Hi all
Before I start I'll introduce myself. I’m a 25yo Female from Perth. Ive been reading this forum for some months now, I have not yet posted anything as all the information I needed was already available to me via a search. I am so appreciative to all of you who post with your experiences and advice, a lot of this helped in making my recent holiday to Phuket (1st time) an awesome experience.
I flew to Phuket from Perth on 12th August via Thai Airways, our flight over was fantastic, the food was good, service was great and I was comfortable for the whole trip (the flight home was a different story but i will go into more detail about that after).
Accommodation:
My boyfriend and I spent 12 nights in a Deluxe pool Access Room at the Banthai Beach Resort & Spa. I would recommend this hotel to anyone who wants great quality in the best location in Patong Beach. Everything from Service staff to food and cocktails in the pool were above what I had expected.
Day Trips:
ELEPHANT REHAB CENTRE:
On the 13th August Rob and I were picked up by Richard and taken to the Elephant Rehab Centre. This was the absolute highlight of our holiday.
Richard was full of local knowledge and passed on useful information to us. Such as the word for Chilli and also that locals eat with the spoon not the fork.
The elephants were gentle and beautiful; the elephant trek was sensational with the beautiful jungle and views.
The gibbons (?) that we groomed were so playful and full of character… It really puts into perspective when you are with them what a fantastic job Richard as a volunteer and the staff at the rehab centre do.
So Richard, from the bottom of our hearts ‘Thank you so much’ for sharing this experience.
JOHN GRAY’S HONG BY STARLIGHT:
We were picked up on the 21st at 10am, drove across Phuket to the marina and boarded the boat. The weather was perfect, the other passengers were wonderful and the staff can not be praised enough.
Our personal guide for the day was ‘Nu’ he was a fountain of knowledge and told us things we never would have thought to ask regarding wildlife and the geography.
On the way to the islands we were followed by a group of about 12 sea eagles.
The caves and lagoons were stunning, everything was as perfect as the pictures you see on postcards.
We were served a great big ‘light’ lunch and a sensational dinner; soft drinks and water were free flowing all day.
We had quite a bit of free time to explore alone in the canoes or to swim. The water was dark green due to the muddy bottoms, salty, thick, buoyant and full of massive itching jellyfish.
Come nightfall we re-entered a lagoon through Diamond cave and released the Kratongs we had made earlier to the water as an offering. Such a beautiful thing to do, followed by a showing of lights from the firefly like plankton.
It was a long day, we didn’t get dropped back to our accommodation until 10pm that night, but the long day was due only to the tides. This was the only negative, we were so tired.
FOOD:
We enjoyed many meals at The Sweet Restaurant. The authentic Thai food was very cheap, the quality was sensational and the service was good too. We would share an entrée, have a main each, share a desert, Rob 2 beers and me 2 wines (not bad white either at 90++ per glass) and walk out at under 400++. Most nights our meals averaged our at about 275 or 300++ if we decided to either have soft drink or cut the desert.
Very impressed with this place.
The other recommendation is Da Maurizio.
This was a brilliant meal and worth every cent. Rob had 2 Coronas, I had 2 glasses of Chardonnay. We shared 3 large Grilled Prawns on a bed of beans as an entrée (this was after our complimentary prawn appetizer and bread basket)… We made the mistake of forgetting what we had ordered as an entrée and thus we freaked when the complimentary prawn each was bought out in a little Asian spoon. Therefore we looked at the bread basket and ate as much as possible at the fear of our mains being tiny…. Then out comes our real entrée and we went ‘Oops’!
Our Mains were large and to die for. I had the open Rock Lobster Ravioli and Rob had the Lamb Ragout on minted parpadelle. Both were divine and the best meals of our holiday. We struggled to finish them.
We could not fit in desert and were so full had to get a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel as it was too hard to walk. Total Bill 3100++.
MASSAGES:
We could have had a 1hr Traditional Thai Massage at our hotels Spa for 1700++ but opted for the cheaper option, a 1hr traditional Thai Massage at ‘The Original One’ next to The Sweet Restaurant for only 180++ each. The girls were friendly and the massage was great.
FUN:
No jet skiing or parasailing.
We did a day trip to Dino Park at Karon (awesome minigolf) and had a great lunch at ‘On The Rock’ at Marina Cottages overlooking Karon Beach.
SHOPPING:
PATONG OTOP
Did all our shopping at Patong OTOP markets, prices there were significantly cheaper than on the beachfront and you get fewer hassles.
The bars there at night time are nice too.
CENTRAL FESTIVAL
We caught the blue cattle truck/bus for 20++ each to Central Festival.
Although I didn’t buy anything (I deliberately didn’t take much money) I loved this shopping centre. All the specialty stores that Perth just doesn’t have… Had I had money I would have had a field day. This shopping centre was clean and bright and big. I was stoked to find a Body Shop there.
The food hall and cafes there were brilliant also. And good to know for next time that there is a cinema.
Other than that we have never spent so much time in swimming pool, we had a blast and will definitely go back.
The flight back to perth was not so good, there were a few rowdy people talking down to our lovely Air hostess which bothered me. The TV nearest us was broken and the whole flight home they showed no movie, which is no good for people who can not sleep on the plane. Is this normal?
Next time we will try Singapore.
Nic
Ps Im sorry for the length of this and thanks to all who take the time to read it.
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