My trip to Phuket, early May

View of Phuket in the morning from my hotel room

Remember when I said I was going to Phuket sometime early May and had much skepticism about it? Boy, was I wrong!! Maybe it was the company that I keep, maybe it was the activities that we did together or maybe it was the overall charm of the place....it turned to be quite an interesting vacation after all....

We took the earliest Air Asia flight to Phuket, which was 7.25 in the morning. Guess what time I had to get up and go? 4.30am!! I was practically dragging my weekend bag when the taxi came. Upon reaching the LCCT, I was amazed at how much it had expanded in terms of capacity for passengers and more restaurants and stores, somehow I felt like being in a regular airport. In fact, it might be better than any old airport in some states in Malaysia.

We reached Phuket at 7.50 am local time, the flight took 1 hour 15 minutes. Thailand's clock is behind Malaysia by one hour, in case you are wandering....our good friend in Phuket picked us up and brought us to a Muslim shop for roti canai. Apparently there were a lot of Chinese from Penang who used to come in Phuket for business and mining. You could see their influences in the buildings, which resembled the shoplots along Chulia Street in Penang. Also, some nyonya wore kebayas and kain batik here. So, it felt oddly familiar eventhough I'm in a strange land.

Phuket is actually an island, and it is much bigger than Langkawi. It faces the Andaman sea, that's why the water is clear and other beaches and island like Krabi and Phi-Phi are so beautiful as well. But it was the hardest hit when tsunami came, as it faces the open sea. It is amazing that you couldn't see the evidence of tsunami at one glance. But the people of Phuket have said it is better for the tsunami to hit again then being hit by this economic downturn. After tsunami, they can rebuilld everything but with economy, you are at the mercy of the tourists. But even in low season in Phuket early May, it is still bustling with foreign tourists then it ever was in other islands in Malaysia.

I think Malaysia is more wholesome as a destination and more suitable for families. Whereas for Phuket, it is fun, fun, fun! With booze, sex, myriad of activities and beautiful beaches.

At the lobby of the Courtyard Marriot in Phuket, waiting to be checked in. Very chic hotel with colonial + contemporary concept. It was recently refurbished and just reopened under new management. I looked like something the cat dragged in. It was the lack of sleep, I tell you!

One of the Muay Thai training centres in Phuket. A lot of Mat Sallehs stayed in these boot camps or nearby chalets to train muay thai, sometimes taking months.

Tiger Muay Thai. Interested, anyone?


Of course a trip to Thailand isn't complete without experiencing the Thai massage. We headed to Island spa somewhere in Phuket and for only RM35, we were treated to two and a half hour massage. Heavenly bliss, after all that walking around Phuket! We were first ordered to go into the herbal steam room, then cool off at the jacuzzi. Then we were massaged for two whole hours, where I drifted in and out of sleep. Yes, I slept eventhough the masseus were doing funny things to my whole body. That's how good it was!

My massues is no 2 from right. She may look petite and old, but her hands are so skillful ;)
we were advised to tip her around THB40...

The quintessential night scene in Patong. Upon closer inspection, we found that these girls were the go-go girls, where you can find mainly dancing on bar tops...

On our last day, we went round the beaches in Phuket, can't remember the names...