Lazy days at the pool...

Had a lovely lazy day today.

Woke up late again but we'd put out our clothes and bags so it wasn't too bad.

By the time we got to breakfast, there was no more cut tomato (my morning veg) to have with my wholegrain bread and eggs so I asked for a few slices and I get a whole plate full.

Same with the fruit. The waiter asked what I'd like, so I said a little bit of each and he brings a HUGE plate of watermelon, pineapple and papaya. D and I did our best but we couldn't finish.

This is exactly the view I had most days. The building directly opposite is called Mali Spa - the ladies used to do poolside massages over there. In the left corner, you can just see the waterfall. I love the sound of water falling - it is so soothing...

We then went down to the pool for reading and dipping legs (me) and swimming (D). At 2:30 I went back to the room to cool off with a bit of aircon and update the journal. D had left hours earlier for the same thing.

For supper, we went to Natalie's for the second time where we had Thai Mussamen Curry – D had beef and I had chicken. As usual, it was delicious!

After detouring to the 7-11 for water (as is our custom), we went to the hotel. Early to bed because tomorrow is a 7.45 pick-up time!

Patong Beach

Absolutely geared for tourists. But too much, you know? We were so glad our hotel was away from all the bedlam. Just one street alone had about 20-30 eating places. Crazy.

We found a dept store called Ocean Plaza with aircon (heaven!) and you could not pry us out of there for a good few hours. When we were done there, we decided to get something to eat and then to head back because our feet were sore from all the walking on the tour, and then some more walking around the shopping centre.

We heard that there was a McDonalds around and since I was craving "normal" food, nothing would stand in our way. Thankfully, the directions were accurate and it was only 5 minutes away.

That McChicken meal was the best burger I have ever tasted! Fresh roll, succulent chicken patty and fresh lettuce with mayo. Yum - I could have another one.

While we were eating, I noticed two people with Watsons carrier bags. Now Watsons was one of my favourite shops in Singapore (after the bakery) so we decided to take a short walk to see if it was anywhere close. Close?! It was two shops away from McD.

We quickly popped in (30 minutes) and came out 742 B poorer. Watsons is a bit like Clicks, only better. I bought a bag there which I then used every day for the rest of the holiday because of all the pockets.

While walking, I saw a vendor with T-shirts that said, NO THANKS, I don't want a massage, tailor, tuk-tuk or anything else. That pretty much sums up life on Phuket Island.

Got a tuk-tuk taxi back to the hotel where we vegged out, showered and watched "Meet the Fockers" on HBO. We were too full to go eat supper after the big McD "lunch" at 4:00 so we had 2 ProVitas each.

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By the way, this was taken at Natalie's - the place where we first had supper.

Introduction to Phuket - city tour

Today was our first tour - I couldn't wait. We mixed up the pick-up times of two of our tours so we were ready at 7:45 for a 9:00 pick-up.

We realised when we were still at breakfast so Dion went up the million and one steps back to our room to get our books so we could read. It was lovely - reading while gazing out on a tropical paradise with the sound of the sea and an occasional bird chirping.

At 9:00 we left as we were the 3rd out of 4 couples to be collected from our hotels, and the only SA couple amongst Australians from Sydney. They were all honeymooners (2 couples had just got married the previous Saturday, and the other two weeks prior to that) and of course, we were old hands at this after 11 ½ years. Too funny.

Our guide was called Bee and she promptly handed out stickers which we had to wear "so that you all get on the right bus". Good plan!

We went to various lookout points - absolutely beautiful unspoilt beaches.



Hard to think that a natural disaster happened less than 5 years ago.

We asked Bee about that and she said that most of Phuket was rebuilt in 3 months! They were forced to work quickly because tourism is the main industry. I was amazed at the resilience of the Thai people. I'm sure here in SA it would have taken us a lot longer to get over all our victim mentality, but that's another post!

When we booked the tours I was warned that I wouldn't be allowed inside the Buddhist temple in skimpy tops because shoulders have to be covered, but Bee told us that this temple is very touristy so they don't mind our naked shoulders. The Thai people set off firecrackers to celebrate good things and also to ward off evil spirits so one way or the other, the firecracker industry does well. LOL.

