Feeling so excited that I spent freaking SGD 15 for a croissant and coffee *faints* But damnnn don't know if my good mood messed up my taste buds, the Bacon and Egg Croissant and Latte were really yummy! Got them from The Coffee Club, which I think it's like a Starbucks equivalent in Thailand, I see them almost everywhereeeeee.
Finally meet up with the bunch, got our rented car and began our road trip yo! Time flashed by as we checked-in to our prettyyyy villa and get ready for the event.
Triple-checked on the angpau and off we go to the wedding! Honestly, I'm just super excited lar....Well for first, it's my high school friend's wedding day!!! Like OMG finally this day has arrived. Before this trip, I don't really have any close friends who got married while I see my facebook popped with wedding photos every now and then. Got me thinking when will I get to attend one of my friend's and lucky and blessed enough, one pretty lady got hitched and they are doing it in Phuket! Like seriously, never have I thought that the first wedding that I attend will be in a country that I've never stepped foot onto LOL. And as if it's not awesome enough, the wedding was just simply beautiful, I don't know better English to describe but yes, it is unlike your usual Chinese banquets/reception, it is in essence, an occasion for friends and family to gather and celebrate the union of two souls. Thanks for making this "first" so memorable.
As if the occasion wasn't meaningful enough, the bright sun, the calm sea and the green lawn paints a beautiful background, no way you can forget this day. So thank you Fiona and Hayden for this lovely day! Hope the following photos do some justice to how pretty the whole thing was. Friends out there who are considering a destination wedding, see how this couple did it!
Location: The Naka Phuket
It was raining heavily in the past few days but I guess God was blessing this couple with cottony clouds and sparkly waters as they walk down the aisle and speak their vows. There goes Mr. and Mrs. Chin.
After the ceremony, there's like some time before the reception starts. So everyone pretty much went into photo-shooting session, glad that they had this buffer time. With the glittery sea and sun setting behind, how to not take photos you tell me? And thanks to the lovely weather Mi6 is working awesome! Wah I swear I was gonna charge the guys money for their photos hahahahhaha.
Then there's the reception waiting for us while the sky turns into beautiful shades of pink and blue. Enjoying food and wine under the twinkle lights, the twilight sky, the relaxing live music, can't find an English word for this so I'm gonna go with SYOK haha.
So pwetty OMG
Gosh this view
Such a great start to the trip, returned to the pretty villa and ended my day on the massive comfy bed.
Day two, woke up to another brightly lit day. Time for breakfast before exposing ourselves to Vitamin Sea. Had our brekkie at Mr. Tan Coffee House at Surin Beach before meeting up with the rest of the group. If you want a restaurant with an extensive menu that covers both Thai, Asian and Western cuisine, this is a pretty good choice. Like it's homey and casual ambience.
Address: 4 Sunthon Rd, Cherngtalay, Thalang District, Phuket 83110
After what felt like a two hours van ride, yes just to give you an idea of how huge Phuket is, we've arrived at Chalong Pier for our yacht trip. Another first for me, honestly never have I thought yacht trip will come into my life so soon haha, always thought it's like some atas-people's game. So if I'm not wrong, there's around 18 of us, and I paid RM357, so you do the math for the hiring rate. The yacht trip takes around 7 hours (excluding the time taken to travel from Surin to the pier). So it's pretty much a whole day thing. 7 hours sounds long but it's actually pretty interesting. The yacht will stop at an island for snorkeling, and it includes a meal with BBQ food prepared on board. There's also basic fishing equipment (where fishes can really be caught) provided. Though we spent most of the time cruising through the ocean (takes almost 2 hours to reach the snorkeling spot), but with the bright sun and blue waters, I can just stare at them all dayy.
It's been a while since I last snorkeled and what the hell my phobia for water still hasn't reduced despite my best efforts to overcome it haha. But oh well after some deep breathes and going up and down the yacht, finally found the feeling again. Hmm there were plenty of tropical fish, but i guess the corals are quite deep down to be even seen, to me I'm not a big fan of fish watching lar, I just enjoy the feeling of floating in the water haha. After snorkeling, the food was served, can even smell the barbeque seafood while I was snorkeling haha. There's like barbeque squid, fishballs, prawn, sausages, Red Curry, Somtam, Veggie curry and more. I'm a Thai food fan so I'm totally loving this food on yacht experience.
A snapshot from a video that I have, look at them FOOOOOOOOD
gawd I miss those T T
When the yacht starts moving again, the sun was already going down, perfect weather to just chill and enjoy the wind beating against your face. Wah really made me wonder when was the last time I faced the wind head-on. Missing my trips from the past. Anyways just love how the sun was shining down but it wasn't irritating at all thanks to the breeze.
Sunsets are always mesmerizing don't they.
That sums up the interesting yacht trip, kinda wished I could jio one whole bunch of friends and party there hahahahahah Okay wait till laoniang earn more money first! So suns down, stars up, time to get a life, night life.
Aiyar but don't get us wrong, we are good kids. Just wanted to have a glimpse of Thailand's definition of open and wild. But before that, dinner at one of the bustling streets at Patong. Pineapple fried rice in Thailand itself, can't say it's amazing but it taste good! Love the mix of sweet and sour.
