TRIP TO PHUKET (12 TO 16 AUGUST 2007)

Hello World! I'm back from my trip to Phuket, slightly tanned and looking a little like Spotty Leopard of Richard Scarry's Busy Town fame. I'm not exactly sure why red welts broke out on my right cheek and right hand, but it happened after I touched a giant starfish which got washed ashore on Coral Island. Long story, so let me start from the beginning...

One day, Mommy discovered Tiger Airways was offering $4.20 flight tickets to Phuket and she quickly booked tickets for my family and Sri. Ipa couldn't come with us because her passport had less than 6 months' validity left. A week before our departure, Sri practised looking after me, and everything worked out fine.


12 August 2007 (Sunday)

We boarded Flight TR158 to Phuket at 2100 hrs. It was my first flight, and Mommy deliberately didn't tell me much about flying so I wouldn't have any false expectations. Mommy recalls taking her first flight when she was 3 years old, and my grandparents giving her the impression that she could open the windows in mid-flight to grab the fluffy white clouds! When she couldn't do so on the plane, she was so disappointed that she remembers the incident till this day.

I was very well-behaved during my first flight. The plane was pretty empty, so we had Row 7 all to ourselves. My ears popped a little during the flight, but it was easily soothed by swallowing a little water.

We arrived in Phuket at 2140 hrs. The flight was 1 hr 40 mins long, but Thailand is an hour behind Singapore. Mommy had arranged for Oriental Escape (http://www.orientalescape.com/) to pick us up at the airport and drive us to Duangjitt Resort (http://www.duangjittresort-spa.com/). The driver was already waiting for us when we arrived. The drive to Duangjitt Resort took an hour and it was uneventful.

By the time we checked into our hotel and were taken to our rooms, it was about midnight. The hotel was huge and we had to be driven to our rooms in a golf cart. Mommy had selected this hotel because it was relatively close to Patong Beach, affordable, had availability and lots of good reviews in http://www.asiarooms.com/. However, Mommy and Daddy were disappointed with our rooms. We had requested for adjoining rooms with a connecting door, but the hotel didn't have any. The rooms were rather basic, smelt musty and the tap water was brown! Daddy promptly made a complaint at reception, but they said we had to wait till morning to find out if we could shift to different rooms.

13 August 2007 (Monday)

We woke up bright and early for breakfast. Mommy had arranged for Oriental Escape to take us to Coral Island for the day. The van picked us up at 0815 hrs before stopping at various hotels to pick up other passengers.
We reached Chalong Pier at 0915 hrs to catch a speedboat to Coral Island. Everyone had to wear a life vest. It was my first speedboat ride, but I was less than thrilled. The noisy engine and bumpy ride frightened me to tears. Fortunately, the ride wasn't that long. We made it to Coral Island about 30 mins later.

When we jumped off the boat at Coral Island, many day-trippers were already splashing about the azure blue sea and basking under the sun on the narrow strip of white sand. The little island was very crowded with day-trippers. A guide escorted us to our beach chairs. Enroute, we saw a little black snake wriggling under the mass of beach chairs. Yikes!

I changed into my bathing suit, grabbed my sand bucket and went off to play with Mommy and Sri. Mommy wanted to take me swimming in the sea, but I wasn't keen on that. My swimming instructor, Coach Mark, had pushed my head underwater 2 weeks ago and I still hadn't gotten over that traumatic experience! It took a lot of persuasion from Mommy before I agreed to take a dip in the sea with her. The seawater was salty and cool, and the experience wasn't half bad. Just when I was starting to enjoy myself in the sea, our guide announced that lunch was going to be served and we made our way to the beach restaurant.

We had fried rice, chicken soup, fried chicken, sweet and sour fish, stir-fried clams and onions, and stir-fried vegetables for lunch. Not tasty, but it filled our stomachs. After lunch, we resumed our beach activities. Whilst playing on the beach, Mommy noticed a giant starfish being washed ashore. She started taking pictures of the starfish and other equally curious tourists started snapping pictures with their cameras as well. Sometime during that commotion, I grabbed the starfish with my right hand and everyone screamed. Sri quickly took it away from me. I had stroked a starfish at the Underwater World Aquarium in Singapore before, so Mommy didn't think I would have any reaction to that starfish on the beach. Sometime afterwards, red spots started appearing on my right hand and right cheek. Anyway, in case you're wondering what happened to the starfish. Well, a kind Italian man helped us put the starfish safely back at sea.


At 1400 hrs, the guide escorted us to our speedboat for our trip back to Phuket. I fell asleep during the noisy, bumpy ride. When we arrived at our hotel, I was wide awake and ready for action again. Daddy had good news for us too. The hotel had agreed to upgrade us to their most expensive room - a Family Suite - for S$450.00 extra. The usual nightly rate for that room was S$600.00. The Family Suite was new, and it had 2 levels, 2 beds, 2 big bathrooms, 2 balconies and 2 big screen plasma tvs. We moved all our stuff into the new room and I roamed about happily exploring our "new home". The hotel's swimming pool was just outside our new room, so Daddy took me swimming, whilst Mommy and Sri unpacked our things.