The Buddhist temple

Dion and I hurried through the Buddhist temple (I'm not particularly interested in sights like that - I just go because it's there) to get to the market opposite. Our guide told us that we would get t-shirts and the like much cheaper than anywhere else so we were quite eager to check out the selection. Dion got some shorts and a t-shirt while I bought… yes, you guessed it…souvenirs.

Next stop - cashew nut factory.
It is amazing how much work goes into producing a single cashew nut. The ladies sit and remove the shells from the nut, one at a time. They have three bowls - one for perfect nuts, one for nuts that break but are still good, and one for the bad nuts. They don't throw anything away - absolutely everything is used. It was a real eye-opener, especially what those ladies get paid, something ridiculous like R20/R30 a day.

Notice the three piles of nuts. This lady's eyes must be so sore from all that concentrating every day.

All of us bought quite a lot of stuff there - personally, I felt guilty and that I had to support those ladies. Dion and I got sesame & honey, and chocolate cashew nuts.

The last stop on the tour was the Gems Gallery (all along we thought she was saying James Gallery). Very nice if you're into jewellery (I'm not) and only one piece really interested me - string of pearls but it wasn't very practical so I left it. The one Ozzie girl then bought it.

Interesting how everybody is sooo quiet at the start of the tour and as we all start taking pictures of one another and commenting on various things how people start to loosen up. Of course, I was talking the whole way through. At the Gems Gallery, people really started talking properly about jobs and all sorts of things, and after that, we couldn't shut the one girl up. We still didn't find out her name so I dubbed her Kylie, and she was all Ben this and Ben that. She and I got through her whole holiday to Vietnam - flights and everything - in a 15-minute drive to Patong Beach. I rest my case.

Dion lurves street scenes. I must say I can never see what the big fuss is about while he's snapping away, but when we're back home, they always do look stunning. Well done, Sweetie.

Please note - left of picture, there's a red tuk-tuk taxi and on the right side, you can see two tailor shops.

We could decide where we wanted to be dropped off if we didn't want to go to the hotel. We decided on Patong Beach to save money on taxi fare. Any taxi to virtually everywhere is 350 - 400 Baht (R75 - R85) one way, so at least this way, we only had to pay to get back to the hotel.

And that's all for now - these pictures have taken AGES to download.

Things I loved about the hotel pool/ Sat 21st

The pool was the place where I caught up on writing in my journal, read, read and read some more.

What I loved about the pool besides the stunning view overlooking the beach:

1. An abundance of (Dion says clean) lounging chairs
2. A table with lots of beach towels
3. An umbrella between every 2 chairs
4. A little table between every 2 chairs for my book, suntan lotion and water
5. The waterfall
6. The greenery

7. Jacuzzi jets

8. A bar in the pool with underwater barstools


Saturday 21 October (my father's birthday)
Breakfast
After a late start (I only woke at 9.50), we had a breakfast of cornflakes and yoghurt, slice brown toast, omelette, bacon, tomato and pancake, and of course, pineapple. They do the omelettes like little anteaters (Melody, please tell me the proper name in the comments)

Pool
This is what we did the whole morning after breakfast before our meeting with the tour guide.

Tour guide
We had an appointment for 13:45. This is where they reconfirm flights for you and try to sell you lots of tours. Not a very difficult job with us because we love tours.

Within just a few minutes, she'd racked up Thai Baht 7400 worth of sales (about R1600). It amazed me how easily she did it considering she was not in the least bit pushy. However, she listened well, considered our needs and honestly told us what she thought was best for us. And she was very professional which always impresses me.

Of course our DiscoveryCard was not acceptable (surprise surprise - we've had so many problems with this card because the numbers are not embossed like "normal" credit cards) so I used the Absa Mastercard.

We signed up for an Introduction to Phuket, Phang Nga (James Bond Island) and 4-in-1 elephant, rubber tapping, buffalo and gibbon tour for Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday respectively.

After the meeting we were both much more relaxed, the task-structured people that we are, knowing that we had some planned activities.

Lunch
We walked on the beach a bit after discovering that it costs TB 200 (R45) to rent a lounger for the day.

