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WARNING: Extremely long post below. Reader discretion is advice.

Yes I am back! Missed me already? I was away for the past 5 days in Phuket and Phi Phi Island, Thailand. Came back 2 shades darker and an aching body but all I can say is….IT’S FREAKING AWESOME! Well, I went with 2 other friends Olivia and Lyn as we kinda planned this trip back in January and it was a spontaneous thing. We just wanted a holiday and the very next day, we booked the tickets. So throughout this whole trip, everything was pretty much spontaneous as well as we did not have a fixed itinerary. We did however have accomodation bookings made prior to the trip.

Day 1: Phuket - Karon + Patong Beach

Arrived Phuket around 2-ish in the afternoon and we took a cab who took us to arrange our transport with a travel agent. We will be moving a lot in between islands so ferry and transfer from pier to hotel and vice versa was very very important as ferries have scheduled timings.

Oli & Lyn: “Are we there yet??”

After the arrangements, we checked in to Living Room Hotel, somewhere in Karon and about 15 mins away to Patong Beach. I must say, the hotel was really good for a triple shared bed room going for about 2000 Baht (approx RM200) per night. Later we went in search of food as we were all super hungry (it was already around 3 something PM then). We came across this awesome noodle store that had both pork and beef noodles. All I got to say, it was the best damn beef noodles I have ever tasted. I will keep it short for now as I will be blogging about all the food we had in my next post. After the delicious meal, we went back to freshen up, and we’re off again to Patong Beach for some sight seeing and shopping (Note: there are 2 ladies on this trip, therefore, you will hear the words ’shopping’ very frequent throughout).

Sunset at Patong Beach

We all later decided to get pampered and went for foot and body massages. Well, there are many shops to choose from so it’s just a matter of preference and price.

us being pampered…

1 and half hours later, we went for more shopping and food and then called it a night as we had to wake up at 545AM to catch the 8AM morning ferry to Phi Phi Island (3 people, 1 bathroom, 45 min journey from hotel to ferry pier…do the math).

Day 2: Phi Phi Island - Long Beach, Phi Phi Lay, Loh Samah Bay, Maya Bay

YAY! We’re here!!!!

While on the way to the pier, our van picked up other people as well. Guess who was on board our van?….Rashid Sidek! But no…didn’t get autograph and photos. We arrived Phi Phi Don at around 10AM and took a long-tail to Long beach and checked in to our hotel. Our hotel is situated right on top of a hill so getting up there is a challange on it’s own. Now I must say that this place is a stark contrast to where we stayed in the first night. There were no air conditions and having an extra bed means just a materess on the floor. I killed a cockroach later that night too. But no complaints since it’s only 950 Baht (RM 95) for 3 persons. However the view from the hotel’s lobby/cafe was simply breathtaking.

Our room/hut

the view from hotel lobby/cafe

First thing we did after we checked in??….THAI MASSAGE (again!) We did it overlooking the beach and it was simply awesome and relaxing. After the massage and not wanting to waste more time, right after lunch we hired a boatman to take us island hopping and snorkeling. Now, in the whole of Thailand, it is very important that you know how to strike a bargain otherwise, there are a lot con artists who like to give you cut throat rates since we’re tourists. 3 of us went for 3 hr boat ride, to 3 destinations + rental of snorkeling equipment all for just 1000 Baht (RM100). Not bad right? We snorkel at Loh Samah Bay and Maya Bay, and were also taken around Phi Phi Lay, and also to see the Viking Cave. Oh, in case you didn’t know, Maya Bay is where they shot the movie “The Beach” staring Leonardo DiCaprio.

…island hopping

Loh Samah Bay

me snorkeling

Oli and I at Maya Bay

After being all fried and dried from the sun, we headed back, showered, and got ready for dinner. We were entertained by a fire show performance during dinner by the beach. We were all dead tired after dinner and called it a night.

Day 3: Phi Phi Island - Phi Phi Town, Loh Dalum Bay

All 3 of us were awoken by the loud sounds of freakin cicadas at 730AM but still lazed in bed till about 830AM. Skipped breakfast and went straight to the beach for a swim.

Our view from under the tree by the beach

After the swim, we had brunch at the cafe at our hotel. Checked out, and took the long-tail back to Phi Phi town. There were some confusion as to where we were suppose to go, because the address on our next hotel states that it is in Aonang, Krabi which is another hr ferry from Phi Phi Island. Remember the first day we already arranged our ferry tickets to Krabi? Well, lucky thing we called the hotel. They are situated in Phi Phi town. NOT Aonang Krabi! We remembered we booked it online and it’s on Phi Phi Island. Hence, when we got there and took a look at the address, it states there Krabi only did we realise that we had to spend a night at Krabi. It turns out, Phi Phi Island IS within the Krabi district. So we booked THE WRONG ferry and transfers. Anyway, they have a no money back policy so we ended up paying for the trip to Krabi (it’s about RM100 per person ok? PAIN!). We’re going to make an official complaint to the Thai Tourism board as it is very misleading, and the fact that we couldn’t get a refund really pissed us off. Anyway, that aside, we stayed in Kinaree House AT Phi Phi Town (note the address in the link), which was a really good place to stay going for 1800 Baht (RM180) per night for 3 beds.