And then we found ourselves at the middle of all this neon lights, pole dancers, beer bottles and ping-pong show promoters. Wah I'm like some Mina who just got out of kampung, those neon lights are like shouting at you "come on don't be shy", sexy pole dancers at almost every bar, the loud music, well I guess it's just a place to just...i don't think enjoy is the right word, more like....lose yourself. Seems like a place for guys to have bachelor night party.
For us, we were pretty exhausted from the yacht trip and so opted for foot massage instead. How to not go for massage when you're in Thailand? Guess we had our share of exploring for the night, bid farewell to all the neonlights, LED lit taxis and excited souls in Bangla street, head back to our villa to unwind. Wah but I was so reluctant to sleep eh, really wanted to enjoy every second on the wide comfy bed， the emerald pool right before my eyes. But oh well, before I knew it, i fell asleep LOL
The next day, was pretty much just chilling at our villa, enjoying the bright sun by the pool, had my 7-11 Shibuya Toast and iced coffee at the recliner, damnnn i can just stay there all day. Anyways time to intro the place we spent our two nights, it's Layan Villa at Thalang, Phuket, which is around 30 minutes drive from Phuket International Airport, and it's located at some hill area, pretty ulu if you asked me and it took us quite some time to find our way back on the first night thanks to the pitch black roads. But once you're inside the villa, it's like having your own world. Love the floor-length windows, the balinese -style wooden furniture, there's like three bathrooms so we each had one to ourselves. I paid RM110 per night so I guess it sums up to around RM450 per villa. I think it's reasonable given the massive rooms and a private pool.
The view from my room, at my rocking chair. The guys let me stay in the Master bedroom LOL and wth the toilet was bigger than the bedroom. There's shower and bath tub but the bath tub looks abit dirty so I gave up the thought of using it. But I like the simple bedroom where u can just slide the windows and jump right into the pool haha.
Top view.
Hehe my 7-11 breakfast but I feel like some atas people enjoying by the pool haha.
Housemates for two nights.
Reluctantly packed and head out for our last round of chillax. Went for massage AGAIN and this time a full body Thai Massage at Surin 8 Soi Hat. It's actually a strip of massage parlours and restaurants nearby Bangtao beach which explains the amount of angmohs in their bikinis and swimming pants. Forgot what's the name of the massage parlour but full body Thai Massage was the cheapest we found along the street at 300 baht! Super satisfied when I hear the string of bone cracking sounds from my spine. The staff was very very friendly as well and kept laughing when she heard all the cracking sounds haha. Very naisee aunty :D
It's the shop on the left. Google Maps address is Soi Hat Surin 8 Tambon Choeng Thale, Amphoe Thalang, Chang Wat, Phuket 83110 Thailand
Happy faces after massage :D
Energized and ready for food therapy! Finally has our dose of decent Thai food at one Riverside Restaurant which is just down the road, recommended by the bride.
Address: Haad Surin Soi 8, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket 83110, Thailand
Deep fried calamari, Seafood Tom Yum Soup, Green Curry Chicken and Stir-fried Morning Glory aka Kangkung.
They all taste awesome but I gotta say my favorite was actually the veggie!! Wah "wok-hey" was on point, I forgot when was the last time I ate so much kangkung in one meal. The Tom Yum was a rice thief, sweet, sour and spicy, gosh mouth watering now as I'm thinking back.
Can't forgive myself if I don't get some Thai beer (Chang beer and Leo beer). My gawd it's really cheap, like less than RM10 for one whole bottle. Great pair with the spicy and flavorful Thai dishes.
Finally, time for some shopping! Oh well two of us has the "colleague-responsibility-to-buy-souvenir-when-you-travel" and so we had to dedicate some time for visiting the supermarket for snacks. Drove all the way to Central Festival Mall which really is in the middle of Phuket island. But we end up visiting the Big C (Thailand's version of NTUC Fairprice and Giant) to shop for Thai snacks like Tao Kae Noi, Pocky, Lays and Thai Milk Tea. Head back to the massive mall again for tea time before we depart for the airport.
Another Thai food to check off the list -- Mango Sticky Rice! very fragrant, has a very interesting mix of sweet and savory flavors as well as the sticky yet chewy texture. Then there's the orange juice in a pretty bottle. Yea if you know me well enough, I'm one of those people who would buy something as long as I fall for the packaging haha.
On our way to the airport, some random GuanGong mega statue. Took this while we're stuck in the jam.
Phew.....that's it....that's all for Phuket. I know the whole trip didn't seem very much like a conventional Phuket trip coz we didn't really plan to visit many places but I still enjoyed every minute of exploring this foreign place. Despite our short trip, Phuket still proved to be a very interesting place. Love the winding roads, love the glimpses of blue sea that i catch every now and then, love how you can find cafes and bars almost everywhere, love how the place is so touristy yet still has its kampung vibes and definitely gonna remember the crazy bustling nightlife and Bangla street. And I have to say I enjoyed it very very much thanks to the travel pals for this trip. I think we spoke more during the trip than we did in Form 5 LOL Thanks for driving around and wah I forgot when was the last time I enjoyed so much sitting in the car for more than an hour. Wah really miss singing to those 90s kids tunes. Can we go for road trip again pweaseeee? (Nah photos of the lengzaii drivers below)
On a side note, I wished we had more time to explore some other interesting places like checking out the awesome night markets (Da Hood, Chillva Market), chilling at the beaches like Patong, Surin and Layan. Phuket is truly one interesting island, I'm sure you can find the retreat that you want over here. Okay back to reality tomorrow, hope to be updating this blog soon.