“Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache:
You won’t be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.”
– Ajahn Chah (Thai famous buddhist)
This entry is one of the backlogs I have yet to post on this blog site. I must admit that this blog site is already 4 years in the making because I’m too lazy to post my past travels because I want to rewrite my travel journals because my style of writing before is very different from my style of writing now, hence the laziness >.<
I have an upcoming Phuket trip to visit my newborn niece and I thought maybe I could start posting all my Thailand trips in the past. Then looking at my photo albums, I realised that Thailand is the country I visited the most, wow! I must love Thailand that much! Hehe…and to start, I’d like to post my very first visit in Thailand — and that is the beautiful island of Phuket!
I was already working in Singapore for 2 years when I visited Phuket, it is my birthday tradition to travel during my birthday, and for my birthday this year 2014, I am going back to Phuket! My sister and her family relocated in Phuket last year, since they moved there, I have not seen and visited them, and now we have a good reason to visit them, my newborn niece 🙂
My first visit in Phuket in 2008 was unforgettable one, because on our way to Phuket I lost my wallet in Singapore Changi Airport, it would have been a terrible trip but I enjoyed Phuket too much that I wasn’t bothered at all after reporting it. And since I lost it in Singapore, I still got my wallet back when we return, except for all the money I had there of course haha! But at least I got all my important IDs back and etc.
We booked our flights and hotel with AirAsia, because it still the best option to get better package. We stayed at Club Andaman Resort at Patong Beach. It’s a 4-star hotel and i must say it has been a pleasant stay with them. They are very accomodating, very polite, very helpful and the breakfast buffet is superb!
Our hotel is along Beach Road, so the beach is just across the street and best is, it’s just few steps to the famous night spot of Patong Phuket, the Banglah Road! Patong Beach however is not an excellent beach as it is very commercialized, so I recommend to visit other beaches in Phuket.
We spent a day taking the Adventure Package which includes: Hidden Falls trek, River Rafting (this is the best in the itinerary!), Elephant Back-Ride, Elephant Show, ATV Ride, and a Buffet Lunch. On my second trip to Phuket, we took the Island Hopping which is equally fun but visiting more beautiful beaches, including Koh Phiphi from the movie, The Beach.
Thailand is also known for SEXY shows, we just have to try it! Thailand is one of the countries that brothels are one of the tourist destination haha! If you were not gratified by the Sex-y shows by the Class A (pretty transexuals lady-boys), Class B (not so pretty real ladies but very “well-skilled”) and the Class C (ageing strip/pole real lady dancers), just try other bars around like the Rock City for the hard core rockers.
But what I enjoyed on this trip was finding a REGGAE BAR!!! I’m a huge fan of this genre that when I moved to Singapore, it kinda died down because of lack of options to find a bar that plays reggae/ska. I hope when we return this month to Phuket, this bar is still there. Or perhaps there are more reggae/ska bars there now! Now that I am Dubai, it’s the same things as in Singapore back then, no reggae bars 🙁
There are (3) three things I love about going back to Thailand: The MASSAGE, the FOOD, and the PEOPLE.
I don’t mind having Thai Massage every night because it is that good and very cheap! But you have to be choosy coz there are a lot of massage parlors who offers hanky panky services after the massage, unless you are really after that!haha! I remember my second trip in Phuket, my male friend was “harassed” by a ladyboy masseuse haha! Very traumatic for him that he had to shower as soon as we got back from the massage salon, he said he almost smack the ladyboy’s face LOL!
Next to Mexican food, Thai food is my favorite! It is almost similar to Filipino food, just a bit spicy but not as spicy as Singaporean’s chili that without their chili it’s tasteless (ooopsss hehe). Seafood is cheap especially lobsters, and the best we’ve tried there is their “Fly Lai” (fried rice lol!). I used to hate fried rice but their fried rice made me love fried rice haha! Streetfood in Thailand has still the best taste I’ve tried anywhere, you can’t be wrong in your food choices except that most often than not, it is too spicy, so learn the very important Thai phrase “MAI PET” when ordering, it means, not so spicy 😛
Lastly, I love the Thai people! I have countless stories about my encounters with Thai people, of course there are scammers too especially if you are a tourist, but generally they are one of the nicest people on this earth! Just the way speak is already music to my ears (literally haha coz they sound singing all the time!) and how courteous, polite and gentle they are even with their fellow Asians, I will not name any nationality, but some locals in other Asian countries are quite arrogant with fellow Asians.
Thai people has this peaceful aura in them. And that perhaps was one of the reason why I enjoyed my very first Thailand visit despite losing my wallet beforehand, the peace they share with you during your stay in their beautiful country!