After my swim, it was dinnertime. Mommy decided that we should walk along Rat-U-Thit Road to look for something to eat. We trekked quite a distance before stopping at JungCeylon, Patong's largest shopping mall. We were too hungry to go any further, so we had dinner at the mall's food court. The food court touted itself as having the best Thai food from all over Thailand, but the food really wasn't that great. Daddy ordered fried rice for me, beef noodle, tom yum goong and the Thai equivalent of "char kway teow" for himself, Mommy and Sri. The "char kway teow" was an inedible, coagulated lump.

After dinner, we walked further to Bang-la Road, the centre of Patong's nightlife. It was very crowded, and I only remember one thing - transvestites dancing on a small stage. The rain started pouring down shortly after that, so Daddy paid a tuktuk driver THB100 to drive us back to our hotel.


14 August 2007 (Tuesday)

When I woke up in the morning, the red spots on my hand and cheek had become bigger and redder. It was freaky! Mommy searched for medication in our suitcase, and realised that Ipa had forgotten to pack it for me. There was a very helpful lady at reception (Aunty Cintana) and Mommy asked for her advice. Aunty Cintana rubbed some lemongrass balm which she took from the hotel's spa on my spots.

At 0845 hrs, SBY Leisure Travel & Tours (http://www.sbyphuket.com/) picked us up for our trip to Khai Islands. The van made several stops to pick up other passengers before taking us to Koh Siray Pier. Our guide for the day was "Mr Birdman" and he was very helpful in getting the best seats on the speedboat for pregnant Mommy and little ol' me. The ride was bumpy nevertheless, but it was better than the day before.

The first island we saw was Koh Khai Nui. The sea around that island is famed for being a snorkeller's paradise, but when we got there, the sea was too choppy for the boat to stop for long. Mr Birdman suggested that we moved on to the larger island of Koh Khai Nok, and everyone agreed.

Koh Khai Nok was positively the most beautiful island I've ever laid my eyes on. The sand was white and powdery and the blue waters were crystal clear. The tide was coming in when we got there, and Daddy had to shift our beach chairs several times to save our things from being washed away by the tide. I went swimming in the sea with Daddy, Mommy and Sri, and I was very happy.

At 1200 hrs, we hopped back onto our boat and sped off to Koh Khai Nai. The island had an abundance of dead corals and shells on its beach. Like Koh Khai Nok, the sand here was white and powdery. We had lunch at the beach restaurant. There was steamed rice, fried chicken, fried pineapple and onion, fish, vegetables and fruits. We filled our tummies before heading off to swim in the sea.

A short while later, it started raining cats and dogs on the island. There was a little shop on the island selling beachwear, and we sought shelter there. I needed the loo, but Daddy whispered to Mommy that the toilet was too dirty to be usable. Mommy persuaded me to pee in the sand. I was reluctant at first, but when nature calls, you gotta go, then you gotta go... I shamefully pee-ed in some Thai beachwear shopkeeper's patch of sand! A few minutes later, I announced that I needed the loo again, this time to poo... Mommy held a mini conference with Sri on whether I should go right there in the "shop" again, but they both decided that it would be too evil! Mommy persuaded me to poo in my pampers instead. The disposable toilet idea worked and Daddy threw the soiled pampers away in the dustbin.

The storm was more or less in control by 1500 hrs and the seas were calm enough for us to travel again. Mr Birdman rounded us up and escorted us back to our speedboat. It was monsoon season, but I still managed a good few hours at the beach, so I was satisfied.

When we returned to the hotel, Daddy took me for a dip in the pool again, whilst Mommy and Sri washed up. Thereafter, we checked out some of the art galleries near our hotel, before searching for food again along Rat-U-Thit Road. We stopped at The Banana Phuket because we saw lots of people eating there, and more importantly, we were too exhausted to walk any further. Daddy ordered fried rice for me (again!), cheeseburgers for Mommy and Sri and beef straganoff for himself. Mommy also had tom yum goong. The food was ok; nothing to harp about. Midway through dinner, a Muaythai boxer rushed into the restaurant and handed everyone a leaflet for a match that was happening later that night. :)

I was in for a treat when we returned to the hotel that night. Bubble bath with Daddy! I've never had a bubble bath before and I really loved it.

15 August 2007 (Wednesday)

The weather forecast for the next 2 days wasn't good, so Mommy had refrained from booking us on more tours. We still hadn't set foot on Patong Beach, which was a 5-min walk away from our hotel, so that was on our agenda for the day.

Patong Beach was teeming with activity. There were jetskis and speed boats whirling about, people parasailing, swimming, sunbathing, getting a massage or foot scrub, etc. I had my lil' sand bucket and I was happy. Sri and I played on the beach, whilst Mommy snapped pictures of us and Daddy went searching for a vehicle to rent. The car parks along Patong Beach were the favourite parking spots for private car owners looking for people to rent their vehicles. Daddy nabbed a brand-new Honda City for THB1000 for 24 hrs. The lady owner of the car insisted that Sri and I washed ourselves clean of sand before stepping into the car, so we borrowed the tap at the Holiday Inn, directly opposite the beach.


