A junket to Phuket…
Well, the trip was not exactly funded by public so don’t read too much into the junket part 
We spent the 16th, 17th and 18th January on the pristine beaches of Phuket – bathing under the sun and enjoying snorkeling in the crystal clear sea water.
We left Singapore on the morning of 16th on a JetStar flight. We had some good news upon arriving in Phuket. The on-arrival visa charges (THB 1000 ppax) had been waived as they were running some promotion. We booked our accommodation at Karon Cliff Boutique bungalows. The owner, a friendly westerner named Peter, helped us plan our itinerary to fit most of tourist attractions in a short span of 3 days. We took off on a local sight seeing trip straight from the airport. Attractions included a local cashew nut factory, a grand Buddhist Temple, a wonderful Elephant ride at Kinnaree and finally a vantage point on a cliff presenting great views of Phuket and its beaches. After a quick lunch at Navrang Mahal (Karon) and some rest, we went to watch the Fantasea show.
The carnival village where Fantasea’s show is screened is a great place to spend an evening. There are games, song n dance shows, shops, restaurants and many display enclosures. The highlight off-course is the Elephant Show featuring real elephants, antiques, dances, trapeeze and other birds and animals. The one hour show is screened in a really huge auditorium with kind of scary interiors. We got a couple of Gold seats and watched the show from the second row which helps us see details which could probably be missed from a distance. The show itself is electrifying and sure is a great experience.
The next day we were off to Phi Phi islands on a speed boat. The sea breeze was awesome and we made an intermediate stop at the Phi Phi lay island which is featured frequently in Bollywood movies. The highlight here is the soft sand on the beach and the clear sea water which allows us to watch 5 meter deep stones clearly. Another attraction nearby was Monkey Bay where there were scores of Monkeys doing their thing and entertaining visitors. We made several stops on the way for snorkeling and finally landed up on an island for lunch. I must make a special mention here about tender coconuts in Phuket – their water is the best I’ve ever tasted. We returned back to Phuket late in the evening and immediately set out to explore Patong beach. Patong beach is very famous with tourists because of its malls and street shops. There are plenty of restaurants also in this area and we had our dinner at Kohinoor – an Indian restaurant.
On the final day we went on Phang Nga bay tour on a big ship. Unlimited Drinks and snacks we available on board so that we could munch away while watching amazing sea locales. This tour allows us to do lots of canoeing in which I had no experience – but I learnt it rather quickly. We canoed in between island rocks and entered limestone caves under the supervision of the actual canoe driver. James Bond island is another local attraction included on this tour and I did not find it that appealing. We had a great lunch on board and after more canoeing we returned back to Phuket. A cab dashed us off to the airport straight from the ferry terminal. Phuket airport is housed at the edge of the island and we had an opportunity to catch the sunset that evening by the airport. Just when we thought that the hectic 3 day tour had ended, we came across a foot massage parlour inside the airport and we decided to go for it inspite of the exorbitant charges (THB 300 for 15 mins). It was an enjoyable experience though. After this last minute massage we boarded the Tiger flight to Singapore and arrived at Singapore’s budget terminal which was overflowing that day.
Phuket is a highly recommended beach destination for its beaches, clear sea water, locales and vibrant districts and I am sure you will not regret after making a trip there. Until next time, cheers!
