This trip report is long overdue. the hype already died down. haha!
This is the last entry of my 4-part Lebaran holiday diary. Better late than never sharing! :)
Anyway, i've have been always curious about phuket. i have been reading and hearing stories of this apparently must-go beach destination. So, armed with sunblock, tanning lotion, bikinis and my ever gorgeous beach buddy, Keng, off we go to that exotic island in Thailand.
i will try my best to recall my exotic adventure. so, here you go folks...
GETTING TO/FROM/AROUND
Singapore to Phuket via Jetstar - 97 SGD [~77 US$]
Keng and I met at the boarding gate enroute to Phuket. yeeeeeee.
Phuket to Singapore via Jetstar - 2324 THB [~73 US$]
Phuket International Airport to Kata Beach Resort via Airport taxi - 100 baht (fee) + 760 baht (meter)
it would take an hour to reach kata area. man, it was far! haha!
Foto Hotel to Phuket International Airport via hotel's airport transfer - 1500 baht [~47 US$]
apparently, this was the usual rate for all hotels in this side of phuket.
ACCOMMODATION
for this trip, we have decided to stay in 2 hotels. One where the beach action was and the other one was for our cool down period. Best decision ever.
so for the first 2 nights, we stayed at Kata beach resort and spa. we booked via agoda with a total rate of 8,060 PHP [~184 US$].
PROs
- location!!! (beachfront, right in the smack of activities in town like restaurants and other local services)
- relatively clean room
- not a crowded resort
- snooty receptionist
- toilet problems on our first night, we have to call engineering to have it fixed
- old room (old hotel)
- not so friendly staff
- free wifi only available at the lobby area
overall verdict: i think i wouldn't consider staying at this hotel/resort again. personally i think its location is the only saving grace of this resort.
our room at the right wing of the resort
bathroom (toilet in photo has started to show problems. ick.)
resort's amenities
resort's wing where our room was located
and for the next 3 nights, we stayed at Foto Hotel. We also booked the hotel via agoda. Our total rate was 210 US$.
PROs
- modern boutique hotel
- best room ever (massive bed, complimentary daily snacks, toilet/bathroom was nice)
- yoga friendly garden in front of room
- tummy filling breakfast/early lunch choices
- rooftop pool and lounge area are the best features of the hotel
- location! hotel is located at hillside, too exhausting to walk up from town and too expensive to take taxi downtown
- service was not consistent
- room was quite far to the lobby
overall verdict: i will definitely stay here again. But most probably for a romantic getaway. seriously.
well, hello there!
massive bed!
other areas of the room
bathroom
hotel's reception/lobby area
lounge/pool (at day)
pool at night
hotel's restaurant
ACTIVITIES/TOURS
Kata Beach
for your ultimate beach bumming experience. the waves were pretty strong so we only stayed at the shallow area of the beach. there were sun beds but the locals manning it told us that we have to pay. some food stands were also found along side of the beach if you feel like eating ice cream or fruit shakes.
afternoon
morning
Phi phi island/Maya Bay Tour
After researching for a reliable and worthy operator for this day trip, we settled on booking via Viator. pick up and drop off point was at our hotel.
when we were picked up along with the other guests of several hotels, we then traveled to the port area which took as around an hour to reach.
after which, we rode a massive speedboat to bring us to our first destination: maya bay. Maya bay, the famous island for the movie "The Beach". the island itself was nice but too many tourists. literally swarming with tourists. boo!
speed boat experience
maya bay
touristssssssssssss! ack!
"The Beach" experience
at the back side of the island
after our maya bay experience, we had several stops including sightseeing of monkeys at one of the islands and snorkeling.
we had our lunch in one of the resorts in another island. buffet lunch was ok. nothing fancy and nothing worth gushing over. and we spent the remaining of our itinerary lounging at a nearby island to phuket before calling it a day.
(Lunch stop: Phi phi natural resort | last stop: Rang Yai Island)
Local Services
Laundry
kata beach town offers laundry service for about 400 - 700 baht (with or without ironing) per kilo. I was able to have my clothes washed and ironed at a nearby laundry stall from the hotel. you can get the clothes the following day.
Manicure/Pedicure
My feet was in dire need of re-polishing. So on my last day in Phuket, i searched the cheapest salon to have it pedicured. i was able to have it for 250 baht.
TIP: look at inside alleys for cheap pedicures. Salons along the street were too expensive (around 400 -450 baht).
DINING/NIGHT OUT
i admit, one of my goals for this trip was to eat! it was quite hard to balance out bingeing and bikini strutting. but what the hell. hahaha!
here are some food choices i devoured and some are worth trying as well...
tried banana + nutella. it was good!
pad thai!!!
pineapple rice! must try!
pizza and soda after our phi phi island tour
pasta and crab fillings
celebrating Keng's birthday at Tiffin Mama Restaurant
foto hotel's room service
beach trip is never complete without a mango fruit shake!
99 baht for each cocktail drink. yes!
Evidence of our crazy and wild beach getaway...
you can't sit with us! hahaha!
raaawr!!
Final Thoughts about Phuket
I must say that Phuket has been one of the steadiest beach getaway i have ever experienced in my entire life. I literally reached my tanning quota. as for the crazy part of the trip, i will leave you hanging there. choz! hahaha!
The highlight of this trip would have to be the bonding time with my very good friend, keng, under the phuket sun. This was actually our first trip together and we were both extremely pleased that the once drawn plan had finally pushed through. Our famous tagline for this trip was: "I'm so glad we did this!".
So, will i ever return to Phuket? Maybe or maybe not. I was only able to explore one side of the island. I would love to see the other places that this famous island offers on my next visit. But if i do, i'm hopeful it's going to be a romantic getaway next time. Charot.
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