The alleys in Phi Phi town

Here, it’s litterally shopping heaven. You can go shop to shop bargaining for stuff. As Oli said “This place looks like some theme park!”. Needless to say, the 2 ladies went on a shopping rampage.

“This one how much? Got discount??”

Ok, I did buy some stuff also, but I only bought 2 pair of “branded” board shorts which were really cheap. The food around this area are also nice…I mean, it has to be…there are so many tourist here we actually don’t feel like we’re in Thailand. After don’t know how many hours of shopping, we went back to the hotel to shower and to get ready for dinner.

We were out strolling and we stopped for beer. During the whole trip, we have a lot of beer and coffee stops as beers here are simply cheaper than what you pay back home (about RM 5 per bottle of Chang beer).

After dinner, we went to this bar/club. We went there because there was a fire show by the beach, so we though it would be nice to just chill by the beach and drink MORE BEER!

Soon after the fire show started. See this performer below?

Oli thinks he is cute and stalked him! Haha..well, she did managed to take a picture with him later on as he was actually one of the security staff working at the place.

“I found him!…now faster take picture for me!!”

We were about to call it a night but the music became better. They were playing house music to me and Oli’s liking. Lyn however has no choice but to follow us (Lyn, we will be converting you soon…muahaha!). We went to the dance floor and danced for awhile. I must say, it’s rather different seeing people partying and dancing in shorts and slippers (me included). But who cares!

Scenes from the dance floor

Day 4: Phi Phi Island & Phuket Town

We were hunting for a good breakfast when we smelt freshly brewed coffee in one of the bakery and decided to have breakfast there. They served the yummiest coconut bread I have ever tasted!

After breakfast, we went on to Loh Dalum Bay, where they have water sports activities. We didn’t do any seeing that we didn’t have the time, we just stroll by the beach and took pictures.

Later we took a hike up Viewpoint, which is the highest hill on Phi Phi Island. Climbing up there is nothing big but there were just a lot of stairs and panting.

“Haiya…so many steps…this better be worth it!”

…and it was damn worth it loh!..

We took the 230PM ferry back to Phuket, where we will spend a night in a backpacker’s hostel. The name of the place? Phuket Backpacker Hostel (duh!). Being new, it’s one of the best backpacker’s hostel that you can find anywhere. Even seasoned backpackers who were there told us so. You get 2 double-decked beds in a room for only 1000 Baht (RM 100) so each person was around RM 25 per night. It’s not air conditioned and the bathrooms are shared with others, but the one cool thing about the place? There is a 42″ LCD TV down at the lounge and a library of DVDs for you to watch. They even have 4 internet terminals as well. Not bad right?

Our double-decked beds

It was already evening when we checked in. So we took a shower and headed out in search of dinner and continued with…..MORE SHOPPING! Walked around Phuket town and also went to Phuket Central Festival for shopping. We called it a night after all that walking…phew!

Day 5: Phuket Town

Our last day in Phuket…time always fly so fast when you are having fun. Sigh!…we woke up reluctantly, but we were hungry. Went to look for breakfast. Stopped by this place which serves porridge with pig parts (”Chee Chap Chok“). All I can say is…..OH MY GOD!!! It’s heaven.

After breakfast, we went walking around for more last minute souvenirs and shopping (again!). We then headed for the food market where they sell some interesting food items.

Rotten fish in bottles….ewwww!

More preserved food items

After much walking around, we went back to the hostel to chill as we had a cab to take us to the airport in the noon.

Overall, the trip has been quite an experience. It was tiring moving between different places every night, but it was worth it. We are already planning our next trip on the way back…and really, we can’t wait.

Click here to view more pictures from the trip.

23 days from today…I will be here….

….looks like paradise ain’t it?…Wait for my actual pictures! ;)

WARNING: Extremely long post below. Reader discretion is advice.

Bangkok: Day 1
Arrived Bangkok airport at around 5:30PM Bangkok time. Took a taxi to the hotel with a reference to a map. Guess what? My taxi driver got lost!! Because it’s a fairly new place (only opened like 7 months ago), not many people know about it. The place being out of the city in some back alley didn’t help either. So how?…Luckly, I got the hotel phone number and ask the taxi driver to ask for directions. So after being lost around an hour (yeah, Bangkok during rush hour…NOT GOOD), the taxi driver finally found the place. In case you are wondering where I stayed, the hotel is called Boonsiri Place. The place is pretty decent and a lot better than what I expected. The price? Only about 1000 Baht (approx. RM100) per night.