Had lunch at a plact right on the beach. There was no brown bread on the menu and I couldn't explain health/ whole wheat bread to the waiter so I ended up having a chicken salad. Dion had a tuna roll and we shared a pineapple pancake and icecream for dessert. This was the oiliest pancake ever! So we decided not to go there again.

Back to the hotel for showers, changing, reading and sleeping, and then out in the streets, window-shopping.

By this time, I'm too full to eat proper meals all the time so decide that a nice cheese and tomato on brown bread is just the ticket.

Except there is absolutely no brown bread in any restaurant and nobody speaks enough English to suggest an alternative.

Stay tuned for the next exciting post featuring........wait for this........the Tomato Restaurant (I kid you not)

Tomato restaurant - supper Sat 21st

We walked and walked the streets because the sheer choice of restaurants overwhelmed us.

Eventually we decided on Tomato Restaurant (no the, just Tomato!). I thought about getting some Western food but eventually went with Sweet and Sour Chicken. Dion decided on chicken with cashew nuts.

They had some games on the table so we played two games while we waited for the food. We each won 1 although I suspected that D let me win the 2nd game. (Dion says he was sleepy and overconfident).

this is a picture of Dion's watermelon shake. You can see the game we played on the right.

The meal was okay, not great, but after that I was tired of all the Asian food so vowed to eat nothing for the next 2 days.

We stopped by our favourite jaunt, the 7-11, on the way back to the hotel to get water. However, we got sidetracked as we usually do, just gazing at all the different things that they have and we don't (in SA). Dion looks at all the snacks - chips, chocolates and so on, and I look through books and toiletries usually. We're a sad pair, aren't we?! Eventually we bought the water and left.

I decided to send an sms via email for my father's birthday since the phone calls to South Africa were so costly from the hotel.

20 Oct 2006 - Arriving in Phuket

Arriving in Phuket
The flight to Phuket was uneventful except for this momentous thing that happened – Dion spoke to his neighbour. This is ground-breaking news because he likes to be left alone to read – I'm more the socialiser.

When we arrived at the airport, I was very pleased to see that there were ATMs in the airport building so I immediately withdrew 4000 thai baht (with the exchange rate, this worked out to about R900).

The tour operators (Tour East) were easy to find outside the terminal building in their navy pants and green and white shirts. We'd been told on our itinerary to look out for them.

Unfortunately, all the smokers were also outside. I keep forgetting how many people smoke because at home, we're very rarely with smokers. None of our friends smoke so it's really weird for me. Anyway, we set off shortly in a lovely air-conditioned minibus with 2 other couples.

Some parts of Phuket reminded us of Margate in KZN. Typical beach resort town.

Hotel
Our hotel was aptly named Tropical Garden Resort. It looked like we lived in the jungle. Lots of beautiful, lush green vegetation everywhere with big palm trees and lots of brown wooden furniture.

The showers around the pool are covered by ferns and so are all the pipes and equipment so it's as if the pool was just built right in the middle of a tropical jungle. Lovely.

We were escorted to our room which was 6 floors up (but first there are a couple of staircases anyway so who knows how many flights of stairs in total). Those poor porters deserved a HUGE tip after hauling our luggage up all those steps.

It turns out that the gorgeous green suitcase is not very practical. While it is smallish in dimensions, when packed, it is very high so looks quite fat. Thank God for the wheels on that thing.

Room
The room was just as beautiful as the pictures I posted earlier on the blog. It had a tiled floor which was lovely and cool to walk on.

Our perfect timing ensured that we arrived smack bang in the middle of a power outage on the main street so we had no aircon.

I was so hot and tired that I unpacked, undressed and (Dion says) fell asleep for 3 hours. He also slept for some of the time.

When we woke, we showered, dressed and attended to our priorities – buying our internet card so we could do banking and pay some money into the credit card. I couldn't do it from home because I was so busy prepaying bills like Telkom, water and lights, etc that I exceeded my balances on the payment limits.

That done, we had cash, stocked-up credit card and we were ready to shop!

