A Look At Phuket

4 March 2012 (Sunday)

Departed LCCT Kuala Lumpur at 12.40pm by Air Asia and arrived in Phuket at 12.50pm local time after a flight of 1 hour 10 mins. A van was waiting for us to take us to Impiana Hotel Patong where we were greeted by the staff with welcome drinks and jasmine garlands. The boutique hotel is a beautiful villa style beach-front resort facing the Andaman Sea and nestled amongst swaying coconut trees and lush greenery. It has a good size swimming pool overlooking the beach.

After checking in, we took a walk looking for a place to eat as we were famished and it was past 3.00pm. We decided on a Halal restaurant selling Thai and Indian food. It drizzled and we went back to our room for a short rest.

At 6.30pm we went for a walk along the numerous shops and bars in Patong as it was still drizzling . We settled on a Pizzeria for dinner. We had our first taste of miscommunication when the waiter brought 6 plates of garlic bread with each plate containing at least 6 slices of the bread, when what we wanted was a total of six slices enough for the six of us.The waiter looked so worried when we told him of his mistake that we decided to accept the extra bread and take it back to our hotel for supper.

5 March 2012 (Monday)

Woke up at 7.00am and had breakfast at 8.00am. Decided to just laze around and enjoy the sun, and swam in the sea and the swimming pool.

We went looking for lunch and were charmed by an Italian man who persuaded us to eat at his restaurant where we had spaghetti, pizza, aubergine and Greek salad. We then walked along Patong area and stopped at two jewellery shops where we feasted our eyes on beautiful gemstones and pearl jewellery. Our next stop was Orient Massage ,one of the numerous massage parlours dotting the Patong area. It was time to luxuriate with an oil massage and lull ourselves to semi comatose .

At 6.30pm a van picked us up for the 45- minute ride to Phuket town area for a cultural show ,Siam Niramit. It was a huge cultural complex. Immediately after the entrance there was a big souvenier shop. Further inside was a huge open space where traditional dances were performed. We walked through an open area that depicted the village life of Thailand with wooden houses typical of rural Thailand, padi fields,a floating market and people demonstrating various local cuisine and craft, including a "wayang kulit" ( a puppet shadow show).

We were not hungry enough to have dinner but wanted something to eat, so we went to the restaurant which served buffet dinner with a wide variety of 70 dishes costing 350 baht per person.We decided to just have coffee and dessert for which we were charged 700 baht for the six of us. We partook a variety of delicious local delicacies and cakes.

The show started at 8.30pm. We understood that the whole complex was brand new ,only three months in operations. There were hardly 100 spectators. The show was in three parts : the first depicted "A Journey Back into History ",the second depicted "A Journey Beyond Imagination "and the final part "A Journey Through Joyous Festivals".The show had elaborate sets and stunning costumes but I felt that they lack in a good storyline.The show finished at 9.45pm and our van took us back to Patong area.

We decided to walk along the vibrant Bangla Road with its numerous pubs and bars and raunchy nightlife.The crowd were sitting around drinking and listening to live music or watching girls and ladyboys ( transvestites) dancing or pole dancing on table tops. One popular place was where a group of ladyboys danced on table tops and occasionally exposed their top to the delight of some visitors but to the horror of some first time tourists. As we walked along the road we were approached by many people trying to persuade us to their Agogo show, Tiger show, Ping Pong show and many others. You name it and Phuket has it !Unfortunately for them we just preferred to sit and have a quiet chat over coffee in our hotel.

6 March 2012 ( Tuesday)

Left the hotel at 8.15am by van and travelled north-east to Ao Por Pier. After 45 minutes we reached the jetty and waited in the office of Amazing Canoeing which handled that outing. Each of us were given a number on a pink sticker. Soon, we were called by our sticker colour to board a tuk tuk (open air truck taxi) that took us the short drive to the end of the jetty where our speed boat was waiting for boarding. There were 38 of us on the speedboat - some Indians, Russian, French, Morroccon and Italians and our guide was a Russian.

Our first stop was the island of Panak which is the biggest limestone island in Phuket. The boat slowed down to a cruising speed so that we could admire the rock formations, caverns,stalagtites and stalagmites.

We then sped to Panyee Island,home to the sea gypsies who were said to be Muslims people from Indonesia who ran away due to civil wars and were given the island to inhabit by the government. The people of the island live on houses built on stilts over the sea and now mainly survive on tourism. We browsed around souvenier shops on the island and then had lunch comprising of pineapple chicken,fried fish,salad,mixed vegie,battered prawns and chips and rice.

Left the island at 12.30pm to our next stop James Bond Island. Our boat moored at a short stretch of beach on Khoa Ping Kan island and we walked up some steps alongside a hill to the other side where there's a small beach. James Bond Island made famous by the movie " The Man With The Golden Gun" which starred my favourite James Bond , Roger Moore ,is a small limestone outcrop that juts out from the sea. Another interesting feature of Khoa Ping Kan Island is a vertical side of the hill that looked like someone has taken a sharp knife and split it into two.One side of the hill now leans against the other side.

While travelling between the islands one of my friend surprised the other foreign tourist when she started singing a French song. This followed by us singing English, Hindi , Tamil and Arabic songs and the rest of the tour group joined in. Our group is the noisiest of the lot and those people must be thinking that these Malaysians are really multi-racial.

