Finally, I was able to travel with one of my JC buddies after so many years since graduation! Constant schedule clashes made me miss a couple of trips with them, but thanks to a super awesome Jetstar deal that we couldn’t resist, we decided to grab the opportunity and take off to Phuket!
Anyway, I recently returned from Krabi and Phi Phi Island last November, and was pretty awed by the picturesque landscapes and scenery. Oh, and I also returned with a phobia of being stuck on a small boat in the sea with crazily choppy waves. Prior to the trip, I was hoping that Phuket would just be as wonderful!
First Impressions
Phuket International Airport is definitely bigger than Krabi’s. There was also a booth located at the baggage claim area that gives out complimentary SIM card with a minimum top up of 50baht. I tried to ask the staff about the data plan, but they just don’t seem to understand me… Oh, and don’t bother about visiting the airport convenience shop for a data SIM card. It’s expensive!Once we stepped out of the airport, we were hounded by countless of taxi touts. I don’t recall those in Jakarta being so aggressive. So, we headed straight for the far end with a huge sign screaming, ‘TAXI METER’, BUT I am so lost when the staff there said that since we came in a party of four, we had to stick by a fixed price (meter fares are only applicable for party of threes).
And it’s a hefty 750baht from the airport to our hotel in Patong. (Distance was pretty far away, but after traveling in Bangkok/Chiang Rai and Krabi… I did feel kind of ripped off…)
Citrus Heights
For our stay in Phuket, Tim picked Citrus Heights, located in Patong. It’s a pretty new hotel, and part of the Citin Hotel chain in Thailand. I won’t exactly say it’s in the middle of all the action, but with a 7-eleven just a short 3 minutes walk away (convenience shops are EXTREMELY essential to me) and the major shopping mall just a 1o to 15 minutes walk away, I feel that it’s quite a reasonable location since taxis are rare and expensive in Phuket.
Welcome drink!
Traveled to Phuket on my birthday, and here’s a surprise cheesecake and ICE CREAM from Tim, Ben and ZhiYi!
After settling down, we headed down to Jungceylon Mall (the nearest and only mall in Patong) for dinner. Recommended MK to my friends (hehehe), and we had a hearty meal!
Phi Phi Island
SNORKEL. FRISBEE. FOOD. SEASICK the whole way backThe following morning, we had to wake up at 6.30am for our day tour to Phi Phi Island and Maya Bay. We took a mini van all the way to the pier and boarded a ferry for our dreaded two hour journey… (I’m starting the detest boat rides on small boats)
But it’s all fine as we managed to grab a good sofa seat with a table near the deck entrance (and toilets), and played Hearts all the way!
Because I had a bad experience previously in Phi Phi Island due to sea sickness, I told myself to avoid getting myself into one of those small longtail boats (pictured above). But to my horror, we had to get into one of those boats from the ferry in order to get to shore.
After changing into our necessary swim wear and collecting our snorkeling gear, we proceeded back into the longtail boats to snorkel. It’s quite a mess due to the huge number of tour participants, and the ‘whole big boat to small boat to shore to taking snorkel equipment back to small boat then snorkel’ coordination was pretty poor.
Mental note: book my own private snorkel tour in the future.
The weather was really cloudy and gloomy that day. I felt a little reluctant to get myself wet because I didn’t bring out any dry clothes to change into, but since I was already out in the water… why not?
Moments after the picture below is taken, I accidentally dropped my friend’s camera into the sea as the waves loosen the straps away from my arms. *Enters into extreme panic mode*
But thankfully the waters were not extremely deep, and the driver of the boat dived in to grab the camera from the coral bed. Tim (owner of the camera with countless of photos from Switzerland that has yet to be transferred onto the computer) was just too surprisingly calm when we were dipping our heads into the water and trying to spot the camera. I, on the other hand, wanted to transform myself into a plankton, get eaten up by a fish and then disappear from the face of the earth.
The tour package (which cost us SGD $40 and so not worth it) includes a two way transfer, and a buffet lunch. It’s quite yummy, but due to the massive crowd who simply just continuously pile their plates with food, the quantity was quite limited by the time I got to my table. ):
Had some leisure time playing frisbee on a gloomy beach before waiting to heading back to Phuket. If I am not mistaken, I think we were brought to some really isolated part of Phi Phi Island at a resort entrance with not much other guests.
And on the trip back to Phuket, we were asked to move to the VIP seats at the air-conditioned upper deck of the ferry/boat. They were screening Avatar throughout the journey, and Ben was so excited his eyes were practically glued to the screen. I tried to watch for about half an hour till SEASICKNESS hits me really bad. Struggled the whole way back in my seat, and contemplating whether if I should make my way to the toilet about 50 steps away or stay in my seat and pray that I don’t puke. It was HORRID.
So this concludes the first two days in Phuket!
Phi Phi Island did not seem fantastic this time due to the weather and cloudiness of the sky so I was EXTREMELY disappointed. And it’s made worse when we did not even get to tour the island! For those who would like to visit Phi Phi Island, I seriously recommend that you visit in November when it’s all bright, cheery and sunny and please make it at least a 2D1N trip as it’s really not worth it to travel two hours to and fro just to ‘touch and go’. The island is buzzing with activity in the day, and so full of life at night!
More coming soon!