Walking around on the first afternoon & evening
It was very clear that we'd need more shorts because it was so hot. I'm not a person who gets hot easily but I was sweating buckets! However, everything was name brand and I'm just not a name brand kind of gal. I know I'm weird but that's me. I actually don't like the look of names on clothes unless small and discreet. Very.

So the search continues.

We bought lots of water, purple-sequinned slops (look very glamorous) and some souvenirs. We made a list of people while we were waiting for supper to arrive and very quickly we had 40 on our list.

Speaking of supper, literally every 2nd or 3rd shop is a restaurant. The hostess stands outside trying to get people to come in and eat, or at least come look at the menu. Aside from restaurants, the main businesses are massage parlous, tailors and clothing stores.

On our walk through the town, we identified a number of places we'd like to eat at – a place right on the beachfront and another place I called the Happy Place (lots of lights and bright coloured table cloths).

Supper
We eventually decided to eat at Natalie's – I was sold the minute the hostess said "free salad and fruit between 6 and 10". We had salad with lettuce, cucumber, cabbage, tomato, carrots and pineapple (M only). For main course, D had beef noodles with soya sauce and I had Thai style rice with chicken. Both delicious.

We had Fantas – strawberry and orange – and fresh pineapple and watermelon for dessert. Lovely and healthy.

Entire meal cost us Thai Baht 280 (about R60)

On our way back, we collected lots of tour brochures. I read through each, noting down all the salient points, so that we were prepared for our meeting with the tour guide the next day.

Airport photos

Blogger won't co-operate as I try to put these pics in the old posts, so here goes.

Dion enjoying his pain au chocolat (sp?!)

Marcia enjoying her chocolate croissant (can you believe R14 for one?!)

A bit blurry but can you see how tired I am? The go in go-getter is almost gone! And notice the World's Best Airport in the background. What a joke!

Flying to Kuala Lumpur from Jhb

Dion and I consider the whole experience part of a holiday so I'm blogging everything from the airport - if you're bored, skip this post.

Dion's mum dropped us off at the airport at 11.40. We bought two locks for Dion's luggage and then checked in.

My bag only weighed 15kg - this is a personal miracle for me. Dion's weighed 17.8kg.

We looked around at the shops for a bit and then had one of the best chocolate croissants ever at Caffe Ritazza. We then boarded the plane. We were seated in the middle four seats, Dion on extreme right, me next to him, empty seat next to me and someone else to the left of that.

The flight, although scheduled to leave at 13.40, left at 14.00.

We were served supper at 15.00 our time - I had Tandoori Chicken, rice and chickpeas (absolutely delicious) and Dion had Vegetable Lasagne (apparently also very good).

Then we got to the fun bits and our favourite part - the in-flight entertainment. We watched Dharma and Greg, and Friends, and then I watched The Devil Wears Prada (I was disappointed as I didn't feel it was very good at all… 'bout a 6/10) while Dion watched Collateral.

In between all this watching, I read two of the four Shape magazines I'd brought along to catch up on. I also slept a bit.

They served us "breakfast" at 9.30 our time - very weird. Anyway, this was the usual omelette, sausage, mushrooms, hash brown, tomato, yoghurt and fruit, etc.

The flight landed at 11.40 our time, which was 5.40 local time in Kuala Lumpur. Very smooth flight and landing.

After I mailed my list from the free internet stations in the airport, we rode the express train for a bit to take pictures of everything.

We were desperate for some coffee (D) and water (me) so we went in search of an ATM to draw some local currency.

Guess what? In "the best airport in the world" (I don't know who they bribed to get that rating), there was only 1 ATM which was out of order. Wonderful! However we have credit cards aplenty but……. Yes, you guessed it - none of the food places accept credit cards. So here we are, parched, tired and grumpy and NOT IMPRESSED. By the way, Singapore's airport beats it hands down - it is the best so far out of 8 airports I've been at.

I found the staff very quiet (not forthcoming) and unfriendly.

So we took a few pics and decided to check in for our next flight to Phuket and then find a quiet place to read. At least the seats were comfy.

I force myself to try and find something positive about everything so here goes……. the toilets were spotless. D didn't like the square toilet seats though J Oh, and the trolleys were really cute and easy to steer. There were also lots of cute kids running around.