We drove back to our hotel for a quick shower, before heading down the road to Karon Beach. We decided to have lunch at a random restaurant in Karon Beach. Yet again, the food wasn't great. Daddy had ordered a club sandwich for me, steamed rice and a few Thai dishes for the rest of the family. Daddy and Mommy had heard so much about the abundance of fantastic food in Phuket that they were really let down by what they had tasted so far.

After lunch, we drove in the direction of Promthaep Cape. Mommy had read that nearly all tours of Phuket stopped at the Cape's lookout point and she didn't want us to miss out on that. Unfortunately, we got terribly lost and Daddy gave up trying to look for the Cape. We ended up at Wat Chalong, a Buddhist temple which is very popular with tourists as well. We walked about the temple's compound a little before stopping for some ice-cold, fresh coconut juice. I loved it!


Daddy drove us to Phuket Town. We didn't see anything which held our attention at the town, so we headed back to Patong. Heavy rain was pelting down by then, and we were caught in the rush-hour jam. Daddy almost fell asleep at the wheel and had to walk about in the rain to wake himself up.

That evening, we had dinner at Royal Paradise Hotel. There was a big sign outside the hotel promoting its THB199 all-you-can-eat buffet dinner, and Mommy had read some good reviews on the buffet on the net before. Once again, the food was ok, but not great (except the goreng pisang).

Near the Royal Paradise Hotel was a bunch of bars and spas catering to the gay and lesbian community, and along the main road outside the hotel was a row of stalls selling clothes and other items. Daddy bought a wooden jenga set for his new cafe/bar and 2 new dresses for me! Yay!

That night, I had a bubble bath with Mommy! I pretended she was a car and I soaped and soaped her...

16 August 2007 (Thursday)

We had to check out of our room by 1200 noon, so Mommy and Sri spent the morning packing our bags. We were also supposed to return the Honda City by 1230 hrs, but Mommy suggested extending the rental so she and Daddy could pick up some art pieces in Patong.

We visited many art galleries in the pouring rain that day, stopping only for lunch. We had bruschetta, calamari, pizza and pasta at Da Mario's, an Italian restaurant opposite Ping's shop. The restaurant was very quiet, with just my family having lunch in the driving rain.

Daddy and Mommy liked the paintings at an art gallery with a Thai name near our hotel and Jit Art Gallery at the other end of Patong. They bought a total of 18 paintings that day. The name of the artist at the first gallery was also Ping! Daddy paid him THB7,500 for 12 oil paintings and Ping gave me a small one for free! At Jit Art Gallery, Daddy paid THB3,000 for 6 oil paintings, including 2 copies of Fernando Botero's "Bath" and "Mona Lisa". Botero is the Colombian artist who's known for his "fat people paintings". Mommy and Daddy were very happy with their haul. The paintings will be displayed in their new bar/cafe.

After that rather intense retail therapy, we returned to our hotel. Aunty Cintana said we could use the facilities after checkout, so Daddy took me swimming once more! My last swim in Phuket.

At 1700 hrs, we returned the Honda City to its owner then took a stroll down Patong Beach. One thing which perturbed Daddy a lot during this trip was the complete lack of touts pestering him to buy anything. We'd be walking past all kinds of shopkeepers, but no one would ask him to buy anything, when those very shopkeepers would follow the tourists in front of us incessantly and pester them with "Hello! You want suit?", "Massage for you?", "You want dancing?", blah blah blah. The shopkeepers ignored Daddy completely, and he even had a tourist coming up to ask if HE was selling something! So when a girl asked a Caucasian tourist "You want girls? Dancing dancing?" and ignored Daddy totally, he decided to ask her why she didn't ask him! The girl gave Daddy a weird look. Daddy eventually found out that his dark complexion and ultra short hair made the Thais think he was a Thai who had just completed his national service as a monk!

The rain came falling down suddenly as we were strolling down Patong Beach. Mommy, Sri and I walked back to our hotel quickly, whilst Daddy went to MacDonald's to take away food for all of us. We had our last meal in Phuket in the lobby of Duangjitt Resort, whilst we waited for Oriental Escape's van to pick us up and drop us off at the airport.

At 2210 hrs, we flew home to Singapore on Tiger Airways Flight TR159. Mommy made me really angry at Phuket Airport's public toilet. She took me to the toilet and when I was done with my deed, Mommy dropped my panty into the toilet bowl!!! It was an accident, but still!!! I screamed my lungs out when I saw my panty in the WC. Mommy fished it out and put it in a plastic bag. Yucks, yucks, yucks!!! I nearly had to return to Singapore pantiless. Fortunately, Mommy found a diaper in my bag and she put it on for me. As an apology, she bought me a packet of sweets. :)

On board the flight, I started tearing. I thought of Ah Gong and how much I missed him and I told Mommy that I had lost Gong Gong. I missed Ah Ma and Ipa too. I fell asleep after that and when I woke up, we were already in the Budget Terminal in Singapore. It was 0100 hrs, and Ah Gong and Ah Ma were standing in the Arrival Hall waiting to take us home. I was so happy to see them!