22 Dec: Island Tour

Went out to hunt for a quick breakfast, since our driver Mr Sam was picking us up at 9:30am. Walked into 7-11 in the end, bought a spicy pork burger, something like moss burger. Surprisingly, it was cheap and good.

First stop, we went to the famous Patong beach. We wanted to stay there at first, but after reading its review, we chose the quieter Kata, and we are glad we made this choice. There were four rows of deck chairs on the beach and streets after streets of clubs, pubs and restaurants. Stayed for a quick 10 minutes and left.

After that, Mr Sam brought us to a few view points to experience the breathtaking scenery. He also pointed us to Le Meridien resort which has a private beach.

Had a good lunch at a restaurant on the way to Big Buddha. Followed by Wat Chalong. Was glad that we had Mr Sam with us, to introduce us to the stories of the venerable monks.At around 4pm, Mr Sam dropped us at Central Festival, we didn't shop around much. Slept most of the time at ETE cafe. He picked us up at 7pm and we headed to Phuket Airport.

Phuket is quite a good place to rest and relax, food is nearby, beach is nice, pool is cool. The only woe is transportation, travelling by taxi and tuk tuk is not exactly value for money. If there is a lot of travelling to do, it would be better to hire a driver or rent a car. Alternatively, one could simply spend a good few days at a particular beach and walk around it.

21 Dec: Karon Beach

Had breakfast at Orchid Restaurant again, cos we missed the lemon grass. But this time, it was a disappointment, perhaps it was a different chef.

Weather was great, took the opportunity and did some pool shots with sisters. Caught the public bus to Karon beach (we passed by yesterday and thought it was worth a visit). It is a big and long beach, not too crowded as well. Spent a good few hours suntanning.

After a nice long nap, headed to Oyster Bar for our dinner. The lobster could be done better. Oyster was fresh though. The two pancakes we had after that were better than this dinner.

20 Dec: Phuket Town

Breakfast at Black Canyon Coffee (this branch is nearer to our hotel, but limited variety). Enjoyed its ambience more than its food. Love the metallic ceiling fan.

Took a public bus to Phuket Town. The bus ride itself was an experience! It travelled from Kata to Karon then to Phuket Town, for most of the journey it crawled at a speed of 20km/h to pick up passengers flagging it down. We didn't have a destination in mind, only knew we wanted to do some shopping. Luckily, we met a kind lady on the bus who asked us to follow her and brought us to a shopping street catered to the locals. Took a rest at Swensens and headed back by taxi. A typical street scene, one of my fave shot:
Had our first roadside stall pancake while walking to the famous Two Chefs restaurant. Great food, great ambience (i am running out of adjectives!), the lobster and prawn dish which LH had was fantastic.

Chatted with Mr Vladimir Ponjavic from Switzerland. His hotel, Beach Inn located beside Two Chefs started operations only the week before. He gave us a tour of his new place enthusiastically.

Took a walk to Kata Beach and lit a lantern which flew all the way into the sky.

19 Dec: Kata Noi Beach and a day of great food

We thought we could settle our breakfast at a small eatery or something, but there wasn't such places. Finally found a signboard which stated "breakfast" round the T-junction. Was skeptical of this Orchid Restaurant at first as we seemed to be the only customers. Luckily, apart from the asparagus soup, the food were quite tasty, the lemongrass fish was exceptionally good.
On our way back to the hotel, we made a detour to Kata Beach. There were three rows of deck chairs and we decided it was too crowded for our liking.

Headed back to the hotel and took a dip in the pool. At the same time, checked out the map and realised there was a Kata Noi Beach nearby. Well, it wasn't that near afterall. Took a long walk uphill and downhill to Kata Noi Beach, not the mention the long flight of stairs leading towards the beach. Passed by some luxurious villas and we promised ourselves to stay in one of those in the future.

When we reached the beach, the long walk was definitely worth the while. The beach was so much serene compared to Kata beach we saw in the morning. Spotted a couple of skinny dippers too. :P

It has been a long while since I soaked in the sea, all the childhood memories came back. I remembered the pleasant times we had when Daddy brought us to different beaches in Malaysia.


Had afternoon snack at Black Canyon Coffee on the way back. The green curry chicken stick and vermicelli appetiser (really spicy and sour, despite of the harmless look) were a pleasant surprise. Love the ambience of that place too.


The rain started pouring in the evening, was quite worried as we had absolutely nothing to munch on in the room. Finally the rain stopped after a few hours and when we set off for dinner, it was nearly 10pm. Braved the puddles of water and had dinner at Kata Food. Pineapple rice and pizza were superb.

18 Dec: Hello Phuket

Two months ago, while my sisters were in the midst of studying for their exams, we decided to go on a sisterly trip, our first trip together. After ruling out Maldives, Bali and Australia, we booked our flight to Phuket. Why Phuket? We have heard so much about it and it is within our means.


Arrived at the airport and encountered our first hiccup. SY brought along a 150ml sunblock which was not allowed on the plane. Solution: Bought a 50ml mouthwash from Watsons, emptied its content and transfered the sunblock.


Researching beforehand goes a long way. We ignored all the shuttle bus tout at the arrival hall and went straight to the small and dark public taxi stand. We were kind of paranoid throughout the journey, especially when the driver stopped along the road and got down ("lock the car door", "look out for strangers approaching"). It didn't help that it was 10+pm and the roads were dark.


Thankfully, we reached Rico's Bungalow safely. We were allcoated Room 9, a big L shaped room tugged at the corner. All 23 rooms faced a swimming pool right at the middle, after a few days, you kinda know who your neighbours are.


Had our first meal of pizza and tom yum soup at Tomato Restaurant. It was there that we realised that Phuket is filled with Caucasians. Despite having only two tables of customers, our food took also half an hour to arrive, that was when we knew that we should leave our Singaporean efficency at home and start enjoying our rest and relaxing trip.

30日和31日：最后一天，广州

30日一早，海哥就送我们到机场。到广州后，再次回到江畔国际青年旅舍。早餐没怎么吃，所以到旅舍附近的老湘楼时，肚子已经相当饿了，点了几道菜，味道都不错。之后，和立业夫妇吃日本菜，由于友人病了，晚饭后就打道回府，本来想去的茶楼（中华茶园，广州越秀区教育路80号）也没去成。





31日一早，启程回新加坡。

29日：雁荡山

在启程前，我和友人在网上读到雁荡山，就和大哥说我们要去一趟。

雁荡山离开碗窑还真有点距离，我们大概开了四、五个小时的车吧。到了大龙湫，快快地走了一圈，本来想等天黑了，看看灵峰的夜景，可是大哥似乎有点不耐烦了，所以我们就离开了雁荡山。

或许，无论怎么特别、壮观，外国人必去的名胜地在当地人的眼里只是很普通的一草一木。