Aren't I doing well?!

Some of my favourite travel tips

1. Start making lists ahead of time. These can include lists of things to pack, things to do, see, eat, etc. Download my travel checklist

2. Always take extra plastic bags for dirty laundry, shoes, etc.

3. You don't have to plan out each and every day but at least if you have a rainy day, you can look on your list and choose an indoor activity.

4. Count on buying things while you're on holiday so plan for this and take less with you. Our baggage allowance is 25 kg (hold & hand luggage) and I'm planning to take 18kg or less!

5. Decide on a colour scheme and stick to it… well, mostly. For instance, on this trip, I'm going for autumn (fall) colours like brown, yellow and orange, and also taking some clothes in military green.

6. Count the number of days you'll be away and plan just enough sets of clothes, remembering that you need more tops than bottoms. You won't use all so make a note of what you didn't use so that you don't overpack next time.

7. Pack travel size toiletries or if you have some old hotel toiletries, use those. I actually keep my toiletry bag permanently packed with everything except my Speedstick. Whether we're away for a long weekend or a long holiday, all I have to do is grab my Speedstick and I'm ready.

8. Take a backpack. There is a reason why these are so popular with tourists - your hands are free to eat, browse, carry your water (okay, that's for me), etc.

9. If you read the Bible, next time you go away, don't take the whole Bible. Simply go to http://www.zondervan.com and print out a chapter for each day you'll be away. You can try a different version of the Bible you usually use for added variety. The added convenience is that you don't have to bring these pages back with you.

10. Whether you're flying or driving, take any magazines or ebooks that have piled up around your house. You can catch up on your reading and again, leave the magazine or ebook in the airport lounge. I have about 4 Shape magazines to catch up on and yes, they're already packed.

Go here for more organising tips

Places to see in Malaysia

Look at this wonderful email I received from Karen (fellow consultant). She mentioned that she had a friend who lives in KL and I asked her to find out what she (the friend) recommends.

Hi Ps M...

Below is a list from my friend over in Malaysia...

Hope this is useful & just in case i don't see or speak to you again before you leave..i hope that you guys will have an absolutely awesome trip!

So here is what she (carey anne fron Maylasis) has to say:

Ok, a list of things to see and do in malaysia...hmmm,thats tricky, there is sooo much!!!Ok well sights to see:

Around KL:
Batu Caves
Fireflies in kuala selangor (this is a 2hours drive from KL, but apparently its well worth seeing)
Chinatown - petaling street
Petronas towers and the fountains and gardens outside KLCC
Menara KL (tell her the R40 to go up this tower is well worth the view from the top!)
Also, she should do the forest walk to get up to the tower, its a little tiring, but its really beautiful.
Lake gardens (behind KL sentral) It's a beautiful park very very nice
Pasar Malam (night market)
Merdeka Square
Bukit bintang for shopping
National Mosque

Food to try:
Satay (chicken is best)
Mee goreng
Nasi goreng
Nasi lemak
Wan tan mee
Laksa
Ais Kacang (its an interesting type of desert they serve here)
Roti Bon - delicious indian type of chelsea bun (although it doesnt have raisins)
Tosai masala
Singapore fried mee hoon
Baked cheese rice and ying yong drink (she must must go to Kim Gary and have the baked cheese rice set - it is sooo delicious) Tell her if she has a free day she must let me know and we can go to kim gary together! I definitely think I will take her up on this.
Naan bread with mint sauce - she must ask for the mint sauce

Places outside of KL
Islands:
Perhentian
Tioman
Redang - these three islands are said to be the best in malaysia. However if she is here after november these ones will all be closed, so she wont be able to go to them.
Penang - northern part of Malaysia - its lovely
Cameron highlands - tea plantation in the mountains - the air is clean cool and crisp, and the strawberries are great!

there are just soo many places, i think its better if she sends me her itinerary and i will advise her what is best to see from there :)

Enjoy your day!

Karen

10 'Must See & Do' Attractions in Phuket

This article is from this website

1. Sightseeing: Laem Phromthep
Ok, everyone goes to this hilltop viewpoint but it doesn't make it any less spectacular. Fabulous views over the ocean.. stretching as far as Phi Phi Island on a good day... Promthep Cape Restaurant right after sunset offers the perfect place to end the day with a cool breeze and excellent Thai Food.