Only problem with this place? It’s a bit far from the city center and the surrounding area is really dodgy, with notorious looking people around. But hey, what can you expect for a cheap place eh? So after checking in and putting my luggage in the room, I went out in hopes of searching for some food. I then bumped into Mr. Kamun, the appointed guide for the hotel. He had a car and I can ask him to take me anywhere I want for a fee of course. I also met up with a Danish couple who were backpacking at the hotel, David & Helen Iversson. So we decided to go sight seeing together with Mr. Kamun. He took us to Suan Lum for some food and also the night bazaar.

"Jakun" poser, never see Thailand sign before…hehe!

After dinner and some light shopping, we went to Patpong! Well, yes we went there for the infamous "Tiger Show". Ok, I don’t know if it’s me, but after hearing so many stories about the show, they somehow fail to impress me of what the girls can do. Only exception maybe was because I was seated like less than 2 meters away from the main stage. So still it’s an experience to see it live in front of your face. Helen was being such a sport as David got teased constantly by the girls…haha! Later, we went around Chinatown and then back the hotel and call it a night, as David and Helen had a morning flight to Phuket the next morning. Regreted not having taken a picture with them.

Bangkok: Day 2
Woke up early to go to the floating market which is situated like 200km away from Bangkok. Yea, it’s a 2 hours drive to Damonen Saduak Floating Market. The floating market is quite an experience. It’s really like a market, except that all the stalls are either on boats or by the river banks. I was told to try the soup noodles there which were really good. The cost for a bowl only goes for 20THB (approx. RM2), and it was quite a challenge to be eating soup noodles on a rocking boat.

The noodles were so good, I "licked" the bowl dry!

There was a stall there that actually sell live snakes and other reptiles. They also let you take a picture with their biggest python for only RM 2. NO I’m not scared of snakes. Many people there we screaming and squirming before my turn…haha. I wish I could own one of them seriously, they just feel like a leather bag or something and you can feel that they are so strong as I put it around my neck, you can feel the grip man!

certainly not for the squirmish!

After the floating market, I made a long journey back to the city to Siam Square area. What to do there? SHOPPING of course! First stop, Siam Paragon, then Siam Square, MBK and Siam Discovery. I just got to show you this shot of flea market around the area which were full of girls! *drool drool*. I think I could just stand there for hours just looking at the girls. Well, the flea market was selling mainly feminine items, so naturally they all flock there and OMG! Thai girls are just so damn pretty!

Girls galore!!

Ok! Enough of the girl gawking. I spent most of my time doing some heavy shopping there and then after dinner, I took the Skytrain to Nana, where I found this pub called Beer Garden (don’t know if it’s the same as the Beer Garden in Subang). Well the place was full of "white" people and Thai girls, who were mostly errr…"escorts". Well, for the first time, I feel weird walking to a bar being the only Asian male (apart from the workers of course). Nevertheless, I still sat by the bar and ordered a beer. Beers there are cheap. RM5.50 for a bottle and I can go on all night with that amount! I was feeling bored and was about to leave, when I was approached by one of the "escorts" and ask me if I wanted to play pool with her. So ok, I played with pool and had a few drinks with her just for fun. Suddenly, another girl joined us and later 2 other policemen walked in and joined us for pool! NO SHIT! 2 policemen still clad in their uniform! So we had a mini pool tournament where the loser have to drink!! It was fun I tell you.

Beer Garden bar @ Nana

Nam (yes that’s her name) & I after pool

Before you all get any funny ideas, NO! nothing happend with me and Nam. We just had fun and I left back to the hotel after that =p On the way back to the hotel, I decided to take one of them "Tuk-tuks" and boy was I conned! They charge you like 3x more because it was pass midnight, and my hotel being far away from the city didn’t help. But I was too desperate and tired to argue so I just hopped on as it was the only available transport during that time (it was around 230am). On the way back, he was like racing with another Tuk-tuk and really, I actually thought that I would die in a crash or something. If you have ever sat in a Tuk-tuk before, the back has no seat belts so imagine going really fast and doing corners in that thing!

My crazy ass tuk-tuk driver. I’m still amazed that I even manage to take this shot!

Another thing I realized about tuk-tuk drivers is that they have like a S.O.P. (standard operating procedure) when it comes to tourist.

