Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Phuket Part II

I seem to be doing a lot of these blogs in parts. I realize it's due to the large file size of my DSLR pics that they are taking so long to upload.

Anyway, so here's more of my Phuket trip. One of the activities that we were looking forward to was horseback riding. Check out this lodge in the Laguna area, near to the Banyan Tree. I've forgotten the name, but your friendly concierge should be able to help.

 First things first, I look hideous with that ill-fitting helmet, I know. All the helmets of the right size were out of stock on that busy day. So much for safety regulations. Secondly, my fashion sense gave way to practicalities that day. Long sleeves were protection against the sun, and besides, the track-shoes-with jeans look never really worked for me.



The hour long ride was almost uneventful, given that the stable boy was leading the way almost all of the time. He has a tough job, taking us tourists on walks. In order to get the horse to trot just a bit, he has to run alongside and release the reins. Then when he has enough, or when one of us seem in danger of falling off the horse, he would have to grab the reins again.

The ride along the beach was rather painful for me mainly because the stirrups were too big for my feet. My feet kept slipping through and it made riding quite hard. At the end of the hour, I got 2 big abrasions on my ankles that are still not healing well. :(

The horses there are not really well-trained, so they don't respond to our commands. I gave up trying and just sat there like some dead weight. The horse did have a mind of his own and tried to throw me off at one point though.

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Here's one lovely heart shape potato chip!


Here's more of the room at Marriott, in case you're interested...


 They have a well-equipped kitchen. We tried cooking one nite...it works! haha! Plus the best part...no need to wash up!! 


One thing to note, especially for iphone users, is that there is NO WIFI in the room! There is a cable you can connect to your lappie, but it really kills not to have wifi! I bought a card thinking that would solve the problem, only to find out that I can only use it in the lobby, restaurant and lounge areas! Duh!


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Gorgeous sunset pic. I took like a dozen pictures here...an opportunity to camwhore!




This lizard will greet you at the entrance of the Ceramic Kitchen, Laguna, Phuket. Awesome restaurant. The food was fantastic. We had some pitas as well as tomyum soup (which was off the menu, btw). The awesome thing about this place is that they have a studio/workshop for pottery, and they have a gallery of ceramic art pieces.

I like the piped ambience music quite a lot. But when dinner came, this awful two-piece band started 'entertaining' us with their cover versions of country, pop, rock genres. It really ruined the romantic atmosphere. :((




That's all folks.


Thursday, December 16, 2010

Phuket Holiday

Went to Mai Khao Marriott, Phuket for a holiday recently. Well actually not so recent...mid of November. We got one of those free rooms with the condition we attend a 90min talk by Marriott Vacation Club. They were selling a nice membership for people who have all the time and cash in the world to fly about and stay in 5-star hotels. 

 Here's the welcome drink and a cool towel. Great after the long drive from the airport. The drive wasn't really that long but we were stressed out about not getting lost without a GPS. We thought that since Phuket seemed pretty straightforward, we would just do without one. Regrets.

The hotel is rather new and the room was huge. It was a suite meant for 6 but there were only both of us. It was great to have all my stuff sprawled all over the place....until packing time. Combing every nook and corner to make sure there was nothing left over was a tad hectic.

Anyway, here's a bit of what I saw...

 Help! There's an elephant in the gym toilet! The Thais are wonderful with all these handicraft. I wonder how they folded this one up?

 
Here's another in the hotel room. Big version. It was so pretty we left it alone. Didn't know if the towel was meant for use in the first place!


 Mmmmm, my favourite place in a hotel room...the bathtub! This one is huge. It just looks small because of the angle I took. And this bathroom has His and Hers wash basins too! It was a bit of a chore though cos we only brought one set of toiletries, so I had to run from basin to basin to get my stuff and enjoy my personal washing space. No one prepared us for this!

 Here's the bed! A tad high, but so soft and bouncy! Yiheee! The window leads out to a porch area overlooking the pool. Below, pics show living room and a nice kitchen.








We rented a Toyota Vios and got something that was only 2 days old! Yayyyy!!! There was the new car smell and it was nice and clean. Great value. Btw, if you are going to Phuket, it is advisable to rent a car from the airport. Taking cabs here and there will cost more than double of what you would pay for a day's car rent. We checked out the rates from our hotel and it was staggering how much we had to pay for a trip to town!


Where is this sleek place? Sala Spa and Resort. This is just the entrance. We were 5 mins away from this zen heaven.

Swings everywhere for the weary. Haha like who can get weary in this haven? We went around wandering and checking out the place. So here are the photos....

 Sala Rooms...


Sala Villas...wow you can just strut right from the pool to the bathtub. Privacy guaranteed.




Public toilet. Nice! I can spend forever in here!


Gym...I think...



 Entrance to Female toilet..so arty-farty

Male toilet...



The lounge...Love the red and black combo






At Phuket's newest shopping centre, Jungceylon Shopping Mall in Patong, I made a new 'friend'.



The whole stretch there were cafes and eateries. It was something of a food street. And surprise, just along there was this SHOOTING CAFE.

You pay to shoot live rounds amidst all the other cafes! SHOOTING CAFE is actually a shooting range masquerading as a cafe. There were a few pathetic tables just outside and there were pitifully few customers having drinks. Pay 800 bht and up to get your kicks. 


Haha I know I don't look convincing at all. I was happy to hold the gun for a few (photo) shots while the hubby tried out some guns.


This is how the range looks like. An instructor stands behind to guide as you shoot your


New gun...trying my bestest to look fiercer.

Haha hopeless case at looking sultry or menacing.


Actually, there's more to my holiday. But since uploading pics take forever, that shall have to wait another day. See ya!