2. Experiences: Muay Thai
Rapidly gaining popularity all over the world Muay Thai is an exciting spectacle to watch. Visit Saphan Hin Stadium in Phuket City to see regular matches with well-trained martial arts experts. Or try Patong Beach, where to you also see the skill and dexterity of these martial arts experts.

3. Culture: Thalang and Dibuk roads
Sino-Portuguese splendours and funky shops in the most unlikely places will surprise and delight you in the heart of Phuket's sleepy provincial capital. Phuket town offers much more than you think with some excellent restaurants and local sights.

4. Entertainment: Simon Cabaret
An evening of glitz, glamour and gorgeous 'girls!' Flamboyant sets, outrageously gorgeous costumes, snazzy dance routines. Hollywood glam at its best! An unforgettable experience.
See photo of Simon Cabaret in Patong Beach, and find more in our Patong Nightlife guide.

5. Indulgence: Spa Treatments
Total indulgence or absolute necessity? Probably both. The Asian Spa is an experience not to be missed. Relax in air-conditioned comfort with a traditional Thai massage or exotic body wrap made from natural ingredients. Or go local and try a beach massage under a shady tree with the sound of the waves ...

6. Action: Snake Shows, ATV's, Go Karts
Can a King Cobra be charmed? A hair-raising experience for young and old alike. Looking for more adrenaline pumping experiences? Ride an all terrain ATV through the jungle, or get into top gear around the go-kart track. You'd never do it at home!

7. Jungle: National Parks & Waterfalls
Head for a lovely waterfall and cool off in Phuket's National Parks. Take a walk on the wild side at Khao Praew Thaew National Park or chill out on the beach at Sirinath National Park.

8. Culture: Wat Chalong
One of Phuket's most important temples and visited by thousands over each year. Beautifully decorated with infinite reflections from hundreds of tiny glass pieces. On special holidays Wat Chalong hosts "country fairs' with a real local flavour.

9. Experiences: Phuket FantaSea show
It's wacky but fun and very professionally done. Ariel trapeze artists, elephants on stage, pyrotechnics combine in a Vegas style show. You'll see nothing else like it anywhere on the planet.

10. Memories: The Andaman sunset
Totally tropical. Best experienced at any beach along the west coast; and we've heard it looks even better while sipping a cocktail. (Beach info)

Travel itinerary

We leave Johannesburg on Thursday 19 October and fly to Kuala Lumpur.

Arrive next morning and have a 3-hour stopover before flying to Phuket.

Arrive in Phuket Friday 20 October and stay at the Tropical Garden Resort (see previous post) for 8 nights until 28 October. This is where we'll sleep off the jet lag :)

We then fly back to Kuala Lumpur and stay at the Royale Bintang Hotel for 2 nights.

Here is a view of the pool



here is the room





and here is the hotel.

Our hotel in Thailand

We'll be staying at the Tropical Garden hotel in Phuket.



It is a deluxe room which means that we get a sea view. We are apparently 100 m from the beach (1 minute)

We're off to Thailand & Malaysia

We tried booking a holiday to Thailand in June this year but unfortunately, the specials didn't work out with Dion's work schedule.

However, I got Flight Centre to put me on their mailing list. This time, when I saw the advertised specials in their newsletter, we didn't hesitate. Even Dion. And you guys know how D likes to think things through. I was very impressed!

Anyway, after a number of phone calls and emails between Nicole (flight centre consultant), D and I, Dion comes home two weeks ago and announces that "we are going in there tomorrow to sort this out once and for all". Impressive! So after belly dancing, I collected him and off we went.

Long story short (because everything is a long story with all our fussiness), we managed to book the flights there and then.

We're flying to Thailand first and then spending some time in Malaysia on the way back.

It's all paid for now and our savings accounts are a lot leaner, but we are big with anticipation!

D bought me a beautiful lime-green suitcase (it is stunning - I fell in love with it the minute I laid eyes on it) and I got us some backpacks, so we are ready!