1. If you’re a tourist and if you don’t speak Thai, they will ask where you come from
2. They will ask how long are you staying in Bangkok
3. They ask if you have tried Thai massage and lady
4. If you say no to number 3, they will take you or recommend you some place "cheap cheap"

Believe me. out of 5 Tuk-tuks, all 5 ask the same thing and in this same sequence! Well, if you’re interested to know the market rate for a lady massage in Bangkok, its THB 350 per hour. It’s more if you want "clean" one! Hahah! well, just in case you’re curious.

Bangkok: Day 3
Went around the temples and boy were there many temples! While visitng, I met up with a bunch of Philipinno people who were also sight seeing. 2 of them are a gay couple but they were really nice and asked me to join them because I was the alone at that time. So I did join them for to go around.

6 Philippinos and a Malaysian.

Later on, we exchange phone numbers in hopes of meeting up again later tonight for some partying. We parted ways several temples later, as I went to Wat Pra Kaeo Grand Palace, which is like the largest temple in Bangkok! It’s HUGE! It took me nearly 4 hours to actually walk the whole place so you can imagine how big the place is.

Stunning! The Grand Palace

Later after The Grand Palace, I took a trip back to town area for some last minute shopping. Yup, manage to get my limited edition shoes by Japanese designer Yasuhiro Mihara which cost around RM800! Yes I’m crazy…so sue me! After dinner, I took the skytrain again. This time, I went to Thong Lor in hopes of finding some chill out places. Well, as I was walking, I came across this massage spa/parlour which is decent looking. When I say decent here means it’s "clean" and not sleasy. They offer traditional Thai massages for 250 THB (approx RM25) for an hour. SO CHEAP! I went for a 2 hours full body massage and it was certainly worth it man! I would seriously recommend anyone this place the next time they are in Bangkok. Call me for the details. Later, took a taxi (smart already don’t take tuk-tuk at night! :P) to Khao San Road which is the party street for backpackers! Well the road was closed to traffic so everyone was on the street with beer and alcohol in hand and just partying the night away. This was 1am in the morning on a weeknight mind you.

Party scenes @ Khao San Road

I manage to meet some people from Barcelona and also London and just chatted with them while having my beer. Really cool party people. They were sort of "anti USA" so their topic of conversation was really interesting. After drinking, it was back to my hotel around 3am.

Bangkok: Day 4
In the morning, went to do some last minute shopping at Pratunam area. Shirts there were relatively cheap going for about RM10 - RM 35 per piece. "Branded" belts were also only about RM 20-35. So bought a couple of stuff there and some souvenirs. After lunch, went back to my hotel to get ready to leave as I have a 530PM flight to catch. I had to leave like nearly 4 hours before as I was warned about the traffic in Bangkok is bad and unpredictable. Mr. Kamun then sent me off to the airport and that was it…..bye bye Bangkok!

Mr. Kamun & I at the airport

Overall, it was a really good trip. Something different for me at least. It was so last minute, I didn’t even have time to plan anything out. It was really all "playing by ear" the whole way thoughout the trip, which makes it really fun and exciting! Can you imagine, the whole trip, the only map I had was the map to the hotel which is the most essential for me and I dont even have a city map! There was simply a lot of walking, and a lot of asking around and being conned in the process. But that’s the best I guess. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Click here for more pictures from the trip.

Alright! I’m finally going for a well deserve holiday! Yea, it’s kinda last minute but what the heck, since I got many days off doing nothing, might as well fully make use of it rather than just sitting at home rotting. Destination? BANGKOK baby!! I will be leaving for Bangkok later this afternoon and will only be back Thursday night. Until then, I will see if I can get online anywhere in between, if not, wait for my return for pictures! See ya all!

I just got back from Redang Island on Tuesday night, all tanned and burnt - extra crispy. Yup, my company trip this year was to Redang Island, an island I visited 2 years back. Well what can I say, sadly, the place has somewhat deteriorated since the last time I was there. There were many dead corals due to an overwhelming number people. I think the place is over commercialized and too “populated”, and the tourism board should control the amount of people who actually go to the island. Imagine snorkeling with about 50-60 people at one time!! I pity the fishes and the corals man. Either that, or they should have stricter laws on type of boats that go too close to the corals. They should just use sampans to be honest!

Well apart from that, I did had fun. The nights were filled with people playing Indian poker and getting drunk, (to those who don’t know what Indian poker is, its a drinking game where you stuck a card on your forehead and try to dare the other person that your card has a higher value..hehe!) While the days were spent snorkeling, lots of swimming, beach volleyball and a lots of other beach activities. Apart from the gruelling bus journey (yes we went there by bus…8 hrs!!) I think it was a nice trip overall.

The NetInfinium team

Note: The writer pleas to anyone who is planning to go to Redang Island, please please please keep the beaches clean and do not step on those corals. =)