Our Phuket Adventure!

Like i mentioned in the entry on my blog, our little stint in Phuket didn't turn out exactly the way we envisioned, but it was still a whole lot of fun! Weather notwithstanding, the very fact that we were away from the realities of NIE and PLC, of dreary work and lectures and tutorials, and familial responsibilities made it a memorable trip nonetheless.

And of course, most importantly, that we were there together lar.

But advancing from where i stopped, the sight of the East-coast-like Patong beach did dampen our enthusiasm. I mean, i had this image in my head when i landed in Phuket lor

Sian.

But, given the eternal optimists that we were, we endeavoured to brave the rain (which would later turn into a typical, tropical downpour) and walked down the streets of Patong Beach. This world famous stretch of beach is famous not just for the pristine quality of the sand or the water, but for the shopping you can actually do just across from the beach. Essentially, the entire place is like a huge pasar malam, where you get stalls after stalls of vendors selling fake shirts, fake watches, fake DVDs, fake shorts, fake gold, aiyah fake everything lar. What the tour agency we booked with trumpeted about our hotel was the proximity to the beach, and the fact that it was in the centre of the pasar malam. Ok lar, that part was true, cos once you step out of the hotel, you get an Indian accosting you with "Sir want to buy shirt? Good quality, best price!"

The scene right outside our hotel. Oh and did i mention the fresh dose of CO2 u get the moment u step out of the hotel? Yum!

Our first meal in Phuket! I had fried rice i think, but it tasted more like mui fan

Carine and her long-awaited Pad Thai. Tasted too peanutty for my taste. Oh and the Tom Yam soup was rather bland. But authentic Thai Tom Yam ok!

Streets of Phuket. Oh and Carine decided to be artistic and took this slanted photo. Artistic meh?

Eh course we were so bored of being accosted in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean by the vendors asking us to buy stuff, we went to the high class shopping centre. Its called Jungceylon( i think) and its damn atas ok! Got City Chain, Giordano all this lor! (Eh wait, Giordano...hmm...) Oh, and i dunno what is the significance of the elephant.

Indochine is opening there lor! So atas!

Random shot of the place. But observe that the floor is still wet. And again, note the fact that i was in SUNNY PHUKET (as their adverts and promos always claims) Sigh...

Another random shot of us. Actually we were resting here because we were making an important decision. Which was...

Guess what i'm doing?

Yes i am. Yes. A Pedicure. Me.

But its Carine's fault! She wanted to get a manicure and pedicure! So I do with her lor. But actually, for my FIRST (and probably last) pedicure, quite shiok lar. I mean, you get someone to cut yur nail, polish the ends, scrape off all the dead skin accumulated over the past 25 years, and a foot massage, what more can a guy want? Oh, and did i mention, he/she's a Ah-Qua.

End-Product

So i decided, what the hell, i'm on holiday! Must pamper myself! So i went for a MANLY MAN'S FACIAL lor. Only 359 ma (thats less than 20 dollars) so i was like, what the hell. Felt a little weird, but uncomfortableness was dispelled upon discovering that almost every customer there was male. But pain lei! Dunno how the girls take it. Got steamed, then they forcefully pluck out my blackheads lor. Carine said I look much better after that. Handsome already.


Took this picture on a stretch of pubs and bars. This is where Phuket at night really comes alive. Phuket is famous (or perhaps notorious) for its vibrant, and colorful night life, and here we found out why. In almost every pub, you would see an old ang-moh, sitting with some Thai girl dressed in an oh-so-tight-its-almost-illegal dress, and his hands would be roaming liberally around his young Asian friend. After observing this for the umpteenth time, I have made the conclusion that Thailand is truly a friendly country. They even take pains to ensure that lonely, old, ang moh men do not have to explore the island on their own; and instead, send these lovely (from certain angles, best from the back) girls to accompany them on their trip. So thoughtful!

But quite scary lar, so we din venture into any of the clubs. We guai gia one.

Dinner! Notice we drink Pepsi and Sprite at every meal. Cos the water there is salty lor. Even the bath water. Eeeks.

Ok end of Day 1. More coming up.