Our next stop was Hong Island where our boat moored close to the island and several canoes were ready to take us in pairs.The canoe operator then paddled the canoe around the island- under arched passageway, into enclosed lagoons,along sand dunes and other interesting natural formations .

Our last stop was Naka Island where we spent one and a half hours lazing on the beach and swimming. We left the island at 4.00pm and a 15- minute ride took us back to the pier where our van was waiting to take us back to our hotel.

The staff of Impiana Hotel had recommended a seafood Restaurant in Phuket town. We hired a tuk tuk to the resraurant. It was a long and bumpy ride and the tuk tuk was speeding. From the main road it made a turn off through a quiet road through quaint villages. After a 45-minute ride we arrived at Leam Hin Seafood Restaurant near Phuket town. For the six of us we paid 2320 baht for the dinner that consisted of crab,clam,fish,tomyam (spicy soup),mantis prawns,mango salad and vegie. The food was fabulous- fresh,tasty and hot, just as we like it.

With our stomach full we were in a more relaxed mood as we made our way back to Patong and the bumpy ride did not matter so much. We asked the tuk tuk to drop us at Patong town and we took a slow walk back to our hotel,stopping to see the ladyboys parading in elaborate costumes and inviting visitors to take pictures with them, for a fee of course. The ladyboys attracted more attention than the girls ,especially those that danced on table tops and teased the men as they passed by.

7 March 2012 ( Wednesday )

We had a leisurely breakfast and after that, spent the day swimming and soaking in the sun . After a late lunch, it was time to check out at 4.00pm and travelled to the airport for our flight to Kuala Lumpur.

Bali Hai

Day 1 : 21 January 2012 (Saturday)

Departed from Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia at 4.30pm for Denpasar, Bali. On the flight had the fortune of meeting the head honco of Air Asia himself, Tan Sri Tony Fernandez. After a less than two- hour flight,we arrived at Denpasar to a gloomy evening. Took a taxi to the hotel and en route, stopped at a Nasi Padang Restaurant for dinner. Checked in into Hotel Nikko in Nusa Dua and spent a quiet evening at the hotel.

Day 2 : 22 January 2012 (Sunday)

After a leisurely breakfast, decided to spend some time at the hotel and the beach. This was my fifth time to Bali and my third time staying at The Nikko. I kept coming back here because of the beauty of the place. The hotel stands on a cliff overlooking a beautiful bay. The weather that morning was overcast but despite that I was still mesmerised by the breathtaking vista especially from the top levels of the hotel.Lazing by the beach with not a care in the world - ah.... this is the life for me, I can do this forever.

In the later part of the afternoon we decided to pamper ourselves to a spa session. Bali is famous for it's spa and no visitor should leave the island without visiting one of the many spas. We decided on a package that comprised of a foot spa,an aromatherapy massage, a body scrub and a floral bath. For the next two hours we had the luxury of relaxing to the sound of Balinese music.

All the pampering made us very hungry and we headed for Jimbaran Bay, famous for its seafood restaurants. We were fortunate that there was still a table on the beach.As we waited for our food to be prepared, we were entertained by traditional dancers and strolling musicians. We had a lovely dinner of fish,crabs ,prawns, calamari and mussels which was perfect when eaten with avocado juice.

Day 3 : 23 January 2012 (Monday)

After breakfast we took a stroll in the hotel's compound,admiring the sprawling gardens and water features.

Our guide then took us to our first stop - a typical Balinese house. It is surrounded by a high wall and the entrance features elaborate stone carvings and decorations. Inside the compound there were several small buildings ,each had its own function. There is a building which formed the living room,one for bedroom ,one for the newly married couple and so on. Each house also had its own family temple.

Our van headed towards Ubud inland and we stopped at an art gallery and a wood carving showroom. The road to Ubud is dotted with showrooms and factories making various arts and crafts. For lunch we stopped at a restaurant sited in the middle of a padi field and famous for its "bebek" (duck) dishes.

When we reached Ubud our van dropped us a short distance from the market and we walked along rows of shops selling various crafts and art pieces. We then explored the market which also sold crafts and souveneirs and had a lovely time haggling the price. We visited many art galleries and managed to buy a few paintings at a steal.

Visiting Bali is not complete without going for a Kecak Dance show. It was held on an open air stage and depicted fables from the Ramayana and Mahabrata. The highlight of the show was a dance performed on a burning fire.

Day 4 : 24 January 2012 (Tuesday)

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day and decided to spend the day by the beach, enjoying the sun, the sea and the surf.

After lunch our guide took us to Uluwatu Temple where guest were given sarongs to wear if their legs were not covered as a show of respect to the place of worship. We were given a guided tour of the vast ground of the temple which is perched on a steep cliff situated at the edge of a peninsula. Besides taking pictures of the temple buildings and beautiful scenery, tourists were seen busy taking pictures of the many monkeys that made the temple their home and are considered sacred by the Balinese who are largely Hindus.

From Uluwatu we stopped at The Pecatu Indah Resortthe before making our way to Kuta , a popular shopping town with its numerous shops ,restaurants and bars. We explored the many shops selling items from crafts to imitation clothing and bags. After an early dinner we headed to the airport for our flight home.